Morning Report for Thursday 1 September 2016

6:07 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

6:10 AM.Labour's Annette King says figures showing district health boards have ended the year $54 million over budget is no surprise and the Government cannot keep pretending its funding is adequte to meet… Read more Audio

6:13 AM.Nick Smith is accused of trying to dodge responsibility after he blames birds for polluting rivers and lakes to such an extent they can't be made safe for swimming. Audio

6:22 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

6:25 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Audio

6:40 AM.The lawyer planning a class suit against steel mesh makers and sellers says problems with mesh could invalidate building insurance if they suffer earthquake damage. Audio

6:43 AM.Opponents of the Ruataniwha dam in Hawke's Bay hope a Court of Appeal ruling will spell the end for the controversial $900 million project. Audio

6:51 AM.The pace of growth in the economy appears to be picking up and is likely to get a further boost from recent dairy price gains. Audio

6:53 AM.A tax expert says the global response to ensure multinationals pay their fair share of tax doesn't address deals such as those between Apple and Ireland, which allowed the iPhone maker to pay… Read more Audio

6:55 AM.The sharemarket operator, NZX, is asking companies to increase the number of independent directors on their boards, amid concerns that the current rules are out-of-step with international standards. Audio

6:57 AM.Efforts by the sharemarket operator, NZX, to more closely align its code of practice rules to those of the Financial Markets Authority's have been given the thumbs up. Audio

6:58 AM.Over the Tasman and it's not just New Zealand - in particular Auckland - having a record run on house prices, Sydney is also going gangbusters. Audio

6:59 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

7:06 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

7:12 AM.Concerns emerge that faulty steel mesh used in houses and offices built since 2012 could invalidate insurance if it fails to save buildings in an earthquake. Audio

7:16 AM.New Zealand health boards are in debt by $54 million - that's worse than initial projections and critics say it shows most of the DHBs are facing some very real patient pressures. Audio

7:21 AM.Health Minister Jonathan Coleman says the deficits are coming down, and they're just one percent of the overall health budget. Audio

7:24 AM.The man who lost out to Ban Ki-moon in the race to lead the United Nations says Helen Clark's bid to be Secretary General is probably doomed. Audio

7:29 AM.The future of Hawke's Bay's controversial Ruataniwha dam is up in the air after a Court of Appeal ruling yesterday. Audio

7:37 AM.Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has been officially removed from office after Brazil's Senate voted to impeach her. Audio

7:40 AM.A woman who arrived home to find burglars at work says police could have caught them if they'd come when she called. Instead, they told her to make sure the offenders were still at the scene. Audio

7:44 AM.Auckland mayoral candidate Vic Crone has pledged to bring forward the cross-harbour tunnel project by a decade or more, just ten days after saying she'd make no commitments on it. Audio

7:47 AM.Federated Farmers head says control of GMOs should rest with people with who have the expertise - and that's not councils. Audio

7:52 AM.US presidential hopeful Donald Trump is in Mexico for a hastily arranged meeting with President Enrique Pena Nieto. Audio

7:54 AM.Auckland urban Maori organisations are furious iwi leaders have snubbed John Tamihere and Willie Jackson when appointing urban representatives to the city council's statutory Maori board. Audio

7:58 AM.Urban Maori leader John Tamihere says iwi consider urban Maori second class citizens. Audio

8:07 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

8:12 AM.Christchurch developer Ernest Duval is worried whether insurers will pay out on buildings with defective structural mesh. Audio

8:19 AM.If elected Auckland's mayor, Phil Goff will make sure every council staff member gets a living wage of at least $19.80. He says the council needs to recognise the city is NZ's most expensive to live… Read more Audio

8:23 AM.The Government's urged to take a fresh look at tax laws in the wake of a European Commission ruling that Apple must pay Ireland $20 billion in back taxes. Audio

8:25 AM.Association of Salaried Medical Specialists's Ian Powell says the minister is playing down the significance of District Health Boards' deficit of $54 million. Audio

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

8:37 AM.Te Puea marae officially ends its three month role providing housing to Auckland's homelessness. It says if it has to do it again next year, everyone will have failed. Audio

8:41 AM.Soil and Health Association Chair Marion Thomson says they're pleased with the court decision that puts control over GMOs into the hands of councils. Audio

8:44 AM.The Silver Ferns beat South Africa last night. Now the focus in on the game with Australia this weekend. Audio

8:53 AM.Nauru's former president says he can't leave the country for life-saving medical treatment because his passport's been seized after he took part in an anti-government protest. Audio

8:55 AM.Te Awamutu man begins a month of speaking only te Reo Maori and urges others to follow suit - even if does make it harder to order a meal at his local McDonalds. Audio

8:59 AM.Steel mesh legal action raises doubts over home insurance; two thirds of health boards are in red as budget blowout; UN insider says Helen Clark's bid for UN's job looks doomed; Ruataniwha dam's… Read more Audio