Morning Report for Thursday 24 August 2017

6:06 AM.A update from the team at RNZ sport. Audio

6:00 AM.Labour rules out tax hike after surplus boost; National stays thrifty, Labour promises no increase to income tax, Greens break Ohariu deal with Labour and stand candidate,Trump says Mexico wall will… Read more Audio

6:09 AM.There's an extra $2 billion to play with in the Crown accounts, so Labour is ruling out the need for higher taxes, but National is warning there's little room for big spending. Audio

6:11 AM.The Greens have had a change of heart about standing a candidate in the Ōhāriu electorate. Peter Dunne's unexpected decision to step down prompted the Greens to rejoin the race, selecting Johnsonville… Read more Audio

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

6:38 AM.The pre-election fiscal update revealed a massive one-off boost this year, but it's expected to tail off in coming years, with surpluses lower than initially forecast from 2019 onward. Audio

6:42 AM.ACC has admitted the number of claims it refuses to cover is higher than it originally said. It now says the figure is 90,000 a year. But Dunedin lawyer and researcher Warren Forster believes the true… Read more Audio

6:44 AM.A motel owner is fed up she is out of pocket after some resident beneficiaries with emergency housing grants have damaged her rooms and smoked drugs inside. Audio

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

7:10 AM.An extra $2 billion has been revealed in Crown accounts, but National is warning there's little room for big spending. Steven Joyce discusses the numbers with Guyon Espiner. Audio

7:17 AM.Labour's finance spokesperson Grant Robertson promises wage earners will be better off if it leads the next government. He says two in three workers have not had a pay rise in the past year that kept… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.It's been more than four months since Edgecumbe's devastating flood wrecked homes and lives and locals are just getting angrier about what's happened to them. Audio

7:40 AM.Beneficiaries house hunting in Palmerston North say the rental situation is dire, and many people don't know what they can do. Audio

7:44 AM.ACC now admits it refuses cover to 90,000 claims a year, 20,000 more than it originally said. Researchers and advocates say ACC is still grossly underestimating the numbers of claimants unfairly… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.The National MP, Chris Bishop, believes the marginal seat of Hutt South is his for the picking with a relative newcomer, Ginny Anderson, replacing Labour's Trevor Mallard as a candidate. Audio

7:50 AM.As biosecurity officials fight three major disease outbreaks at the same time, an expert is warning New Zealand's biosecurity system is under growing global pressure. Audio

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

8:22 AM.About 80 people turned out in Whangarei last night to hear what Northland election candidates had to say about poverty - and how they'd go about fixing it. Read more Audio

8:27 AM.Protesters opposed to gold mining on conservation land in the Karangahake Gorge have blocked the road to stop miners getting to the site. Police have now arrived and protest spokesperson Holly Dove… Read more Audio

8:36 AM.One of Barnaby Joyce's fiercest rivals, former independent MP Tony Windsor, wants the chance to challenge the Australian deputy Prime Minister's citizenship. Audio

8:42 AM.Despite a drop in full-year profit of $81 million, Air New Zealand is still dishing out bonuses to thousands of staff. Sydney-based Centre for Aviation executive chairman Peter Harbison says the… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.Rangatahi from around the country are pitching their big business ideas to a panel of judges in an initiative aimed to boost Maori enterprise. Audio

8:47 AM.An election meeting in Wellington has heard complaints transport efficiency is being achieved at the cost of workers wages. Audio

8:52 AM.Village councils in Samoa are banning would-be Chinese investors from opening general stores in the villages. Audio