Morning Report for Wednesday 10 February 2021

6:19 AM.The government is considering creating a new public agency to deliver Auckland Light Rail. RNZ revealed last year transport officials were warning the major project was too big and too complex for any… Read more Audio

8:47 AM.The impeachment trial of Donald Trump on a charge of inciting last month's deadly storming of the US Capitol is underway.

Washington correspondent Simon Marks has been following the opening… Read more Audio

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

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

6:37 AM.The government has ordered an urgent review into health officials' response to lead being discovered in the water supply of two Otago towns.

Karitane and Waikouaiti residents still can't drink from… Read more Audio

6:51 AM.If you had trouble sleeping last night, it might be down to the muggy conditions arriving from the tropics.

There are more rainy days and humid nights on the way.

NIWA's forecaster Chris Brandolino… Read more Audio

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

7:09 AM.Fonterra has admitted nitrate levels in drinking water near its ghost farms has increased - some to higher than the acceptable levels.

An RNZ investigation has revealed that the dairy giant is using… Read more Audio

7:16 AM.A woman employed to help decide who gets emergency entry into MIQ facilities says she wasn't trained and there was no one to answer questions from desperate applicants.

The former worker, contracted… Read more Audio

7:22 AM.The Speaker of the House has offered an olive branch to Māori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi over his refusal to wear a tie in the debating chamber.

Trevor Mallard's office has confirmed he has… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.National Party leader Judith Collins isn't backing moves to protect Māori wards in local government, after a bill preventing citizen-initiated referendums on the wards passed its first reading on… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.The government is seeking an urgent review of the public health response to water contamination in two Otago towns.

Last week, the Dunedin City Council told residents of Karitane and Waikouaiti to… Read more Audio

7:48 AM.The second impeachment trial of former US president Donald Trump is under way in Washington DC.

The trial began about half an hour ago, and is expected to stretch at least two further days.

The… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.Amid a politically damaging housing crisis, the Finance Minister is promising "bold" action to dampen house price inflation.

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank reintroduced lending restrictions for first… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.The findings of a three month investigation into an alleged abusive culture at Gymnastics New Zealand is due to be released this morning. Read more Audio

8:10 AM.The National MP Simon Bridges has railed against the Government's move to protect Māori wards, saying it's insulting to him as a Māori man.

Labour has begun rushing through legislation under urgency… Read more Audio

8:16 AM.China has suspended exports from two local seafood companies.

A Sanford factory in Havelock that processes mussels, and a Sealord plant in Nelson that processes finfish and fishmeal have had their… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is downplaying claims from a former employee that processing of emergency applications for entry into MIQ facilities was shambolic and ineffective. 

8:27 AM.South Africa has put its roll-out of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on hold after a study showed "disappointing" results against its new Covid-19 variant.

However a New Zealand vaccine expert says… Read more Audio

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

8:38 AM.Who shot the barman?

That's the key issue for the jury to decide in the trial of two men accused of murdering a Waikato publican more than 30 years ago.

Forty-three-year-old father-of-two Chris Bush… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.New Zealand has been accused of favouring its neighbours in the south, over its neighbours in the north as five Micronesian countries signalled they will be exiting the Pacific Islands Forum.

It… Read more Audio

8:52 AM.Families of the 115 people killed in the collapse of the CTV building, are bewildered by the length of time it is taking to investigate the man whose company designed it.

Engineering New Zealand… Read more Audio