Morning Report for Wednesday 20 November 2019

6:00 AM.Questions are mounting about the legality of the secretive New Zealand First Foundation. The amnesty for banned guns will continue after the firearms buyback ends next month. An almost 20-pct increase… Read more Audio

6:06 AM.The Black Caps are no doubt breathing a sigh of relief that there's no super over in Test cricket. Read more Audio

6:20 AM.A brief update from the business sector. Read more Audio

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

6:27 AM.Otago power company Aurora has told its 90-thousand customers their bills need to rise nearly 20 percent from 2022 to 2024 so it can cover the cost of upgrading ageing infrastructure.

The Dunedin… Read more Audio

6:40 AM.The New Zealand First leader Winston Peters rejects any suggestion his party has done anything wrong - as the Electoral Commission looks into a complaint regarding donations.

The saga centres on the… Read more Audio

6:44 AM.Mana whenua of Ihumātao are disappointed to hear through the grapevine that the Crown is keen to help Auckland Council buy the contested land.

Sources have told RNZ the Crown is considering lending… Read more Audio

6:46 AM.Swedish prosecutors have dropped a rape investigation into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, after nearly a decade.

Assange skipped bail in Britain to avoid possible extradition and took refuge in… Read more Audio

6:48 AM.The US has declared that Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land are not necessarily illegal. Four decades of US foreign policy was overturned in a single sentence from US Secretary of State… Read more Audio

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

7:06 AM.They're sitting second last in the Australian National Basketball League and are battling all kinds of off-court problems - but the Breakers maintain they're still one of the best clubs going around.

7:11 AM.New Zealand First is bunkering down with mounting questions about a secretive foundation and its role in handling donations for the party.

The Electoral Commission is now looking into a complaint… Read more Audio

7:15 AM.The firearms buy back comes to an end a month from today, but the police say the amnesty for returning banned guns will continue into next year and beyond.

That's music to the ears of gun owners, but… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.The prospect of power price hikes across Otago is being met with horror and fear.

Aurora Energy is proposing households pay about 18 percent more from 2022 to 2024, to cover upgrades to its ageing… Read more Audio

7:26 AM.Preparations have been under way at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds for Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall historic visit today.

It's been 25 years since Charles or any member of the royal… Read more Audio

7:27 AM.New Zealand First has allegedly breached electoral law.

The party has received tens of thousands of dollars in loans from the New Zealand First Foundation. Loans are not subject to the same… Read more Audio

7:32 AM.Warning: This story contains themes that may disturb some people.

The jury in the trial of the man accused of murdering Grace Millane will continue to hear defence evidence today.

The 27-year-old… Read more Audio

7:46 AM.More New Zealand medical staff are due in Samoa today as the death toll continues to rise from a measles outbreak in the country.

Samoa declared a State of Emergency on Friday to deal with an… Read more Audio

7:50 AM.Four top US officials are testifying in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump today.

At question is a 25 July phone call in which President Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr… Read more Audio

7:57 AM.The British band Coldplay has chosen the Otago Daily Times - of all the world's media outlets - to reveal the lyrics to their new album.

The paper features the words to the 15 songs on the album the… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.Tauranga's Bay Oval will become the ninth venue to host Test cricket in New Zealand when the Black Caps play England in the first test tomorrow. Read more Audio

8:11 AM.The Government is introducing new powers which it says will protect New Zealanders' interests in important assets such as ports and airports, telecommunications and electricity infrastructure.

A new… Read more Audio

8:17 AM.Investigators reported finding many flaws in a major bus operator's safety systems after a bus careened down a hill killing three people near Gisborne in 2016.

But these findings were dropped by the… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.The Electoral Commisison has received a complaint about how New Zealand First uses a foundation to handle donations.

NZ First leader Winston Peters says he's confident the party has always acted… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.Mana whenua of Ihumātao are disappointed and seriously displeased to hear the Crown might help Auckland Council buy the contested land.

Sources have told RNZ the Crown is considering lending $40… Read more Audio

8:30 AM.A brief update on the movements in the financial sector. Read more Audio

8:38 AM.A medical student's family say the University of Otago interns caught abusing their overseas work placements are being used as scapegoats.

More than 50 final year medical students will be prevented… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.A government plan to save thousands of seabirds from being killed by the fishing industry each year is being called weak and ineffective.

The action plan details what fishers should do to avoid… Read more Audio

8:48 AM.Hawke's Bay environmental groups and iwi have launched a scathing attack on a major plan being proposed to manage the region's water -despite them being part of the six year process to develop it.

… Read more Audio

8:52 AM.Forensic scientists have been busy digging up the graves of pigs, sheep, and a plastic skeleton as part of a grave site recovery training course.

The Institute of Environmental Science and Research -… Read more Audio