Morning Report for Thursday 1 August 2019

6:00 AM.Govt to control NZ drinking water, Havelock North sceptical; Andrew Little confronts Peter Dutton over deportations; More security needed to stop moa bones looting - Eugenie Sage; Peter Ellis appeal… Read more Audio

6:06 AM.Former Phoenix midfielder Sarpreet Singh has been named to start for German football champions Bayern Munich in this morning's Audi Cup pre-season tournament final against Premier League side… Read more Audio

6:09 AM.An immigration lawyer is warning that hundreds of thousands of people could be kicked out of Australia if visa requirements are tightened even further.

The Australian federal government wants to… Read more Audio

6:14 AM.Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones says he'll be seeking reassurances from ANZ on its commitment to the regions when he meets the bank's chief executive in Melbourne on Friday.

ANZ… Read more Audio

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

6:40 AM.The government has announced sweeping changes to the way drinking water will be managed - taking control away from local government and putting it in the hands of a central authority.

It's a response… Read more Audio

6:43 AM.Protesters blocking access to a Fletcher Building site at Ihumātao say news that the Māori King will visit the South Auckland site is overwhelming.

The project is being supported by the iwi authority… Read more Audio

6:46 AM.A former museum curator is calling on Trade Me to put an immediate stop to the sale of moa bones.

Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage is looking at tightening the rules on the sale of bones from the… Read more Audio

6:48 AM.Air New Zealand hopes to have its first electric aeroplane ordered within a decade.

Chief executive Christopher Luxon told the Nelson-Tasman business community at a luncheon on Wednesday… Read more Audio

6:52 AM.The Federal Reserve cuts rates. Business confidence dips deeper. Labour inspectors to target franchise businesses for labour law compliance. NZX not keen on mandatory diversity rules. Financial… Read more Audio

7:06 AM.The Warriors coach Stephen Kearney says there's no point in continuing to wallow in their woes with NRL officialdom ahead of their critical match against Canberra. Audio

7:11 AM.Some Havelock North residents say the creation of a national water body will do little to restore their trust in drinking tap water ever again.

Four people died and 5000 people fell ill after the… Read more Audio

7:15 AM.The government has announced a new governing body to regulate New Zealand's drinking water.

It comes after four deaths in Havelock North after the town's water supply was contaminated with… Read more Audio

7:22 AM.Justice Minister Andrew Little says New Zealand is stuck with Australia's contentious deportation laws - but the government will continue to raise its objections anyway.

Mr Little tackled the thorny… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.Security has been beefed up at caves where moa bones are at risk of being pillaged, as the government moves to make it illegal to trade remains of the extinct bird.

The government plans to consult… Read more Audio

7:36 AM.Peter Ellis has been granted leave to appeal his case at the Supreme Court.

The 61-year-old was jailed for 10 years for abusing seven children at the Christchurch Civic Creche in 1991.

He served… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.A Whanganui migrant advocate says local Maori should concentrate on dragging themselves out of poverty rather than worrying about the small number of refugees due to be resettled in the city.

But… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.Whanganui's mayor Hamish McDouall says the city does have its housing and health problems, but the decision to settle refugees there was ultimately Immigration New Zealand's call.

He speaks to Susie… Read more Audio

7:51 AM.The US Federal Reserve has cut interest rates for the first time in a decade.

Rates have been cut by a quarter of a percent.

The decision was expected and comes after repeated attacks by President… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.President Donald Trump has offered UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson a "substantial" trade agreement in the case of a no-deal Brexit.

However US members of Congress who disagree with Mr Johnson's wish… Read more Audio

7:57 AM.Advocacy group Living Streets Aotearoa is frustrated a coroner has said children need an adult to walk with them to and from school.

In his ruling on the case of six-year-old Carla Neems - who was… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.The Tall Blacks coach Paul Henare expects some fierce competition for World Cup places in his final selection camp in Auckland over the next four days. Audio

8:10 AM.The government is proposing radical changes to the way drinking water is managed.

A new central regulator will oversee water standards throughout the country.

Bringing the country's aging drink… Read more Audio

8:18 AM.A long-time supporter of Peter Ellis says the Supreme Court's decision to hear his appeal is a win for justice, but they will need to hurry up.

Peter Ellis served seven years for abusing seven… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.Growers and farmers in Auckland are fuming because more than one year on from the introduction of the regional fuel tax, there's still not a simple way to claim back for on-farm vehicles and… Read more Audio

8:26 AM.The Solicitor-General is challenging a finite jail term imposed on one of the country's worst sex offenders.

Alosio Taimo was found guilty of nearly 100 sex charges relating to 17 victims after a… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.Residents of Greytown in Wairarapa are taking their demand for a manned police station to Parliament.

At least 120 people turned out to a public meeting on Wednesday night attended by the police area… Read more Audio

8:39 AM.The leader of a South Korean cult has been jailed for six years for detaining hundreds of followers in Fiji.

The followers of Grace Road moved to Fiji to escape a so-called apocalypse but were forced… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.The criteria for being made a Queen's Counsel are about to change.

The government now wants candidates to prove a commitment to "improving access to justice," and Attorney-General David Parker says… Read more Audio

8:48 AM.Campaigners for homes made from earth cannot understand why the government has refused to pay for an overhaul of the building standards for a type of construction that is world leading.

That's left a… Read more Audio

8:53 AM.Baldwin Street's battle to be recognised as the world's steepest street isn't over yet.

Last month Guinness World Records stripped it of the title, but Dunedin surveyor Toby Stoff says the way… Read more Audio