Morning Report Podcast Options

7:41 AM.National Party leader Christopher Luxon says Vladimir Putin is a "war criminal" - while, so far, the Prime Minister has avoided the term.

The leader of the Opposition is also pushing for the Russian… Read more Audio

7:39 AM.Water bills in Auckland are going up by 7 percent from July.

Households with average water use will pay around $1.50 more per week.

This is just the second increase for Auckland in Watercare's 10… Read more Audio

7:35 AM.It's time for all of us to radically change our behaviour to avoid catastrophic climate change.

That's the lesson from this week's UN Climate Change report which paints a bleak picture of what's… Read more Audio

7:26 AM.A nurse who worked a late shift at Dunedin hospital last night says the work is exhausting.

Anne Daniels, head of the Nurses' Organisation, works casual shifts at Dunedin's emergency department.

She… Read more Audio

7:22 AM.Two youth organisations have pulled out of a $2 million Oranga Tamariki campaign calling it a box-ticking exercise which risks exploiting young people.

Despite their withdrawal the children's… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the United Nations Security Council last night as he builds support for an investigation into civilian killings in areas seized by Russians.

It comes… Read more Audio

6:48 AM.Elon Musk has been given a seat on Twitter's board of directors, a day after he became the company's single biggest shareholder.

Musk, the world's richest man, and head of Tesla and SpaceX, says he's… Read more Audio

6:42 AM.Auckland's mayor says the city is ready to respond to the UN's call for urgent action on climate change.

He says the council's proposed climate levy would work to reduce emissions, decarbonise the… Read more Audio

6:21 AM.Ten Queenstown homeowners have sealed the deal on their new property for under $400,000 dollars each.

The affordable housing initiative by the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust is the first of… Read more Audio

6:07 AM.Ukraine's president Volodymr Zelenskyy has equated the actions of Russian troops to those of terrorists, in a fiery speech to the UN Security Council.

He began by outlining the catalogue of horrors… Read more Audio

8:57 AM.Five years ago, journalists Greg Dixon and Michele Hewitson made the move from Auckland to a 12-acre block in the Wairarapa. The couple write a shared column about "two townies making a new life in… Read more Audio

8:51 AM.A Canadian family is on a year-long trip to see the wonders of the world before the children go blind.

Edith Lemay and Sébastien Pelletier have three children with an incurable condition, which will… Read more Audio

8:48 AM.A second-hand bus boom has developed after two years of closed borders and domestic restrictions wrecking havoc on the tour coach sector.

The start of the year saw a 71 percent increase in the number… Read more Audio

8:43 AM.Some principals doubt they can properly and adequately ventilate their classrooms to reduce the spread of Covid-19 during winter.

They say leaving doors and windows open is not practical on cold days… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.The government's decision to keep all of the country on the most-restrictive Covid-19 setting is casting a red light over the hospitality sector.

In Auckland, the country's restaurant capital, many… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.Climate Change Minister James Shaw says farmers need to take part in a scheme to reduce emissions, after the release of a stark climate change report.

The report has found that 83 per cent of net… Read more Audio

8:11 AM.Russia is being widely accused of violating international law in its invasion of Ukraine, and now the International Criminal Court is investigating.

The US President Joe Biden has already labelled… Read more Audio

7:58 AM.More and more Aucklanders are heading out of town for good.

According to the latest data, 25,000 of them have quit the City of Sails over the past two years in search of a different life elsewhere in… Read more Audio

7:52 AM. The final climate change report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found it is now or never if the world is to stave off climate disaster.

The IPCC report says even if all the… Read more Audio