Morning Report for Friday 17 December 2021

8:53 AM.The world's first true millipede with more than a thousand legs has been discovered deep in a Western Australian mine.

The critter, named after the Greek goddess of the underworld, now reigns supreme… Read more Audio

8:51 AM.Sunday marks the 80th-anniversary of New Zealand's worst naval tragedy, the sinking of HMS Neptune during the Second World War.

Of the 764 men who lost their lives on December 19th 1941, 150 were New… Read more Audio

8:47 AM.The government has instructed the Retirement Commission to investigate why women are financially worse off than men at the end of their working lives.

KiwiSaver balances for women nearing retirement… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.Residents of Te Reureu Valley in the Rangitikei district are describing torrential rain flash flooding as the worst they've seen.

The freak deluge resulted in damage to two bridges which has made the… Read more Audio

8:37 AM.A sixth positive detection of Covid-19 in Tairāwhiti's wastewater has got health officials in a bind.

The latest sample taken on Tuesday adds to a string of positive results recorded over the past… Read more Audio

8:25 AM.Parents and caregivers will soon get the opportunity to have their five-to-11-year-olds vaccinated against Covid-19.

Medsafe has granted provisional approval for the vaccine for children in this age… Read more Audio

8:21 AM.An end-of-school-year celebration has turned into an unspeakable tragedy in Tasmania.

Five children are dead and four others in hospital after a freak gust of wind blew a bouncy castle into the air… Read more Audio

8:09 AM.A science expert says wants Aotearoa's MIQ system maintained and endorses a host of tighter restrictions to prevent Omicron entering the Aotearoa community.

The infectious Covid-19 variant has been… Read more Audio

7:56 AM.Several penguin chicks are homeless after torrential rain swept away their nesting boxes in Canterbury.

According to the Pohatu Bay Penguins Facebook page staff frantically rescued as many of the… Read more Audio

7:52 AM.The secondary teachers' union says there are serious questions to be asked of the leadership of the Teaching Council following a massive privacy breach.

Details of complaints against dozens of… Read more Audio

7:46 AM.Oranga Tamariki failed to spend millions of dollars especially set aside to protect and help child victims of sexual violence.

Figures obtained by RNZ show it set aside $11 million but only spent $7… Read more Audio

7:44 AM.Waka Kotahi is keeping an eye out for more slips on the roads north of Wellington today.

Hundreds of motorists trying to travel northwards out of the city yesterday were stuck for hours as slips… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.Many roads in Manawatū remain cut off by flooding, some people can't return to their homes, and helicopters have flown over isolated communities to assess the damage from two torrential downpours to… Read more Audio

7:36 AM.The Queen has cancelled her Christmas plans due to the threat of Omicron.

It comes as England chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty warned everyone to reconsider their Christmas plans, to… Read more Audio

7:22 AM.The Director-General of Health says it's not inevitable that the Omicron Covid-19 variant will make its way in to the community.

Dr Ashley Bloomfield is recommending a third vaccine dose before the… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.There's a call for a nationwide vaccination day in schools once the Covid-19 jab for children gains final approval.

Medsafe has granted provisional approval for the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.The pressure's on to get vaccine booster shots into more arms much faster with the arrival of Omicron in the country.

One person in managed isolation in Christchurch has the highly transmissible… Read more Audio

6:49 AM.British people are being banned from France as the country tries to slow the spread of Omicron.

From Saturday, only French citizens, British people living in France, or those visiting family will be… Read more Audio

6:40 AM.An epidemiologist says the reopening of the trans-tasman bubble must be postponed, and any loosening of MIQ protocols reviewed urgently.

Keeping the border secure is critical, according to Michael… Read more Audio

6:20 AM.A couple of former bowling greens in Palmerston North are at the centre of a land-use dispute.

The council and housing advocates want them for housing - but the proposals haven't won universal… Read more Audio

6:15 AM.The Rural Hospital Network says it has been affected by a case of postcode lottery in the government's plan to upgrade many hospitals to deal with Covid-19.

The plan includes a $100 million boost to… Read more Audio