Morning Report for Friday 28 January 2022

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

8:49 AM.A Wellington clinical psychologist is advising New Zealanders to keep calm and be prepared for an Omicron outbreak.

The infectious Omicron strain of Covid-19 is making many older people who rely on… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.Rowing legend Hamish Bond is retiring.

The three-time Olympic gold medallist and eight-time world champion says he would have thrown in the towel much earlier - if it wasn't for his wife.

He spoke… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.The Red Cross says Tonga is on the road to recovery two weeks after a volcanic eruption and tsunami devastated the Pacific nation.

Staff and volunteers are delivering drinking water, temporary… Read more Audio

8:36 AM.Family doctors are gearing up to ensure Māori communities are well prepared and supported during an Omicron outbreak.

The Royal New Zealand College of GPs says during earlier Covid-19 outbreaks Māori… Read more Audio

8:24 AM.Research is showing that the wealth gap in New Zealand has grown wider due to the government's Covid-19 policies.

Financial journalist Bernard Hickey has analysed 21 months of data looking at Stats… Read more Audio

8:20 AM.School is back and so are all the outdoor activities that go with it.

The Ministry of Education has confirmed outdoor education and school camps can go ahead under the Covid-19 red traffic light… Read more Audio

8:17 AM.Rural communities could lose access to local medical services when Omicron hits.

Staffing is precarious in many small towns, and doctors, nurses and key admin staff will have to stop working if they… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.An Australian expert says New Zealand can't avoid an Omicron outbreak, and there's no need to panic about it.

A music event in Hamilton last weekend - SoundSplash - is under the spotlight as a… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.A summer holiday close encounter with an Orca is not what a group of children were expecting when they paddled their kayaks out into Ligar Bay, near Takaka, but it's left them buzzing.

Nelson's… Read more Audio

7:49 AM.Porirua has been named the most expensive rental market in the country - a dubious title at odds with the city's image as the home to some of the country's poorest suburbs like Waitangirua and Cannons… Read more Audio

7:44 AM.A major political poll shows support for Labour has continued to creep downward. A slip of 1 percent support since November has left it at 40 percent.

National is up 4 points, but at 32 percent the… Read more Audio

7:40 AM.More than 175,000 students across the country will begin their university year next month.

This comes as the highly transmissble Omicron variant is already in the community.

New Zealand University… Read more Audio

7:34 AM.Covid-19 is infiltrating more parts of the Pacific - bringing anxiety to some island nations that had succeeded in avoiding the pandemic until now.

There is particular concern in Kiribati, where a… Read more Audio

7:27 AM.The Government will this morning announce the route and cost of Auckland's long-awaited light rail project.

Three options were presented to Cabinet last year, each of which run from the City Centre… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.Labour is down in the first political poll of the year, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recording her lowest score in the preferred Prime Minister stakes.

Both National and it's new leader… Read more Audio

7:16 AM.Māori health leaders say something needs to be done to close the vaccine gap for Māori.

Many Māori are ineligible for boosters until March - which is when the Omicron outbreak is forecast to peak.

… Read more Audio

7:12 AM.An Auckland chemist says the SoundSplash music festival could become a Covid-19 super-spreader event.

Dr Joel Rindelaub told Morning Report while traditionally, outdoor transmission is 20 times less… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Teenagers who attended the Soundsplash Festival near Hamilton at the weekend say half their friends now have Covid-19.

Some say they have been told they have omicron and there are fears the event… Read more Audio

6:48 AM.Court documents submitted in New York show Prince Andrew has demanded a jury trial in the civil case being brought by Virginia Giuffre.

The American woman alleges she was sexually assaulted by the… Read more Audio

6:44 AM.The tourism industry is taking another hit as the threat of a full-scale omicron outbreak prompts people to cancel their holiday plans.

Some travel and accommodation providers say cancellations have… Read more Audio

6:41 AM.A number of teenagers who attended the Soundsplash Festival near Hamilton at the weekend say half their friends now have Covid-19.

Some say they have been told they have omicron and there are fears… Read more Audio

6:17 AM.It's 'game on' according to National's leader Chris Luxon, with the party gaining ground in the first political poll of the year.

The One News Kantar Poll has National back in the 30s at 32 percent -… Read more Audio

6:15 AM.Covid-19 has been detected in wastewater in Porirua.

The news from the Ministry of Health that the virus was detected on Tuesday is prompting the city's mayor to call for residents to get tested if… Read more Audio

6:11 AM.The government is on track to make a major announcement about Auckland's light rail system on Friday, which will cost between nine and 14.6 billion dollars. 

Tāmaki Makaurau's city centre business… Read more Audio

6:07 AM.Australians stuck in New Zealand and New Zealanders in Australia say they still have no idea when they will be able to return to their home countries.

The two groups say they are trapped between the… Read more Audio