Morning Report for Thursday 23 January 2014

8:56 AM.A fossil that a Canterbury man had sitting in his house for a year has turned out to be the remains of a formerly unknown species of seabird. Audio

8:53 AM.Have you heard? The key to a happy working life could be down to workplace chit chat. Audio

8:49 AM.A small business group says Auckland Council's move to give a ten year exclusive ice cream deal to Fonterra is anti-competitive, and warns any future deals will stunt small companies' growth. Audio

8:46 AM.Scores of people are making their way towards Whanganui for the anniversary of the birth of the founding member of the Ratana church; A group of lifestyle block owners wants Tainui to redraw part of… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.The semi-finals of the Australian tennis Open begin this afternoon, after another day of quarter-final upsets. Audio

8:40 AM.Players and administrators at cricket's grassroots level are worried New Zealand stands to be one of the biggest losers in a proposed change of governance in the world game. Audio

8:36 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

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

8:25 AM.Christchurch's colourful container mall faces an uncertain future with developers poised to repossess the land it currently sits on, so they can start rebuilding permanent structures. Audio

8:22 AM.Speakers from parliaments around the Commonwealth are meeting in Wellington to discuss ways to tackle the challenges they face in their jobs. Audio

8:15 AM.An immigration lawyer says authorities ignored warnings about an unlicenced adviser who preyed on pacific people. Audio

8:09 AM.The petroleum industry has welcomed Labour's renewed endorsement of deep sea drilling, saying it will help provide energy security to any future government. Audio

7:55 AM.A New Zealand ornithologist travelling on the trapped research ship Akademik Shokalskiy is adamant the trip was a success, despite the potentially crippling cost of its rescue. Audio

7:53 AM.Groups working alongside poorer New Zealanders say Labour's policy to exempt fresh fruit and vegetables from GST was unworkable, and they're not surprised it's been scrapped. Audio

7:48 AM.The two sides in the Syrian conflict have spent the day trading accusations, at a major peace summit in Switzerland. Audio

7:45 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

7:39 AM.Cricket South Africa has demanded Australia, England and India withdraw its proposal, saying they have not followed the proper ICC process to recommend such radical changes. Audio

7:35 AM.New Zealand Cricket says guarantees of a quality touring programme and a reasonable revenue sharing model are fundamental to it supporting proposed changes to the way the sport is run globally. Audio

7:24 AM.Five protesters have died in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, as thousands continue to protest against restrictive new laws. Audio

7:20 AM.The Green Party says Labour's stance on deep sea drilling is a mistake - but it doesn't mean the two parties can't work together. Audio

7:16 AM.Our political editor Brent Edwards is on his way to Auckland for the speech. I spoke to him before he left and began by asking him how imnportant this first major speech is. Audio

7:09 AM.The Prime Minister is promising to make significant announcements on education in his first major speech of the year later this morning. Audio

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

6:35 AM.The Prime Minister is promising to announce new policies which will aim to improve education standardswhen he delivers his state of the nation speech later today. Audio

6:27 AM.A group of lifestyle block owners wants Tainui to redraw part of its plan for a major freight base in Hamilton; Scores of people are making their way towards Whanganui for the anniversary of the birth… Read more Audio

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

6:18 AM.The latest from the Pacific region. Audio

6:14 AM.New Zealand Cricket says guarantees of a quality touring programme and a reasonable revenue sharing model are fundamental to it supporting proposed changes to the way the sport is run globally. Audio

6:00 AM.Education experts outline wishlist for state-of nation speech, Key promising big education announcements, Greens say Labour's deep sea drilling support 'big mistake', Five protesters killed in… Read more Audio