Morning Report for Thursday 12 May 2016

8:53 AM.Retailers in Central Dunedin are launching a new business group tonight to push for more attention and spending on the city's main shopping strip. Audio

8:51 AM.Addiction experts have told MPs a planned law change allowing drug addicts and alcoholics to be detained for up to eight weeks for treatment will not work without more funding. Audio

8:46 AM.The Ministry of Immigration in Papua New Guinea says all asylum seekers detained on Manus Island are now free to come and go from the processing centre. Audio

8:42 AM.It now seems certain Australia will pull the plug on the trans-Tasman netball competition in its current form. Audio

8:39 AM.World leaders are arriving in the UK for tomorrow's anti-corruption summit, just days after Prime Minister David Cameron labelling Afghanistan and Nigeria 'fantastically corrupt.' Audio

8:33 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:29 AM.Listening to that is Roy Pilott -- a former editor at the Taranaki Daily News, which is owned by Fairfax. Audio

8:24 AM.Digital start-ups, and small online-only media players appear poorly placed to step into any void created by a proposed merger of two New Zealand's industry heavyweights. Audio

8:19 AM.Financial experts are divided over the Reserve Bank's suggestion that it might introduce debt-to-income ratio restrictions. Audio

8:13 AM.A Flaxmere man working to reduce family violence says families and the community need to look to themselves, not government agencies, to solve problems in the Hastings suburb. Audio

8:07 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

7:57 AM.The message from the MetService is to batten down the hatches as wild weather bears down. Audio

7:53 AM.The Crown says murder-accused Kamal Reddy told undercover police officers information that only the killer could have known. Audio

7:50 AM.The central North Island's sleeping giant Mt Ruapehu has been stirring in recent weeks and vulcanologists have just raised their alert level by a notch Audio

7:43 AM.Wellington City Council has voted to increase oversight over a controversial economic development fund criticised as a secret slush fund. Audio

7:39 AM.The Queen's comments about Chinese President's visit to London might have strained diplomatic relations between China and the UK. Audio

7:35 AM.Opposition MPs are putting the boot into the Prime Minister after he got kicked out of the House yesterday. Audio

7:26 AM.Three years after introducing loan to value ratio restrictions, the Reserve Bank is looking around for further measures to control Auckland's overheated housing market. Audio

7:19 AM.A former editor in chief at Fairfax says the company's potential merger with APN's New Zealand arm, NZME, is a major step backwards for journalistic integrity. Audio

7:14 AM.A coroner's report on the deaths, of four teenage girls in the Hasting's suburb of Flaxmere, over a 13 month period, has criticised the lack of coordination among government agencies. Audio

7:11 AM.A baby is in Dunedin hospital this morning with serious injuries after being attacked by the family's dog. Audio

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

6:58 AM.The national carrier, Air New Zealand, is to put on an extra weekly service between Auckland and Buenos Aires over the peak summer period to cope with growing demand. Audio

6:57 AM.Wall Street is weaker today amid corporate earnings reports, including Walt Disney - which disappointed. Audio

6:56 AM.The head of the Real Estate Institute says the Reserve Bank is right to take a wait-and-see approach to imposing additional lending restrictions on house market investors. Audio

6:53 AM.The prospect of New Zealand once again having a media company listed on the stock exchange is drawing a guarded reaction from investors. Audio

6:51 AM.SkyCity Entertainment's plan to raise more than a quarter of a billion dollars through a share issue to fund future development has raised as many questions with analysts as it's answered. Audio

6:44 AM.It's almost certain Australia will pull the plug on the trans-tasman netball competition in its current form. Audio

6:40 AM.A coroner's report on the deaths of four teenage girls in the Hastings suburb of Flaxmere has criticised the lack of coordination among government agencies. Audio

6:26 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Audio

6:20 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

6:18 AM.The possible merger of the two largest media companies in New Zealand has provoked alarm among some in the industry. Audio

6:13 AM.Brazil's impeachment debate is back on, with Senators currently deciding on the fate of president Dilma Rousseff Audio

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

6:00 AM.Yet another dog attack - this time a nine month old baby girl is taken to Dunedin hospital with serious injuries. The Coroner releases his report into four suicides by teenage girls in the Hastings… Read more Audio