Morning Report for Tuesday 1 September 2020

6:06 AM.Australian Caleb Ewan timed his effort to perfection to win the third stage of the Tour de France in a bunch sprint at the end of a 198-km hilly ride through the Alpine foothills. Read more Audio

6:18 AM.Seconday school principals in Taranaki are demanding answers from the Education Minister about a private Green School receiving almost $12 million in Government funding.

They have written an open… Read more Audio

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

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

6:39 AM.Packed and ready to leave.

That's how some Southland residents spent much of yesterday after fire hit an old paper mill building in Mataura, now used to store toxic aluminium waste.

Fire services… Read more Audio

6:42 AM.There was an unprecedented increase in the number of people applying for benefits in April this year when the country was in Alert Level 4.

Figures in a Ministry of Social Development report show the… Read more Audio

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

7:06 AM.The New Zealand doubles tennis player Michael Venus says it wasn't a straightforward decision to play the US Open. Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Residents of the Southland town of Mataura have their bags packed ready to evacuate in case potentially lethal ammonia gas is released from toxic waste being stored there.

A nearby fire yesterday is… Read more Audio

7:13 AM.Education Minister Chris Hipkins is calling on Aucklanders to send their kids to school as thousands stayed away in the wake of the city's lockdown.

School principals say parents are more fearful of… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.The number of people on a benefit shot up by almost 12 percent in April this year, the biggest rise in the past 24 years and nearly double the next largest increase.

The figures are in a report by… Read more Audio

7:23 AM.Firefighters have begun a third day battling a large scrub fire burning near Twizel, in the Mackenzie District.

Cold weather and rain had been forecast for overnight and there was even the… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.All eyes will be on the NZX today, with expectations that strengthened systems and back-up measures will hold firm against any further cyber attacks.

The stock exchange suffered trading halts last… Read more Audio

7:37 AM.A woman whose husband was killed in a heli-skiing crash says her fight through the justice system felt like a "David and Goliath" battle.

Adelle Box represented herself at an inquest for her partner… Read more Audio

7:42 AM.Violence against prison guards appears to be getting worse, despite a drop in the number of inmates.

There were 355 reported assaults resulting in injury in the last 12 months to May, a 49 percent… Read more Audio

7:45 AM.A scathing inquiry into the Earthquake Commission's handling of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes could mean huge change for how it handles claims.

The Government says it's committed to… Read more Audio

7:57 AM.Tuesday is the first day of spring but wintry temperatures are on their way.

A southerly change will drag cold air up through the country and there will even be some snow in the South Island… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.World men's number one Novak Djokovic admits playing on possibly the greatest court in tennis, without crowds, will take some getting use to. Read more Audio

8:10 AM.A fire near a disused paper mill in Mataura has raised further questions about when the hazardous waste stored in the mill will be removed.

About 8500 tonnes of ouvea premix is sitting in the mill in… Read more Audio

8:20 AM.In an article published in the Guardian yesterday, well known documentary maker Michael Moore has again predicted that President Trump will win in the upcoming US election.

In 2016, he successfully… Read more Audio

8:26 AM.Environmentalists believe the prevalence of Wilding Conifer trees - better known as Wilding Pines - in the McKenzie District should cop much of the blame for the large scrubfire still burning there.

… Read more Audio

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

8:37 AM.The North and South rugby squads got together for the first time yesterday afternoon ahead of this weekend's crowdless game in Wellington.

For the Auckland-based players it was good to feel some… Read more Audio

8:39 AM.The NZX suffered trading halts last week and disruption yesterday for a fifth day, after denial of service attacks took its website offline.

Andrew Little, the Minister overseeing the country's spy… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.Some high-decile schools are facing shortfalls of many thousands of dollars from donations and fundraising this year because of the pandemic.

Principals say it's a combination of economic hardship in… Read more Audio

8:49 AM.A petition seeking better sick leave entitlements will be presented to the government at noon today.

Signed by 10,000 people, it seeks changes such as increasing legal minimum paid sick leave from 5… Read more Audio

8:53 AM.A Rotorua man's charitable trust is renting motels to house people after the Covid-19 pandemic forced him to shut his shelters for the homeless.

Tiny Deane, who is well-known in the city, says… Read more Audio

8:57 AM.If you've taken up writing a diary during the Covid-19 pandemic, you're not alone.

Australian researchers from RMIT University in Melbourne have found diary-keeping is having a resurgence.

Dr Peta… Read more Audio