Midday Report

A Queenstown bar owner says the council has let people get sick off the water for 5 weeks while providing no information to the community .

All properties on Queenstown's town water supply are under a boil-water notice after eight cases of Cryptosporidium infection have been confirmed in the town.

The owner of Morrisons Irish Bar in Queenstown Adam Nagy told Charlotte Cook they are frantically trying to find ways to stay open because they can't use the ice, water or coffee machines among other headaches.

Queenstown Lakes District Council issued a statement this afternoon saying the confirmed source is not yet known, and there is no confirmed link to the local water supply. However, it was keeping the boil water notice in place in line with advice from Te Whatu Ora and the drinking water regulator, Taumata Arowai.

It says the council increased the frequency of its testing on Friday 8 September following reports of people living in Fernhill feeling unwell.

The tests look for indicators of contamination via the presence of E.coli or total coliforms, and also checks residual chlorine levels. All results to date have been, and continue to be, normal.

A 16-year-old will appear in the Hamilton Youth Court today charged with murder, following a stabbing at Auckland's Albany Bus Station Monday afternoon.

One person died from their injuries in hospital after the attack, another person sustained minor injuries.

A teenager was arrested in Hamilton Monday night, after initially fleeing the scene.

Albany Ward councillor, John Watson, spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Māori researchers are worried this election will be a repeat of the last two after finding polling booths were unprepared to take their votes.

Surveys of Māori voters following the 2017 and 2020 elections found some polling places didn't have a Māori Roll, or ballots for Māori electorates.

People voting on the Māori roll were also found to experience longer wait times. 

Massey University associate professor Veronica Tawhai spoke to Charlotte Cook.

An independent inquiry into historical abuse at Auckland's Dilworth boys school is described as a catalogue of damage and injustice.

Potentially hundreds of vulnerable boys were sexually and/or physically abused at the boarding school over half a century.

The inquiry, led by Dame Silvia Cartwright and Frances Joychild, KC has made 19 recommendations.

Steve Brown was a student and was a staff member at Dilworth School, and was the President of the Dilworth Old Boys' Association.

Brown spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Farm buildings have been destroyed, trees are down and power is still out on some farms in the central North Island after strong gusts lashed the country over the weekend.

Monique Steele has the rural news.

New Zealand shot-putter Tom Walsh has finished third at the Diamond League Finals in Oregon.

Barry Guy has sports.

An eroding relationship may be one of the reasons the a2 Milk Company has cancelled its exclusive supply agreement with the specialty milk producer Synlait Milk.

Gyles Beckford has the business news.

A Wellington City Councillor is warning the council urgently needs to cut capital expenditure, with the council under significant financial pressure - particularly from major projects like the strengthening of the Town Hall and Central Library.

Councillor Diane Calvert says the council needs to cut spending by tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming years. She sought legal advice to make these statements public.

Calvert spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Homes across the North Island are facing another night without power after mass power outages caused by strong winds.

There are nearly 1,900 properties across the North Island without power, after some of the strongest winds in years battered the region over the weekend.

Wind gusts between 150 and nearly 250 kilometres-per-hour were recorded, taking roofs off, smashing windows, and bringing down trees, fences and powerlines.

Manawatu, Tararua, Wairarapa and Whanganui have been the worst affected by the power outages.

Powerco head of network operations Caz Haydon spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Te wiki o te reo Māori - Māori language week is starting to wrap up for the year. 

Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori - making the language stronger has been the focus for the year. 

Someone who works to make it stronger everyday is Founder of M3 Mindfulness and Mental health advocate Jase Te Patu.