Midday Report

Stranded, stressed, and struggling ... Wellington travellers were severely disrupted today after the country's only rail inspection device failed. T

hat means the standard safety checks on the region's rail network have not been done forcing speed restrictions had to be imposed... and just half the usual number of peak-hour trains can run.

The failed device has now been fixed, but it will take days to get the system back to full speed.

Porirua falls in the centre of the first day of disruption... the city's mayor is Anita Baker spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Overnight power was cut to several hundred homes in Northland, trees came down and there was flooding in Auckland, and chunks of the Coromandel Peninsula's east coast have eroded.

About 74 households are still without power.

This means the rain forecast for the end of the week will land on already sodden grounds.

Auckland's Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson spoke to Charlotte Cook.

The future of Mt Ruapehu ski fields is in the balance, but iwi say there are more issues than tourism.

Ngati Rangi iwi chair Whetu Moataane told Midday Report why the maunga is so precious.

New government data shows regular attendance for Pasifika students halved in term 4 last year, compared to the same term in 2021.

But Principal of Edmund Hillary primary school, Kiri Turketo, says highlighting ethnicities is not helpful. 

She spoke to Midday Report's Charlotte Cook.

News from the rural farming sector

Midday sports News for 28 April 2023 The Crusaders already have several candidates in mind to replace departing coach Scott Robertson.

News from the business sector

Residents in Auckland suburb Warkworth are being asked to reduce their water immediately after a second water main pipe burst.

Charlotte Cook speaks to Watercare's head of service delivery Sharon Danks

This morning Christchurch eye surgeon Ian Dallison was sentenced to more than six years in jail for an attack on his former landlord and the man's wife.

Adam Burns was in court, and spoke to Midday report about the proceedings.

If you think all pop songs sound the same, you're in good company. Pop superstar Ed Sheeran took the stand in court this week to defend himself against allegations he copied Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get It On."

Sheeran argued most pop songs use the same three or four chords, and no musician owns them.

But if that's the case, why are so many pop stars being taken to court over the past few years?

RNZ Music 101 presenter Charlotte Ryan spoke to Charlotte Cook.