Afternoon Edition: 21 February 2025

The Afternoon Edition of News Fix for 21 February 2025, 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 raining Ramsey. This is your afternoon news.
Fixed for Friday, the twenty first of February. A labor
MP is trying to get Destiny Church's charity status revoked
after its followers interfered with Auckland Pride events on Saturday.
They stormed Tiata two Library and protest at a drag
king reading to children, forcing about thirty adults and kids

(00:26):
to barricade themselves inside. Followers of the church then disrupted
Auckland's rainbow parade Tiata two MP filled twife. It says,
in light of the events, is written to the charities
regulated today asking for them to be struck off. I
think it's totally inappropriate that they should have the kind
of stamp of approval that charitable status implied. The Electoral

(00:49):
Commission says the issue with using Manurewa Marai as a
voting booth was the lack of political neutrality. The commission's
reviewing its guidelines after allegations census and COVID nineteen vaccination
data were misused at the marai. The Mariai's chief executive,
Taku Dai taj Camp, won the Tamaki Maikodo seat for
Kapati Mahdi by forty two votes over Labor Electoral Commission

(01:13):
Board chair just As Simon Moore Casey says the Marii
was chosen due to its strong community links. The problem
was the connection it had with a candidate and that
raises the specter of a conflict. The Infrastructure Minister wants
more houses built around new city rail link stations in Auckland.

(01:35):
Chris Bishop's allocating up to two hundred million dollars to
remove level crossings in Takanini and glenn In this they'll
be replaced with grade separated railway crossings which separate cyclists
and pedestrians. Bishop says it's all about transforming connectivity throughout
the city. We think about sea railing opening next year,
we need to think about how we maximize those opportunities.

(01:57):
A couple of obvious ones are development in and around
the train stations and particularly housing in and around those stations.
Pope Francis is up and about as he continues treatment
for double pneumonia. The Vaticans confirmed his condition is improving slightly,
his heart is working well. He's been in hospital since
last Friday. ABC News correspondent Michelle Remer says he's been

(02:19):
out of bed today. He was eating and alert. He's
also been taking phone calls, doing some light paperwork and
other papal duties while recovering. State Highway one between Tudangi
and the Rangy Pool has reopened today. The Desert Roads
partial reopening allows people in light vehicles to use the
road up to the State Highway one and forty six intersection.

(02:43):
It's been shut since mid January while ZTA rebuilt and
repaired sixteen kilometers of road and Cantabrians are being encouraged
to remember the twenty eleven earthquake at a public civil
service in the city tomorrow. At the National Memorial, a
minute of silence will be held in the names of
the one hundred and eighty five people who lost their

(03:03):
lives fourteen years ago will be read out to sport
and boxer Joseph Parker's team didn't hesitate to accept the
challenge of taking on Martin Bercoley, the man dubbed the
most avoided fighter in the heavyweight division after Daniel Dubois
withdrew with illness. Wellington Phoenix coach Giancarlo Telliano says he

(03:26):
hopes the Auckland FC fans boo his boys for ninety
minutes in Saturday's final regular season local A League derby
at Mount Smart. The black Caps and White Ferns home
internationals will return to sky TV for six seasons from
twenty twenty six. That is your latest news fix and

(03:48):
we'll be back with the next update tomorrow morning from
the news Talk zb newsroom