Morning Report Podcast Options

7:34 AM.Customs stopped a record three tonnes of drugs from entering New Zealand streets in 2019.

Drugs seized were were smuggled inside motor engines, the lining of a puffer jacket and inside pallets.

The… Read more Audio

7:27 AM.A distraught Elton John had to call off his first Auckland concert last night because he lost his voice.

He was about to sing 'Daniel' but told the crowd "I'm so sorry", and was in tears as he had to… Read more Audio

7:27 AM.Owners of earthquake-prone apartments want the government to pay some of the cost of strengthening rather than offer low-interest loans.

The last-resort financial help is open to owner-occupiers of… Read more Audio

7:21 AM.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is refusing to pass judgement on a controversy involving her Deputy Prime Minister.

Winston Peters told Magic Talk last week his party was involved in taking photos of… Read more Audio

7:19 AM.Universities have asked the government to exempt thousands of Chinese students from New Zealand's ban on international arrivals from mainland China.

The ban, which is aimed at stopping the spread of… Read more Audio

7:17 AM.Thousands of people have been stuck in their cabins under mandatory quarantine on the cruise ship Diamond Princess for the past two weeks.

Just over 350 people on the ship have tested positive for… Read more Audio

7:06 AM.The New Zealand cyclist George Bennett will now set his sight's on the international season following his agonising loss at the national road champs in Cambridge yesterday. Read more Audio

6:53 AM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Read more Audio

6:48 AM.Councils fear giving Kainga Ora the power to authorise largescale housing developments would enable it to ride roughshod over local authorities.

Legislation before Parliament would give the new… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.Universities have asked the government to exempt nearly 7000 of their students from its ban on travel from mainland China.

The ban is aimed at stopping the spread of Covid-19 and was extended over… Read more Audio

6:22 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Read more Audio

6:20 AM.A brief update from the business sector. Read more Audio

6:06 AM.The White Ferns have been beaten by England by six wickets in their T20 World Cup warmup cricket match in Adelaide. Read more Audio

6:00 AM.Covid-19: Life inside the Diamond Princess cruise ship, Universities have asked the government to exempt thousands of Chinese students from New Zealand's ban on international arrivals from mainland… Read more Audio

8:56 AM.It's Friday so we cross the ditch to Canberra to talk to our correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh. Audio

8:53 AM.Central Dunedin businesses are up in arms about cars and buses being banned in the Octagon.

The city council is hailing the trial closure of the landmark as a success but retailers say it's left them… Read more Audio

8:49 AM.As farmers in many parts of the country struggle with dry conditions, those in areas such as Wairarapa are worried proposed new water regulations could force them to give up farming.

A panel is now… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.The Māori Party says it's got a massive job ahead of it to make a comeback into Parliament, and it won't get in on party votes alone.

The party failed to win any seats in the 2017 election and left… Read more Audio

8:38 AM.A Bethlehem resident says last night's shooting is sobering for the community.

One man was fatally wounded by police after a car chase, in connection with the double homicide at McLaren Falls earlier… Read more Audio

8:32 AM.A brief update on the movements in the financial sector. Read more Audio

8:25 AM.A groundbreaking school that puts a green ethos at the centre of its learning is celebrating its opening in Taranaki today.

The Green School New Zealand has a focus on sustainability, but it doesn't… Read more Audio

8:22 AM.A new report into New Zealand's shortage of affordable housing calls for debt-to-income limits for high-income households and a capital gains tax.

The study says a decades-long boom in property… Read more Audio

8:17 AM.An immensely powerful new housing and development agency is already allegedly causing ructions, accused of poaching key staff from local councils.

Kainga Ora will combine the state house aims of the… Read more Audio

8:15 AM.Tauranga commuters face massive disruption this morning with a main road blocked off following a fatal police shoot out last night.

A man is dead after officers tried to stop a car as part of their… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.More than a hundred years since Moriori were slaughtered, enslaved and falsely classified as extinct, a true account of their story is about to be entrenched in the law.

Moriori descendants and… Read more Audio