Morning Report for Tuesday 5 March 2024

8:54 AM.The Taite Music prize finalists have just been announced this morning. It's a prestigious award that recognises outstanding creativity in New Zealand music. The awards are named after the late, Dylan… Read more Audio

8:50 AM.The country's largest equestrian event - Horse of the Year - starts at the showgrounds in Hastings Tuesday morning.

It's been cancelled three years on the trot due to Covid and Cyclone Gabrielle, but… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.The Prime Minister is heading to Australia on Tuesday to meet with his Southeast Asian counterparts.

The meetings will take place on the sidelines of an Australian summit with the region's leaders… Read more Audio

8:27 AM.A long-awaited methane-hunting satellite is due to launch into orbit on Tuesday and should start supplying a steady stream of information about planet-heating emissions from June.

Scientists will… Read more Audio

8:21 AM.A local government transport leader has given the government a "solid B plus" for its new draft transport plan.

New Plymouth Mayor Neil Holdom says the plan addresses the poor state of our roading… Read more Audio

8:15 AM.Opposition parties are calling the government's plan to fund and fix roads a contradiction of its election promise to ease cost of living pressures.

And on top of that the school lunch programme to… Read more Audio

8:11 AM.The number of students being stood down from school is at the highest its ever been according to Ministry of Education figures.

School stand-downs are the formal removal of students for up to five… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.It's the last week of the government's first hundred days in office, and they're racing to tick off their 49-point agenda.

In a series of transport announcements this week the Transport Minister… Read more Audio

7:49 AM.New figures show fewer people are buying electric vehicles so far this year compared to 2023.

It's no surprise as the Clean Car discount has been scrapped, and from next month owners will also start… Read more Audio

7:46 AM.The country's highest court is to weigh in on whether police officers are allowed to take pictures of people on the street, without permission.

The Supreme Court will hear the matter on Wednesday and… Read more Audio

7:42 AM.Auckland ferry commuters are not convinced an extended stand down period for cruise ships entering the harbour will ease the annual cancellations and delays.

Port of Auckland is extending the evening… Read more Audio

7:38 AM.That's the scream of the V-12s at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy in 1995.

And there was as much drama on the track for Gerhard Berger as there was off the track.

His rare, red Ferrari… Read more Audio

7:34 AM.A Christchurch man will be sentenced on Tuesday for the murder of his childhood friend, a man who has been missing since 2017.

David Benbow was found guilty of murdering 49-year-old Michael McGrath.

7:25 AM.A Porirua Principal is deeply disappointed the government is looking to axe funding for free lunches in schools by up to 50 percent.

The $323 million programme is under review with ACT leader and… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.Roads are the focus of the Government's new draft transport plan, while climate targets have been put on the backburner.

The new plan promises 15 new highways and a new fund to fix potholes, while… Read more Audio

7:14 AM.The government is being accused of making the cost of living worse, as it looks to charge motorists more to pay for roading projects.

On Monday it unveiled its $20 billion draft plan for transport… Read more Audio

7:10 AM.School stand-downs have spiked to record levels after dropping away during the height of the pandemic.

Schools used the formal punishment more than 25,000 times in 2022, or nearly 3.3 times for every… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.The Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, is flying to Melbourne on a commercial flight Tuesday morning, after the Defence Force identified a "maintenance fault" with their Boeing 757 aircraft.

Luxon is… Read more Audio

6:38 AM.The coalition government is proposing increasing petrol excise tax by 12 cents per litre in 2027 to help pay for new roads.

The Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced a raft of changes to be… Read more Audio

6:16 AM.The association representing gas station owners says it's waiting for the government to follow through on promises to crack down on retail crime as service stations continue to be targeted.

On… Read more Audio

6:07 AM.The US Supreme Court has struck down Colorado's move to bar Donald Trump from its presidential primary.

Colorado's top court removed the former president from its ballot in December, citing the 14th… Read more Audio