Midday Report

A government crackdown on truancy and parents who take their children away from learning during school appears to be working. New Flight Centre data shows travel bookings are up for the winter holidays, but have dropped off while children should be in school. Flight Centre New Zealand General Manager, Heidi Walker says families are still continuing to travel.

News from the rural farming sector. Farmers have been told if they snooze when it comes to reducing on-farm gas emissions they'll lose. Rabobank chief executive, Todd Charteris was speaking about maintaining New Zealand's emissions competitive advantage. The topic of growing trade was also discussed at the conference this morning. Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says to reach the goal of doubling the value of primary industry exports in the next ten years the government must work hard to open up new markets.

Portia Woodman-Wickliffe is being hailed as a trailblazer after announcing she'll retire from international rugby after the Paris Olympics. The two-time World Cup winner and Tokyo Olympic sevens gold medallist will call time on a 12-year career in which she terrorised defences with her electric pace on the wing.

Midday Business News for 2 July 2024

General practice owners say telehealth consults are becoming increasingly common as a way to manage critical staffing shortages of nurses and GPs. A severely short-staffed GP practice in Lower Hutt has had to stop doing face-to-face consultations, except in urgent cases. But High Street Health Hub patients desperate for appointments have struggled to enrol at other clinics, as other GPs have had to close their books. Dr Angus Chambers is a GP in Christchurch, and the chair of GenPro, the General Practice Owners Association.

The Government is pressing ahead with legislation that will force tech giants to pay for the news content they use. The future of the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill had been uncertain, having been introduced by the former Labour government. But today the government decided to push on with the Bill, albeit with amendements. One of the key changes includes giving the minister the power to decide which digital platforms are captured by the bill. The ACT Party has invoked the 'agree to disagree' provision in its coalition agreement with National, meaning the bill will rely on the support of other parties to pass. Andrew Holden is the public affairs director of the News Publishers Association - he spoke with Charlotte Cook.

On today's episode, the head of a Wairoa iwi trust says the town's housing need is greater than ever, with increased mental distress following another stint of heavy rain and flooding last week. The Labour party is warning a course for jobless young adults was never intended for children and using it for them could have disastrous outcomes for kids and those who staff it. A raft of financial changes are coming into effect today which will affect households across Aotearoa. And it's the end of an era as Newshub enters its final week.

It's the end of an era as Newshub enters its final week. At 6pm on Friday, Mike McRoberts and Samantha Hayes will read the last ever Newshub bulletin. Warner Brothers Discovery announced it will close its news operations on July 5th to reduce costs for channel Three. From next week, news gathering for a new-look show will be outsourced to Stuff. Hal Crawford was the chief news officer at MediaWorks until early 2020. He spoke to Charlotte Cook.

A raft of financial changes are coming into effect today which will affect households across the country. The Auckland Regional Fuel tax has been abolished, but a five dollar charge is coming back into prescriptions. For families, subsidies for childcare and an increase to paid parental leave also start today. Ruth Smithers, the chief executive of financial mentoring charity FinCap, spoke to Charlotte Cook.

News from the rural farming sector.