Midday Report

News from the rural farming sector

The Streets of Wellington will be full as Cuba Dupa returns to Wellington this weekend.

Forty stages featuring music, visual art and dance will draw in crowds expected to exceed a hundred thousand.

But they might have some competition for attention when Posie Parker's anti-trans ralley goes ahead on Sunday afternoon.

Cuba Dupa organiser Drew James spoke to Māni Dunlop

The High Court has ruled against the rainbow communities' bid to stop British anti-transgender activist Posie Parker into country.

The High Court has decided that the government's decision to let Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull into Aotearoa was lawful.

Ms Minshull is due to arrive in the country today and will hold rallies at the weekend.

RNZ Political reporter Anneke Smith spoke to Māni Dunlop.

News from the rural farming sector

Midday sports News for 24 March 2023.

New Zealand distance runner Jake Robertson says he's angry and upset by the actions of twin brother Zane who's been banned for eight years.

News from the business sector

Thousands of secondary and area school teachers will strike next week and hold rolling strikes next term.

It comes after 50 thousand educators across the country went on strike last Thursday calling for better pay to meet the rising cost of living and more support and resources.

The union says its members will also refuse to teach particular year levels on different days for four weeks from the start of May and will hold a series of one-day strikes in different regions in the second week of May.

The Post Primary Teachers Association says its members have voted overwhelmingly in support of the strikes.

Its acting president is Chris Abercrombie spoke to Māni Dunlop. 

The Ministry of Education said it was disappointing the PPTA had decided to srtike as they are in the middle of mediation to work towards a settlement. 

It said both parties have agreed that good progress has been made in the two days of mediation we have already had since the strike last Thursday.

Auckland has pulled out of the Local Government Association, because the mayor thinks it's too bureaucratic and members just "get pissed all night long" at conferences.

Auckland Council currently pays more than 350-thousand-dollars to be a member of the group.

But LGNZ says the cost-saving move could backfire on Aucklanders.

Leaving the group would cost the city more than 1-million-dollars each year just on streetlight power bills.

Mayor Wayne Brown spoke to Māni Dunlop.

There's been no improvement to child poverty rates, despite it being a keystone of the Labour government's manifesto.

The latest Stats NZ data shows 12 percent of children lived in households earning less than half the median income, and more than 10 percent are in material hardship.

Compared to the baseline year of 2018, there have been significant decreases in eight of the nine measures of child poverty, but none between June 2021 and June 2022.

Associate Professor Michael O'Brien is a social policy academic at the University of Auckland.

He spoke to Māni Dunlop.

Provisional numbers of insurance claims from Cyclone Gabrielle have hit $890 million.

The Insurance Council of New Zealand says over 40-thousand claims have been made, a third of which have come from Hawkes Bay.

So far just $70 million has been paid by insurers. 

ICNZ chief executive Tim Grafton spoke to Māni Dunlop.