Morning Report for Wednesday 12 March 2014

8:57 AM.Students in the capital struggling with the cost of alcohol have a reprieve, but they'll have to go hunting for rats to get it. The Victoria University Science Society has joined forces with Gareth… Read more Audio

8:55 AM.Wellington theatre company The Bacchanals have decided to put on a play that uses singing, some old suitcases and a bit of toilet humour to take you back to when free medical care and welfare began. Audio

8:49 AM.The number of Wellingtonians cycling or walking to work has jumped while the number driving has fallen. Figures from the Census show that nearly 75 percent more Wellingtonians are cycling to work than… Read more Audio

8:48 AM.The leader of the Mana Party, Hone Harawira, says there are more important issues the Government needs to address than focussing on a new national flag; The Green Party MP, Catherine Delahunty, says… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.Northland dairy farmers are paying more than two-thousand dollars a day to feed their animals, as the Indian summer shines on and their pastures burn to a crisp. There's been no significant rain since… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.Four of New Zealand's top research institutes will miss out on millions of dollars of funding next year. The Riddet Insitute at Massey University, Gravida at Auckland University and the Bio-Protection… Read more Audio

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

8:29 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

8:22 AM.New data has revealed that the missing Malaysian Airlines plane had deviated from its planned flight path from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and was hundreds of kilometres off route when it disappeared… Read more Audio

8:16 AM.Former Labour Party president Mike Williams joins Morning Report. Audio

8:13 AM.Feathers have been ruffled between the two potential coalition partners, Labour and the Greens, after critical remarks from Shane Jones about the Green MP Gareth Hughes. During an interview about the… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.In the latest developments on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, the Malaysian Air Force has traced its last known location to a spot hundreds of kilometres from the usual Kuala Lumpur to Beijing… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.It looks as if Anadarko's days of prospecting for oil and gas off the Otago coast may be numbered. Greenpeace has received a tip-off that Anadarko's deepwater exploration well is dry and is therefore… Read more Audio

7:58 AM.An attempted jewellery heist went badly off target, after the alleged thief targetted Wellington's top ranked policewoman. Superintendent Sandra Manderson was shopping late on Monday afternoon when a… Read more Audio

7:56 AM.An Auckland father says he's expecting to have to save up for ten years to buy his first home, but may be forced to leave the family and community he grew up with and move away from the city to get on… Read more Audio

7:52 AM.New Zealand's biggest ever fraud trial starts at the High Court in Timaru this morning. The former chief executive of South Canterbury Finance, Lachie McLeod and two former directors, Edward Sullivan… Read more Audio

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

7:43 AM.The Education Minister Hekia Parata joins Morning Report. Audio

7:40 AM.Primary school teachers and principals are starting to turn on the Government's 360-million-dollar plan to create new roles for the best teachers and principals. The union for primary teachers and… Read more Audio

7:35 AM.The Prostitutes Collective says it knows of people with new information about the killing of Mellory Manning, and will speak with Christchurch sex workers tonight to encourage them to come forward. Audio

7:26 AM.The Government's external spying agency is denying it had help from the United States National Security Agency in rewriting the law governing the way it operates. The former NSA… Read more Audio

7:19 AM.Barely has the election date been set and already signs of friction between Labour and the Green Party are emerging. The firebrand Labour MP, Shane Jones set it all off. He called the Green Party's… Read more Audio

7:14 AM.In the latest developments on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, the Malaysian Air Force has traced its last known location to a spot hundreds of kilometres from the usual Kuala Lumpur to Beijing… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.The oil company Anadarko says it is now very unlikely to drill a follow-up exploration well off the Otago coast. The Texan company has spent a month and 150-million-dollars drilling a deepwater hole… Read more Audio

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

6:39 AM.Anadarko says it is not willing to confirm or deny claims made by Greenpeace that the company's latest deepwater exploration well off the Otago coast is dry. The Texan company has spent a month and… Read more Audio

6:27 AM.The Green Party MP, Catherine Delahunty, says it's touch and go whether she can push stricter river protection legislation over the line; The leader of the Mana Party, Hone Harawira, says there are… Read more Audio

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

6:17 AM.The latest from the Pacific region. Audio

6:11 AM.Primary school teachers and principals now say they have their doubts about the Government's 360-million dollar plan to boost student achievement by creating new roles for the best teachers and… Read more Audio

6:00 AM.Anadarko unlikely to test drill another Otago oil hole; Interpol identify stolen passport holders; Shane Jones takes issue with the Green party; GCSB denies it had help from NSA in shaping NZ law; Sex… Read more Audio