Morning Report

MPs will resume debate on the Budget in just under three hours, as the Government pushes through cuts to KiwiSaver and Working for Families under urgency. Audio

Is the budget "balanced and responsible" or a blow to the average New Zealander? We put the Budget under the microscope. How will selling state assets, changing Kiwisaver and cutting the public… Read more Audio

The government is today expected to deliver a budget with one eye on the election and another on the government's rocketing deficit. Audio

Farmers in eastern China say as many as a hundred melons a day are blowing up in their pastures. Audio

More than two thousand cyclists will take to the road next year in a major new cycling event, the Tour of New Zealand. Audio

News from the Waatea team. Audio

An Arts Trust is taking it upon itself to beautify a huge hole in the ground left in Ponsonby by developers when they went into receivership almost six years ago. Audio

A threat by tobacco companies in Australia to cut prices if they're forced to sell cigarettes in plain packages has brought a warning not to try that tactic here. Audio

A Christchurch hotel owner has been dealt a double blow, not only will part of his inner-city property have to be demolished, he's discovered the premises have been ransacked by looters. Audio

An update from the team at RNZ Sport. Audio

News from the business sector including a market report. Audio

It was books of a different kind being celebrated on the eve of the budget last night. Audio