Midday Report

Road User charges are dropping for hybrid vehicles after a change in heart and voting mistake by the government.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced owners of plug-in hybrids will pay $38 dollars per thousand kilometres driven, under new taxes to pay for road upkeep.

The Minister originally proposed a rate of $53 dollars, but a select committee recommended dropping the fee after a Labour Amendment was accidentally voted for in the house. 

Industry lobby group Drive Electric chair Kirsten Corson spoke to Charlotte Cook.

As Syria marks 13 years of civil war, aid agencies warn the situation there only grows more desperate as each year passes.

A $5 billion U.S dollar United Nations global humanitarian response plan to help get the nation back on its feet has only been one-third funded by governments worldwide.

The World Food Programme estimates that over half of the population, about 12.9 million Syrians, are currently experiencing hunger, while another 2.6 million are on the brink of food insecurity.

World Vision Syria programme director Clynton Beukes spoke to Worldwatch's Charlie Dreaver.

Wellington leaders are considering amalgamating the region's councils but say a super city is unlikely.

The Wellington Regional Leadership Committee will meet on Tuesday and will begin discussions about amalgamation, following recommendations all councils reorganise.

This means the Wellington region's 9 territorial councils could merge into three.

Wellington Regional Leadership Committee deputy chair Daran Ponter spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Back to our top story, the Government is facing mounting financial pressure as it aims to meet election promises.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has not been able to confirm that tax cuts promised to be introduced in July will be delivered by then.

Labour's finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds says she would consider borrowing beyond government fiscal responsibility rules.

Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Six-and-a-half-thousand hectares of mainly mature plantation trees in the Central North Island were blown over or snapped in half last February.

Crews have been working non-stop to salvage the wood since then and the operation should be complete by June.

Sally Murphy has the business news.

The White Ferns coach Ben Sawyer says their T20 matches against England will be crucial to their chances of success at the World Cup later this year.

Barry Guy has sports.

The services sector is expanding at the best rate in nearly a year as new orders picked up strongly.

The BNZ-Business New Zealand performance of services sector rose less than a point last month to 53, the highest since March last year. 

 

Anan Zaki has the business news.

A cordon has been lifted and traffic is flowing again around Hobson Street in central Auckland after police were caught in a stand-off with a man with a gun for almost three hours on Monday morning.

The man has now been arrested at the Goodview Hotel on Hobson Street.

Auckland reporter Felix Walton spoke to Charlotte Cook.

The Government isn't able to confirm whether it will meet the July timeframe for delivering the tax cuts it promised, but says it intends to do so.

National's back pocket boost policy was one of their top promises, providing income relief to the squeezed middle.

But citing Cabinet process, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says she can't guarantee anything yet.

Previously, Willis said she would resign if tax relief wasn't delivered.

RNZ political editor Jo Moir spoke to Charlotte Cook.

A company that damaged one of the Aotearoa's most significant archaeological sites has been ordered to pay just over 55-thousand dollars after doing earthworks without the required consent from Heritage New Zealand. The Wairau Bar in Marlborough is a site of significant archaeological significance and is recognised as one of the earliest places of settlement.