Summer Report for Thursday 2 January 2020

8:56 AM.On a lonely gravel road in the Mackenzie District, a sanctuary has been set up for one of New Zealand's rarest species - the robust grasshopper.

Robust grasshoppers are found mostly around the… Read more Audio

8:53 AM.Any moment now people in Christchurch and Auckland will have the chance to behold a rare sight - or should we say smell - with a plant, known as the Corpse flower, coming very close to blooming.

The… Read more Audio

8:48 AM.Health authorities nervous about measles spreading the holidays are warning people to make sure they're vaccinated.

Measles is on the wane in New Zealand but new cases are still occuring - especially… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.Ask someone what the most common surname in New Zealand is and invariably the answer is Smith.

But, the list of top 10 surnames for babies born in 2019 reveals Smith has been eclipsed ... from… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.Aucklanders hanging out for a cold drink have struggled to keep them cool with broken machinery at one of the cities largest ice factories causing a shortage during peak demand.

The shortage was most… Read more Audio

8:38 AM.Christchurch residents will have to put up with chlorinated water for some time yet, with the council admitting its plan to remove the chemical hasn't yet been given the tick of approval it was hoping… Read more Audio

8:31 AM.More than 20-thousand people have been partying at Rhythm and Vines over New Year's, and the Gisborne District Council says its nine campgrounds are bumper to bumper... or tent-pole to tent-pole.

… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.For the first time in six years, there has been a significant reduction in the road toll.

Three-hundred-and-53 people died on the roads in 2019, down from 377 in 2018.

The Automobile Association is… Read more Audio

8:21 AM.Hundreds of pills checked by the volunteer drug-testing organisation Know Your Stuff over the last few days have revealed a particular nasty that was prominent last summer, appears to be on the… Read more Audio

8:18 AM.Smokey skies across New Zealand could be causing problems for people with respiratory conditions.

Asthma New Zealand says some sufferers don't take it seriously and think they can breathe through it.

8:15 AM.RNZ reporter Tess Brunton is visiting her family home in Tathra, on the south-east coast of New South Wales.

She told Leigh-Marama McLachlan that on New Year's Eve, the fires got so close, she and… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.Eight people have died in Australia this week due to the intense bushfires burning throughout the south-eastern part of the country. 

Seven of those in New South Wales and authorities are warning… Read more Audio