Morning Report for Friday 8 June 2012

8:57 AM.Australian correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh from Brisbane. Audio

8:54 AM.The All Blacks enter a new era at Eden Park on Saturday night with new coaches, some new players and a new target on their heads as rugby world champions. Audio

8:50 AM.A Hauraki iwi is considering seeking an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing over plans to return fourteen Auckland mountains to a group of tribes; A welfare support group in Auckland is against a… Read more Audio

8:45 AM.Lawyers doubt New Zealand courts will want to get involved in issuing orders to parents convicted of serious child assault or murder to not have any more babies. Audio

8:38 AM.There's increasing concern the latest massacre in Syria is a sign sectarian violence is spiralling out of control. Audio

8:35 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

8:29 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:25 AM.Auckland Maori say the public has nothing to fear over plans to return key landmarks to local iwi. Audio

8:18 AM.Massey University associate professor, Claire Robinson, and political commentator, Matthew Hooton, discuss the politics of the backdown. Audio

8:15 AM.Education correspondent John Gerritsen analyses the government backdown on class sizes. Audio

8:10 AM.Education groups say they are thrilled by the government's decision to halt its plan to change class sizes in schools. Audio

7:57 AM.Federated Farmers says changes to a bill paving the way for outside investment in Fonterra have given it greater confidence the proposals can be passed without jeopardising farmer control of the… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.Samoans could soon find it easier to qualify for residency in New Zealand and to get skilled seasonal work here, under immigration changes now being negotiated. Audio

7:50 AM.The Ministry of Education is again reviewing the Correspondence School - as teachers say they've lost confidence in the school's leadership. Audio

7:46 AM.Councils up and down the country have been holding hearings in recent weeks on their long term plans . Audio

7:43 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

7:38 AM.Hundreds of people in Christchurch have spent a second night without power after this week's Canterbury snowstorm. Audio

7:35 AM.The Prime Minister has been defending the Government's backdown on education policies to reporters in Hamburg. Audio

7:27 AM.With the Government backing down on its education changes, attention is turning to how the Government will handle another of its more controversial policies, the partial sale of some state owned… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.The massacre in Syria of at least 78 people, many of them women and children, has outraged normally measured diplomats at the United Nations. Audio

7:17 AM.Political editor Brent Edwards discusses the back down. Audio

7:12 AM.The Education Minister, Hekia Parata, says the policy was a trade-off from the outset, but it was a trade-off parents couldn't accept. Audio

7:10 AM.School principals say they are delighted with the government's backdown on staffing ratios that would have increased class sizes at schools around the country. Audio

6:45 AM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

6:36 AM.The Government's backdown on larger class sizes has prompted calls for the Prime Minister to remove Hekia Parata from the education portfolio. Audio

6:27 AM.A Hauraki iwi is considering seeking an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing over plans to return fourteen Auckland mountains to a group of tribes; A welfare support group in Auckland is against a… Read more Audio

6:22 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Audio

6:18 AM.The latest from the Pacific region. Audio

6:14 AM.The fire service was called to the Backbencher pub, opposite the grounds of Parliament, at a quarter to five this morning. Audio

6:10 AM.Teachers and parents took to the streets of Henderson last night to celebrate what they're calling a big victory for the education sector. Audio

6:00 AM.Class size backdown, Syria massacre, John Key in Germany, power outages in Christchurch. Audio