Morning Report for Friday 13 July 2012

8:56 AM.Canberra correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh. Audio

8:48 AM.Waikato Regional Council has paid tribute to one of Maoridom's most respected leaders, Timoti (Timi) te Heuheu, who died yesterday; A Northland iwi chairperson has told the Waitangi Tribunal that… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.Friday the 13th is a date considered by some to be bad luck and it is certainly that for a small country school in the Hawke's Bay, which will close its doors for the last time today after 57 years. Audio

8:41 AM.Greymouth Petroleum has been given four months to drill for oil on Stewart Island. Audio

8:37 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

8:31 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:28 AM.They gave us gorse, we've given them biddi-bids. The highly invasive plant - piripiri in Maori or Acaena if you're using its botanical name - has been found on sand dunes near an internationally… Read more Audio

8:24 AM.The Minister of Maori Affairs, Pita Sharples, wants iwi to take over responsibility for keeping the language, Te Reo Maori, alive. Audio

8:20 AM.The slogan goes that breast is best - but not so, it seems, when it comes to nut allergies. Audio

8:17 AM.The children's commissioner appears in front of the select committee hearing. Audio

8:13 AM.Better ante-natal care, the role of fathers, and an inquiry into the health risks of mobile phones are all ideas that have been put to a Parliamentary inquiry on child abuse and children's health. Audio

8:09 AM.The Transport Agency has taken a scalpel to the budget for one of its trumpeted roads of national significance, saying it will now spend 100 million dollars upgrading a section of State Highway 1… Read more Audio

7:56 AM.The head of the structural engineering firm that supervised the design of the Canterbury Television building appeared yesterday at the Royal Commission into the Canterbury Earthquakes. Audio

7:51 AM.Stephen Gale started his new job as Telecommunications Commissioner yesterday on the same day the British-based mobile phone provider Vodafone announced it had bought TelstraClear. Audio

7:48 AM.The trial of the England footballer, John Terry, has been told that he used "straightforward racial abuse" towards another player during a match last October. Audio

7:45 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

7:40 AM.Polytechnics are warning the government's decision to open millions of dollars of their funding to competition from the private sector could be the death knell for some institutions. Audio

7:37 AM.At least nine people have been killed in the Mont Blanc mountains in what French police are calling one of the worst single disasters in the French Alps. Audio

7:28 AM.The horrific car crash which claimed the lives of 4 Argentineans near Mt Ruapehu on Wednesday night has prompted calls for people to take extra care when driving in the popular holiday area. Audio

7:23 AM.Whangarei's departing police chief is being criticised by his own union for airing what it calls dirty laundry in public. Audio

7:21 AM.An urgent inquiry into water rights has heard Mighty River Power is the wrong state asset to be opened up to private investors first because it's too tangled up in the water ownership debate. Audio

7:17 AM.With just 15 days to go before the start of the Olympic Games in London, three and a half thousand troops have had to be called in to bolster security. Audio

7:12 AM.The Transport Agency is making a major change to one of the roads of national significance in an effort to save 300-million dollars. Audio

7:09 AM.Concerns about reduced competition in the telecommunications market are being downplayed. Audio

6:47 AM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

6:41 AM.The Transport Agency says instead of spending 400-million dollars on a four lane expressway from Otaki to Levin, it will now spend just a quarter of that to simply upgrade the existing two-lane… Read more Audio

6:37 AM.The Telecommunications Users Association is playing down concerns the takeover of New Zealand's second largest phone company will create a cosy duopoly. Audio

6:27 AM.Waikato Regional Council has paid tribute to one of Maoridom's most respected leaders, Timoti (Timi) te Heuheu, who died yesterday; A Northland iwi chairperson has told the Waitangi Tribunal that… Read more Audio

6:21 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Audio

6:16 AM.The latest from the Pacific region. Audio

6:13 AM.An environmental lobby group says it is looking at whether it can take the Gisborne District Council to court over a decision that allows two oil and gas companies to prepare for exploration. Audio

6:00 AM.Vodafone-Telstra merger could push Telecom prices down; Major roading project changed to save $300 million; Olympics 2012: 'Worst day for organisers in seven years of preparation'; Claims Govt's… Read more Audio