Morning Report Podcast Options

6:44 AM.Children heading to schools near the occupation around Parliament's grounds are doing so under the gaze of the police this morning.

The force has again stepped up the visibility of its patrols, to… Read more Audio

6:40 AM.Hundreds of police, some with armed with shields, have stationed themselves on Aitken Street and Hill Street near Parliament this morning.

Susie Ferguson got an update. Read more Audio

6:23 AM.A UK medic says New Zealand has been a global front-runner with its Covid-19 response.

Dr Dan Goyal is a Scotland-based medical consultant and explained his viewpoint in a detailed social media post.

6:16 AM.People can expect Covid-19 restrictions to ease in about six weeks when Omicron is expected to peak.

While the Prime Minister has not a given a date for the end of restrictions, she says once the… Read more Audio

6:13 AM.The hospitality sector decimated after two years of Covid-19 describes the latest financial support being offered by the government as encouraging but too late for some to survive.

Eligible… Read more Audio

6:10 AM.Police say they are committed to returning the streets of Wellington to Wellingtonians, as a former Prime Minister says politicians should meet with the protesters.

In a statement released last night… Read more Audio

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