Morning Report for Friday 9 September 2016

8:57 AM.It's Friday so we cross the Ditch to Canberra to talk to our correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh. Audio

8:55 AM.Top scientists have been honoured at the New Zealand Association of Scientists awards - Our Changing World's Alison Ballance caught up with some of the winners. Audio

8:47 AM.New Zealand has boosted its support to help the country of Laos clear its countryside of cluster bombs left over from the Vietnam war. Our Deputy Political Editor, Chris Bramwell, reports from Laos. Audio

8:46 AM.School cleaners are getting sacked as boards of trustees move to cheaper cleaning franchisees. Unions say the law intended to protect them when contracts change isn't working. Insight's reporter… Read more Audio

8:38 AM.E Tu Union has labelled the plastics manufacturer Sistema a 'modern day sweatshop' but in turn it's been accused of using bully tactics to ram through its negotiations. E Tu has now expressed… Read more Audio

8:35 AM.The All Blacks take on the Pumas in Hamilton on Saturday. Our correspondent in Buenos Aires, Frankie Deges, says the Pumas will struggle and the best they can hope for is a close loss. Audio

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

8:28 AM.Tensions between iwi and conservation groups over the proposed Kermadec Sanctuary have erupted at an international conservation meeting in Hawai'i. Our Maori Issues Correspondent Mihingarangi Forbes… Read more Audio

8:27 AM.Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johns revealed a surprising lack of foreign policy knowledge when he asked an interviewer "what's Aleppo"? Our Washington correspondent Simon Marks talks us… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.Criminal Bar Association president Noel Sainsbury says a plan to close six of eight legal aid offices around the regions next year makes no sense. Audio

8:17 AM.The man who is suing Colin Craig for defamation conceeds he does not know whether an explicit text message the former Conservative Party leader allegedly sent to his press secretary actually exists… Read more Audio

8:08 AM.Former Samoan rugby international Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu backs calls for a culture change in New Zealand rugby, saying: ''You can still love rugby, love the chiefs, and not be a sexist pig.'' Audio

8:06 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

7:55 AM.Barely a month after Havelock North's water-borne gastro bug outbreak, and the three candidates vying for the mayoral chains in Hastings squared off in a debate last night. The water issue dominated… Read more Audio

7:50 AM.Health experts say a better method is needed to decide which foods and drinks may be marketed to children and which are too unhealthy. Audio

7:47 AM.Sixty people are stranded overnight after being trapped inside a cable car in eastern France more than 3,000 metres above sea level. Freelance journalist Stefan de Vries is in Paris with the latest. Audio

7:43 AM.Cigarettes will be sold in plain packets from at least next year and possibly sooner - after the legislation past its final hurdle in Parliament. Audio

7:43 AM.The NZ Education Institute, an opponent of global funding in education, is delighted the proposal looks set to be rejected. We speak with the union's national secretary. Audio

7:35 AM.Interislander hopes ferry sailings will resume on Saturday morning after huge swells of more than six metres force cancellations. Audio

7:25 AM.Social Development Minister Anne Tolley concedes the Government needs to look at accommodation benefit levels after an offical report reveals low-earning New Zealanders are now paying more than half… Read more Audio

7:13 AM.As New Zealand Rugby admits it didn't handle the Chiefs stripper scandal well, we are finally able to broadcast more details of what the stripper said happened when she performed at their end of… Read more Audio

7:06 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:58 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

6:55 AM.Almost half of New Zealand businesses are dealing with staff who have given up on their job, even though they haven't actually resigned. Audio

6:52 AM.Businesses are being warned to be wary of cleaning contracts being offered at suspiciously low rates. Audio

6:50 AM.The market may have over-reacted to a mark down in Tower's full-year profit forecast yesterday. Audio

6:45 AM.Weather commentator Richard Green says the cold snap has given Auckland the second coldest September day ever recorded. He says the weather will slowly improve. Audio

6:40 AM.The E Tu union is accusing the plastics manufacturer Sistema of running a 'modern day sweatshop'. But Sistema say the union is using bullying tactics. Audio

6:36 AM.Labour's finance spokesperson Grant Robertson says low-income earners are being hit hardest by the housing crisis. Audio

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

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

6:08 AM.New Zealand make a successful start at the Paralympics, with four athletes qualifying for finals tonight. Audio

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

6:00 AM.Call for rugby culture change gains momentum after Chiefs probe. Dame Susan Devoy says Chiefs set an appalling example. Social Development minister welcomes income report. Interislander ferries remain… Read more Audio