Midday Report Essentials for Tuesday 2 December 2025

The government wants a cap on local council rates to be in place by 2029. Bryan Cadogan was mayor of Clutha for five terms and held a rates cap for over 10 years; Finance Minister Nicola Willis has labelled the conduct of Labour MPs "unbecoming" after a fiery scrutiny week appearance which saw accusations of name-calling and conspiracy-thinking; When you were in school, and you saw someone being bullied - were you encouraged to stand up and step in. New research out of Australia has now shown, this might not actually help and be counterproductive; Nurses at a private hospital are on strike over the employer's refusal to let lower paid workers join the union.