Midday Edition: 03 August 2026

The Midday Edition of News Fix for 03 August 2026, 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 (00:02):
Good afternoon. I'm Malcolm Jordan and this is your midday
news facts for Monday, the third of August. The government's
diverting funding from overseas teachers to in class training for KIWIS.
Education Minister Ericus Stanford has announced twenty one point seven
million dollars over five years to boost the school on
site training program. It lets trainee teachers spend up to

(00:24):
three days a week in classrooms while completing formal study.
Stanford says funding from ECE relocation grants is now going
to trainees.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
So it is an amazing career to get into and
people want to be part of this and we want
to back them through helping them study on site.

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Winston Peters is claiming other political parties are jealous as
they dismiss his latest election policy. New Zealand First is
campaigning on five thousand dollars annual payments per year per
child for the first three years of life. It would
apply to families with at least one citizen parent and
would apply to a couple's first three children. Peters says

(01:03):
other parties have come up with nothing to solve our
falling birth rates.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
I'm saying to some of those members of Look, your
record on anything is pretty shabby, so why don't just
keep quiet leave it to the public.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
To the side, a man's being discharged from hospital in
christ Church after an altercation when a couple found him
in their child's bedroom. Police were called to a Wigram
address before one am yesterday and they found the injured man.
Labor accepts it may have to recost its one hundred
and sixty million dollar solar policy if the government empties

(01:35):
its two hundred million dollar gas security fund. Pre election.
News Talk said b can reveal Resources Minister Shane Jones
has been handed final advice on some proposals. Political reporter
Troy Mattitch has more.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
Thirteen applications are actively progressing, only one's being declined so far.
Labour says it will address changes pre election. It warns
if the money's allocated, the government must explain why it's
rush to locke New Zealand into multi year contracts before
an election.

Speaker 1 (02:03):
Police aren't closing the door on offering accelerated training to
recruits from more countries. Four ex Australian police officers have
graduated alongside kiwis the first time under the new program.
The course has squeezed into ten weeks rather than the
usual twenty for newbies, with more of a focus on
New Zealand. Legislation Assistant Commissioner Jeanette Park says there's interest

(02:26):
from around the world, including the UK. A shaky weekend
adding to an unusual flurry of quakes to Arouroa near
Gisbon was rattled by a magnitude five point seven about
eight thirty last night. Hot on the Hills of Quakes
near Tiano and offshore from Wellington on Friday and Saturday.
Earth Sciences Jonathan Hanson says one or two a months normal,

(02:49):
but in recent weeks we've had about five unrelated rumbles.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
There's definitely a bit of a statistical outlier, but that's
kind of the way we're thinking about it right now.
Most of the time when we see a cluster of events,
it's like after shot sequence, so this is pretty unique
to sport.

Speaker 1 (03:03):
The Commonwealth Games are now complete. New Zealand have finished
sixth on the medal table with ten gold, fourteen silver
and twelve bronze, behind Australia, England, Canada, India and Scotland.
A bonus World Rally Championship drive for Hayden Padden. He's
been called up by Hyundai for the Paraguay leg at
the end of this month. Still in Paraguay, footballer Tim

(03:25):
Payne has struck on debut for his new club Olympia,
and Laurie Daies step down as new South Wales State
of Origin League coach. I'm Malcolm Jordan. That's your latest
news fix. We'll be back with the next update at
five pm from the news Talk zb newsroom.