Midday Report

Midday Business News for 16 May 2022.

Thousands of health professionals are on strike today, demanding better pay and conditions for their work.

The 10,000 allied, public health, scientific and technical workers are members of the public service association. 

RNZ's health correspondent Rowan Quinn is in Wellington where she's followed a picket line from Civic Square to Parliament. 

Māni Dunlop got the latest from Rowan who was joined by dental therapist Michelle Lauder.

The government has finally unveiled Aotearoa's plan to tackle emissions - with a large price tag attached.

Transport and energy feature heavily, including a large investment into helping low and middle income families scrap their old cars and get into low emissions vehicles.

Congestion charging is also firmly on the table, with possible plans for legislation later in the year.

Māni Dunlop was joined by RNZ's political editor Jane Patterson and Climate Change Minister James Shaw.

Aotearoa's long-awaited, first nation-wide strategy to slash emissions has been released. The government will decide later this year if it will make legislative changes to enable congestion charging.

Mozambique is facing an "invisible crisis".

The UN Refugee Agency is raising the alarm over the desperate situation in the southern African nation.

Fighting in the north against an Islamist insurgence has affected more than 780,000 people. 

It's been made worse with extreme weather events - most recently a cyclone in March which displaced more than 700,000 people.

Damien McSweeney from the UN Refugee Agency in Mozambique spoke to Worldwatch's Perlina Lau.

Frustrated Bromley residents will today get the chance to take councillors and council staff to task over the putrid stench emanating from the damaged Christchurch wastewater treatment plant.

The smell is so bad, children cannot play outside.

Māni Dunlop heard from Don Gould, a leading local voice who will be at tonight's public meeting.

He said the council had dropped the ball.

News from the rural and farming sector.

Highlanders assistant coach Clarke Dermody is confident they can knock over any team in Super Rugby and he's bullish about their chances in the playoffs, if they make it.

Midday Business News for 13 May 2022

Covid cases in Auckland have jumped by 50 per cent in just a few weeks - something which experts say could be a warning to the rest of the country.

On Thursday 3888 were reported in Auckland alone.

Many experts are concerned this rise in infections could continue into winter and collide with the flu.

Professor Michael Baker told Māni Dunlop the numbers could be fickle, but there was no denying this upward trend.