Morning Report for Thursday 1 December 2016

6:00 AM.Judge calls for independent body to monitor welfare of children; woman tells of finding whanau after 60 years in care; concerns new ministry won't place Maori children with whanau; warning online… Read more Audio

6:10 AM.More schools are speaking about the difficulties the banning of seclusion rooms is causing them. Audio

6:16 AM.The Government is again warning first home buyers to be careful and not to take on too much debt. The latest caution comes as new Reserve Bank figures show the average loan for a first home has soared… Read more Audio

6:19 AM.The Qualifications Authority has downgraded the standing of the country's largest institute of technology. Unitec in Auckland has gone from a level one institute to a level two. Audio

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

6:27 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Audio

6:44 AM.A flu expert is calling for health authorities to consider funding wider access to the free flu vaccine to ensure more people are protected. It follows the release of new research showing many people… Read more Audio

6:49 AM.Local businesses seem to have an almost irrepressible confidence in the outlook for the broader economy and more particularly in their own prospects. Audio

6:50 AM.A new era of financial market behaviour and regulation is ushered in today as the Financial Markets Conduct Act comes fully into force. Audio

6:53 AM.The Australian carpet maker, Godfrey Hirst, has lost its Court of Appeal case to stop a merger designed to create a single wool processing business in New Zealand. Audio

6:55 AM.All eyes are on the Australian government's next big fiscal announcement in the form of the mid-financial year budget update on December 19th. Audio

6:57 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

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

7:27 AM.Maori Women's Welfare League president Prue Kapua says action will be taken if the Government pushes ahead with new law setting up the Ministry for Vulnerable Children, as there has not been… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.In an unusual move, the chief ombudsman Peter Boshier has made a submission to a parliamentary select committee. What's got him so fired up is online schools. He wants significant restrictions on the… Read more Audio

7:52 AM.GNS volcanologist Brad Scott says the geyser was more likely due to weather than to seismic activity. Audio

7:56 AM.A new mobile app hailed by Fiji's government as a 'multi-billion dollar venture' is being described as nothing more than a con by critics. "Instacharge" supposedly allows a user to recharge their… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

8:10 AM.Abuse survivor Grant West says he and at least 40 other kids were abused during his time in care and many will be too scared and traumatised to speak out, until a proper transparent and open inquiry… Read more Audio

8:14 AM.A criminologist at Victoria University, Elizabeth Stanley, who has written a book about the abuse of children in care, says a Royal Commission needs to look into the cases. Audio

8:19 AM.Tourists should hold off going to Kaikoura until it's back on its feet - that's the view at the Lazy Shag Backpackers. Audio

8:27 AM.But as Washington correspondent Simon Marks points out, it's not clear whether Trump will completely sever ties with his business or just discontinue day-to-day operational activities. Audio

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

8:35 AM.Our economics correspondent looks at the pros and cons of new lending restrictions and whether they are even necessary. Audio

8:43 AM.Maths specialist Bobbie Hunter calls for a new approach to teaching the subject after an international survey finds NZ 10-year-olds are the worst in the English-speaking world. Audio

8:49 AM.Morning Report's Rio de Janeiro correspondent says the city's Christ the Redeemer statue is in Chapocoense's colours as Brazil mourns its football heroes. Audio

8:53 AM.Shivers, Tedx is moving south. The most remote Ted talks ever will take place at Scott Base in Antarctica in January. Audio

8:57 AM.Kumara returns to an island off the coast of Whangarei for the first time in a century in a show of community spirit and whanaungatanga. Audio