Midday Report Podcast Options

12:18 PM.In Ōtepoti/Dunedin RNZ's Tim Brown reports locals are not panic buying to the extent seen further north.  Audio

12:18 PM.One of the five positive cases is a fully vaccinated nurse at Auckland City Hospital. RNZ's health correspondent Rowan Quinn has been looking into this and speaks to Māni Dunlop. Audio

12:17 PM.Tai Tokerau Border Control coordinator Reuben Taipari was disappointed to see hundreds of vehicles pour into Northland yesterday evening. Audio

12:14 PM.With the shift to Alert Level 4, people have 36 hours left to get home. Māni Dunlop checks in with RNZ reporters Jake McKee at Wellington Airport and Rachel Graham at Christchurch Airport. Audio

12:11 PM.Aotearoa is locked down for the second time. There are now five cases of Covid-19's delta variant detected in the Auckland community. One of them is a fully vaccinated nurse at Auckland City… Read more Audio

12:00 PM.Aotearoa is in lockdown. As cases grow to 5, confirmation it's the more transmissible delta variant. Audio

12:46 PM.An Afghani refugee who has been trying to get his family to New Zealand says it is a matter of life of death - and they are fearing for their lives. Many of those who helped in peacekeeping missions… Read more Audio

12:45 PM.A dead baby was found at a recycling facility in Onehunga yesterday evening. The police say their priority is to identify and locate the mother, and they're extremely concerned for her welfare. Audio

12:42 PM.There's been another case of Covid being transmitted between people with no known connection to each other in MIQ. This time it was at the Jet Park - the country's highest risk MIQ facility… Read more Audio

12:35 PM.Farmers in the Buller District who are still in clean up mode after last month's flood are preparing for another downpour. The Metservice has a heavy rain warning in place for the region - up to a 140… Read more Audio

12:28 PM.Black Caps coach Gary Stead is banking on Shane Bond's involvement in the IPL to help them in the T20 World Cup in the UAE in October. Audio

12:20 PM.Dry weather, plant outages and high wholesale power prices have cut Mercury's full year profit by a third. It made 141-million dollars compared with 207-million last year. Audio

12:17 PM.A slip near Paekakariki, north of Wellington, caused widespread transport disruption this morning. Rocks, mud, water and other debris covered part of State Highway one, and the railway line --… Read more Audio

12:14 PM.The Health Minister Andrew Little has written to District Health Boards and unions to invite them to start pay equity negotiations as soon as possible. Cabinet has approved funding for the agreement -… Read more Audio

12:11 PM.As the Taliban consolidates its rule of Afghanistan, the international community is imploring them to uphold human rights - including those of women and girls; to let people leave in safety; and to… Read more Audio

12:00 PM.Terror in Kabul as the Taliban takeover. Nurses and DHBs begin pay equity negotiations. Audio

12:46 PM.A pilot to turn around struggling schools through high-intensity audits by the Education Review Office has helped transform one southern school. Waiau Area School was plagued by dilapidated buildings… Read more Audio

12:42 PM.The Taliban have taken over Afghanistan's capital, Kabul. Many in the war-experienced country are now trying to flee the insurgents. Security has fallen over at Kabul's main airport, where countless… Read more Audio

12:35 PM.The Meat Industry Association says the Government's workplace vaccination initiative is moving too slowly and there's been no recognition of the high risk environment its 25,000 workers face. Last… Read more Audio

12:28 PM.The former Wallabies number eight and Tonga rugby coach Toutai Kefu has been seriously injured in a home invasion in Brisbane in the early hours of this morning. Audio

12:18 PM.Some of New Zealand's Olympic champions are celebrating leaving managed isolation and being reunited with friends and whanau. RNZ's Kim Moodie speaks to Māni Dunlop from the the event at Christchurch… Read more Audio

12:11 PM.Afghanistan's capital Kabul has fallen to the Taliban. There are grave fears for the safety of all people, including New Zealanders stuck in Afghanistan. Former Labour Party MP Chris Carter led the… Read more Audio

12:00 PM.Kabul falls to the Taliban. Fears it will reverse decades of human rights progress. Audio

12:46 PM.The government's plan to gradually reopen our border has been given a tentative thumbs up by rest home operators. The New Zealand Aged Care Association says any prospect of getting more nurses and… Read more Audio