Morning Report for Wednesday 16 October 2019

6:16 AM.Some people in the Far North say whoever replaces Sonny Tau as the chair of Te Runanga a iwi o Ngapuhi needs to bring a new style of leadership. Mr Tau became chair in 2009 and was re-elected in… Read more Audio

6:22 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

6:39 AM.18-hundred new police officers - an aspiration or an iron-clad target? While the coalition partners appear to be in some confusion, National says it's very clear - it won't be met. Police Minister… Read more Audio

6:41 AM.A Western Sahara government official says New Zealand fertiliser companies are stockpiling phosphate amid threats of court action to stop future imports. But the companies say they're not. Emma Hatton… Read more Audio

6:49 AM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

7:10 AM.Are trucks being let off speeding tickets? In the four years up to 2017, static speed cameras snapped nearly 600,000 vehicles going over the speed limit nationwide. But just 207 of the speeding… Read more Audio

7:14 AM.Mass defective earthquake design of buildings in Palmerston North has been revealed in the face of official resistance. The city council has known for 18 months that two thirds of the buildings it's… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.Numbers can be confusing - especially when talking about the Government's promise of 1800 new police officers. Yesterday morning the Police Minister Stuart Nash said the number was an aspiration. By… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.The National Party is accusing the government of a "Sroubek 2.0" situation after granting residency to a man with six drink driving convictions. The man is a "protected person" under the international… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.The battle for the world's steepest street is headed to court . . . kind of. Ffordd Pen Llech in the Welsh resort of Harlech dethroned Dunedin's Baldwin Street in July. Since then there has been a… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.Both the Silver Ferns and the Australian Diamonds are expecting more from each other in game two of the Constellation Cup in Auckland tonight. A single goal has been the margin between the two sides… Read more Audio

7:45 AM.People in the Far North are now looking for a new face to lead the country's biggest iwi Ngapuhi, after the unexpected resignation of the runanga chair, Sonny Tau. While the details of his departure… Read more Audio

7:49 AM.Russia has called Turkey's invasion into Northern Syria unacceptable and warned it would not allow clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces. The comments came from Alexander Lavrentiev, Russian… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.A high-profile Catholic woman says a bishop would not have had sex with a young woman unless he loved her. Joy Cowley, a celebrated children's author, told RNZ the sexual relationship that Charles… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.More now on our earlier story on truck drivers and speeding tickets. In the four years to 2017, static speed cameras snapped nearly 600,000 vehicles going over the speed limit. But just 207 were… Read more Audio

8:17 AM.A Palmerston North City Council investigation indicates there could be about 100 buildings with multiple seismic design issues, some serious. The council has been looking into work done by the local… Read more Audio

8:23 AM.The National Party is accusing the Immigration Minister of another bad decision after granting residency to a man with several drink driving convictions. The man is a "protected person" under the… Read more Audio

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

8:35 AM.The All Blacks are favourites to win this weekend's Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Ireland in Tokyo, but the defending champs appear nervous. The All Blacks have struggled to put away Ireland… Read more Audio

8:38 AM.New research suggests the trades are suffering because not enough women are being encouraged to pick up tools. It's found women make up between only one and 10 percent of tradies and an overwhelming… Read more Audio

8:41 AM.A ground-breaking hui today will attempt to reverse what's being called a disturbing picture of inequality for Maori with failing kidneys. Maori make up 80 percent of dialysis patients but only 12… Read more Audio

8:47 AM.Owners of newly outlawed firearms have just over two months left to hand their guns in, or modify them. There've been calls for the December 20 deadline to be extended but the Police Minister Stuart… Read more Audio

8:53 AM.What could be more alarming than discovering a two point five metre long, freshly shed boa constrictor skin? One answer might be realising the snake that's just left its skin behind is still in the… Read more Audio

8:55 AM.A slice of beetroot or two in your hamburger is as kiwi as pavlova or pineapple lumps, right? Well perhaps not any more. A Whanganui man says after setting off on a burger mission he was offered… Read more Audio