Morning Report for Wednesday 19 August 2015

8:58 AM.Grandfather of suspect urges him to give himself up. Audio

8:56 AM.Lynne Pope is runs an early childhood centre in Raetihi. Audio

8:53 AM.Nuku Wallace principal of Raetihi Primary School is on the line. Audio

8:46 AM.Frantic horsetrading is going on behind the scenes at Parliament as parties try to get their changes into controversial health and safety legislation. Audio

8:40 AM.As we have been reporting this morning cordons are in place on roads in the central North Island as police hunt men described by police as armed and dangerous. Audio

8:35 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:27 AM.A former top official at Inland Revenue says it's unlikely the tax department would chase small-time online shoppers for not paying their GST. Audio

8:20 AM.A Massey University lecturer says the country's largest farmer, Landcorp, has spread itself too thin and needs to return to its core business. Audio

8:14 AM.The head of Transparency International in New Zealand, Suzanne Snively, warns the Saudi sheep farm deal could undermine New Zealand's enviable international reputation for integrity. Audio

8:12 AM.Cordons are in place on roads in the central North Island as police hunt men described by police as armed and dangerous. Audio

8:08 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

7:57 AM.The number of endangered bottlenose dolphin population in the Bay of Islands has dropped almost 90 per cent in the past 20 years. Audio

7:54 AM.Northland leader Sonny Tau has pleaded guilty to the possession of five dead kereru - the question now is what does it mean for his future? Audio

7:51 AM.Drivers have been pinged with almost one million dollars in fines since the drink-driving limit was lowered. Audio

7:42 AM.New Zealand's five major banks raked in another monster profit of 3 and a half billion in the first half of the 2015 financial year. Audio

7:36 AM.New Zealand First says the Prime Minister has gone back on an election promise to use the money made from state asset sales to improve local hospitals, schools and roads. Audio

7:26 AM.The Government says land sales and partial privatisation could be on the cards for the state-owned farmer, Landcorp. Audio

7:23 AM.Opposition parties are calling for the Foreign Minister, Murray McCully, to stand down while the auditor-general investigates the Saudi sheep deal. Audio

7:15 AM.Jacqueline Rowarth is a professor of agri-business at the University of Waikato. Audio

7:11 AM.International dairy prices have risen sharply in the overnight global dairy trade auction, after months of declines. Audio

7:07 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:58 AM.Wall Street is trading lower after weaker-than-expected results from the retailer, Wal-Mart. Audio

6:57 AM.Trilogy International says it will nearly double in size after buying New Zealand's largest independent cosmetics importer and distributor. Audio

6:55 AM.A tax expert says the Government's plan to apply GST to low-value imported digital products is reasonable, but collecting tax on goods shipped to New Zealand won't be as easy. Audio

6:54 AM.A report on Auckland's housing shortage says the city will have to ramp-up its building rate by a third to achieve a target of nearly 11-thousand new houses every year for the next eight years. Audio

6:51 AM.Meanwhile, growth in lending has pushed the country's five major banks' combined pre-tax profit up 5 percent in the first-half of the year. Audio

6:51 AM.Opus International Consultants' share price surged 11 percent yesterday, following a better-than-expected first-half result. Audio

6:49 AM.The dairy industry has had its first ray of sunshine in months. Audio

6:49 AM.Heartland New Zealand is making bigger provisions for bad debts in the year ahead as it expects consumers and farmers to come under pressure from weaker economic growth. Audio

6:44 AM.The Prime Minister is standing by his Foreign Affairs Minister in the face of calls for him to be stood down while the Auditor General investigates the controversial Saudi sheep farm deal. Audio

6:40 AM.In Thailand the authorities are hunting a man shown on security footage leaving his backpack on a bench at a packed Bangkok shrine just before an explosion that killed 22 people. Audio

6:27 AM.A Waikato River iwi says Landcorp's conversion of forestry to dairy farms in its rohe goes against the purpose of its Treaty Settlement; Trans Pacific Partnership opponents are set to go back to the… Read more Audio

6:23 AM.News from the rural and farming sector Audio

6:20 AM.The latest from the Pacific region. Audio

6:10 AM.Russian authorities are lifting restrictions on some New Zealand dairy products - two years after the Fonterra botulism scare. Audio

6:06 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:00 AM.Some good news at last for dairy farmers -- after five months of falls, dairy prices rebound in the overnight global trade auction with whole milk powder rising nearly 20 percent. CCTV captures images… Read more Audio