Midday Edition: 26 September 2025

The Midday Edition of News Fix for 26 September 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 Malcolm Jordan and this is your midday
news fixed for Friday, the twenty sixth of September. A
juries found the man who lit Wellington's fatal Loafers Lodge
blaze in twenty twenty three guilty of murdering the five
people who died in the fire. The fifty year old,
whose name is suppressed, has been on trial at the
High Court in Wellington for a month. The jury took

(00:26):
seventeen hours to reach a verdict. Police say they knew
that Tom Phillips had firearms, was unlikely to surrender, and
was prepared to put his children in harm's way. They
have just revealed more details about their manhunt for their
morocorper fugitive father. Detective Superintendent Ross McKay says police never
stopped trying to find Phillips and his children and thousands

(00:48):
of hours were dedicated to the search. Police specialist units
and the Defense Force were also involved. Phillips's children are
now in the guardianship of the Family Court and the
officer who were shot by Phillips is out of hospital
and progressing with his recovery. A former Wellington mayor is
appalled that confidential documents weren't cleared out, and says it's

(01:11):
not how the council should operate. A man's bought an
old meyoral desk at a city tip shop and discovered
inside termination agreements, whistleblower allegations and staff pay details dating
from the nineteen eighties to the two thousands. Dame Kerrey
Prendergast say she can't believe the documents weren't stored appropriately.
I understand there's going to be a full investigation and

(01:33):
there absolutely should be. Those cupboards in the decks were
locked for a good reason. Fonterra is continuing to make
the case for selling off iconic Kiwi brands like Anchor
and Mainland, with a farmer shareholder vote on the sale
expected next month. French dairy giant Luck Tailey's agreed to
pay four point two billion dollars for the consumer business,

(01:56):
with much of that being paid out to the ten
thousand Fonterra Farmers chair Peter McBride, Todd Mike Hosking they're
starting an informed conversation with farmers ahead of the votes.
Up until now we're being limited what we could serve
about or we could talk about the why but now
they've got a bunch of numbers to look at it
more rational for the decision. Firefighters are raising the alarm

(02:16):
over christ Church's only high reach fire truck ladder being
out of service. The Professional Firefighters' Union claims fire and
emergencies failing to provide an adequate replacement while the thirty
two meter ladder truck undergoes maintenance. Snowfall is having an
impact in the central South Island, with restrictions in place

(02:37):
on State Highway seventy three between Arthur's Pass and or Terra.
NZTA says chains are essential and towing vehicles are not allowed.
Met Service has rowed snowfall warnings in place for all
of the alpine passes across the South. There's also a
strong windwatch for the Canterbury high Country, the Buller and
Gray districts, and Westland north of the Glaciers. An excess

(03:01):
of vacant rentals in the capital has led to some
tenants knocking close to one hundred dollars off their rent
to sport. New Zealand Cricket have re signed former Blackcaps
A coach Gary Stead in a part time high performance
role tasked with supporting a player and coach Development. Storm
halfback Jerome Hughes is firming to play in tonight's NRL

(03:23):
League preliminary final against the Sharks in Melbourne. The playmaker
fractured his arm three weeks ago. And swimmer Cameron Leslie
has claimed a second silver medal at the Power World
Champs in Singapore. He's finished zero point zero one of
a second behind the winner in the SB four fifty
meters freestyle. I'm Malcolm Jordan. That's your latest news fix.

(03:45):
We'll be back with the next update at five pm
from the News Talk ZB newsroom.