Morning Report for Wednesday 22 March 2023

8:55 AM.Nearly forty arts organisations have signed an open letter urging Auckland's mayor to reconsider community and arts funding cuts in the draft budget.

A $20 million cut is being proposed. 

The open… Read more Audio

8:51 AM.Health groups are calling for urgent changes to regulate the use of lobbying in government, following reporting by RNZ this week.

Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Boyd Swinburn says the reporting… Read more Audio

8:46 AM.Scott Robertson has returned to Christchurch, a day after his unveiling as the next All Blacks coach. He spoke to journalists a short time ago at the training ground of the Crusaders, the team he's… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.New research accuses authorities of keeping silent about the health effects of dioxin emissions from the New Plymouth factory which produced the herbicide 2,4,5-T during the 1960s.

Sarah Monod de… Read more Audio

8:28 AM.Lines companies are having to spend less money than they'd like upgrading, fortifying, and adding capacity to their networks over the next decade. 

A majority of New Zealanders are worried the… Read more Audio

8:23 AM.The owners of many flood-ravaged properties are still waiting for insurance companies to tally the damage, with some moving house to house to stretch their temporary accommodation allowance as far as… Read more Audio

8:20 AM.Good fortune is not good enough when it comes to saving ships and their passengers from disaster in Cook Strait.

That's the view of Marlborough's mayor, who - alongside the Wellington regional… Read more Audio

8:18 AM.Strong winds have lashed southern and central parts of the country overnight. 

Power is coming back for more than a thousand households in the Hutt Valley, but it's still out for many on Banks… Read more Audio

8:11 AM.Future All Blacks coach, Scott Robertson, is promising to bring original ideas and a new culture to the All Blacks when he takes charge in 2024.

Yesterday, the 48-year-old former All Black and… Read more Audio

7:54 AM.One day after the world's leading climate scientists told us we're tipping towards climate tipping points - the fossil fuel lobby is using the cost of living crisis to argue against rapidly investing… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.The National Party says it will rewrite the New Zealand Curriculum if elected, in an attempt to ensure every child has the basic reading, writing, maths and science skills needed to set them up for… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.The Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta is in China for the first  face to face  meeting with her new counter-part, Qin Gang, in Beijing. 

It's the first visit by a New Zealand Minister to China since… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.Scott Robertson has been named to take over as All Blacks coach after the upcoming Rugby World Cup in France.

The 48-year-old Crusaders coach will take over from Ian Foster at the completion of that… Read more Audio

7:24 AM.Two babies have died of whooping cough in 2023.

Doctors are warning that we're heading into a whooping cough epidemic, with these being the first cases in the country since the Covid-19 pandemic.

… Read more Audio

7:19 AM.Strong winds have lashed southern and central parts of the motu overnight. 

Power is coming back online for Hutt Valley, but it's still out for many in Banks Peninsula.

Four to six metre waves are… Read more Audio

7:12 AM.A former New Zealand soldier fighting in Ukraine is believed to have been killed in action.

RNZ has been told Kane Te Tai died in battle in the east of the country and his body has been recovered.

… Read more Audio

7:10 AM.The mother of a New Zealander killed while fighting in Ukraine says she tried to stop him from going to the war zone but he'd made up his mind. 

Kane Te Tai's death hasn't been officially confirmed… Read more Audio

6:52 AM.The majority of New Zealanders are worried electricity is going to become unaffordable, and unreliable, within the next decade. 

Those findings come from a survey late last year - before Cyclone… Read more Audio

6:49 AM.Wild weather has continued to lash southern and central parts of the country overnight. 

Power is out on Banks Peninsula and in parts of the Hutt Valley. 

Four to six metre waves are forecast for… Read more Audio

6:43 AM.A New Zealander flighting on the front lines in Ukraine has been killed in battle.  

The former defence force soldier Kane Te Tai had been in the war zone since April.  

RNZ has been told of his… Read more Audio