Morning Report for Thursday 19 December 2019

6:00 AM.Police are to get the power to randomly drug test drivers. Donald Trump is just hours away from likely impeachment by the House of Representatives. Sir Ron Brierley's former deputy is staggered at the… Read more Audio

6:06 AM.New All Blacks coach Ian Foster will start unveiling his coaching staff today with Hurricanes mentor John Plumtree the first to be announced. Read more Audio

6:12 AM.An inquiry into complaints of sexual assault against a former Labour Party staff member has failed to back the complainant's version of events.

The report - by the independent lawyer Maria Dew QC -… Read more Audio

6:20 AM.A brief update from the business sector. Read more Audio

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

6:39 AM.Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter will introduce a bill to Parliament early in 2020 that would give police powers to run random roadside saliva testing.

Last year 95 people were killed… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.Mid-year enrolment figures indicate many polytechnics have had another terrible year with one institute losing 1000 full-time students.

The figures for domestic enrolments in August show 15… Read more Audio

6:49 AM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Read more Audio

7:06 AM.New All Blacks coach Ian Foster will start unveiling his coaching staff today. Read more Audio

7:10 AM.The country's new road safety strategy will see speed limits drop on unsafe roads and penalties increase for high risk driving such as using cellphones.

The Road to Zero strategy is based on the… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.The House of Representatives is set to impeach president Donald Trump in the next few hours.

Mr Trump will be the third president in US history to be impeached. Democrats have brought two Articles of… Read more Audio

7:24 AM.Sir Ron Brierley's former deputy says he's staggered the New Zealand business tycoon has been arrested and charged in Australia for possessing child pornography.

According to the Sydney Morning Heral… Read more Audio

7:29 AM.The search for the remaining two victims of the Whakaari/White Island eruption is going to being scaled back to a locally-led operation.

A helicopter and a boat will continue to search around the… Read more Audio

7:34 AM.Labour was torn asunder when claims of sexual assault, harrassment and bullying by a staffer hit the headlines earlier this year. Accusers, bitterly disappointed with how the party had handled their… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.A new report says tourism could be destroying the very attractions bringing people here in the first place.

The report from Environment Commissioner Simon Upton says the popularity of New Zealand's… Read more Audio

7:49 AM.The Government has failed to deliver on its promise to rein in spending on expensive contractors and consultants.

The total spending on this by a group of the biggest departments has jumped by 14… Read more Audio

7:57 AM.It's that time of year when we find out what word has been judged Word of the Year by readers of the Public Address website.

Russell Brown from Public Address is here to make the big reveal and a… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.Trent Boult says to represent New Zealand in a Boxing Day cricket Test will tick off one of his long-held goals. Read more Audio

8:10 AM.The Drug Foundation wants roadside drug testing to be in place before the cannabis referendum next year.

Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter says she will introduce a bill to parliament… Read more Audio

8:19 AM.Whakatāne hospital doctors, nurses and specialists are taking stress leave after the horror of last week's deadly eruption at Whakaari/White Island.

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board is now… Read more Audio

8:20 AM.A journalist who wrote an unauthorised biography of business leader Sir Ron Brierley says she was not surprised he'd been arrested in Australia on charges of possessing child pornography.

Sir Ron… Read more Audio

8:23 AM.The woman who accused a Labour Party staff member of a serious sexual assault is reportedly standing by her version of events, despite an independent investigation finding insufficient evidence to… Read more Audio

8:28 AM.Descendants of Tūhoe prophet Rua Kēnana say the crown's pardon of their ancestor will help heal pain and tears that have remained raw over many years.

The Rua Kēnana Pardon Bill passed its second and… Read more Audio

8:30 AM.A brief update on the movements in the financial sector. Read more Audio

8:37 AM.Questions are being raised about a proposed development near Ngamotu Beach in New Plymouth and its distance from an active oil well.

The Seaport Land Company wants to transform Fonterra's former cool… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.The family of an elderly woman say her rest home cut them out of a dementia assessment process, then gave them two weeks to find her a new place to live.

Isobel Grieve was a resident at Aria Bay care… Read more Audio

8:46 AM.More flooding, habitat loss, poorer water quality and fewer species could be on the cards for a Southland lagoon as the climate changes.

The Department of Conservation has published a report today… Read more Audio

8:56 AM.The last of the MPs are escaping Wellington on Thursday morning, heading back to their home cities as Parliament shuts up shop for the Christmas break.

Their final duty was the end-of-year debate -… Read more Audio