Morning Report for Monday 4 May 2020

6:07 AM.The Greens will only give limited support to plans to fast-track consents for 'shovel ready', large scale building projects, over concerns the public is losing its say.

New legislation would remove… Read more Audio

6:10 AM.Dunedin and Invercargill hospitals would have been turning patients away from their intensive care units by the end of this month, if the worst case scenario for Covid-19 had played out.

Modeling… 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.The government plans to fast-track consents for 'shovel ready', large scale building projects, sidestepping mechanisms for the community to have a stay.

The legislation, to be introduced to… Read more Audio

6:43 AM.A woman was contacted by the Ministry of Health's tracing team four and a half weeks after she came into contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case. 

She took a regional flight on 17 March and ten days… Read more Audio

6:49 AM.A gang leader suggests some of the recent lockdown breaches by gang members could have been prevented.

It comes as the police released a statement warning they would not "tolerate gang breaches"… Read more Audio

6:53 AM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Cabinet has agreed to put a rocket under the resource consent process to fast-track building projects, but not all three governing parties are on board.

The Green Party is only supporting the changes… Read more Audio

7:13 AM.Wellington's billion dollar Transmission Gully highway is facing new delays as work on the four lane highway is drastically curtailed.

Many of the roading sub-contractors are no longer employed and… Read more Audio

7:16 AM.Nearly two weeks after the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history, assault-style firearms, like the AR-15, are to be banned.

The Canadian government has drawn up a list of about 1500 models that… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.During the country's first weekend at Alert Level 3 police received almost 700 reports of parties being held and took action against 112 people.

Police are warning that this behaviour could "waste… Read more Audio

7:35 AM.Cranes have cranked up on construction sites around the country in a sign that building activity is up and running.

Crane owners and operators are encouraged by the busy start at Alert Level 3 after… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.Hospitals are being told to consider putting off surgery for older or seriously overweight patients as they start to resume their normal work.

In a memo to DHBs, the Ministry of Health urges them to… Read more Audio

7:46 AM.Leaked emails show the police and Crown Law shared concerned officers had no power to enforce the lockdown.

The emails - which were shared with the New Zealand Herald - from Deputy Commissioner Mike… Read more Audio

7:52 AM.Could the lockdown signal the end of rough sleeping? Former rough sleepers and community housing groups think it could.

More than 1000 people have been housed in last five weeks and the government… Read more Audio

7:56 AM.The dairy industry wants New Zealanders to fall back in love with life on the farm.

With Covid-19 meaning the migrant workforce isn't available, it's predicted the sector will need to fill 1000 jobs… Read more Audio

8:08 AM.Cabinet has approved the introduction of law changes that could fast-track consent under the Resource Management Act.

The Government says it doesn't want the RMA to stand in the way of the timely… Read more Audio

8:17 AM.The government plans to fast-track consents for 'shovel ready', large scale building projects, sidestepping mechanisms for the community to have a stay.

The temporary changes will speed up the… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.The situation is expected to worsen for farmers in drought-hit areas over the next few months, with hopes of any decent grass growth before winter quickly diminishing.

Parts of Northland, Hawke's Bay… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.Travellers returning to New Zealand to see a family member who is dying are not being allowed out of managed isolation.

So far all 24 people who have applied for an exemption to visit a relative who… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.The National Party wants the government to be more upfront about the status of Kurdish Iranian refugee Behrouz Boochani.

The journalist and author arrived in New Zealand last year to attend a… Read more Audio

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

8:39 AM.New figures show the number of international students in the country is even lower than first thought.

Immigration New Zealand says there are just 51,500 people with valid study visas in the country… Read more Audio

8:46 AM.The police say they will not tolerate breaches of the level three lockdown by gangs.

During the country's first weekend at Level 3 police received almost 700 reports of parties being held and took… Read more Audio

8:51 AM.Maori health experts and industry leaders have largely been excluded from parliament's epidemic response committee, leaving many feeling extremely frustrated and left-out. The committee is tasked with… Read more Audio

8:55 AM.There are conflicting accounts about the state of New Zealand's supply of the flu vaccine.

The government says there is sufficient stock, but a leaked e-mail from the Ministry of Health suggests… Read more Audio