Morning Report for Wednesday 15 March 2023

8:52 AM.Experts are calling for a limit on the number and location of vape shops to combat what they say is an epidemic of vaping among rangatahi.

Public submissions to the Smoked Tobacco Regulatory Regime… Read more Audio

8:47 AM.For the mud-caked residents and volunteers of Hawkes Bay, cleaning clothes can make a hard day even tougher.

But a new group is hoping to spin that around by collecting, washing and drying their… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.So much rain has fallen on and around Gisborne that the water table is pretty much at or even above ground level. 

Council scientists say it's unprecedented and risky for the city - at the moment… Read more Audio

8:36 AM.More than 100 homes in Lower Hutt's Point Howard are still without water and many residents chose to evacuate last night after a landslip caused by a burst water pipe. 

A resident we spoke to earlier… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.Today marks four years since the March 15 terror attacks in Christchurch, day described by former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as one of our darkest days. 

The friends and families of the 51 people… Read more Audio

8:15 AM.Climate change is an "existential threat to everyone on spaceship Earth" according to NASA's deputy administrator Colonel Pam Melroy.

She, and her boss Bill Nelson, are in New Zealand this week… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.A group of local and international scientists say climate change played a role in the devastating rainfall from Cyclone Gabrielle which claimed lives and wrought massive destruction.

Their rapid… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.Government Ministers deny they are looking at public-private partnerships to pay for big health projects like new hospitals.

Internal documents from national health agency Te Whatu Ora show in… Read more Audio

7:50 AM.The National Party has welcomed the roll back of some of the government's policies, but says the roughly $1 billion in savings touted is a drop in the bucket.

Much of the savings made from slashing… Read more Audio

7:42 AM.The Australian government is to spend nearly $400 billion over the next three decades to buy a fleet of nuclear submarines, as part of the new AUKUS defence and security pact.

Australian Prime… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.Residents in the Wellington suburb of Point Howard are fuming after a landslip caused by a burst water pipe. 

Heather Armishaw says she reported a leaking pipe to Wellington Water several times but… Read more Audio

7:27 AM.Racist bullying is shaming children to hide their ethnic identity at school, because the bullies are the teachers as well as pupils. 

The Education Review Office has found one in five learners from… Read more Audio

7:22 AM.Mark Zuckerberg has announced more than ten thousand jobs will be axed from Facebook's parent company Meta - and 5000 roles that are currently vacant will not be filled.

The tech industry has laid… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has hinted his predecessor, Jacinda Ardern, could continue her work on the Christchurch Call when she leaves politics next month. 

Jacinda Ardern launched the initiative… Read more Audio

7:12 AM.A Lower Hutt family says it is thousands of dollars out of pocket after a massive slip forced it from its home eight months ago.

Hutt City Council lifted the dangerous building notice this week - but… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.An insurance expert is warning that many flood and cyclone-hit homeowners with claims for write-offs are unlikely to get cash payouts that cover their rebuild costs.

As well, many insurance policies… Read more Audio

6:49 AM.A large international company threatened a small Wellington Brewery with legal action over the marketing of a charity beer. 

Abandonded Brewery in Porirua created a energy drink infused beer for… Read more Audio

6:41 AM.A group of Aucklanders want to knock mayor Wayne Brown's proposed budget out of contention. 

Faced with a nearly $300 million funding gap, the mayor has proposed cutting services and selling off… Read more Audio

6:17 AM.Residents in Auckland's eastern suburbs say they're increasingly frustrated at the number of roaming dogs. 

Animal control officers are patrolling Glen Innes proactively after a dog attacked a young… Read more Audio