Morning Report for Tuesday 26 June 2018

6:00 AM.South Aucklanders losing sight awaiting eye surgery; Patients anxious as nurses strikes loom; 'They know we'll listen' - Peters discusses strike action; Weather: Roads closed in winter chill; IRD… Read more Audio

6:06 AM.Uruguay have finished top of Group A at the World Cup after an impressive 3-nil victory over 10-man Russia, who are runners-up. Audio

6:10 AM.An independent panel has been set up to try to strengthen efforts to protect kauri from dieback disease. It will be tasked with providing advice about how to better deal with the management of the… Read more Audio

6:12 AM.On Monday on Morning Report we heard from a woodworker who says he's been unfairly treated by the Ministry for Primary over some swamp kauri he bought from a subdivision developer. Kerry Scott's being… Read more Audio

6:21 AM.An early look at the business news, overnight movements on global markets. Audio

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

6:41 AM.Opposition leader Simon Bridges says the Labour-led government is opening the floodgates to industrial disruption. Four thousand state sector workers at the Inland Revenue Department and the Ministry… Read more Audio

6:43 AM.A wintry blast has closed many main highways across New Zealand on Tuesday morning. New Zealand Transport Agency's South Island spokesperson is Tresca Forrester. She joins Guyon Espiner with the… Read more Audio

6:50 AM.Kathmandu surges on profit upgrade. German firm says 'nein' to NZ's My Food Bag. Waikato Uni software tracks fraud. Global financial markets a sea of red on trade stoush. Audio

7:06 AM.Theres a good battle going on for supremecy in group B in the world cup with both Spain and Portugal in contention. Audio

7:11 AM.People living in South Auckland are losing their sight as doctors struggle to treat the soaring number of patients suffering from eye conditions. The Counties-Manukau District Health Board has been… Read more Audio

7:13 AM.Susie Ferguson speaks to the Chief Medical Officer at the Ministry of Health, Andrew Simpson. He wasn't able to give specifics on Counties Manukau, but said the Ministry expected the DHBs to be… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.Patients caught up in the looming nurse strikes are facing an uncertain future as DHBs rush to get contingency plans in place. One expectant Wellington woman, whoses due date falls on the first… Read more Audio

7:22 AM.The Desert Road in the North Island and the Lindis and Lewis Passes in the South Island are closed by snow this morning. Audio

7:25 AM.Industrial action is looming in the public sector, and the Opposition leader Simon Bridges says the government is opening the floodgates to strikes. Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters says Mr… Read more Audio

7:39 AM.The Inland Revenue Department admits its computer system isn't going to cope automatically with a sixty-dollar-a-week payment for new parents beginning on Sunday. But it promises no one will miss out… Read more Audio

7:43 AM.Twelve boys and their soccer coach have been missing in a flooded cave in Northern Thailand for almost three days - but officials believe they are still alive. The boys, aged 13 to 16, are believed to… Read more Audio

7:49 AM.Students are defending the government's zero-fee policy, despite criticism from university management. The chair of Universities New Zealand, Stuart McCutcheon, told Nine to Noon with Kathryn Ryan on… Read more Audio

7:56 AM.An independent panel has been set up in a bid to strengthen efforts to protect kauri from dieback disease. It's been charged with coming up with fresh ideas about how to deal with the disease that's… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.The first round of 16 matchups have been confirmed at the World Cup with Spain to play Russia and Uruguay to play Portugal. Audio

8:10 AM.Eye patients in South Auckland face threats to their eyesight because of long waits for treatment. But patients in central Auckland do not. The Auckland DHB doesn't have a backlog, but Counties… Read more Audio

8:20 AM.The Best Start Payment - a $60 a week payment for all new parents up until their baby is one - is set to begin this Sunday. But the Public Service Assocation says the Inland Revenue Department's… Read more Audio

8:26 AM.Contractors expect to take days to clear the 3,000 cubic metre slip that's blocked the Waioeka gorge which links Gisborne and Opotiki. The alternative route around the East Cape adds three hours to… Read more Audio

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

8:37 AM.First Union says bank workers are feeling more pressure than ever to sell financial products. In a recent survey of 600 union members working at ANZ, BNZ and Westpac, 87 percent said they felt… Read more Audio

8:45 AM.A new research project that's underway has the potential to give New Zealand's horticultural industry a big boost. Hot Lime Labs, through Callaghan Innovation, has created a way to use wood chips and… Read more Audio

8:49 AM.Samoa has become the latest country in the Pacific Islands region to act against disposable plastic. The government of Samoa has announced a ban on all single-use plastics from January next year. The… Read more Audio