Morning Report

Pacific Island nations are demanding answers at the Rugby World Cup, complaining their players are receiving stiff punishments while other teams get away with more serious offences. Two Samoan players… Read more Audio

A Masterton councillor says ballooning public relations staff numbers are running defence for councils and putting voters off being interested in local politics. Brent Goodwin says councils' spending… Read more Audio

A public hospital manager says strike action under way from today will add to the long delays many people already face for non-urgent surgery. Hundreds of radiographers, who take x-rays, will walk off… Read more Audio

A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

A 26-year old, social-media savvy woman could give the front-runners in Hamilton's mayoral campaign a fright, as her message connects with young voters in particular. There are eight candidates… Read more Audio

The National Party says it will consider supporting a loosening of Parliament's rules so official footage from the House can be used for political advertising. In an act of mass defiance, National… Read more Audio

A plan to start an all-female chapter of the Mongrel Mob has been met with a warning from one gang leader. The Waikato-based Mongrel Mob Kingdom has said it intends to have the chapter - called the… Read more Audio

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

New mountainbike and hiking trails, to putting a basketball hoop in every suburban cul-de-sac. These ideas to engage more people in sport and recreation flowed thick and fast from Nelson and Tasman… Read more Audio