Afternoon Edition: 17 July 2025

The Afternoon Edition of News Fix for 17 July 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 railing Ramsey, That says your afternoon news
fix for Thursday, the seventeenth of July. Higher demand for
food around the world is pushing up our food prices.
Later stats and Z figures show food prices rose four
point six percent in the past year. It's been driven
by double digit increases for red meat, cheese, and milk,

(00:24):
and steep rises for cooking oil. Inframetrics principal economist Brad
Olsen says it's in part a reaction to increase global need.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
That's pushing international prices up and has been reflected back
here at home in the local domestic prices. We're having
to pay as well.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Acclaim for changes to fees for card transactions, helping small
businesses as long as they stick. The Commerce Commissions announced
today it wants banks to reduce visa and MasterCard charges
paid by businesses by nineteen million dollars a year. Restaurant
Association CEO Marisa Bidwis says it's a welcome change. She

(01:02):
says payment fees need ongoing monitoring. This is an area
that we've been talking about for a long time that
needs to be reviewed and looked at regularly to ensure
that these costs remain fair. Food Safety New Zealand is
dismissing a study that calls Campbell a back to infection
rates an epidemic. Dennika McClean reports Public Health Communications Center

(01:24):
analysis out today claimed more than ten percent of the
population contracted the infection from eating chicken in the past
few years. It included sixty deaths. Food Safety in New
Zealand's Vincent Arbuckle says the paper's methodology has significant limitations
and its conclusions are not supported by evidence. Two thirteen
year olds are accused of driving more than five hundred

(01:46):
and sixty kilometers from Invercargol to christ Church over seven
hours in a stolen Uber Eats car. They allegedly stole
the car on Saturday night as the driver dropped off food,
stealing petrol along the way. Police say the fact they
cross the South Island without serious injury is extremely fortunate.
Health Minister Simeon Brown's been kicked out of Parliament because

(02:09):
of a misplaced quip. The Opposition was grilling Tertiary Education
Minister Penny Simmons at question time on de merging polytechs.
Brown asked Simmons a follow up question aimed at the
other side of the House.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Can the Minister clarify to the House whether or not
financial literacy courses will be one of the courses offered
at these polytechs and if so, will members of the
opposition be eligible.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Speaker Jerry Brownlee wasn't laughing of warn and warned and
warn it's time for the Minister to leave the House
concerns for our dwindling Orca population in the face of
plans for a one hundred million dollar marena in the
Bay of Islands. It would span an area as beg
as seventeen rugby fields and require massive sea bed dredging.

(02:54):
It's backed by SkyTV founder in multimillionaire Craig Heatley. Local
Democracy porter Susan Botting says it would have far reaching
implications for Orca. This is not good news for Orca
that this few than two hundred OCA and it's going
to be a tipping point to extinction. In sport, Roger
to e Vasishek admits a switch back to rugby union

(03:16):
is an option when his Warriors contract expires at the
end of the twenty twenty six NRL season. He's confirmed
reports he's been approached to join the Saudi Arabian backed
rugby three sixty competition. Calin Ponga says he'll remain with
the Newcastle Knights in the NRL until the end of
twenty twenty seven, and the All Black selectors have rung

(03:37):
ten changes to the starting fifteen for Saturday's third and
final Test against France in Hamilton. That is your latest
news fix. We'll have the next update tomorrow morning from
the news Talk z B news room.