Morning Report for Thursday 23 May 2019

6:00 AM.Top stories this morning... Panic at Parliament after the Speaker says a rapist could be working there Some cancer patients are buying their own drugs from India because Pharmac won't fund them Fuel… Read more Audio

6:06 AM.There's nothing riding on the last round robin match of the netball Premierhip but both the Southern Steel and Northern Stars still have plenty to play for in Invercargill tonight. Audio

6:14 AM.The Auckland City Mission says there's been a disturbingly high increase in people needing food parcels in the last twelve months.

There's been a 28-percent jump in demand - to about one million… Read more Audio

6:20 AM.An early look at the morning's business news and a catch up on overnight action on global financial markets. Audio

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

6:38 AM.It's been nearly a year since Auckland introduced an 11.5 cents a litre Regional Fuel Tax, but it appears the city's motorists are still paying less at the pumps than many other parts of the country… Read more Audio

6:41 AM.Journalist Nicky Hager has described the New Zealand Defence Force as being obsessed with making itself look good in public.

On Wednesday he told the Operation Burnham Inquiry it does that by keeping… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.A petition to ban bottom trawling on underwater mountains has amassed 20,000 signatures in one week.

The petition was launched by environmental groups including Forest and Bird, Greenpeace, and WWF… Read more Audio

6:49 AM.RBNZ says loan to value ratios have done the job in protecting banking system from stress, but they could be eased. Sky City wants local online gaming to be made legal. Mojo coffee company cautious… Read more Audio

7:06 AM.The Black Caps captain Kane Williamson isn't worried about the team's split lead-up to the Cricket World Cup having any affect on their performance. Audio

7:10 AM.The Speaker Trevor Mallard is in the spotlight over his handling of sexual assault allegations at Parliament.

Mr Mallard's comments on RNZ on Wednesday, suggesting a rapist could be walking the… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.The Speaker Trevor Mallard has been accused of sparking panic when he told Morning Report on Wednesday a rapist could be working in Parliament Buildings.

There was widespread concern and meetings… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.A cancer patient who has helped keep himself alive by buying cut-price medicines from India says he's now helping dozens of other New Zealand cancer patients who can't get medicines funded by Pharmac… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.Despite Aucklanders paying 11.5 cents extra in fuel tax at the pump, they're still being charged much less than many other parts of New Zealand. The petrol price watchdog Gaspy says it appears to be a… Read more Audio

7:30 AM.Forget the poor pay, long hours and retirement - being constantly monitored by cameras is giving truckies another reason to leave the job. That's according to a new survey done by First Union. The… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki will launch a political party this afternoon to contest the 2020 election.

A spokesperson for Mr Tamaki says the decision to move into politics is to counter an… Read more Audio

7:45 AM.A woman badly injured in the Christchurch earthquake is astonished a new building in the city has been found to have serious seismic flaws.

The empty new office building at 230 High Street has… Read more Audio

7:48 AM.Pressure is mounting on the British Prime Minister Theresa May to step down, with another of her senior government members quitting today over Mrs May's latest Brexit deal.

Leader of the House Andrea… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.National says the Police Minister needs to front up over whether police paid to have firearms stolen from the Palmerston North station returned.

Eleven guns, including some handed in as part of the… Read more Audio

7:57 AM.The waiting is almost over for New Zealand's top netball players. The 12-strong Silver Ferns squad to compete at the Netball World Cup in Liverpool will be named on Thursday afternoon. Their first… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.The Northern Stars captain Leana de Bruin says they'll go into next week's elimination final against the Southern Steel in the ANZ Netball Premiership with a clean slate. Audio

8:10 AM.A Parliamentary Service staffer has been stood down following an allegation of sexual assault some years ago.

The Speaker Trevor Mallard says a female staff member came forward following his… Read more Audio

8:17 AM.More allegations of bullying - this time with a bus company in Wellington.

Drivers say they've been yelled at, sworn at and intimidated by a Tranzurban manager at one of their local depots.

It's all… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.One of the leading lobbyists for a walking and cycling route across Auckland's Harbour Bridge is calling the Transport Agency's new design 'the Rolls-Royce of SkyPaths'.

Bevan Woodward is the project… Read more Audio

8:28 AM.The Child Poverty Action Group is disappointed in the new government targets that aim to halve child poverty within 10 years.

The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the plan is an important step in… Read more Audio

8:41 AM.US President Donald Trump has told Democrats he will not work with them on a two trillion dollar infrastructure project unless they drop what he calls their phoney investigations into him. Mr Trump… Read more Audio

8:46 AM.More is expected to be revealed today about the failings by the Civil Aviation Authority in the lead up to a helicopter crash in 2015 which killed seven people. Earlier this week the CAA admitted its… Read more Audio

8:51 AM.Firefighters are pushing for a dozen or more cancers to be recognised as linked to their occupation, so they don't have to battle ACC for compensation. Firefighters and firetrucks are expected on the… Read more Audio

8:56 AM.A charity helping to build homes here and in the Islands says Pacific people are facing a housing crisis which is affecting their health and their wallets. Governments, donors and community groups are… Read more Audio