Five O'clock Report for Friday 18 January 2019

5:10 PM.The National Party says the Government owes the public an explanation following the official resignation of KiwiBuild's chief. In a statement issued on his behalf, Stephen Barclay announced he would… Read more Audio

5:12 PM.The police in Dunedin are still piecing together how a woman on a Lime Scooter came to collide with a truck in the city. A 26-year-old foreign national is in a critical condition after the crash on… Read more Audio

5:14 PM.2019 is set to be another big year for the farming sector, as it continues to fight the cattle disease, Mycoplasma bovis. In May the government announced it would try to eradicate the disease, which… Read more Audio

5:19 PM.Starfish are helping New Zealand scientists to understand how marine life is responding to global warming. A team of marine biologists at Otago University have used 500 starfish to help them develop a… Read more Audio

5:26 PM.Only 24 doctors in the last two decades have faced disciplinary action for inappropariately prescribing drugs. An Auckland University research found that most doctors who faced disciplinary action… Read more Audio

5:37 PM.Catching up on books is over summer is one of the things many adults look forward to each year. But the long summer break can have adverse consequences for children who don't pick up any books while… Read more Audio

5:41 PM.Whanganui iwi members say a two-week trip down their beloved river helps them to heal, reconnect and put politics aside. Up to 120 people have paddled the length of the Whanganui River in the annual… Read more Audio

5:48 PM.Ngahuia Morehu is the oldest registered paddler at this year's waka ama national championship. It's also the 82-year-old's first competition, after she started learning to paddle in November last… Read more Audio

5:52 PM.Ninety eight years of a family serving customers on Molesworth Street came to an end today, when Freeman's owners Tony and Lorraine, worked the last day in the shop they've been running for 44 years… Read more Audio

5:55 PM.The stars of New Zealand opera gathered in Whanganui last night to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the city's opera school. Acclaimed Ashburton-born tenor Simon O'Neill, joined Sol3mio and Kristin… Read more Audio