Afternoon Edition: 27 March 2025

The Afternoon Edition of News Fix for 27 March 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 Susie Nordquist and this is your afternoon
news fixed for Thursday, the twenty seventh of March. Health
New Zealand has confirmed some personal staff data has been
leaked after an IT security breach. The information belonging to
workers and the Capital Coast in Hunt Valley and Wired
Upper Districts, was accessed without authorization late last year. Claudia

(00:27):
O'Neill has more The.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Breach included details of people's occupational health and safety, as
well as more personal sensitive information collected from twenty twenty
to twenty twenty four. Health New Zealand says the IT
issue wasn't system wide and it didn't affect patient data.
It's been reported to police in the Office of the
Privacy Commissioner.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
Staffing cuts at some government agencies as others lift numbers.
Public Service Commission data shows the workforce shrank four percent
in the year to December. Political reporter Azariah Hull explains.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
The Ministry of Disabled People had the deepest percentage declined
down seventy five percent. The Ministry for the Environment in
Office for Maori Crown Relations both reduced staff by sixteen percent.
Other agencies, including the Department of Conservation, Crown Law and
the Public Service Commission itself had slight workforce increases.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
A bill giving kiwis more control of their data has
passed through Parliament. The Customer and Product Data Bill aims
to increase competition and consumer choice. It will make it
easier to grant third parties access to personal data stalled
by businesses, letting people more easily compare prices and switch providers.

(01:42):
Labour's Ardana Williams says they're happy with the bill but
can't see why it had to pass under urgency.

Speaker 4 (01:48):
A bit of an irony in the government using the
urgency process to do this when it is non contencious
legislation and when we could have given this a really
good going over.

Speaker 1 (01:57):
The government says. Rising school at ten tendance rates still
aren't good enough. It has a target of eighty percent
of students attending more than ninety percent of the term
by twenty thirty. Jmie Cunningham reports.

Speaker 4 (02:11):
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says attendance last year was
higher every term than the matching term in twenty twenty three.
He says Auckland schools improved most rising six point six
percent annually. Seymour says he hopes the trend continues as
schools begin investigating reasons for absence. From next year, a

(02:32):
new study will look at the role of hormones and
female elite athletes. The Canterbury University study measures physiological metrics
and salivea samples of South Island rugby plays. The research
aims to better understand how the menstrual cycle and contraceptives
effect training, recovery and well being. Study lead Rebecca Atwell

(02:54):
hopes it can provide some answers to female athletes.

Speaker 5 (02:57):
If it is a playbook to kind of say a
few experience of the cross your cycle. This is what
could be happening with your hormones. Here something that you
can do rather than just being told, oh, you have
to go on the pill ignorra it's all in your
head to.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Sportner and the Warriors have accepted the nrol's breach notice
issued to assistant coach Richard Agar following an investigation into
an alleged grabbing of a journalist during the team's visit
to Las Vegas. Tom Latham, who was due to captain
the Black Caps in the upcoming ODII series against Pakistan
has been ruled out with a fractured right hand. Henry

(03:30):
Nichols has been called in. Oh canterbury'ze Reece Marrio will
also join the side for the last two games. Hurricanes
flanker Duplaskrifi has recommitted on a two year extension. I'm
Susie nordquestin. That is your latest news fix. We'll be
back with the next update tomorrow morning from the News
Talks Venues room.