Morning Report for Tuesday 4 April 2023

8:56 AM.Hundreds of avocado growers from across the world have descended on Auckland for the 10th World Avocado Congress.

The conference, being held in New Zealand for the first time, highlights the… Read more Audio

8:50 AM.Residents in the Christchurch suburb of Avondale are filled with dread whenever they see a weather forecast for rain. 

People in Newport Street and Tenby Place say when it starts raining they fear… Read more Audio

8:37 AM.Patient advocates say racism and prejudice is leading to "woefully" low rates of kidney transplants among Māori.

Research by renal physicians and nurses has found many Māori patients distrust health… Read more Audio

8:26 AM.Analysts monitoring online extremism are flagging worrying overlaps between anti-mandate, anti-government, and anti-trans groups.

The recent visit by British anti-trans activist Posie Parker has… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.A Wellington mother of two says her fight for life against cancer has left her broke after the public health system messed her around for years.

The woman, who RNZ won't identify was diagnosed with… Read more Audio

8:17 AM.Some community and business leaders in west Auckland are hitting back at being labelled the Wild West of the supercity . 

The list of recent crime in Henderson, Massey and Te Atatu have included a… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.A writer and academic specialising in democracy and inequality says he's underwhelmed by the Prime Minister's attempts to improve transparency in the lobbying industry.

Chris Hipkins says he wants… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.It's been called for, for some time and now it seems more Queenstown businesses are listening - buying up or altering properties to house the staff they need to run their businesses.

Just last week… Read more Audio

7:52 AM.The recent visit by British anti-trans activist Posie Parker has sparked a massive increase in the level of online hatred directed at the trans community here.

Analysts monitoring online extremism… Read more Audio

7:48 AM.What is the worst place to live if you want to catch a bus?

 In Auckland it's on the shore and in Wellington strangely, it's the suburb which is home to the city's bus barns, Lyall Bay.

RNZ data… Read more Audio

7:40 AM.A lobbyist says removing swipe card access to parliament will do little to reduce access to politicians.

Mark Unsworth co-founded Saunders Unsworth, a PR and lobbying firm in Wellington.

He's… Read more Audio

7:36 AM.Many are dismissing as too timid and just about meaningless the government's proposed crackdown on lobbyists .

The government will strip swipe card access to parliament for lobbyists, seek a… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.Ousted Te Whatu Ora boss Rob Campbell says one of the biggest issues facing health reforms is the high degree of distrust among staff, which is causing people to leave the sector.

Campbell was sacked… Read more Audio

7:18 AM.Former US President Donald Trump has flown to Manhattan ahead of his court appearance tomorrow on criminal charges over hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels. 

A convoy of SUVs were applauded… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has written to the speaker asking for all lobbyists to lose their swipe card access to parliament, and it will also ask third-party firms to sign up to a voluntary code of… Read more Audio

6:48 AM.The government's proposed crackdown on lobbyists is being dismissed as too timid and just about meaningless.

Following RNZ's investigation into political lobbying the Prime Minister has commissioned… Read more Audio

6:20 AM.Uncertainty over the future of the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter has helped shape Southland's new renewable energy strategy which is out for consultation

Owner Rio Tinto threatened to close the… Read more Audio

6:15 AM.It's possible mobile phones could connect directly to satellites to erase the country's coverage black spots, and help after natural disasters.

One New Zealand, formerly Vodafone, has signed a deal… Read more Audio

6:07 AM.The government's attempts to bring greater transparency to the lobbying industry is being hailed a great start by Transparency International's New Zealand branch.

It's chief executive, Julie Haggie… Read more Audio