Morning Report for Friday 1 October 2021

8:55 AM.It's Friday so we cross the ditch to Canberra to talk to our correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh. Audio

8:52 AM.An eagle with long talons once roamed the skies of South Australia, while terrorising koalas.

Scientists have confirmed a fossil, found five years ago, is of a newly discovered species that was alive… Read more Audio

8:48 AM.Journalists are sometimes waiting more than a year to get their hands on court documents.

Some reporters say they don't even get a response to requests.

They say the delays are preventing the public… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.It's the opening day for trout fishing season, and fishermen up and down the South Island are dusting off their rods and gumboots.

Peter Meecham is a lifelong trout fisherman and was out on the… Read more Audio

8:39 AM.Friday is D-day for councils to consider the government's Three Waters proposal and to give their feedback.

There has been a lot of debate over what the reform will mean - with some especially… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.The Minister for Pacific Peoples says some people sick with Covid-19 have never engaged with the health system before.

Aupito William Sio, who is also an Associate Minister of Health, told Morning… Read more Audio

8:21 AM.A new counter-terror law, which would criminalise the planning of a terror attack, has been passed with support by both major parties in Parliament.

The Counter-Terrorism Legislation makes planning… Read more Audio

8:14 AM.Orthopaedic surgeons say it will be impossible to ever "catch up" on all the operations delayed by Covid-19.

They are warning some patients have waited too long and may suffer life-long effects.

… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.Relief has flooded through the Marokopa and Kiritehere communities now that Thomas Phillips and his three children have returned home alive and well.

Phillips and eight year old Jayda Jin, six year… Read more Audio

7:58 AM.Latin music queen Shakira is known for her song 'Hips Don't Lie', but the singer is making headlines for other reasons now after being attacked and robbed - by a couple of swines.

Two wild boars took… Read more Audio

7:54 AM.Two decades years after the death of one of Europe's most famous 20th century artists, one of his last unbuilt designs is coming to life in Whangarei.

The opening of the Hundertwasser Art Centre has… Read more Audio

7:49 AM.It's been four months since the Ashburton district was slammed with a one in two hundred year flood and still the clean up continues.

With most of the $4 million in government help now accounted for… Read more Audio

7:45 AM.Young people are set to have more choices in their NCEA subjects and Te Marautanga o Aotearoa  - including Te Reo Pākehā, the study of English through an explicit reo Māori and ao Māori lens.

The… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.There are early signs the pandemic has had a bigger impact on NCEA results this year than last year.

School holidays begin at the end of today and Qualifications Authority figures show teenagers are… Read more Audio

7:36 AM.The All Blacks have already wrapped up the Rugby Championship title, but they're determined to end the competition unbeaten by winning tomorrow night's test against South Africa on the Gold Coast.

It… Read more Audio

7:27 AM.The South Korean drama 'Squid Game', which has taken the world by storm. It's hit number one on Netflix in 90 countries, including here.

The hyper-violent show has hoards of young people including… Read more Audio

7:22 AM.More than 60 patients at Middlemore Hospital are being considered close contacts after two people with the virus turned up at the emergency department on Wednesday.

One of those patients… Read more Audio

7:18 AM.Thomas Phillips, who miraculously walked out the bush with his three children yesterday, has apologised to his sister for putting the family through a 17-day ordeal.

Thomas and his three young… Read more Audio

7:14 AM.Auckland Hospital is planning to deal with an average of six Covid-19 deaths a week next year, even with a 90 percent vaccination rate.

Rapid work is underway at Auckland District Health board to… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Thomas Phillips, who miraculously walked out the bush with his three children yesterday, has apologised to his sister for putting the family through a 17-day ordeal.

Thomas and his three young… Read more Audio

6:50 AM.The countdown to a government shutdown is on in the United States.

The Senate is preparing a vote on an emergency bill to keep the lights on in the White House, with funding for federal agencies set… Read more Audio

6:48 AM.The 2021 Residency Visa programme marks a major step to offer certainty to 165-thousand migrants living in the country.

But there are migrant categories - such as students and partners of students -… Read more Audio

6:46 AM.Auckland Hospital is expecting to deal with six Covid-19 deaths a week once the country starts living with the virus next year.

The District Health Board is planning for a scenario where 90 percent… Read more Audio

6:42 AM.The safety of the Thomas Phillips' children was front of mind in the local community over the past few weeks until their sudden return - alive and well - yesterday.

Before turning up at the family… Read more Audio

6:19 AM.Portugal is about to lift almost all of its Covid-19 restrictions today, with almost 85 percent of its population fully inoculated, making it the most vaccinated nation in the world.

The country… Read more Audio

6:12 AM.Young Pasifika living in New Zealand are getting vaccinated at a faster rate than any other group.

Ministry of Health figures show Pacific Island youth are leading the way in two age groups - 12 to… Read more Audio

6:08 AM.There's relief in the small King Country settlement of Kiritehere.

On Thursday Thomas Phillips and his three children turned up alive and well at their family's farmhouse in nearby Marokopa after… Read more Audio