Morning Report for Wednesday 14 February 2018

8:49 AM.Farmers in the Eastern Bay of Plenty are bracing for the possibility of more bad weather next week after torrential rain on Monday caused some rivers to overflow their banks. Many farms have flooded… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.The reaction to Bill English's resignation in his home town of Dipton in Southland has ranged from shock to acceptance that it was time for him to move on. The departing National Party leader… Read more Audio

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

7:55 AM.The long-awaited national screening programme for bowel cancer is to be reviewed. It follows the admission yesterday that 2,500 people who were eligible for screening as part of a pilot programme were… Read more Audio

7:50 AM.Politicians have been warned about the perils of social media after a National MP was forced to change how he used the app Snapchat. Chris Bishop has stopped communicating directly with young people… Read more Audio

7:42 AM.The government could scrap plans to put monitoring cameras on commercial fishing vessels. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash says many in the fishing industry are unhappy with the plan and he's looking at… Read more Audio

7:38 AM.So just who will take over as leader of the National Party? MPs have just two weeks to decide who they want to take over the top job - before Bill English walks out the door. RNZ's political editor… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.The contest is on to replace Bill English as leader of the National Party. The 56-year old former farmer from Dipton has announced he's stepping down and will leave Parliament. MPs have just two weeks… Read more Audio

7:18 AM.After seeing further evidence, the Bishop of Auckland now accepts that a local woman is the daughter of a Catholic priest. Bishop Patrick Dunn says it is the first time he knows of in New Zealand… Read more Audio

7:10 AM.Fiji's Red Cross says it has concerns for people on Ono-i-Lau and Vatoa in the Southern Lau islands which were swiped by Cyclone Gita. Communication was cut to the islands when Gita passed on Tuesday… Read more Audio

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

6:46 AM.The jostling to replace Bill English as leader of the National Party is beginning - with MPs expected to declare their intentions in the coming days. The caucus has just two weeks to decide on Mr… Read more Audio

6:44 AM.Residents of Nuku'alofa endured a "terrifying" night with huge amounts of debris, trees uprooted, and roofs ripped from buildings on Monday as Cyclone Gita hit Tonga's main islands. As the nation… Read more Audio

6:15 AM.The Salvation Army says it handed out almost 63-thousand food parcels around the country last year - a 12 percent increase on 2016. But they're not the only organisation experiencing an increasing… Read more Audio

6:14 AM.The Catholic Bishop of Auckland says he now accepts that an Auckland woman is correct in saying her father was a serving priest who broke his vow of celibacy. Bishop Patrick Dunn says as far as he… Read more Audio

6:09 AM.Fiji has escaped a direct hit by tropical cyclone Gita. The southern island group of Ono-i-Lau and Vatoa - about halfway between Tonga and Fiji - were the closest to the category 4 storm, as it moved… Read more Audio

6:06 AM.A update from the team at RNZ sport. Audio

6:00 AM.Cyclone Gita: Fiji wakes to assess damage, Cyclone Gita: Devastated Tonga faces huge clean-up, Auckland bishop convinced priest is woman's father, Leadership battle brews in National Party Audio