Morning Report for Thursday 10 April 2014

8:55 AM.A new portrait of the Queen will be unveiled by her grandson, the Duke of Cambridge, at a state reception in Wellington this evening. Audio

8:53 AM.The lawyers for a Christchurch school will today meet with Ministry counterparts in an attempt to stop Hekia Parata pressing on with a planned merger. Audio

8:51 AM.The Local Government Commission has been criticised in Whangarei over its proposal for a single council for the whole of Northland. Audio

8:48 AM.The Maori Broadcasting Funding Agency, Te Mangai Paho, has overhauled the way it funds radio and television programmes - now preferring to pay out for bilingual shows; The High Court has ruled a… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.Local Government New Zealand believes councils are too reliant on property taxes for their funding. It says demographic and economic changes have made the future of local government funding an… Read more Audio

8:37 AM.A piping contractor has been fined more than $55,000.00 in relation to a gas explosion in Auckland that killed one worker and left another a double amputee. Audio

8:34 AM.The Government may have to stump up the cash needed to cover the costs of the broken Interislander ferry. Audio

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

8:26 AM.Three thousand people are expected in Blenheim this morning for the first Royal walkabout of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's Australasian tour. Audio

8:19 AM.The Labour Party has taken another step to distance itself from the Greens, refusing to campaign on a platform promising a Labour - Greens government. Audio

8:15 AM.Two new "ping" signals have been detected in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, giving the search team renewed hope they are looking in the right place. Audio

8:10 AM.Toyota has announced a global safety recall of 6.4 million cars, with up to 40 thousand vehicles called back in this country alone. Audio

7:55 AM.Bar owners in Wanaka say they won't bother to apply for special licenses in future after their applications to trade over the Easter weekend were declined. Audio

7:53 AM.A woman has admitted shooting her husband with an air rifle after a heated argument, following the death of their son at a rugby practice. Audio

7:45 AM.A Wellington man who lost a lifetime of possessions in the storage unit fire was able to inspect the damage to his two top storey storage units. Audio

7:41 AM.The police won't rule out a link between a heavily disguised man seen entering a Wellington storage facility shortly before it caught fire, and the occupier of the unit where it started. Audio

7:38 AM.Rain is forecast for Blenheim today but the Marlborough Mayor says it won't dampen the excitement of today's Royal visit. Audio

7:35 AM.The eight month old Prince George yesterday played with ten New Zealand babies while his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, mingled with the other first-time parents at Government House in… Read more Audio

7:27 AM.The Olympian Oscar Pistorius has faced a day of tough questioning over the death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Audio

7:22 AM.In the latest blow to Kiwi Rail the Stena Alegra is out of action again today after stormy seas smashed the ferry against a Wellington wharf. Audio

7:15 AM.The Labour Party has taken another step to distance itself from the Greens, refusing to campaign on a platform promising a Labour - Greens government. Audio

7:09 AM.Toyota is recalling between 30 and 40 thousand vehicles in New Zealand as part of a massive global recall of cars. Audio

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

6:40 AM.The Labour Party is refusing to campaign under a banner of a Labour Greens government, saying it prefers instead to promote a Labour led government. Audio

6:37 AM.More than 40-thousand cars in this country could be part of one of the largest vehicle recalls the world has seen. Audio

6:27 AM.The High Court has ruled a Waitangi Tribunal judge was wrong to tell a lawyer he had to cross-examine witnesses in English, not te reo Maori; The Maori Broadcasting Funding Agency, Te Mangai Paho, has… Read more Audio

6:26 AM.Feisty, friendly, his own little man. That's the verdict on Prince George from the parents who took their eight month old babies to meet the third in line to the throne and his parents at a 'playdate'… Read more Audio

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

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

6:12 AM.The Chinese relatives of those on the missing plane still can't accept the plane has crashed. Audio

6:00 AM.Global recall of Toyota cars, Labour rejects Greens proposal, Cook Strait ferry damaged, Pistorius grilled by prosecutor in murder trial, Prince George a success and the Royal couple's Blenheim trip. Audio