Morning Edition: 21 November 2025

The Morning Edition of News Fix for 21 November 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 Newspapers for Friday, twenty first of November. In this update,
the government appears to be tracking well ahead of its
violent crime reduction target. The latest New Zealand Crime and
Victims survey shows there were one hundred and forty seven
thousand victims of serious violent crime in the year to August.

(00:25):
That's thirty eight thousand fewer victims than when the coalition
came into government in twenty twenty three. It's set nine
targets last March, including cutting the annual victim count by
twenty thousand to one hundred and sixty five thousand by
twenty twenty nine. Just as Minister Paul Goldsmith says, they're
tracking well but more work needs to be done, the

(00:46):
government's crackdown on gangs is yielding positive results. The Gangs
Act came into effect a year ago, giving police the
power to disrupt and directly target gang activity, including banning
gang and slas signa in public. Since then, officers have
seized one hundred and eighty two patches, more than six
hundred insignia items, and one hundred and seventy eight firearms

(01:10):
of more than eight hundred charges were displaying gang insignia.
Two hundred and fifty five have been finalized with one
hundred and eighty eight convictions. The Police Minister believes the
police recruitment target would have been met much more easily
had standards not improved. Police are expected to fall well
short of the government's target to recruit five hundred new

(01:32):
cops within two years. It comes after a temporary pause
in the training college in a longer training course, but
has also seen training wing capacity increase and an Auckland
based facility open. Mark Mitchell's backing his approach, saying they
had challenges and a fresh focus on standards. David Seymour's
calling New Zealand First's change of position on the Regulatory

(01:54):
Standards Bill a political play. Winston Peters has revealed hell
campaign on repealing AX law change, which passed with New
Zealand Verson backing. Just last week, Police believe they have
enough evidence to lay corporate manslaughter charges against officials involved
in the Pike River mine disaster. This week marks fifteen

(02:15):
years since twenty nine men died in the West Coast mine.
Sonya Rockhouse, who's son died, told Ryan Bridge at the
time police were going to charge, but work Safe took
over and the charges were dropped. She calls it a
case of checkbook justice when Mind boss Peter Whittell's insurance
company paid the family's three point four one million dollars

(02:37):
in exchange for the charges being dropped. An average five
million dollars in grants are going to people on low
incomes each month for essential dental treatment. The Ministry for
Social Development payments went up almost three years ago from
three hundred dollars a year two one thousand, with the
scope of eligible treatment widened. In sport, the all blacks

(02:59):
playing stocks have been refreshed for the year's final test
against Wales on Sunday morning. Only captain and Locke Scott
Barrett and blitzein flanker Simon Parker retain their positions from
the lost to England. A global tennis place advocacy group
co founded by Novak Djokovic is close to settling a
case with the sports governing bodies overclaims of underpaying and

(03:22):
imposing an unsustainable schedule, opening that Jake Weatherold and pace
bowler Brendan Doggett will debut for Australia in the ashes
test cricket opener against England at Perth. I'm never Reatymnu
that your latest newspaks will be back with the next
update at midday from the newstalk ZB news Room