Morning Report for Monday 27 August 2012

8:56 AM.Our Melbourne correspondent joins us for a serious and not so serious look at the news from The Lucky Country. Audio

8:53 AM.Official documents reveal the Department of Conservation's recommendations to protect Maui's dolphins were rejected by the government agency responsible for protecting the threatened species. Audio

8:49 AM.Waitangi Tribunal unable to establish Maori rights to aquifers; Maori Council's legal team says Waitangi Tribunal's findings on water rights offer win-win solution to Crown and claimants; West… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.The newly liberal democratic United Future party's leader talks about the hard road ahead to the next elections after last weekend's party conference. Audio

8:41 AM.Divers spent the weekend plugging diesel leaks and patching holes in the hull of the Torea, and salvors had hoped to refloat the boat and tow it to port last night. Audio

8:35 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

8:29 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:27 AM.With the All Blacks' latest demolition of the Wallabies, criticism of Australia's coach Robbie Deans has become even more vociferous. However, Bob Dwyer, who coached the Wallabies to the 1991 Rugby… Read more Audio

8:23 AM.Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell says the Government must delay the sales of shares in power companies which use water, as advised in an interim Waitangi Tribunal report into water rights. Audio

8:17 AM.Official documents show information about the scale of the drug driving problem was omitted from a report given to the Cabinet three months ago. The Associate Transport Minister, Simon Bridges… Read more Audio

8:14 AM.The Taliban say more rebels are in Bamiyan province in Afghanistan and are poised to strike at New Zealand soldiers. Our correspondent in Kabul, Jon Stephenson, interviewed the Taliban's spokesperson… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.A spokesperson for the Parole Board, Alastair Spierling, says there are contingency plans in place if they are asked, by the High Court, to reconsider the placement of Stewart Murray Wilson after a… Read more Audio

7:56 AM.The United Future President, Robin Gunston, says the party will need financial backing if it is to be successful in 2014, especially if the MMP thresholds are changed and it can no longer bring in MPs… Read more Audio

7:52 AM.The Chief Coroner, Judge Neil MacLean, who called an urgent review into huffing in July, after two Mosgiel teenagers suffered critical injuries when an LPG cylinder they were understood to be huffing… Read more Audio

7:51 AM.A Christchurch woman who lives close to where a 17-year-old girl was inhaling what's believed to have been butane gas shortly before her death on Saturday, says she hopes the incident will deter her… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

7:42 AM.The Norwegian Broadcasting Service's Tomm Kristiansen has been a regular contributer to Morning Report during Breivik's 10-week trial, he says there's a sense of relief all over the country with the… Read more Audio

7:38 AM.Calls for a capital gains tax reignited after Inland Revenue published figures revealing just half of all New Zealanders worth more than $50-million are paying the top personal tax rate. Audio

7:26 AM.The first human to set foot on the Moon has taken the final step in his journey. Neil Armstrong's biographer Dr James Hansen describes the space pioneer's life. Audio

7:22 AM.Syrian opposition activists have accused President Bashar al-Assad's army of massacring hundreds of people in the town of Daraya, close to the capital Damascus. Audio

7:17 AM.The Maori Party is meeting the Government this morning to urge it to take account of last Friday's Waitangi Tribunal report into water and delay the sale of shares in Mighty River Power. Audio

7:13 AM.The Government has been accused of trying to downplay the dangers posed by people who take illegal drugs and then drive. Audio

7:10 AM.The lawyer acting for serial sex offender Stewart Murray Wilson is confident he can convince the High Court to reduce the restrictions that are to be imposed on his client. Audio

6:47 AM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

6:35 AM.The lawyer for convicted sex offender Stewart Murray Wilson is confident the High Court will agree Wilson should not be electronically monitored, or require escorting by two minders every time he… Read more Audio

6:22 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Audio

6:22 AM.Waitangi Tribunal unable to establish whether Maori have rights to aquifers; Maori Council's legal team says Waitangi Tribunal findings on water rights offer win-win solution to Crown and claimants; A… Read more Audio

6:18 AM.Labour says New Zealand needs to be careful not to impose its ideas on other Pacific Islands Forum nations; opposition in PNG to Nautilus Minerals' sub-marine exploration in the Bismarck Sea, the… Read more Audio

6:16 AM.At the United Future party annual conference at the weekend, president Robin Gunston told our political reporter Clare Pasley that Peter Dunne's party is rebranding to a liberal democratic identity. Audio

6:11 AM.Floridians are bracing themselves for severe winds and heavy rain as Tropical Storm Isaac sweeps toward the Keys and the southern coast of the US. Audio

6:00 AM.The serial sex offender Stewart Murray Wilson's lawyer confident of High Court reduction on restrictions imposed on his client; drugged drivers and a misleading Cabinet paper; the Maori Party and… Read more Audio