Morning Report for Tuesday 23 August 2022

8:52 AM.New Zealand singer Margaret Urlich has died aged 57 after a two year battle with cancer.

Urlich died in New South Wales and had moved to Australia during the 1980s to pursue her singing career.

She… Read more Audio

8:48 AM.Sailings of Interislander ferry Aratere have been cancelled temporarily while urgent repairs are carried out to the ventilation system for the engines.

Ferry sailings have also been disrupted by road… Read more Audio

8:39 AM.The Government has become the country's latest bank manager.

It's announced the Crown is buying Kiwi Group Holdings, the company that owns Kiwibank and the soon-to-be-sold Kiwi Wealth, from the… Read more Audio

8:38 AM.The Black Caps made history by winning the third and deciding one-day international in Barbados yesterday - becoming the first New Zealand side to claim an ODI series win in the Caribbean.

… Read more Audio

8:27 AM.Officials across the top of the South Island remain on high alert, with more rain on the way for the region's already sodden grounds.

The state of emergency in Nelson has been extended until… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.Te Whatu Ora Health NZ is asking hospitals to "actively tackle" long surgical wait lists, by ensuring 7500 people who'd been waiting for longer than a year can have their slot booked before August 31.

8:17 AM.Labour MPs have begun arriving at Parliament for today's caucus meeting where they are expected to expel their rogue colleague Gaurav Sharma.

The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she doesn't know… Read more Audio

8:16 AM.Labour's caucus will this morning consider a motion to expel outspoken MP Gaurav Sharma.

Sharma has made repeated public appearances accusing colleagues of lying, bullying and a cover-up - claims… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.The barricades are up and extra police have been brought into Wellington ahead the the Freedoms and Rights Coalition protest at parliament today.

Vehicle movement and parking around the area will be… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.It's deja vu for Wellington resident and former human rights commissioner Rae Julian.

The 81-year-old retiree lives in the Kate Sheppard Apartments, right in the thick of what in February was a… Read more Audio

7:52 AM.One of the victims of the Wellington landslides is Lee Prebbles' cherished Toyota Caldina.

It was one of three crushed by a slip in the suburb of Melrose over the weekend.

Wellington City Council… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.Some Nelson residents are still waiting to hear the fate of their flood-stricken homes.

At least 15 homes have been red-stickered and considered unlivable, 108 are yellow stickered.

Just to be… Read more Audio

7:43 AM.Rai Valley's volunteer firefighters have been flat out responding to the destruction caused by last week's torrential rain.

The rural settlement in Marlborough is still isolated from both Blenheim… Read more Audio

7:36 AM.The government is the country latest bank manager.

The Crown is buying Kiwi Group Holdings, the company that owns Kiwibank and the soon-to-be-sold Kiwi Wealth, from the Superannuation Fund, ACC and… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.Labour's caucus will this morning consider a motion to expel outspoken MP Gaurav Sharma.

Sharma has made repeated public appearances accusing colleagues of lying, bullying and a cover-up - claims… Read more Audio

7:24 AM.It may be months before some Nelson residents can move back into their flood-torn homes.

Council officials are still carrying out property inspections but already, at least 15 have been red-stickered… Read more Audio

7:18 AM.Hospitals have been given until the end of the month to book an operation for the 7500 patients who've been waiting longer than a year.

They've also been given a September deadline to book-in the… Read more Audio

7:09 AM.Police say there will be no tolerance for the breaking of rules on Parliament grounds in Wellington today, with any protestors found trespassing or structures erected to be removed immediately.

A… Read more Audio

6:50 AM.The barricades are up and extra police have been brought into Wellington ahead the the Freedoms and Rights Coalition protest at parliament today.

Vehicle movement and parking around the area will be… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.The mayor of New Plymouth says Waka Kotahi has siphoned off half a billion dollars from Taranaki road funding over the past decade leaving the region's State Highways are falling apart.

Documents… Read more Audio

6:42 AM.Residents across the top of the South Island will still have to wait for some time before key highways can be reopened.

Long stretches of State Highway 6 and 63 remain closed today after severe… Read more Audio