Morning Report for Thursday 18 August 2022

8:57 AM.Researchers think light and noise pollution may be harming birds by changing their sleep patterns.

Without proper sleep there can be consequences for birds' reproductive success, survival and song.

… Read more Audio

8:55 AM.New Zealand Food Safety is urging consumers not to eat Fijian mussels being sold here illegally.

Mussels imported from Fiji are not controlled to ensure they meet New Zealand's food safety… Read more Audio

8:51 AM.Former prisoners and family members with relatives behind bars have described the penal system as hard to navigate from the outside, and dehumanising and nightmarish for those inside.

Names have been… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.It's been a year since the country's longest Covid-19 lockdown, and an epidemiologist is warning we can't rule out more of the dreaded lockdowns.

Rod Jackson, from Auckland University, says we have… Read more Audio

8:36 AM.The Reserve Bank stuck to the script yesterday with another hawkish monetary statement and a 50 basis point rise in the official cash rate to a seven year high of 3 percent.

The central is… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.Kiwifruit growers have been warned to expect lower returns this season due to poorer fruit quality and rising costs.

Zespri says that poor fruit quality is a significant problem affecting not only… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.Two Christ Church Cathedral restoration workers have become the first people to legally venture inside the severely damaged building since the city's 2011 earthquake.

Senior engineer Pete Carney and… Read more Audio

8:17 AM.Schools are concerned about the election of board members with conspiracy-driven views.

The Disinformation Project research lead Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa says there are no safeguards against people with… Read more Audio

8:13 AM.Principals warn the election of trustees who have conspiracy-driven views will be devastating for schools.

They are worried about the number of people standing for school boards who are opposed to… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.A new home-grown reality competition show "Heartbreak Island" has begun streaming online where 16 singles compete for love and $100,000.

But as many of us know, reality TV is not always paradise for… Read more Audio

7:45 AM.The country's largest insurer IAG says building in flood prone areas has to stop.

IAG has released a three-part plan to try speed up efforts to reduce flood risk from rivers.

It says there have been… Read more Audio

7:43 AM.A resident who had to evacuate her Nelson home says her street was so flooded it ran like a river.

Teresa O'Connor lives on Nile Street, neighbouring the Maitai River. Civil Defence told Teresa, her… Read more Audio

7:36 AM.Many fans were caught by surprise yesterday when Ian Foster was given unfettered support to coach the All Blacks through to the Rugby World Cup.

The New Zealand Rugby Board said it voted unanimously… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.The Transport Agency expects new speed cameras to triple the number of drivers caught, from one million to three million offences a year.

It could have ramped things up still further but has pulled… Read more Audio

7:22 AM.A large fire is still burning in a scrap metal yard in the Garlands Road area of Woolston in Christchurch.

Reports of cars on fire came in about eight o'clock last night with smoke billowing across… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.A state of emergency is also in place on the West Coast.

Reporter Niva Chittock spoke to Susie Ferguson from the Civil Defence Emergency Centre in Westport. Read more Audio

7:17 AM.North-west of Nelson, emergency officials in the Tasman district are keeping a close eye on the Riuwaka River, which has flooded at Cook's Corner in the past.

Riuwaka is near Motueka - and is the… Read more Audio

7:15 AM.More than 220 homes near the Maitai River were evacuated yesterday as the river surged, and ten more in the Tahunanui Hills joined them overnight because of a slip.

The mayor, Rachel Reese, told… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Hundreds of Nelson residents have spent the night away from their homes after being evacuated when the Maitai River burst its banks.

Some of the 230 houses evacuated have been flooded.

Another 10… Read more Audio

6:50 AM.A fire at a scrap steel yard in Christchurch has sent smoke billowing across the city, with explosions at the site continuing through the night.

The scrap yard is in the Garlands Road area of… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.Nelson and the West Coast are in states of emergency this morning after hundreds of millilitres of rain fell overnight.

Swollen rivers have seen hundreds of people evacuate their homes.

NIWA… Read more Audio

6:43 AM.Nelson's mayor says some homes have been flooded - but assessments to find out how many cannot begin until daylight.

Hundreds of homes were evacuated yesterday after the Maitai River burst its banks… Read more Audio

6:17 AM.Soldiers are patrolling the streets and all residents are begin asked to stay home if possible.

Cordons are in place at Tasman and Nile Streets where houses have been evacuated while Rocks Rd and… Read more Audio

6:14 AM.A state of emergency is also in place across the West Coast.

Buller River was expected to peak in the early hours of this morning and Civil Defence controller Douglas Marshall says the full impact of… Read more Audio

6:09 AM.Hundreds of people in Nelson have had an anxious night waiting to find out if their homes have been flooded.

The city is under state of emergency after the Maitai River burst its banks yesterday… Read more Audio