Morning Report for Wednesday 8 July 2020

6:00 AM.The new Health Minister says the leaking of Covid-19 patients' details by the Opposition MP Hamish Walker smacks of 'dirty politics'.

We'll speak to National leader Todd Muller about his MPs actions… 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

6:36 AM.The admission by National Party MP Hamish Walker he leaked the personal details of Covid-19 patients has a ring of 'dirty politics' according to the Health Minister.

Last night the Clutha-Southland… Read more Audio

6:39 AM.New Zealand's temporary workers have been given some breathing space to plan their next move, but it is a different story for those migrants stuck overseas.

The Minister of Immigration has used his… Read more Audio

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

7:09 AM.After being on the attack for weeks over border blunders the National Party now has its own spectacular botch up.

The Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker outed himself last night confessing to leaking… Read more Audio

7:14 AM.It was a leak of private and confidential information the leader of the National Party said was "unacceptable" and "shabby".

The privacy breach was "quite staggering" and reflected a government that… Read more Audio

7:24 AM."Outrageous, unbelievable, indefensible."

That was the reaction of the Privacy Commissioner to news the National Party leaked personal details revealing the identity of New Zealand's active Covid-19… Read more Audio

7:32 AM.New Zealanders wanting to return home are having to put plans on hold as the government scrambles to find enough hotel rooms for mandatory isolation.

Air New Zealand has agreed to put a hold on all… Read more Audio

7:42 AM.The Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, has tested positive for Covid-19.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly sought to downplay the effects of the virus over the past few months, even as it claimed the lives… Read more Audio

7:46 AM.New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says moving the Ports of Auckland to the Manukau harbour would go against 200 years of shipping expertise.

A new report published yesterday recommends moving the port… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.The lawyer who helped the Islamic Women's Council compile their submission to the Royal Commission into the Mosque Attacks says she is sickened by the way their fears were dismissed.

The council… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.The National Party board will meet today to decide the future of their Clutha Southland MP Hamish Walker.

Earlier, the party leader Todd Muller told Morning Report he wrote to the party's board last… Read more Audio

8:17 AM.Melbourne is going back into strict lockdown tonight for six weeks as Covid-19 cases there surged to a new record.

Yesterday there were 191 new cases - Victoria's worst day since the pandemic began.

8:22 AM.Doctors are backing government calls to keep doing thousands of Covid-19 tests each day to ensure the community's free of the virus.

Finding that many volunteers a day may be an uphill battle, while… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.People who have been chronically homeless are choosing to stay in permanent housing - some for the first time in more than 20 years.

Organisations working with rough sleepers say the change in… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.A lack of medical facilities in Queenstown is pushing it down a list of priorities for managed isolation.

The Southern DHB met yesterday to discuss plans by the government to expand its isolation… Read more Audio

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

8:40 AM.The Otago Regional Council will today vote on the fate of chair and former Labour Cabinet minister Marian Hobbs.

Hobbs appears set to be rolled after three-quarters of councillors signed a letter… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.Job uncertainty, no access to welfare, and concerns over Covid-19 are some of the reason New Zealanders abroad are coming back to Aotearoa.

It's estimated 1 million Kiwis live abroad, but since New… Read more Audio

8:47 AM.An Auckland freight operator says the Firth of Thames is the only viable relocation option for the Ports of Auckland. He's ruled out Manukau Harbour or Northland as potential sites.

Yesterday a new… Read more Audio

8:54 AM.Winston Peters has denied hiring a team of British political operatives to work on the New Zealand First election campaign.

That's despite a report out of London that New Zealand First has engaged… Read more Audio

8:57 AM.Backseat drivers - we've all complained about them.

First there's "you're driving too slowly", then it's "you're driving too fast" or there's the old favourite, "we're late ... and now we're going to… Read more Audio