Morning Edition: 07 August 2025

The Morning Edition of News Fix for 07 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 morning, I'm never ready, Manu, and this is your
morning news fix for Thursday, seventh of August. In this update,
no qualms from the Motor Industry Association at the speed
of incoming changes to vehicle taxes. The government wants to
switch from the current fuel excise duty to a universal
electronic road users charge. No date has been set for

(00:26):
the full transition. Association spokesperson Alan Say says the new
tech will improve efficiency and it's important the government gets
this right. We support the Minister's approach in determining the
digital platform first before moving on to implementing a timetable
for the change. The latest rise in unemployment will add

(00:47):
to the case for at least one more cut to
the OCR. Unemployments reached a five year high of five
point two percent. ASB senior economist Mark Smith expects the
unemployment rate to reach even higher through the re of
this year. He says a twenty five basis point cut
in two weeks is looking increasingly likely if the common
remains slow and the labor force continues to soften. Schor

(01:11):
Well see the official cashwert in the year below. Three.
A lack of competition in our grocery sectors sending prices
sky high across the country. A Commerce Commission report shows
prices are bumping up again this year after appearing to
stabilize last year. It highlights that the market is not
supportive of new stores and shows major supermarkets continue to

(01:32):
wield their power over smaller ones. Consumer ENZ CEO John
Duffy says there won't be an improvement unless we start
to see more competitors into the market. A push for
lawmakers to make access to medicine more of a priority,
with signs New Zealanders are worried about it. A new
poll reveals eighty percent of people see modern medicines as

(01:54):
important to the health system. Medicine's New Zealand chief executive,
Doctor Graham Jarvis says the result to eye opening, and
he says more than half of people believe access is
worse here than in countries like the UK, Australia and Canada.
Police are renewing appeals to find others involved in a
fatal bus stop attack in Auckland's Meadow Bank at Easter weekend.

(02:17):
American PhD student Kyle Warrell died as a result of
a serious assault on Saint John's Road. A teen's been
charged with murder and a thirty three year old woman
with being an accessory after the fact. Police say others
were in the vehicle involved that night and anyone with
information should come forward. The Education ministries set up a

(02:38):
dedicated reporting channel to deal with errors in new maths resources.
Those for years zero to eight have a total of
eighteen errors, including incorrect math solutions, labeling shapes incorrectly and
wrong numbers listed in ted aale. The Ministry says it's
not uncommon for minor errors to be found in the

(02:58):
first print run and its result of these and told
schools its error tracking documents currently two pages. In Sport,
Blackcaps captain Tom Latham has again been ruled out of
the second cricket Test against Zimbabwe with a shoulder injury.
The second tier All Blacks fifteen will play the Barbarians
in November at the home ground of Brentford Football Club.

(03:19):
The NFL is banning the use of smelling salts during
games this season, believing the products are not proven to
be safe and could mask signs of a concussion. Smelling
salts and similar products have become a fixture in the NFL,
with many players claiming they can provide a hit of
energy or alertness in games. I'm never reaty, Manu. When
that's your latest news fix, we'll be back with the

(03:41):
next update at midday from the news Talk zb newsroom.