Morning Report for Tuesday 12 December 2017

6:13 AM.The Waikato District Health board is to continue checking Waikato's drinking water, even though it has lost its official accreditation to do the testing. The country's accreditation agency IANZ says… Read more Audio

6:40 AM.Women who have been fighting for a ban on surgical mesh for years feel vindicated health officials have finally acted, but wish it had happened years ago. From 4 January, mesh implants will not be… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.The SPCA is investigating allegations leading greyhound trainer Brendon Cole used live animals as bait to train his racing dogs. Using live animals to train greyhounds is illegal. The SPCA's chief… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.The most destructive wildfire raging in southern California has expanded significantly, scorching an area larger than New York City.And as thousands of firefighters try to tackle the flames… Read more Audio

7:10 AM.A High Court judge says there is evidence suggesting trusts and companies associated with the president of the Head Hunters gang have been involved in money laundering. An accountant with the Serious… Read more Audio

7:14 AM.New York authorities are calling an explosion at a bus station near Times Square an 'attempted terrorist attack'. Twenty-seven-year-old Akayed Ullah detonated a homemade device at the Port Authority… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.Women who've suffered acute pain from surgical mesh say it should have been banned years ago. Medsafe yesterday announced New Zealand would be the second country to limit the way the mesh is used… Read more Audio

7:29 AM.The Bay of Plenty township of Edgecumbe has fallen well short of getting all its flood-hit families back in their homes for Christmas - but not for want of trying. About half of the 250 families… Read more Audio

7:33 AM.Briefings to the new government's ministers have highlighted a series of problems they'll have to deal with. The documents were made public last week and show, among - other things - Auckland's… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.The Waikato District Health board has lost its accreditation to assess drinking water safety because it lacks competent staff. The country's accrediation agency IANZ says the DHB is chronically short… Read more Audio

7:50 AM.Tukoroirangi Morgan, the president of the Maori Party, has announced his resignation and has called for the party's co-leaders to follow suit. It follows a disastrous election result which saw the… Read more Audio

7:56 AM.The chief executive of the Superfund, Adrian Orr, has been appointed as the new Reserve Bank governor. Mr Orr was deputy governor and head of financial stability at the Reserve Bank from 2003 to 2007… Read more Audio

8:12 AM.Another "unfortunate experiment" is how one woman is describing New Zealand's handling of surgical mesh. Yesterday MedSafe announced that from January 4 mesh implants will not be used for pelvic organ… Read more Audio

8:19 AM.A top trainer could be kicked out of the greyhound racing industry if it's proved he used live animals as bait to train his dogs. The SPCA is investigating Brendon Cole after receiving photos in July… Read more Audio

8:20 AM.The longest dry spell in Christchurch since records began is forecast to end today. Yesterday was the 46th straight day without rain in the city - eclipsing the record of 45 days that had stood since… Read more Audio

8:24 AM.The port workers' union says revelations the Lyttelton Port chief executive was paid 955-thousand dollars last year is a slap in the face for his staff. Peter Davie was paid a salary of $597,000 and… Read more Audio

8:28 AM.Fires are now threatening houses in California's Santa Barbara County and thousands of people have been told to leave. The flames have burned through $230,000 acres in the past week and have destroyed… Read more Audio

8:39 AM.Many primary school principals have told their union they'll have to cut spending on teacher aides when the new school year starts because of budget shortfalls. Others say they're not sure they'll… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.Electricity companies are becoming anxious about the weather. Weeks of blue skies are leaving water levels in their hydro dams sinking at a time of the year when they should be rising. Eric Frykberg… Read more Audio

8:54 AM.Ross Taylor's 107-not-out against the West Indies in Hamilton yesterday means he joins his mentor, the late Martin Crowe, and Blackcaps captain Kane Williamson at the top of the list of New Zealand… Read more Audio