Midday Report

High staff turnover, lack of retention and poor pay is pushing more than 50,000 teachers to take strike action.

It will close kindergartens through to high schools next Thursday after the unions rejected their latest pay offers.

But kura in Cyclone-hit areas can opt out of the closure because of the already high levels of disruption.

Charlotte Cook heard from Hawke's Bay head kindergarten teacher, Jess Duff, and Puketapu School principal Chris Fox.

Aucklanders could save between $260-350 a year on petrol bills, just by shopping around.

The Commerce Commission's latest fuel price monitoring report for July to September last year finds price differences of up to 30-cents-a-litre within cities.

It also found retail prices did not fall as quickly as the cost of importing fuel, pushing up importer profit margins by more than 60-percent, forcing the Energy Minister to intervene.

The AA's Terry Collins spoke to Charlotte Cook.

A report into Whanau Maori cancer care has revealed sobering evidence of racism and a lack of cultural awareness in treatment. Te Aho o Te Kahu, the Cancer Control Agency, has today released a report compiling stories from 13 hui where more than two-thousand Maori shared their experiences. Maori are more than twice as likely to die from cancer than non-maori. The agency's acting equity director Sasha Webb says many faced delays or racism in diagnosis.

News from the rural farming sector

News from the business sector

Midday sports News for 9 March 2023 The Crusaders captain and All Blacks lock Scott Barrett says it's special to be able to re-committ to New Zealand Rugby and make his 100th Super Rugby appearance in the same week.

Te Whatu Ora admits published emergency department performance figures are wrong. 

The Associate Dean Rural in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Auckland University, former Northland DHB member, and practicing GP in Northland, Dr Kyle Eggleton spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Te Whatu Ora has admitted some of its data on the emergency department wait times is wrong, and has since taken the entire page of health performance metrics offline.

But that concession comes as GP practices struggle under pressure.

Nurses are jumping ship to bandage the higher paid gaps in hospitals, further overwhelming the health system.

Doctors say this is particularly prevalent in Northland where the incorrect data showed in November and December, more than 99 percent of people who attended their Emergency Departments were seen within the target time of six hours.

That's because the numbers of people attending were recorded as being down to 350 rather than around 5,000.

The chair of GenPro and rural GP Dr Tim Malloy spoke to Charlotte Cook.

Three men have been charged with murder in relation to the death of an Auckland dairy worker last year.

Janak Patel was killed outside the Rose Cottage Dairy in Sandringham last November sparking widespread protest.

Migrant Workers Association president Anu Kaloti spoke to Māni Dunlop.

The National Party has asked Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Select Committee to have a short, sharp inquiry into the retail banking sector amid growing calls for an investigation.

According to the most recent figures, it's understood the Australian owned banks make more than $16 million in profit every day, $6 billion a year.

The Green Party also supports an inquiry.

Massey University business school associate professor Claire Matthews spoke to Māni Dunlop.