Morning Report for Wednesday 22 September 2021

8:57 AM.A unique conservation project is under way in Dublin aimed at serving two purposes - to prevent the spread of wildfires and to preserve the critically-endangered Old Irish Goats.

Dozens of the… Read more Audio

8:50 AM.Waka Kotahi contractors have been using builder's foam to fill in potential bat roosts on the route of the proposed Mt Messenger bypass in Taranaki.

The revelation comes a month after the agency said… Read more Audio

8:46 AM.The government is being urged to be more up-front about its plans to rescue hundreds of people trapped in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

More than 300 New Zealand nationals and permanent residents… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.Breaching Covid-19 restrictions will soon mean an increased infringement fee of up to $12,000 for individuals, and even more for companies, when imposed by a court.

That signifies a hefty increase on… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.Anti-vaccination protesters appeared outside Taita College in the the Hutt Valley while students were arriving to on Wednesday.

Members of the group Voices for Freedom are standing at the entry to… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.Melbourne police fired pepper balls and stinger grenades at violent anti-lockdown protesters yesterday.

Many protesters are construction workers, wearing their uniforms to demonstrate their… Read more Audio

8:27 AM.Auckland is back at alert level 3 and the lines for coffee are growing. Kingsland's Peel to Pip café, where they're pouring shots of coffee front, right and centre.

Barista Bianca Roche spoke to… Read more Audio

8:23 AM.Taranaki DHB is running a get a bacon butty with your Covid-19 vaccine promotion in New Plymouth.

Reporter Bacon Martin was there. Read more Audio

8:20 AM.Life in Auckland has just got a little easier.

Five weeks of hard lockdown - can now be sweetened slightly - with a store bought latte and a takeout.

Thousands of tradies are back on the job in the… Read more Audio

8:16 AM.Auckland principals are hoping the government will make further changes to help their students get the NCEA qualification.

They say extra credits for those who have spent twenty or more school days… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.National's leader Judith Collins is vowing she won't resign even as some of her MPs get increasingly restless about her performance and the party's dismal poll results.

She pulled out of her usual… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.There are fears that judges who behave badly are not being held to account.

Despite thousands of complaints, no judge has ever been removed from office.

Critics say the system is secretive, broken… Read more Audio

7:50 AM.Covid-19 and climate change have dominated the agenda, as world leaders gathered in New York for the first day of the United Nations General Assembly.

Joe Biden gave his first speech there as US… Read more Audio

7:45 AM.Police used spit hoods to restrain 117 children and young people between 2016 and 2020.

Some had the hoods placed on them more than once.

More than half of the occasions involved young Māori… Read more Audio

7:33 AM.Testing and vaccinating are the only weapons Auckland has against Covid-19 lockdowns, not least for the Clover Park neighbourhood, which was namechecked at yesterday's briefing: Councillor Alf… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.Would you like a Covid-19 vaccine with your breakfast?

Well, if you're in New Plymouth, you can.

If you head to the Powderham Street vaccination centre before 9am you'll be served a free bacon butty… Read more Audio

7:22 AM.Rotorua leaders are up in arms about the possibility of more quarantine hotels in the city, one of which could be right next to a marae wharekai.

With more than 20,000 people trying get into the… Read more Audio

7:16 AM.Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield says NZ may not get back to zero cases of Covid-19, but vaccination is making all the difference.

"We may not get back to zero," he told Morning… Read more Audio

7:13 AM.A Covid-19 modeller says the current Delta outbreak is here to stay.

Daily cases have been bouncing around in the 20s and teens for the past week and have yet to fall below 10.

Wigram Capital's… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Life in Auckland has just got a little easier. Five weeks of hard lockdown - can now be sweetened slightly - with a store bought latte and a takeout.

Thousands of tradies are back on the job in the… Read more Audio

6:52 AM.The Government's plan to reward people who buy electric or low-emission vehicles and charge more on imports of gas guzzlers is a step closer to becoming law.

The Land Transport Clean Vehicles… Read more Audio

6:48 AM.A study which plays down the link between cancer and nitrates in drinking water is being dismissed for failing to meet the scientific mark.

The research in question was co-sponsored by Fonterra and… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.More than 5000 school students studying for the Cambridge International Exams are not getting any special treatment despite the lockdowns this year.

The first of their exams starts in October while… Read more Audio

6:41 AM.Some teachers will be back in the classroom with Auckland's move to alert level 3, but the bulk of teaching in the city remains virtual.

This has students, teachers, and school administrators worried… Read more Audio

6:38 AM.One of the country's long-standing commercial construction firms will have about 1500 tradies back on the tools in Auckland today, under Alert Level 3 protocols.

Naylor Love chief executive Rick Herd… Read more Audio

6:22 AM.While the Government urges 'caution' over its decision to ease restrictions in Tāmaki Makaurau, some Pacific health experts are not so sure it was the right thing to do.

Pirimia Jacinda Ardern… Read more Audio

6:18 AM.Everybody loves a free feed, and Taranaki DHB is banking on that as a way to entice people to get a jab.

Anybody who turns up at the New Plymouth vaccination centre before 9am on Wednesday will be… Read more Audio

6:15 AM.While Aucklanders are rushing to drive-thrus at their favourite fast-food outlets, some are also taking to drive-thrus at their local coffee shop.

Angela Thomson runs the drive-thru Coffee Guy cart… Read more Audio

6:12 AM.One of the Auckland cafés getting ready to fling open their doors and crank up the coffee grinder is Kingsland's Peel to Pip.

Barista Bianca Roche has working there for nearly six years.

She spoke… Read more Audio

6:08 AM.Auckland restaurants have been scrubbing down and stocking up as they get ready to reopen for business.

Cafes, restaurants and takeaways can open at Alert Level 3 for contactless pick-up, delivery or… Read more Audio