Morning Report for Friday 9 August 2013

8:57 AM.Let's have a chat to our Canberra correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh. Audio

8:52 AM.The surfing world is in shock after the death of a renowned champion New Zealand surfer and surfboard designer. Audio

8:49 AM.Business New Zealand says businesses will fail if they don't start learning how to interact with Maori and their protocols; The national body for Maori medium education says the Qualifications… Read more Audio

8:45 AM.A Christchurch catering company has joined forces with the City Mission to tackle what is being described as a new era of poverty after the Canterbury earthquakes. Audio

8:42 AM.Listening to that was the Primary Industries Minister, Nathan Guy. Audio

8:38 AM.The Labour Party says the Government is favouring big companies at the expense of recreational fishers in its proposed changes to snapper catches. Audio

8:34 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

8:28 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:25 AM.A warning for couch potatoes everywhere; obesity is set to be a greater cause of disability and loss of life than smoking. Audio

8:22 AM.New Zealand Post's chairman Sir Michael Cullen says the company will soon run out of cash to give its subsdiary Kiwibank the investment it needs to expand. Audio

8:18 AM.Westport residents are pinning their hopes on mining the Denniston plateau to prevent their area from becoming a ghost town. Audio

8:14 AM.Analysts are expecting the partial float of Meridian Energy to get under way as early as next month, after a final hurdle was cleared yesterday. Audio

8:09 AM.Fonterra officials are meeting Government ministers this morning as the investigations into the contamination scare enter a new phase. Audio

7:54 AM.A Marlborough-based brewery has been named the Champion Brewery in New Zealand. Audio

7:50 AM.The National Party begins its annual conference tomorrow in Nelson, unfazed by controversy around the GCSB bill and buoyant about its polling. Audio

7:47 AM.The popular former Queensland premier, Peter Beattie, has announced he's returning to politics and will be running for a seat in the Australian general election. Audio

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

7:34 AM.Conservationists are not ruling out further legal action against a proposed open cast mine on the West Coast, despite the Conservation Minister Nick Smith saying such a move would bring the process… Read more Audio

7:24 AM.An environmental scientist says the new State of the Environment reports will be a reality check for the Government. Audio

7:21 AM.The Conservation Minister is launching a new push for a marine reserve in Otago. Audio

7:18 AM.House values have risen more than eight percent in the past year - pushing property values seven point five percent higher than the pre-recession peak. Audio

7:13 AM.Fonterra will hold talks with the Government this morning as the dairy company's board promises an independent inquiry. Audio

7:09 AM.Workers at the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter remain uneasy about their future despite a deal being struck between the plant's owners and Meridian Energy. Audio

6:46 AM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

6:41 AM.Obesity is now as great a cause of disability and loss of life as smoking. Audio

6:38 AM.The Finance Minister Bill English says there'll be no second bite of the cherry for Rio Tinto, after the government agreed to a 30-million-dollar subsidy, to help settle a deal with the power company… Read more Audio

6:28 AM.The national body for Maori medium education says the Qualifications Authority should work with it to resolve NCEA problems at a handful of kura; Business New Zealand says businesses will fail if they… Read more Audio

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

6:19 AM.The latest from the Pacific region. Audio

6:14 AM.Environmentalists are outraged that new environmental reports will not be written by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Dr Jan Wright. Audio

6:11 AM.Opposition MPs have failed in their repeated attempts to fundamentally change the new legislation for the electronic spy agency, as the bill makes its way through the House. Audio

6:00 AM.Tiwai Point contract sorted, now the Government can part privatise Meridian Energy, Fonterra starts to answer some of the questions its been avoiding over the Contamination and obesity takes over from… Read more Audio