Morning Report for Tuesday 4 July 2023

8:56 AM.Tesla has hit a record number of car sales in the last quarter after cutting prices.

It sold 466,000 vehicles, 83 percent more than the same period last year.

The company lowered prices in markets… Read more Audio

8:53 AM.Tourism to Waitomo's glow-worm caves is quietly picking up but the area is struggling with the impact of extreme weather on the roads.

Before the global pandemic, Waitomo hosted more tourists than… Read more Audio

8:47 AM.They say a week's a long time in politics.

But perhaps this week is feeling longer than most for some punters as they get their wallets around various new taxes and the end of old subsidies.

The… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.New Zealand credit bureau Centrix says the number of households falling behind on debt repayments is at its highest level in four years.

Centrix has found around around 426,000 households were in… Read more Audio

8:38 AM.With winter setting in there are concerns more people are being driven to live on the street.

While there is no official data on the number of homeless in Auckland, more and more people are seeking… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.'An absolute dumping' That's how Ruapehu staff are describing the state of the mountain after a big snowfall at the mountain over the past two days.

The skifields reopened over the weekend after… Read more Audio

8:24 AM.The head of the government agency that recently took over monitoring of Oranga Tamariki says the current time is a big test of his newly reconstituted office's capacity.

The Independent Children's… Read more Audio

8:18 AM.The government's plan to introduce a congestion charging scheme has hit a speed bump, with National not too keen on the idea.

The scheme would see commuters pay a fee for driving in heavy-traffic… Read more Audio

8:15 AM.Auckland City Mission says the high cost of living is forcing people to live on the streets as winter sets in and temperatures plunge.

More and more are huddled in flimsy cardboard shelters, seeking… Read more Audio

8:11 AM.Just when people thought mortgage rates were on the way down, ASB and Kiwibank have hiked up their home loan rates.

With its 1-year fixed-term rate up 20 basis points to 7.25 percent, ASB now has the… Read more Audio

7:56 AM.A Wellington woman says she could have never predicted she'd make a sprawling catch to rein in one of the most famous names in New Zealand Cricket this week.

A Muscovy duck named Sophie Devine was… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.New Zealand driver Shane van Gisbergen made history as the first NASCAR driver to win a debut race in 60 years.

Speeding through a 2.2 mile course, van Gisbergen also became the first driver to win a… Read more Audio

7:42 AM.Eligibility for cataract surgeries are being streamlined across the country.

Under the old system, district health boards had different thresholds for who qualified. It means about 3500 more people… Read more Audio

7:39 AM.Wellington mayor Tory Whanau has denied asking a waiter if he knew who she was.

A Wellington restaurant manager says the mayor seemed 'tipsy' while at The Old Quarter restaurant and left without… Read more Audio

7:34 AM.In France, crowds have gathered at rallies hosted by mayors in response to five nights of violent riots.

Thousands of people have been arrested in the riots which erupted when a teenager was shot at… Read more Audio

7:26 AM.Wimbledon got underway overnight, the famous tennis grand slam on the lawns of south-west London.

Novak Djokovic is the overwhelming favourite in the men's draw, with the Serbian looking for a… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.Three Chinese migrant workers who were sacked within a month of each other by the same employer say they've been ripped off.

They are among at least a hundred workers who are unemployed after paying… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.In France, crowds have gathered at rallies hosted by mayors in response to five nights of violent riots.

Thousands of people have been arrested in the riots which erupted when a teenager was shot at… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Labour MP Kiri Allan is on parliamentary leave again for a couple of weeks while her boss looks to tidy up the mess around her alleged treatment of staff and officials.

The Allan saga is the latest… Read more Audio

6:46 AM.The British Prime Minister is the latest to weigh in on the controversy at the Ashes, saying Australia didn't act in the spirit of the game.

His comments relate to the controversial stumping of… Read more Audio

6:44 AM.The government is moving to scrap the so-called postcode lottery for surgery, beginning with cataract operations.

Under the old system, district health boards had different thresholds for who… Read more Audio

6:38 AM.Eye surgeons are warning they may not be able to cope with an increased demand for cataract operations now that more patients will qualify.

The government is trying to remove the post code lottery… Read more Audio

6:18 AM.A former employee of a controversial chemical plant in New Plymouth wonders if the death of his first child from spina bifida was related to his time working there.

The multi-national company Dow is… Read more Audio

6:14 AM.An Australian cloud computing trailblazer says New Zealand is in real danger of giving away its capabilities to big foreign firms.

Giant US companies in particular are doing well from the… Read more Audio