Midday Report

An update on the latest news from RNZ's rural team.

The latest news from RNZ's business team.

Solar panels will be rolled out for up to 500 schools, under a $30 million plan announced by the government today. Education Minister Erica Stanford spoke to Guyon Espiner.

Transparency International is calling for a big crackdown on the lobbying industry, a completely unregulated activity in New Zealand. Julie Haggie, chief executive at Transparency International New Zealand spoke to Guyon Espiner.

Wellington deputy mayor discusses cost of new library website; Al Gillespie discusses Chris Penk's nuclear propulsion comments; What Heartland Bank's TSB purchase could mean for banking.

An update on the latest news and results from RNZ's sports team.

Wellington City Council has spent more than $600,000 on a website for the capital's new library. Figures seen by RNZ revealed the total cost of designing and building the website was $596,000 plus a bill of $72,000 for a year of hosting the website and maintenance. Wellington City deputy mayor Ben McNulty spoke to Guyon Espiner.

The latest news from the United States with correspondent Laura Taglianetti in New York.

An update on the latest news from RNZ's rural team.

The latest news from RNZ's business team.

Waikato University International Law professor and defence commentator Al Gillespie discusses Defence Minister Chris Penk's comments about nuclear propulsion with Guyon Espiner.

Heartland Bank has announced it will buy TSB for $620 million, creating a new bank called TSB Heartland Bank. Could this mean more competition? Dr Claire Matthews, head of the School of Accountancy, Economics and Finance at Massey University spoke to Guyon Espiner.

A top economist joined us to tell us why he's sceptical of the Finance Minister's claims her Budget will soon put us back in the black. The Bank Levy was a Budget surprise - we heard from the Bankers Association on whether the banks will pass it on to consumers. Welooked into the politics of Budget 2026 in Politics with Paddy Gower. Plus - today is NZ music T-Shirt day - we talked to a merch king...

An update on the latest news and results from RNZ's sports team.

To celebrate New Zealand Music T-Shirt Day, Guyon Espiner spoke to local music t-shirt maker Ben Morgan who is currently on tour selling merchandise with Marlon Williams. 

Weekly chat about the week in politics with Patrick Gower and Guyon Espiner.

News from the rural farming sector.

News from the business sector.

An update on donations to political parties saw ACT's donation total for the year to date soar above the $1 million dollar mark, with some big sums involved. RNZ In Depth reporter Farah Hancock spoke to Guyon Espiner.

Nicola Willis announced a new banking levy to raise $200m over four years and pay for regulation of the banks. Roger Beaumont is the CEO of the Bankers Association and spoke to Guyon Espiner.

The government is banking on getting back to surplus early and bending the debt curve down. But has Nicola Willis been too rosy with her outlook on those numbers? ANZ Senior Economist Miles Workman spoke to Guyon Espiner.

The Social Market Foundation think tank has done research to understand what populism is, and what factors correlate to increased populist support, leading to the rise of political figures like Nigel Farage in the UK. Jamie Gollings from the Social Market Foundation spoke to Guyon Espiner.

The Social Market Foundation think tank has done research to understand what populism is, and what factors correlate to increased populist support, leading to the rise of political figures like Nigel Farage in the UK. Jamie Gollings from the Social Market Foundation spoke to Guyon Espiner.

Midday Rural News for 28th May 2026

Former finance minister Ruth Richardson spoke to Guyon Espiner ahead of Nicola Willis' budget.