Morning Report for Friday 26 March 2021

6:08 AM.There are renewed calls for a traffic light system to manage people coming into the country, once a trans-Tasman travel bubble begins.

It's estimated demand for MIQ rooms will drop by 40 percent when… Read more Audio

6:17 AM.The latest attempt to free the giant cargo ship blocking the Suez Canal has failed.

Another attempt to refloat the ship will be made today, but in the mean time a backlog of tankers and cargo ships… Read more Audio

6:22 AM.A brief update from the business sector. Read more Audio

6:40 AM.Gang members believe the Mongrel Mob should have access to guns - free from discrimination and assumptions about how they will use them.

Some were at parliament on Thursday to oppose an expected… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.A new international study argues that elective surgical patients should get priority for Covid-19 vaccines.

The research, involving 140,000 patients from 116 countries, suggests a preoperative… Read more Audio

7:08 AM.Any border worker who refuses a vaccination will soon be removed from their front-line job.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says they can't force people to take the jab, but nor is… Read more Audio

7:13 AM.Fresh questions are being asked over management at MIQ hotels following the news of yet another mystery transmission.

Genome sequencing has showed a link between two returnees who stayed on different… Read more Audio

7:16 AM.The officials who run managed isolation are once again under fire after more Covid-19 cases among guests.

Two people staying at the Grand Mercure Auckland have tested positive for the virus, with… Read more Audio

7:21 AM.A Feilding childcare centre investigated over claims of smacking children and feeding them mouldy food has lost its licence and closed.

The Pitter Patter Centre run by Pauline Murphy has been under… Read more Audio

7:24 AM.Cash strapped Northland councils are delighted at the prospect of getting their hands on some of the $3.8b fund that could help them build more houses.

The infrastructure fund is part of the… Read more Audio

7:35 AM.Officials will be able to enter marae without a warrant under a new water safety proposal, even though no marae water supply has ever caused an outbreak of illness. 

The Water Services Bill is a… Read more Audio

7:39 AM.Auckland commuter trains were delayed or cancelled across the network on Friday morning after a person was found dead on the train tracks in Manukau overnight.

Reporter Jordan Bond spoke to Morning… Read more Audio

7:43 AM.This time a year ago social services kicked into high gear to rapidly get homeless people off the streets for lockdown.

The fast and almost universally successful effort led to people asking if there… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.Supporters of the derailed Auckland Bridge Skypath are sceptical about reported plans for a second harbour bridge.

It's believed the Skypath plan - to build a cycling and pedestrian lane onto the… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.After months of work, Auckland Airport is ready for the opening of a travel bubble with Australia.

The airport has made plans to segregate at-risk and no-risk travellers - dividing the international… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.Ross Taylor still believes he's good enough to represent New Zealand at this year's T20 World Cup despite being dropped from the squad this summer. Read more Audio

8:10 AM.Nurses in managed isolation hotels are warning they won't be able to cope if rooms no longer needed by Australians are given to travellers from high-risk Covid-19 countries.

The prospect of a… Read more Audio

8:13 AM.Guests staying in isolation hotels in Victoria will now be tested four times during their stay. It comes as the Australian state prepares for international visitors for the first time since February.

8:24 AM.Biosecurity officials are on their way to Southland after an oyster parasite was discovered in Foveaux Strait. Three wild oysters were found to be infected with bonamia ostreae.

The parasite was last… Read more Audio

8:26 AM.Consumer advocates and electricity retailers say new guidelines designed to protect customers from having their power cut off don't go far enough, and vulnerable people remain at risk.

Two years ago… Read more Audio

8:36 AM.Doctors and nurses who were preparing to face down Covid-19 as the lockdown hit, worry about complacency one year on.

It's a year this week since the country went into level four lockdown, as the… Read more Audio

8:39 AM.Some Auckland secondary schools are reporting unusual and unpredictable behaviour from students and they believe the Covid-19 pandemic is to blame.

They say their counselling services are stretched… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.UFC fighter Israel Adesanya has just issued an apology on social media for his comments that he would "rape" an opponent.

In a statement he says he "crossed the line" and he understands the gravity… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.The Taxpayers' Union is warning commuters using the Te Huia train between Hamilition and Auckland will be 'sad, poor and tired'.

The service was officially launched yesterday and is expected to… Read more Audio

8:49 AM.The Catholic order, the Society of Mary, says it prefers not to be part of the church's complaint process and would rather go it alone.

Its leader in this country says dealing directly with abuse… Read more Audio

8:53 AM.Ruatoria, Waiapu or Mount Hikurangi. If pilots flying in for an event celebrating 60 years of East Coast aviation this weekend can pronouce these names correctly, they'll be rewarded. 

Derek Fox is… Read more Audio

8:56 AM.It's Friday so we cross the ditch to Canberra to talk to our correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh. Read more Audio