Afternoon Edition: 17 November 2025

The Afternoon Edition of News Fix for 17 November 2025, straight from the Newstalk ZB newsroom - bringing you everything you need to know in news, politics, business, entertainment and sport.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Good afternoon, I'm railing Ramsay. This is your afternoon news
fix for Monday, the seventeenth of November. Police have recovered
the bodies of three children who died in a house
fire in Manuwitu, Satson on Saturday. Give a Little page
as named them as Goldie, August and Hugo. They were one,
five and seven. It's understood their father, Dean Field, also

(00:26):
died at the house. Area Commander Inspector Ross Grantham says
a man inside the house wasn't burned in the fire.
He wouldn't comment on reports the deaths are being considered
a triple murder suicide. We haven't said it as a
horse idec who were written through the scene and the
witness of price the can o take. More than twenty

(00:47):
schools and early learning centers have temporarily closed or planned
to because of possible as beestos contamination in sand play products.
Alerts were raised last week about EC Rainbow and one
point three kilos creatistics colored sand one kelo and four
kmart and Z Magic sand products. More than two hundred

(01:09):
and fifty schools and centers have contacted the Ministry of
Education asking for advice. It says people should report health
concerns to Health Line. Four Uber drivers have finalized a
legal when in the Supreme Court confirming they should be
treated as employees. Proceedings started in twenty twenty two when

(01:29):
the Employment Court and Court of Appeal dismissed Uber's claim
drivers were contractors. Emily Ancel reports.

Speaker 2 (01:36):
Uber argues that's because the job's flexibility lets drivers choose
their hours, as well as being able to work the
competitors and control their incentives. The Supreme Court ruling technically
only applies to four drivers, but could impact how the
law is applied to others in the gig economy. Before
the Employment Relations Amendment Bill is passed.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
The governments confirmed it will ease the cost of new
and used imported vehicles. Minister Chris Bishops and arce changes
to the Clean Vehicle Standard introduced in twenty twenty three
is as although it help lift fuel efficiency, there is
a shortage of cleaner second hand vehicles and demands drop
for new evs. Bishop says the government will temporarily slash

(02:18):
charges nearly eighty percent and share no credits expire before
December twenty twenty eight, and launch a review by next June.
The Electricity Authority says it wants changes to excessively high
upfront network connection costs. It says distributors currently freely decide
how much of a connection costs to charge upfront or

(02:40):
through ongoing lines charges. The Authority is proposing an intervention
to cap the immediate charge from twenty thirty. Networks and
System Change manager Tim Sparks says high costs add unnecessary
barriers to development and may stop thum as would.

Speaker 2 (02:56):
Prevent existing network customers from benefiting from more connections. The
result and fixed network costs being shared among a wider group.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
A sociologist says a combination of fact as a driving
sluggish population growth. New Zealand grew less than one percent
in the year to September to five point three million.
Massa University Distinguished Professor Paul Spoonley says the fertility rates
continued fall means when not having enough children to replace
our existing population is says migrations also decreased. In sport,

(03:29):
Springboks coach Racy Erasmus has urged World Rugby to remove
all permanent red cards for dangerous or foul play and
to have twenty minute reds across the board silver fernshoe
to Grace. Work is proud of her team's resilience in
the face of unprecedented scrutiny as they look to end
their season. This year's season on a high by beating

(03:51):
England and Thursdays deciding Test in Manchester and kirw We
golfer Steve Alka has finished the twenty twenty five Seniors
PGA Tour in second place. Overall, that's your latest news fix.
We'll be back with the next update tomorrow morning from
the news Talk ZB newsroom.