Morning Report for Wednesday 27 June 2018

8:57 AM.She's the billion-dollar real-estate agent. After 28 years in the business, Harcourts Grenadier Christchurch consultant Alison Aitken has sold a remarkable $1 billion worth of property. What's her… Read more Audio

8:46 AM.A south Taranaki Māori food business that gambled on its future by looking to traditional favourites from the past has won an award for innovation. Kaitahi's smoothies made with frozen pūhā, kumara… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.Seven months after undergoing back surgery the All Black captain Kieran Read will make his long awaited return to the rugby field today. South Auckland-born Read will lace up for his home province… Read more Audio

8:35 AM.The government is under fire for quietly scrapping health targets, in a move Opposition leader Simon Bridges says it outrageous and will lead to more illnesses and deaths. But Health Minister David… Read more Audio

8:32 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:30 AM.A late goal has given Argentina a dramatic 2-1 victory over Nigeria in Group D sending the twice champions through to the knockout stages of the World Cup. It's just one of a number of crucial games… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.A tattooed and mummified Māori skull has been returned to Te Papa by the mayor of the German city of Cologne overnight. The Cologne's Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum was holding the skull after it was… Read more Audio

8:20 AM.There are growing calls from civic leaders and businesses for a permanent solution to the fragile road linking Gisborne and Opotiki. State Highway 2 through the Waioeka Gorge is regularly closed… Read more Audio

8:15 AM.Environment Minister David Parker said the government is planning immediate action on water quality after a report from the Land and Water Forum. But the forum itself is going into abeyance. Hugh… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.A New Zealand man who was shot in the US trying to enter the house of a teenage girl he'd met online, has now been arrested and is being held in a secure ward at a local hospital. Twenty-five-year old… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.Marcos Rojo scored an 86th minute goal to save Argentinean embarrassment and send them into the into the last 16 of the football World Cup Audio

7:55 AM.Parliament voted unanimously on Tuesday night for a new law to stop multinational companies avoiding paying tax in New Zealand. It comes into force in July. But will it work? Professor Craig Elliffe… Read more Audio

7:45 AM.A funeral service will be held later this morning at Ngaruawahia's Tūrangawaewae Marae for the former Māori Affairs Minister and long-serving Labour MP, Koro Wētere. Mr Wētere died on Saturday at the… Read more Audio

7:35 AM.The Government is promising immediate action on tackling water quality around the country. It comes after the advisory group, the Land and Water Forum, published a series of recommendations yesterday… Read more Audio

7:30 AM.Aucklanders will be paying an extra 11.5 cents a litre to fuel up from Sunday. A law giving Auckland Council the power to impose the regional tax passed through its final stages at Parliament last… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.The Electricity Authority is pressing ahead with its plan for big changes to the way people are charged for electricity. And that's expected to mean people living a long way from power plants will… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.The number of people whose benefits are suspended or cancelled each day has dropped by almost a quarter - in just a matter of weeks. It follows a policy change, announced last month, that means any… Read more Audio

7:15 AM.Protesters have gathered outside the US Supreme Court after the court ruled in favour of Donald Trump's travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries. Lower courts had deemed the ban… Read more Audio

7:10 AM.In Virginia, a New Zealand man has left hospital and is now in custody after being shot while trying to break into a home in Goochland just outside the city of Richmond. Troy Skinner was shot by the… Read more Audio

7:06 AM.The Counties Manukau rugby headquarters will be shutting shop to get a glimpse of the All Blacks captain Kieran Read playing for their side tomorrow afternoon in South Auckland against the Tasman… Read more Audio

6:50 AM.New recommendations from the Land and Water Forum mean some farmers might have to limit the number of stock on vulnerable land. The forum published a report yesterday aimed at better management of… Read more Audio

6:49 AM.Businesses have positive view of economy, but stay vexed about a host of issues. Visitors spend billions on the plastic. Foreign housing ban could trigger steeper price drop. Latest from global… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.The government has passed new legislation which aims to stop multinational companies from avoiding tax. It passed its final stages at Parliament last night and will come into affect from July 1. The… Read more Audio

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

6:20 AM.An early taste of the business news, and a catch up of the overnight financial market action. Audio

6:15 AM.Construction delays and cost over-runs are prolonging the earthquake risks facing patients and staff at Christchurch hospital. Six major hospital buildings at the central city site have been listed as… Read more Audio

6:12 AM.The number of people having their benefit suspended or cancelled has dropped by nearly a quarter, in just a matter of weeks. Last month, the government told Work and Income staff could not decide on… Read more Audio

6:09 AM.The US Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the Trump administration's travel ban targeting people from several Muslim-majority countries. Lower courts had deemed the ban unconstitutional, but the US… Read more Audio

6:06 AM.France and Denmark have qualified for the last 16 at the football World Cup after playing out a goal-less draw in their last Group C match. Audio

6:00 AM.Troy Skinner in US police custody after shooting, Muslim travel ban approval a win for Trump, Benefit suspensions drop after policy change, Elecricity prices to rise in north, drop in South Audio