Morning Report for Friday 12 February 2021

8:55 AM.It's Friday so we cross the ditch to Canberra to talk to our correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh. Read more Audio

8:52 AM.Almost five thousand athletes --many grey at temple and even more tight of muscle - have been put through their paces at the New Zealand Masters Games in Whanganui this week.

Participants aged… Read more Audio

8:49 AM.The duel to uncover New Zealand's ultimate challenger for the America's Cup is set to launch on Waitemata Harbour.

Britain's Team UK and Italy's Luna Rossa will contest the first race in a best-of-13… Read more Audio

8:47 AM.It's Italy verus Britain in a showdown that hasn't been seen before in sailing as the America's Cup Challenger Selection Series finals start tomorrow.

The match-up between Luna Rossa and Team UK on… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.Some of the details in this story may be distressing.

Three men will each spend about four years in prison for bashing a man in Hastings, then leaving him to die.

Steven Kingi, Stewart Hubbard and… Read more Audio

8:39 AM.As the sun rises this morning, athletes are taking off on their epic race across the South Island, from the west to the east, traversing Coast to Coast.

Despite the rigour of the race, today is the… Read more Audio

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

8:28 AM.A Gisborne councillor says Māori wards are key to making sure that local iwi are represented.

A proposed change to the Local Electoral Act would remove any use of public polls to confirm the… Read more Audio

8:24 AM.The government is considering making it a criminal offence to livestream objectionable content as part of a wider government programme to address violent extremism.

Gaps in New Zealand's laws to… Read more Audio

8:19 AM.Extra clinics are being set up to meet demand for blood tests after lead was detected in the drinking water of two Otago towns.

Free blood tests for chronic lead exposure began on Tuesday for… Read more Audio

8:14 AM.The government will review every part of the curriculum taught in schools over the next five years.

That plan follows a alarm from many educators over declining academic performance in New Zealand's… Read more Audio

8:09 AM.The government will, over the next five years, review everything that is taught in New Zealand schools.

The history curriculum is being rewritten this year, but plans are now being laid to refresh… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.The chair of the High Performance Sport NZ, Bill Moran, says the board was "shocked and disappointed" surprised by yesterday's resignation of chief executive Michael Scott, with the organisation's new… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.A new documentary, New Zealand Wars: Stories of Tainui  launched today. 

The documentary tells the story of the events leading up to the war, the motivations of the people who fought, and its impact… Read more Audio

7:52 AM.Auckland secondary schools have just two years to head off a worsening teacher shortage.

The Education Ministry has forecast a shortfall of thirty secondary teachers in the city this year, blowing… Read more Audio

7:45 AM.The pitiable state of Wellington's water infrastructure is promising to hit the city's ratepayers hard.

Mayor Andy Foster has released a sketch of his long-term plan to deal with the problems the… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.There are still no answers for frustrated North Canterbury locals who want to know when the toxic waste from a huge tyre fire will be removed.

The mountain of 160,000 tyres were deliberately set… Read more Audio

7:29 AM.Today is the Chinese spring festival, marking the start of the year of the ox.

Many Chinese New Zealanders went out for dinner last night to celebrate the New Year's Eve with family and friends.

… Read more Audio

7:23 AM.The third day of Donald Trump's impeachment trial has begun in Washington DC.

The prosecution team is allowed a further eight hours to convince Senate jurors that the former US president incited last… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.The Green Party insists an independent investigation into Air New Zealand's contract with the Royal Saudi Navy is needed, because there's no guarantee one being done for the airline will be made… Read more Audio

7:13 AM.Former Air New Zealand boss Christopher Luxon admits it was a mistake not establishing a process in which he was told about all military contracts entered into by the business.

Pressure has been… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.A managed isolation cleaner says she and her colleagues are the forgotten border workers - overlooked and underpaid for the work they're doing to keep the country safe from Covid-19.

Most cleaners… Read more Audio

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

6:46 AM.The squeeze on Tauranga's housing supply is getting tighter - a clear picture of the crisis entangling the government.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson is promising "bold action" to boost housing… Read more Audio

6:37 AM.A British microbiologist has delivered an ominous warning about the potency of the UK variant of Covid-19, stating it will probably "sweep the world".

Professor Sharon Peacock is the head of Great… Read more Audio

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

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

6:17 AM.The New Plymouth council has admitted it got it wrong, failing to fully promote the powerful Tai Moana Tai Tangata exhibition at its Govett Brewster Art Gallery and Len Lye Centre.

A gallery insider… Read more Audio