Morning Report for Friday 15 December 2017

6:10 AM.Road crews are racing to complete the finishing touches on State Highway 1 north of Kaikōura, ahead of its scheduled reopening on Friday. The South Island's main transport corridor was devastated in… Read more Audio

6:12 AM.The Minister responsible for the country's spy agencies, Andrew Little, says he's incredibly disappointed the Security Intelligence Service has been breaking the law for the past 20 years. The… Read more Audio

6:16 AM.Pacific Island MPs say they are learning valuable lessons about how to deal with the challenges of government spending and parliamentary process, while in New Zealand this week for a training… Read more Audio

6:39 AM.State Highway 1 north of Kaikōura is due to reopen on Friday, after ten major slips brought down almost a million cubic metres of rock on to the road in the November 2016 earthquake. Large sections of… Read more Audio

6:42 AM.National says the opening of the government books yesterday backs up its argument Labour has a massive hole in its accounts. Labour says the accounts show it can make good on its election promises… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.Government officials are refusing to provide details about the level of water contamination at sites where firefighting foam was used. It's been a week since it was revealed there was possible soil… Read more Audio

7:10 AM.There are warnings the Government's plans to alleviate child poverty and boost health and education spending could come unstuck if the economy isn't as strong as expected. The Government's books were… Read more Audio

7:16 AM.National says the opening of the Government books yesterday backs up its argument Labour has a massive hole in its accounts. Labour, now heading the new government, says the accounts show it can make… Read more Audio

7:21 AM.State Highway 1 north of Kaikoura will reopen today after being closed for more than a year because of the damage caused by last November's earthquake. It's been a long road to get the highway back up… Read more Audio

7:24 AM.An archaeologist has made a remarkable discovery at the site of the country's first major battlefield, Ruapekapeka. He has found the bodies of twelve British soldiers killed in the battle, near… Read more Audio

7:36 AM.Defence Reporter Kate Pereyra Garcia digs into the issue of toxic groundwater contamination at two Air Force bases. She says drinking water outside the Ohakea and Woodbourne bases is being tested, but… Read more Audio

7:39 AM.Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) estimates more than six and a half thousand Rohingya were killed in the first month of a military crackdown in Myanmar. The charity surveyed thousands of Rohingya… Read more Audio

7:44 AM.Yesterday The Opportunities Party founder Gareth Morgan told Morning Report that TOP will be back with a new leader to contest the next general election. But in the meantime the party continues to… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.A report published in the New Zealand Medical Journal has found that, when compared with individual offices, shared or open-plan office space is not beneficial to employees' health. Ann Richardson… Read more Audio

7:57 AM.The Black Ferns were the big winners at the NZ Rugby Awards last night, repeating the success they had at the World Rugby Awards late last month. At last night's ceremony in Auckland, the New Zealand… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.The opening of the books has opened the government up to serious criticism. Some analysts are warning that Treasury has been far too optimistic about how much tax will be collected to pay for the… Read more Audio

8:18 AM.Cheviot locals are going to have to start looking both ways before the cross the street again - with the re-opening of State Highway One North of Kaikoura today expected to draw traffic back through… Read more Audio

8:21 AM.Christmas shoppers are increasingly avoiding the last-minute dash to the store by going online. But consumer advocates are warning people against fake traders touting deals that are too good to be… Read more Audio

8:26 AM.Disney is set to buy most of 21st Century Fox for US$52 billion. The deal will combine two of Hollywood's biggest players, and could help Disney combat digital newcomers to the media market like… Read more Audio

8:30 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:38 AM.The Child Poverty Action Group is welcoming the Government's families package, saying that at last children's needs are being taken seriously. The package focuses on several key areas: an extension to… Read more Audio

8:48 AM.Car experts are warning of far too many bald tyres on the roads. They say lower frequency Warrant of Fitness inspections means drivers who don't regularly check their tyres remain unaware of how… Read more Audio

8:52 AM.New Zealand is pressing the message that Timor Leste is safe a decade after violent civil unrest saw this country send peacekeepers as part of a UN force. The force left five years ago, but observers… Read more Audio

8:55 AM.It's Friday so we cross the ditch to Canberra to talk to our correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh. Audio