Midday Report

The community of Ōpōtiki is grieving the loss of a well-known gang leader, with neighbouring schools shut for the week.

People having been lining up to attend the tangi of Steven Taiatini, the president of the Mongrel Mob Barbarians.

The 45-year-old was killed on Friday night on St John Street and there is now a heavy gang presence in the town.

Te Owai Gemmell is a Māori Warden in Ōpōtiki, and she spoke to Gyles Beckford.

Around 400 residents of flood-hit Auckland properties remain in the dark about who will qualify for a voluntary payout and they are demanding answers from the Council.

Many of the residents of homes deemed too dangerous to live in following the devastating Auckland Anniversary Weekend floods had expected information yesterday but were left with what they described as "radio silence".

They say the situation is financially dire for some of them and are demanding better Council communication.

Auckland Council group recovery manager, Mat Tucker, spoke to Gyles Beckford.

A migration agent is pleading with Australia's government to refund the permanent resident visa costs paid by some of her New Zealand clients.

The visas were approved just months before Australia revealed it would scrap the need for them.

Erina Morunga, director of Morunga Migration, says it's like buying a product, without being told it's about to become obsolete.

She spoke to Gyles Beckford.

Two boys are in a critical condition in Starship Hospital after bring trapped under a collapsed sand dune on Great Barrier Island.

The boys, one a teenager and the other a younger child, were airlifted to Starship late yesterday afternoon.

Both are in a critical condition.

Westpac helicopter paramedic Ross Aitken spoke to Gyles Beckford.

News from the rural farming sector

Midday sports News for 12 June 2023 Norwegian tennis player Casper Ruud isn't planning any major changes despite suffering a third Grand Slam final loss.

News from the business sector

The National Māori Organics Authority says the National Party's plan to remove effective bans on genetic modification is a blatant dismissal of the need to consult with Māori.

The National Party says New Zealand is stuck in a time warp and risks falling behind global development if it doesn't change the regulations.

But the group says genetic modifications are a quick fix which have failed overseas, and shouldn't be imported here.

Jessica Hutchings, a spokesperson for Te Waka Kai Ora, spoke to Gyles Beckford.

Grocery prices may finally be reaching a turning point according to the latest numbers from Infometrics.

The New Zealand Grocery Supplier Cost Index, commissioned by Foodstuffs, shows an increase of 8.8 percent in the price that suppliers are charging supermarkets for goods.

It's the first time in several months the increase has fallen below ten percent.

Infometrics chief executive and principal economist Brad Olsen spoke to Gyles Beckford.

A far right expert says it would be complex for Aotearoa to follow in Australia's footsteps to ban the public display and sale of Nazi symbols and paraphernalia.