Morning Report for Thursday 24 August 2023

8:54 AM.Can't speak te reo Māori? According to a new University of Canterbury study, New Zealanders who aren't fluent in the language can still identify a lot of Māori words based on how they look and sound.

8:52 AM.More than half of Kiwi parents are concerned about the impact of artificial intelligence on their kids' education, according to a new survey. AI is "another element" for parents already worried that… Read more Audio

8:48 AM.Former National Leader Todd Muller admits he was tempted by the prospect of being a minister, but doesn't doubt his decision to leave politics.

Muller delivered his valedictory statement - which… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.More now on the Law Society's agreement to establish an independent regulatory body.

This comes after a wide-ranging review found that many lawyers have experienced harassment, bullying… Read more Audio

8:38 AM.Republican candidates for the 2024 US election are gathering for the party's first debate, but there'll be a glaring absence.

Former President Donald Trump will skip the debate, instead leaving the… Read more Audio

8:28 AM.Some principals say they are surprised by a spike in enrolments of new migrant students - many of whom do not speak English.

It's putting unique pressure on schools, now faced with teaching English… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.The two brothers who routinely drugged and committed sexual offences against dozens of victims at Christchurch bar Mama Hooch are being sentenced Thursday.

Danny and Roberto Jaz used their positions… Read more Audio

8:16 AM.The New Zealand Jewish Council says the ACT Party isn't the only political organisation needing to vet inflammatory speech during the electoral season.

This week the ACT candidate Elaine Naidu Franz… Read more Audio

8:07 AM.Back to our main story now, the paramilitary leader of the Wagner group is believed to have been killed in a plane crash.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, was listed as a passenger on a plane which has crashed… Read more Audio

7:54 AM.Don McGlashan is a legend of the New Zealand music scene, his career has spanned renowned bands Blam Blam Blam, The Mutton Birds, and more recently, his own solo project.

And now, he's going to be… Read more Audio

7:49 AM.A bit spike in enrolments of new migrant children, many of whom don't speak English, has come as bit of shock for some schools.

In the past financial year, Immigration New Zealand approved almost… Read more Audio

7:46 AM.Pacific leaders are divided over Japan's release of more than one-million-tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the ocean.

The release is due to get under way Thursday morning.

The Japanese… Read more Audio

7:42 AM.The Law Society is responding to recommendations from an independent panel by saying it will establish a new regulator and overhaul its system for handling complaints.

Currently, the Law Society acts… Read more Audio

7:39 AM.The mother of an 11-year-old killed in a bus crash on Mt Ruapehu has told a court of her anguish at losing her daughter.

Ruapehu Alpine Lifts was operating the shuttle bus that overturned after its… Read more Audio

7:35 AM.The paramilitary leader of the Wagner group is believed to have been killed in a plane crash.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, was listed as a passenger on a plane which has crashed, and Russian authorities say… Read more Audio

7:27 AM.The Act party leader, David Seymour, insists his party has done a good job of vetting its candidates.

The Rangitata candidate, Elaine Naidu Franz, has resigned, after it emerged she compared vaccine… Read more Audio

7:21 AM.India has successfully landed a spacecraft on the Moon, becoming the first country to land near its south pole.

The final phase of the operation involved the Chandrayaan-3 craft slowing its speed… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.The ACT Party is embroiled in more controversy after several list candidates have resigned after making inflammatory online social media posts.

Leader David Seymour last week joked about blowing up… Read more Audio

7:12 AM.A coroner has described how the precarious working conditions of two young provincial men at a leading labour-hire company ended in a double fatality.

Floyd Harris and his passenger Jake Ginders died… Read more Audio

6:47 AM.A Wairoa poacher has been sent to prison for catching and trading recreationally caught crayfish.

Fisheries NZ says 60-year-old John Nohotima was the key to the black market ring which sold a total… Read more Audio

6:17 AM.The Taxpayers' Union says New Zealanders shouldn't have to pay for Diplomat's children to attend high-end private schools.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's revealed in an Official Information… Read more Audio

6:13 AM.A Hawaii-based marine conservation expert is "disappointed" by Japan's decision to release treated nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.

The country is going to release one-million-tonnes of… Read more Audio