Midday Report Essentials for Friday 21 February 2025

In today's episode, the Defence Minister says New Zealand must contribute more to global defence alliances and can no longer lean as heavily on the US, teacher shortages are so dire that principals are being pulled in to cover classes, as the Ministry of Education admits it made an error when estimating demand, Electric Avenue, the two-day festival is expected to see 70,000 people come through the gates, with dozens of artists including Shapeshifter, The Prodigy, and Khruangbin performing, and the finest kapa haka groups from around Aotearoa will converge on New Plymouth for Te Matatini.