Morning Report Podcast Options

7:52 AM.The award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead in his apartment in New York City on Sunday, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing a law-enforcement official. Audio

7:48 AM.The police will today formally identify the body of a man who was swept over a waterfall near Murchison. Audio

7:45 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

7:40 AM.Ash clouds from Mount Sinabung in Sumatra have killed at least 16 people. Audio

7:38 AM.A China Southern Airlines Boeing Dreamliner has just touched down at Christchurch International Airport in what tourism insider's hope will be the beginning of regular direct flights between the South… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.We're joined now by the spokesperson for Japan's whaling body, the Institute for Cetacean Research, Glenn Inwood. Audio

7:22 AM.The New Zealand and Australian governments are urging Sea Shepherd and Japan's whalers to show more restraint after reported clashes in the Southern Ocean. Audio

7:17 AM.The first public opinion poll of the year has confirmed the National Party's worst fear that it will win the election but struggle to form a government. Audio

7:13 AM.Jamie Whyte and David Seymour joined me in the studio earlier this morning, and I put it to the new leader that the latest TV3 poll putting Act at zero support shows that his party is a lost cause. Audio

7:09 AM.The two men who've been chosen as the new faces for ACT this election, acknowledge it's a risky strategy to split the roles of leader and Epsom candidate. Audio

6:47 AM.News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

6:36 AM.The party's board has appointed Jamie Whyte leader-elect and David Seymour the candidate for Epsom, the seat currently held by John Banks, who is stepping down as leader and MP. Audio

6:27 AM.A nurses' group says the colonial process is coming down like a big hammer on Maori health providers; A consultant says a charge that's hung over the Treaty solicitor, Donna Hall, has damaged her… Read more Audio

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

6:18 AM.The latest from the Pacific region. Audio

6:00 AM.ACT acknowledges having separate leader and Epsom candidate risky strategy, Act's new double Act on reviving the party's fortunes, Year's first political poll suggests National will struggle, Sea… Read more Audio

8:56 AM.Let's have a chat to our Canberra correspondent Kerry-Anne Walsh. Audio

8:51 AM.Scotland and United Arab Emirates will join the giants of world cricket at next year's World Cup after topping the pool of countries vying for a place in the competition. Audio

8:47 AM.Maori attractions in Rotorua stand to miss out on vital tourism spending if Ruggamuffin moves from the sulphur city to Auckland; The government minister, Tariana Turia, is hitting back at the New… Read more Audio

8:44 AM.The convicted murderer Teina Pora being given leave to take his his case to the Privy Council. Audio

8:41 AM.Today is the deadline for more than 50 Christchurch red zoned residents to leave their homes. Audio

8:38 AM.More on the New Zealand Open, where Lydia Ko is attempting to defend her title. Audio

8:35 AM.An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

8:29 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:25 AM.A Canadian petroleum company is in the early stages of bringing fracking to the North Island's East Coast. Audio