Morning Report for Wednesday 17 June 2020

8:53 AM.A snow chain ban on Arthurs Pass has enraged three mayors and tens of thousands of road users either side of the alps.

The Transport Agency's new system sees State Highway 73 either completely open… Read more Audio

8:49 AM.Forestry might be back and buzzing but for many other industries in the North Island's east coast, layoffs have been sharply rising.

The latest job seeker numbers show more than 10,000 people… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.Statues of British royalty, politicians, military leaders and explorers have been the most regularly attacked in recent decades.

Conversely, statues of artists and sportspeople have been left largely… Read more Audio

8:38 AM.A new government subsidy will pay employers up to $16,000 for every new apprentice they train.

From August the Apprenticeship Boost will pay businesses a $1000 a month for each apprentice in their… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Read more Audio

8:28 AM.Facebook is making it compulsory for New Zealand politicians and parties to sign up to a transparency tool if they want to advertise in the lead-up to the election in September.

From next month the… Read more Audio

8:23 AM.The Auckland Council's water company Watercare is using emergency powers to pull a further 15 million litres of water a day from the Waikato River.

It's already taking 150 million litres a day.

The… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.A botch up that allowed a woman with Covid-19 to leave isolation and drive all the way to Wellington without being tested.

She and another family member who arrived from Britain on June the 7th were… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.Former Hurricanes now Worcester lock Michael Fatialofa, returned to his English club today for the first time since suffering a spinal injury in January that initially left him without movement in his… Read more Audio

7:57 AM.Māori health experts say major plans to overhaul the health system and create a Māori health authority don't go far enough.

The government's Health and Disability Review, out yesterday, includes a… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.An professor of medicine says a review proposing an overhaul of the health system does not include any plans to address issues around the recrutiment and training of the health work force.

The… Read more Audio

7:43 AM.Farmers are welcoming changes to gun reforms, which has loosened restrictions for farmers wanting to use firearms for pest control.

After months of negotiations between New Zealand First and the… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.Debate will continue at Parliament this morning on a second tranche of firearm reforms.

The latest phase of law change sets up a national register and a tougher licensing regime.

The bill is before… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.The National Party is questioning whether the Government is following its own rules around compassionate exemptions.

Officials who allowed two women out of isolation, on compassionate grounds, broke… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.The Health and Disability System review wants to slash the number of district health boards in New Zealand to as few as eight and do-away with DHB elections.

Sarah Dalton, who is executive director… Read more Audio

7:21 AM.District Health Boards could be stuffed with political flunkeys if a proposed shake up goes ahead.

That's the call from a former Waikato District Health Board member who admits he landed an earlier… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Officials who allowed two women out of isolation, on compassionate grounds, broke a rule which had been in force for four days.

Both women tested positive for Covid-19 after the pair drove from… Read more Audio

6:54 AM.Anyone wishing to sign up for a career in the police will now be turned away, after the police halted its recruitment programme.

It says more than 4000 people are going through the police recruitment… Read more Audio

6:53 AM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Read more Audio

6:44 AM.The wasteful duplication of expertise and training has been identified a threat to the medical workforce.

The Simpson review of the health system says if the many groups doing training don't… Read more Audio

6:40 AM.Two women who arrived from the UK on 7 June were allowed out of managed isolation in Auckland to travel to Wellington on compassionate grounds whilst infected with the novel coronavirus.

… Read more Audio

6:37 AM.The Prime Minister says a botch up that allowed a woman with Covid-19 to leave isolation is unacceptable.

Two women in their 30s and 40s who arrived from Britain on June the 7th were allowed to leave… Read more Audio

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

6:21 AM.A Māori housing trust in Kaitaia says it will be able to house people in need two years sooner with a fast-tracked consenting process. 

The National Papakāinga Network, is one of the eleven projects… Read more Audio

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

6:19 AM.The New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says it is "clear as daylight" Auckland light rail won't get Cabinet sign off before the election.

Jacinda Ardern promised light rail would be built from… Read more Audio