Morning Report for Monday 21 February 2022

8:50 AM.The petition demanding justice for the high school student whose hijab was forcibly removed now has more than 72 thousand signatures, including that of model and influencer Bella Hadid.

Susie… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.Primary school principals are fighting a government plan to stop them enrolling international students.

They say the proposal to restrict enrolment before year nine does not make sense and comes just… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.The National Party leader is accusing the Prime Minister of being "missing in action" as the anti-mandate protesters cap off two weeks occupying Parliament grounds.

Christopher Luxon is blaming the… Read more Audio

8:36 AM.The Winter Olympics are over, the curtain coming down in Beijing overnight in a colourful closing ceremony.

Leading a small New Zealand contingent into the Birds Nest Stadium was flagbearer Nico… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.A leading senior doctor says the current Covid-19 household isolation rules are overkill and need to be changed.

John Bonning chairs the Council of Medical Colleges which represents all medical… Read more Audio

8:23 AM.Wellington bus and train services could be suspended, if the impact of the occupation around Parliament worsens, making them too difficult to operate.

Already, buses are being diverted away from the… Read more Audio

8:17 AM.How the police deal with the 1000-odd protesters around Parliament is not a question of whether they have the power; but whether the police want to use that power to enforce the law according to a… Read more Audio

7:58 AM.The floor undulates beneath your feet and on the roof there's a forest - 30 years after the late Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser first sketched his original design, Whangarei's… Read more Audio

7:48 AM.A researcher of the far-right says protesters around parliament are at risk of being radicalised - if they aren't already.

About 1000 people are occupying the area which has become a sort of… Read more Audio

7:44 AM.There's a real possibility of Omicron spreading among the likely hundreds of unvaccinated protesters living in close quarters around Parliament.

The unvaccinated are much more likely than the… Read more Audio

7:39 AM.In Canada a three-week protest is all-but over after hundreds of police in riot gear swept through the streets of the capital, Ottawa, chasing demonstrators away.

Nearly 200 protestors have been… Read more Audio

7:35 AM.The Winter Olympics are over, with the curtain coming down in Beijing overnight in a colourful closing ceremony.

Leading a small New Zealand contingent into the Birds Nest Stadium was flagbearer Nico… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.Patients are spending as long as 36 hours in emergency departments - often waiting hours in corridors.

Corridor waits were supposed to be abolished years ago but doctors say the problem is hitting… Read more Audio

7:24 AM.To the UK, where Queen Elizabeth has tested postive for Covid-19.

A statement from Buckingham Palace says she is experiencing mild symptoms and that the 95-year-old Monarch will still try to attend… Read more Audio

7:20 AM.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern recently spoke to Susie Ferguson about an anti-vaccination mandate protest convoy.

RNZ political editor Jane Patterson spoke to Corin Dann. Read more Audio

7:16 AM.A handful of people have been arrested as police block off streets in a bid to contain the protest at Parliament and free up Wellington streets.

About 300 police staff and trucks and forklifts were… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Jacinda Ardern says the protestors have had their time, it’s time for them to go home, and police are now taking action to ensure the protest doesn’t grow.

The Prime Minister says a police operation… Read more Video, Audio

6:51 AM.The man who started the "Go Home" petition aimed at the anti-mandate protestors at Parliament says he has been receiving violent threats.

But James Black - not his real name - says the support he's… Read more Audio

6:48 AM.As an illegal occupation in Wellington of about 1000 people hits day 14, the city's mayor is getting angry about the disruption it's causing.

The police say they are engaging with key protest leaders… Read more Audio

6:43 AM.There are scenes of confrontation at Parliament this morning as Police and forklift workers arrive with concrete blocks to reinforce the perimeter of the occupation.

Videos and photos from the scene… Read more Audio

6:23 AM.Security guards are escorting children to schools near Parliament this morning; and one primary school says it is planning on practising lockdown drills this week.

Victoria University of Wellington… Read more Audio

6:19 AM.From today, Aucklanders who turn up to community Covid testing centres might be given a rapid antigen test, or RAT, instead of a PCR.

It's hoped the move will ease pressure on PCR testing and… Read more Audio

6:15 AM.Fears of an invasion have heightened further after Russia extended military drills in Belarus that were due to end overnight.

US secretary of State Antony Blinken said the move made him even more… Read more Audio

6:08 AM.There are scenes of confrontation at Parliament this morning as Police and forklift workers arrive with concrete blocks to reinforce the perimeter of the occupation.

Videos and photos from the scene… Read more Audio