Morning Report for Thursday 18 June 2020

7:40 AM.The British High Commissioner says a free trade agreement with New Zealand will set the tone for the United Kingdom's post-Brexit trade policy.

Negotiations were formally launched yesterday, putting… Read more Audio

7:36 AM.The Trade Minister says New Zealand is pleased to be among the first countries to begin negotiations on a trade agreement with the United Kingdom post-Brexit.

New Zealand and the UK formally launched… Read more Audio

6:10 AM.The Ministry of Health has had to backtrack on its assurances the two sisters who have Covid-19 didn't have any contact with anyone on their trip from Auckland to Wellington.

It's now emerged the two… Read more Audio

6:18 AM.A new report shows major gaps remain in mental health and addiction services, particularly for Maori, pregnant women, new mothers, prisoners and those in forensic units.

RNZ reporter Ruth Hill asked… 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. Read more Audio

6:35 AM.An Auckland University professor who has been modelling the spread of Covid-19 says it's "concerning" that contact tracing and testing times in the Auckland region has failed to meet the gold… Read more Audio

6:44 AM.The New Zealand Medical Association says the Ministry of Health needs to keep reviewing PPE stocks and emergency plans, following a sweeping review from the Auditor General.

The review found that in… Read more Audio

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

7:09 AM.The Ministry of Health has had to backtrack on its assurances the two sisters who have Covid-19 didn't have any contact with anyone on their trip from Auckland to Wellington.

It's now emerged the two… Read more Audio

7:19 AM.One of the 320 people caught up in the Covid-19 blunder over border controls says he's gobsmacked at the mistake.

Officials are now tracing hundreds of close contacts of two women infected with the… Read more Audio

7:21 AM.Parts of Beijing are back in lockdown, schools have closed and travel is being restricted after a new outbreak of the coronavirus was discovered.

Just over 130 infections of Covid-19 have been… Read more Audio

7:26 AM.Health authorities are scrambling to identify people deemed to be close contacts with two confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Two sisters travelling from Britain were allowed to drive from Auckland to… Read more Audio

7:50 AM.The critical communication system used by police, fire and ambulance when they out on a job is expected to fail by 2023.

A report to the Police Minister says the radio network is so old that in two… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.News that Mercury Capital is buying Bauer's Australian business has revived hopes for the survival of some of New Zealand's most popular magazines.

Bauer's business includes New Zealand magazines… Read more Audio

8:15 AM.There're still conflicting views on what sisters who have Covid-19 did on their trip from Auckland to Wellington.

It's now emerged the two women did, as National MP Michael Woodhouse said, have… Read more Audio

8:18 AM.Covid-19 testing times and contact tracing in Auckland have failed to meet the "gold standard" set by the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Health says because of privacy reasons it won't tell the… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.Investor confidence plummeted in the initial response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the economic fallout is about to start showing up on KiwiSaver statements.

For the first time, KiwiSaver members… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.A Taranaki iwi says it has walked away from a track upgrade project in Egmont National Park after failing to find out where millions of taxpayers money is being spent.

Ngati Ruanui says its Official… Read more Audio

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

8:39 AM.Fulton County District Attorney has charged the fired Atlanta police officer, Garrett Rolfe with felony murder for the shooting of Rayshard Brooks on June 12.

Another officer on the scene, Devin… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.US President Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton says President Trump sought Chinese President Xi Jinping's help to get re-elected during a closed-door meeting last year.

In… Read more Audio

8:48 AM.The first quarter GDP numbers will be released today, showing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the shutdown of most businesses.

Broad expectations are for a drop in gross domestic… Read more Audio

8:53 AM.Hospices will not be forced to help people to die if New Zealanders vote to legalise voluntary euthanasia at this year's general election.

A High Court judge has said there is nothing in the End of… Read more Audio

8:57 AM.The direct descendant of one of the occupants of Kirikiriroa Pā says he supports a dual name for Hamilton. 

A former mayor of Hamilton has called for a public referendum on whether to restore the… Read more Audio