Midday Report Podcast Options

12:34 PM.The amount of highly productive agricultural land being lost to housing has increased massively since 2002. Audio

12:27 PM.Silver Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio will miss the start of the national netball premiership because she's exhausted. Audio

12:17 PM.A better takeover bid may be in the offing for energy company Tilt Renewables. Audio

12:14 PM.A Government plan to slash nicotine in cigarettes is being lauded as smart, bold and realistic. A proposal released by Associate Minster of Health Ayesha Verrall includes reducing the amount of… Read more Audio

12:12 PM.The former Dunedin doctor who murdered teenager Amber-Rose Rush is understood to have taken his own life behind bars. Venod Skantha had his appeal against his murder conviction tossed out by the Court… Read more Audio

12:11 PM.Workers and guests at a central Auckland hotel have described a gunman opening fire in the lobby this morning. Witnesses say two shots were fired in the foyer of the Sofitel around 9 o'clock. Joe… Read more Audio

12:44 PM.A kapa haka competition is being launched in prisons in a move to connect inmates with their culture and identity. All eighteen prisons are taking part in the 2021 Whakataetae Kapa Haka contest. The… Read more Audio

12:42 PM.Let's go to Auckland now, where dancers from 60 schools are taking to the stage in Auckland today for the four-day Polyfest - the world's largest Pasifika dance festival. Last year's event was canned… Read more Audio

12:36 PM.The dream of a Pacific Island team in Super Rugby is about to become a reality. Moana Pasifika and Fijian NDrua will this afternoon be officially confirmed as entrants in next year's competition. Audio

12:35 PM.Reaction to the Governemnt's ban on livestock exports by sea is starting to filter in. The Agriculture Minister this morning announced the trade will be phased out in the next two years. A review was… Read more Audio

12:19 PM.Telecommunciations company 2Degrees is set to start rolling out a 5G mobile network. It will roll out the first sites in Auckland and Wellington this year, and be progressively extended to about 700… Read more Audio

12:17 PM.A new mass vaccination clinic is opening in Auckland today. It comes as health officials in the city struggle to recruit enough people to deliver the injections. RNZ's health correspondent Rowan Quinn… Read more Audio

12:15 PM.The government will ban livestock exports by sea, in a bid to protect the animals and the country's reputation. The industry will have up to two years to stop exports. Last year more than… Read more Audio

12:11 PM.A border worker who recently tested positive for Covid-19 was not tested for several months, despite a requirement to be tested every two weeks. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment… Read more Audio

12:45 PM.New Zealand Rugby League is apologising and reviewing its rules after 12-year-old McKenzie Anderson-Tito left the field in tears when told she couldn't play in the team she'd been a part of for seven… Read more Audio

12:41 PM.The Mānuka Honey industry is adamant it will not share the Māori name with Australian producers, but it is open to working collaboratively with them. The Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan is asking… Read more Audio

12:35 PM.Suggestions from Australia's trade minister that his country and New Zealand work together to market mānuka honey are being given the thumbs down by a Māori trust. Audio

12:28 PM.A leading psychologist says a number of New Zealand's top athletes and coaches are experiencing the effects of cumulative stress ahead of the re-scheduled Tokyo Olympic Games and she says it could be… Read more Audio

12:19 PM.Growing inflation pressures, supply disruptions and a difficulty in finding skilled staff are weighing on business sentiment. Audio

12:17 PM.There's not enough money being dedicated to keep ageing school blocks in good nick, say principals. That comes as hundreds of Hutt Valley High School students are being forced to study at home for… Read more Audio

12:15 PM.The mother of a missing two-year-old girl says a financial reward is the last chance to find out what happened to her, and to bring her home. The $100,000 police reward is for information that leads… Read more Audio

12:11 PM.An inventory of New Zealand's greenhouse gases shows gross emissions are the highest in 15 years. Both net and gross emission went up 2 percent in 2019, taking the country further away from its carbon… Read more Audio