Morning Report Essentials for Thursday 4 September 2025

In today's episode, former Prime Minister Helen Clark is defending her decision to go to China's largest military parade in Beijing; In the wake of the polarising three waters, councils across the country were mandated by the government to submit their water service delivery plan by Wednesday; Accounting software giant Xero is launching new AI tools, designed to automate some repetitive tasks; New Zealand-born neo-nazi Thomas Sewell will remain behind bars until at least Friday, when a Melbourne court is set to rule on his bail application; Auckland dog walkers say new council rules are confusing, costly, and hard to enforce.