Midday Edition: 06 August 2025

The Midday Edition of News Fix for 06 August 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. This is your midday news
fix for Wednesday, the sixth of August. The government has
announced it will abolish petrol tax and implement a universal
road user charge so EV drivers pay a fair share
for road maintenance. Infrastructure. Minister Chris Bishop says this reflects
the significant change to the fleet of Kiwika's political editor

(00:27):
Jason Walls has more.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Bishop says at the moment, roughly seventy cents per liter
of petrol is fuel excise duty, which is used to
fund maintenance and new roads. But that fee is not
paid by the ever expanding fleet of evs, so the
government's axing that tax and will implement a new charging
system based on a vehicle's actual road usage.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
No date has been set for the full transition. Unemployment
has reached five point two percent in the June quarter.
That is up from five point one percent in the
March quarter. It's the highest it's been since September twenty twenty,
but is lower than forecast. Here's business reporter Michael Sergle.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
The unemployment rate has climbed from just three point two
percent in late twenty twenty one. Econmras had been broadly
expecting another rise today, but opinions are divided on whether
the job market is turning around or unemployment will rise
even higher.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Study suggests verbal abuse in childhood has a similar impact
on adult mental health as physical abuse. Research has looked
at seven studies, including more than twenty thousand British adults
born from the nineteen fifties onwards. Jordan Dunn has more.

Speaker 4 (01:37):
The research shows of respondents who reported only physical abuse,
more than twenty two percent had low mental health, but
twenty four percent of those who had experienced verbal abuse
reported mental health concerns. The study finds the rate of
verbal abuse has risen suddenly alongside physical abuse harving over

(01:58):
recent decades.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Power company warning the road to fully renewable energy will
be bumpy. The big four power companies will co invest
in an energy stockpile of six hundred thousand tons of coal.
Mercury heads to Hamilton says power companies are committed to renewables.
He says Mercury has invested a billion dollars in geo

(02:19):
thermal and wind power, but needs a backup.

Speaker 3 (02:22):
We also need to make sure that we've got this
firm energy there so when the windstop blowing or the
sun's not shining, we've got the ability to be able
to provide that power when.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
He's beyond Police can't move. Climate protest as occupying a
coal buket at Stockton Mine, New Zealand's largest for a
tenth day because of safety concerns. Two activists have been
camping on an aerial ropeway to stop coal from leaving.
One says they will interfere in every way possible if
Bathurst doesn't hold plans to destroy Denniston Plateau to Sport

(02:53):
Now and Totonga will host Pinnacle Will triathlon events over
the next three years. A second tier World Cup will
be held in the city next year, followed by a
top level Championship Series race in twenty twenty seven and
the series Grand Final in twenty twenty eight. The Kiwis
and Kiwi Ferns will play two league tests each in

(03:14):
Auckland across October and November. Black Caps pacement Will O'Rourke
has been ruled out of the second Test against Zimbabwe
starting tomorrow night with a back injury. I'm Susie Nordquist
and that is your latest news fix. We will be
back with the next update at five pm from The
News Talks their b news room.