Morning Report for Friday 26 February 2021

6:09 AM.The National Party is joining calls for South Aucklanders to be first in line for covid-19 vaccinations when the nationwide rollout begins. 

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins hasn't ruled out… 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

6:38 AM.The Immigration Minister is warning businesses not to rely on floods of migrant workers once the border is reopened.

The flow of new migrants came to an abrupt halt with the border closure - in past… Read more Audio

6:41 AM.A Taihape farmer and father is calling the Education Ministry 'incompetent'.

The town's year one-to-13 Taihape Area School, built in just 2009, has been slammed in official reports for years for its… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.Prominent health campaigner Lady Tureiti Moxon wants a commitment, in writing, that a new Māori Health Authority will have teeth. 

Earlier this month the Crown agreed in principal to set up an… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Police shot and critically injured a man in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe last night.

Officers were called to a house in Avis Avenue before six o'clock after a shot was fired through the window… Read more Audio

7:12 AM.NZ Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says there is no trade off when it comes to prosecuting serious crime and is standing by his approach.

Coster has been the subject of a number of pointed attacks… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.New Zealand won't be throwing open its doors to the large numbers of new migrants seen in recent years, once it's ready to open the border.

Covid-19 has brought net migration to a screeching halt… Read more Audio

7:24 AM.More than 250 children in Taihape face another winter in a school that officials have known for a decade is leaking, afflicted by backed-up sewage, and has substandard classrooms.

A parent and ex… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.Political pressure is mounting on the Government to prioritise vaccinating South Aucklanders against Covid-19.

The National Party is joining calls from community health providers to bump the area… Read more Audio

7:36 AM.Tax returns that former US President Donald Trump had fought to keep secret for years are now in the hands of the New York district attorney.

Eight years of tax records have been handed over, as well… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.The Finance Minister is defending his decision to change the Reserve Bank's remit to include house prices in its monetary considerations.

That's despite the Bank's governor Adrian Orr warning him… Read more Audio

7:48 AM.A battle for hearts and minds is underway in Taranaki between lovers of gas-guzzling classic American cars and the electric-powered new kids on the block.

About 780 vehicles from around the country… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.The second edition of Super Rugby Aotearoa kicks off tonight, with the Highlanders hosting the Crusaders in the opening match, before the Hurricanes host the Blues tomorrow.

The Chiefs have the bye.

8:06 AM.The Black Caps batsman Martin Guptill says it's pleasing to be 2-nil up in their five match T20 cricket series against Australia, but he says they won't be celebrating until the series is won. Read more Audio

8:10 AM.The three Covid-19 positive families at the centre of the latest outbreak are anxious but getting better as they quarantine at the Jet Park.

There have been 11 community cases, most of them centred… Read more Audio

8:15 AM.Calls are growing for South Auckland to be vaccinated as a priority.

It's been hit the hardest when it comes to the fight against Covid-19, including Papatoetoe High School and the surrounding… Read more Audio

8:24 AM.Within months, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya had gone from a former school teacher and stay-at-home mother to the symbol of a mass uprising.

She ran against the authoritarian incumbent Alexander… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.World-ranked New Zealand boxers Joseph Parker and Junior Fa aren't hiding from the implications of their heavyweight match-up in Auckland tomorrow night.

After months of respectful build-up, the… Read more Audio

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

8:37 AM.The Government's scheme to give patients access to medicinal cannabis is failing according to the lobby group Medical Cannabis Awareness NZ.

It's calling on agencies to investigate the wide-ranging… Read more Audio

8:46 AM.Businesses in Napier say they are angry, upset and out of pocket after an art deco festival was cancelled due to last week's Covid-19 scare.

They're saying it was a knee-jerk reaction by organisers.

8:49 AM.After more than 180 years resting in the shallows of Whitianga harbour, The HMS Buffalo shipwreck is about to brought to life again.

Using photographs, a 3D picture will be created to understand… Read more Audio

8:54 AM.Some very huge planes will be spotted over Wairarapa this weekend. Wings Over Wairarapa will be held over three days in Masterton, starting on Friday.

Plans are in motion for a whopping US airforce… Read more Audio

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