Midday Edition: 05 December 2024

The Midday Edition of News Fix for 05 December 2024, straight from the Newstalk ZB newsroom - bringing you everything you need to know in news, politics, business, entertainment and sport.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Good afternoon. I'm Malcolm Jordan and this is your midday
news fix for Thursday, the fifth of December. The Trade
Minister appears to be tempering expectations on delivering a free
trade deal with India pre election national promise to get
an agreement within its first term. Todd McLay has met
his Indian counterpart six times this year and the Prime

(00:25):
Minister had a sit down meeting with President Mody in October,
but questioned by Labour's Damian O'Connor, McLay won't confirm the
commitment can be met. Do you think the Prime minist
will be able to honor his promised to have a
trade deal within three years. Well, he's ambitious for New
Zealand to be done with my fault, not his, because
he's given me the John blocks across the healthcare system

(00:46):
are making emergency departments over run and unsafe. An Auckland
man says he waited almost at twelve hours at Middlemoor
Hospital d emergency. Auckland emergency doctor Peter Jones says there
aren't enough ward bed to move people out of ed.
He's told the Heralds Michael Morra there are also issues
later getting people somewhere to go, especially into aged care facilities.

(01:10):
How long are some elderly patients remaining in hospitals because
they don't have anywhere to go? This can be weeks
or months. Another day of watching and waiting for emergency
crews desperate to resume a search for three climbers missing
on Alaki Mount. Cook Met Service has recorded northwest winds
of more than fifty kilometers per hour. Police say those

(01:33):
conditions mean it's too unsafe to fly, halting searchers for
the missing Americans and Canadian for a third day. Wind
is also fanning flames at a large vegetation fire being
fought by firefighters, helicopters and tankers near Canterbury's Lake Pearson,
which ignited about half past four this morning. A school

(01:54):
camp has been evacuated, with a second group on standby
in case they also have to leave. Results are expected
back today for a Deneedin chicken farm that's had bird deaths,
with fears they could have the same avian flu identified
at a large egg farm at Moiraki. The Citizens Advice
Bureau says it's a serious problem that MSD's making more

(02:18):
mistakes with benefit entitlements. The Ministry of Social Developments revealed
merely a quarter of its assessments aren't being processed correctly.
It's confessed accuracy has been slipping over the past three
to four years. CAAB Deputy Chief Executive Andrew Hubbard says
there's been thirty thousand more people on income support in

(02:38):
the past year, but staffing hasn't lifted to match that.
Praise from farmers for the idea of lowering New Zealand's
methanea missions target, a government appointed panel has suggested we
could lower our twenty fifty climate target of achieving up
to forty seven percent lower emissions than twenty seventeen to
just fifteen percent. Event Fed Farmer's Forestry spokesperson Toby Williams

(03:03):
says New Zealand must do its bit, but claims even
removing all our emissions wouldn't move the needle to sport.
Manchester City have lodged their first to Premier League football
victory since October down in Chris Wood's Nottingham Forest three
mil at Etty Had Stadium. It snaps their seven game
windless run across all competitions. Paul Cole through to the quarterfinals.

(03:27):
Paul Cole is through to the quarterfinals of the Hong
Kong Squash Open. The world number four has beaten Miguel
Rodriguez in straight games to set up a last date
match with Welshman Joel Macon and golfer Steven Elka has
confirmed he's returning to Queenstown to compete at the New
Zealand Open starting February. I'm Malcolm Jordan. That's your latest

(03:47):
news fix. We'll be back with the next update at
five pm from the news Talk zb newsroom.