Morning Report for Thursday 22 August 2019

8:52 AM.Five top acts have made the shortlist for this year's APRA Silver Scroll Award, recognising excellence in songwriting: The Beths, Tiny Ruins, Aldous Harding, Benee, Avantdale Bowling Club. Kirsten… Read more Audio

8:48 AM.A central Auckland theatre is being renamed in honour of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa as a permanent tribute to the soprano. Aotea Centre's ASB Theatre will become Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on November the 20th… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.Pacific leaders have launched a petition calling on Auckland Council for a cultural centre to keep their heritage alive and boost tourism. The community says they've been asking for one for years and… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.The removal of four rata trees thought to be about 300 years old is being condemned by a Karamea local who says the regional council's ripped out history. The four trees were bowled over on Tuesday to… Read more Audio

8:38 AM.A Wairarapa iwi is on a mission to lift the number of Māori language speakers among its kaumātua. Rangitāne o Wairarapa found more than seventy percent of its people aged 55 and over could not speak… Read more Audio

8:35 AM.Wellington City Council has spent hundreds of thousands of ratepayer dollars trying to get the controversial Shelly Bay redevelopment off the ground - but with nothing to show for it. Nearly $800,000… Read more Audio

8:26 AM.If you were worried about missing the chance to support the All Blacks during the Rugby World Cup at your local, fear not. Bars and clubs will be able to open outside normal licensing hours for the… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.Protesters occupying the Ihumātao land near Auckland airport are about to begin a four-hour hikoi to Jacinda Ardern's electorate office Mt Albert. They're presenting a petition that has been signed by… Read more Audio

8:20 AM.An expert on alcohol-related harm says there's no point in submitting on a review of the code which governs how companies can advertise their booze. So far 60 organisations and people have signed… Read more Audio

8:16 AM.A Silicon Valley company with grandiose plans for processing data from New Zealand had CCTV cameras watching Auckland's roads. Emails released to RNZ show the company Machine Zone or MZ, also trialled… Read more Audio

8:09 AM.Public health experts have clashed over plans to fine parents for smoking in a car with children. Researcher Marewa Glover told the Health Select Committee yesterday the Smoke Free Amendment Bill… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.The Black Caps senior batsman Ross Taylor is confident they can rise to the occasion in the second cricket Test against Sri Lanka. Audio

7:54 AM.Support is being expressed for a challenge laid down by Kiingi Tuheitia in his annual address in Ngaruawahia yesterday. In his wero, the King said Maori should find their own solutions for looking… Read more Audio

7:49 AM.Act Party leader David Seymour's voluntary euthanasia bill has cleared another stage in Parliament. MPs voted 70 to 50 in favour of the End of Life Choice being given a third and final reading. But… Read more Audio

7:46 AM.A candidate in the local body elections says the rules governing Māori translations of candidate profiles on voting papers is a form of "institutional racism" and must change. Election rules state… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.The government wants to direct city councils to loosen up planning rules and scrap unnecessary restrictions for developing higher-density housing. The announcement from the Urban Development Minister… Read more Audio

7:27 AM.President Donald Trump has cancelled a visit to Denmark after his proposal to purchase Greenland was ridiculed. He was due to visit in two weeks on the invitation of the Danish Queen, but on Twitter… Read more Audio

7:23 AM.An aviation commentator says the resignation of the Civil Aviation Authority chair Nigel Gould is unsurprising at the least. Mr Gould was asked to step aside by the Transport Minister and he has done… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.Three men remain on the run in Levin after overpowering a police officer and carjacking a stranger's car yesterday. The men when they were being loaded into a transport vehicle at the Levin District… Read more Audio

7:10 AM.A finalist for New Zealander of the Year for her work with Maori smokers is facing being shut out of the public health system because her research is funded by tobacco giant Philip Morris. Yesterday… Read more Audio

7:06 AM.The Black Caps will be hoping for a repeat of their 2012 Tour to Sri Lanka in the second Test starting this afternoon. Audio

6:43 AM.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has met with the German chancellor Angela Merkel to kick off his first foreign trip since taking over the leadership. Mr Johnson wants changes to the Brexit… Read more Audio

6:40 AM.The resignation of Civil Aviation Authority chairman Nigel Gould has been welcomed by many in the aviation community. But some say the problems go far deeper than one person. Michael Cropp reports. Read more Audio

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

6:17 AM.A Syrian refugee who was privately sponsored to live in Canada now wants to extend the same offer to 200 refugees detained on Nauru and Manus Island. In Canada, refugees can be sponsored by… Read more Audio

6:15 AM.The government's wellbeing budget and living standard framework have taken pride of place above climate change. That's the message from former PM and United Nations Development Programme… Read more Audio

6:12 AM.Local councils have sent a scathing letter to government ministers complaining about the lack of money being put into stopping the spread of kauri dieback. The government has committed more than $20… Read more Audio

6:09 AM.US President Donald Trump has cancelled a state visit to Denmark after the nation's prime minister said Greenland was not for sale. Mr Trump was scheduled to visit in two weeks' time, on the… Read more Audio

6:05 AM.Peter Burling and Blair Tuke have won the 49er class at the Tokyo Olympic Test Sailing regatta at Enoshima. Audio

6:00 AM.A leading anti-smoking researcher defends accepting funding from a tobacco company, Three men remain on the loose after escaping from police in Levin, Ihumatao protesters are about to begin a hikoi to… Read more Audio