Morning Report for Thursday 9 December 2021

8:56 AM.A surge in demand for maple syrup - and a poor season for growers, has forced The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers to use their reserve for the first time in three years.

The organisation… Read more Audio

8:52 AM.It's not just Rhythm and Vines that might be gone in Gisborne, an easy summer at the beach might be out too.

Wood has been piling up on city's beaches after recent flooding.

Just two weeks before… Read more Audio

8:47 AM.Despite years of efforts to clean up South Canterbury's Wainono Lagoon, it has now been declared too toxic to swim in or fish.

For the first time, the toxic algae, cyanobacteria has been found… Read more Audio

8:45 AM.Now to Otago, where lax landowners will soon have to foot the bill if the regional council has to step in and deal with their rabbit problems.

The Otago Regional Council has been ramping up its… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.The government is refusing to fast-track a review of core early childhood education rules despite being told they might not be fit for purpose.

A Cabinet paper shows Parliament's Regulations Review… Read more Audio

8:37 AM.Nurses and others in the union movement will take their fight for safe staffing levels in the aged care sector to Parliament today.

They say existing regulations have not been safe for years, and… Read more Audio

8:26 AM.A Defence Ministry report has clearly identified 'China's rise' and its power struggle with the United States as a major risk to security in the Indo-Pacific.

The 2021 Defence Assessment is blunt in… Read more Audio

8:20 AM.Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins has labelled the handing out of unofficial Covid-19 vaccine exemptions by a Kaiapoi GP as clearly unethical behaviour.

The Ministry of Health is investigating… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.Early lab studies suggest two doses of the Pfizer vaccine might not be enough for your body to fight off Omicron, but three doses could do the trick.

Three doses provide a similar level of antibodies… Read more Audio

7:56 AM.Consumer New Zealand says it's making the biggest change to its product testing process in more than 50 years of existence - by only recommending appliances that last.

Having always limited its… Read more Audio

7:53 AM.Bureaucratic hurdles, slow decisions, a lack of funding, and the side-lining of Māori experts.

These are some of the criticisms that have been aired at a Special Waitangi Tribunal hearing in… Read more Audio

7:46 AM.Russia says it is expecting to begin a "discussion of strategic security on the continent" with the US after the high-stakes talks between President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden… Read more Audio

7:38 AM.The mystery continues as to who may have Covid-19 in Tairāwhiti.

Symptomatic Gisborne residents are being urged to get tested after the detection of the virus in wastewater samples. 

Health… Read more Audio

7:34 AM.Fonterra farmers face one of the biggest votes in the co-operative's history today.

Shareholders will decide on a proposed change to its capital structure to make it cheaper to join, while managing… Read more Audio

7:24 AM.Two years on from the disastrous Whakaari/White Island eruption, a lawyer representing Australian victims says the regulatory shortcomings are 'terrifying'.

Horrific burns killed 22 people and more… Read more Audio

7:18 AM.Early lab studies show two doses of the Pfizer vaccine may not provide sufficient protection against the Omicron variant but a third dose does work to neutralize it.

Three doses provide a similar… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.The locations of mini MIQs around the country are being kept under wraps as health authorities in the provinces prepare for a deluge of visitors over summer.

At the behest of district health boards… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.French authorities have freed a Saudi national held over suspected links to the horrific killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saudi officials had earlier said the detention of the man at Paris's… Read more Audio

6:42 AM.A Defence Ministry report has clearly identified 'China's rise' and its power struggle with the United States as a major risk to security in the Indo-Pacific.

The 2021 Defence Assessment is blunt in… Read more Audio

6:20 AM.A transport lobby group wants the country's $24 billion land transport plan scrapped and redone.

The Transport Agency, Waka Kotahi, in August released its three-year plan for highways and other land… Read more Audio

6:18 AM.A man who has campaigned on behalf of Lake Alice survivors feels police not charging the main culprit lets him off the hook.

An 89-year-old former staff member is facing charges of ill-treatment… Read more Audio