Midday Report

RNZ deputy political editor Craig McCulloch spoke to Guyon Espiner with the latest from the campaign trail, and reaction to Marama Davidson's interview on Midday Report.

How should politicians engage with gangs? The question arises after MPs from the Greens and Te Pati Maori posed for photos with Mongrel Mob members, and then posted the pics online. Labour leader Chris Hipkins said it showed poor judgment and then ruled out the Greens or Te Pati Maori holding key law-and-order portfolios in any Labour-led government. Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson spoke to...

Today: Tax cuts for landlords or rent relief for renters. David Seymour says a $300 million promise to give tax breaks to property investors will help keep rents down. Guyon Espiner asked him if it's borrowing for tax cuts. New Zealand is one of just one five countries not to sign up to a pandemic preparedness plan at the UN. Guyon Espinder spoke to international law expert professor Al Gillespie...

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

New Zealand has slipped out of the top 20 in the world press freedom rankings for the first time. In the 2026 Reporters Without Borders index we've fallen six places to 22nd out of 180 countries. Media expert Gavin Ellis talks to Guyon Espiner

The latest news from Australia with correspondent Amanda Copp in Canberra.

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

The latest news from RNZ's business team.

New Zealand was one of only five countries not to vote for a global pandemic preparedness at the United Nations. International law expert Al Gillespie talks to Guyon Espiner.

ACT wants to bring back a tax break for landlords that Labour scrapped in 2019. Party leader David Seymour talks to Guyon Espiner.

A damning King's Counsel report into the Teaching Council's handling of sex-offender Timothy Fisher's case has been released. National has promised to introduce random drug testing for those on the jobseeker benefit - but former National Minister isn't a fan of the plan. Veteran journalist Peter Bergen interviewed Osama Bin Laden before 9/11 - his new book examines how Bush, Obama, Biden and Trump...

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

Twenty-five years ago, the September 11 attacks became the deadliest assault on American soil since Pearl Harbour. The wars that followed cost trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives. Twenty years after the invasion of Afghanistan, the Taliban took back the country, and America's standing has taken a heavy hit. Peter Bergen, CNN's national security analyst, has reported from the Mi...

The latest news from the United States with Nine News reporter Lauren Tomasi in Washington DC.

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

The latest news from RNZ's business team.

National has promised to introduce random drug testing for those on the jobseeker benefit - but former National Health Minister Dr Jonathan Coleman is not a fan of the plan.

A damning King's Counsel report into the Teaching Council's handling of sex-offender Timothy Fisher's case has been released.

National releases its fiscal plan ... Labour has a policy to cut school uniform costs, political editor Jo Moir has all the action from the campaign trail. More from our series on AI policy: Chloe Swarbrick today on the Green plan, which includes the ability to opt out of the algorithm making decisions that impact you. Jacinda Ardern's media man Andrew Campbell was In The Room as she weathered the...

Midday Sports News for 12 October 2026.

Who came up with the phrase: The Team of Five Million to encourage New Zealand to stick with its Covid response? Or arranged the media strategy that saw Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern do the 1pm briefings during the lockdowns? His name is Andrew Campbell and he has just released his book about his time with the former Prime Minister called In The Room. He was Ardern's media man for most of her time...

The latest news from Australia with correspondent Amanda Copp in Canberra.

News from the rural farming sector.

News from the business sector.

The latest in a series of interviews about what politicians are offering on AI policy this election campaign. Today, Chole Swarbrick. She spoke to Guyon Espiner following the announcement of The Green Party's AI policy.