Morning Report for Thursday 20 April 2023

8:56 AM.Stephen Jack has resigned as the National Party candidate for Taieri after it was revealed he shared a poem online comparing Jacinda Ardern to Adolf Hitler.

A National Party spokesperson told RNZ on… Read more Audio

8:56 AM.A popular online gift exchange says it's shutting down because of new charges introduced to Twitter.

Secret Santa Aotearoa sees hundreds of anonymous strangers exchange Christmas gifts each year.

… Read more Audio

8:51 AM.A Canterbury scientist will have a key part of her research sent to the International Space Station later this year, with hopes it could lead to major advances in the medical field.

Dr Sarah Kessans… Read more Audio

8:46 AM.As we've been talking about this morning, New Zealand is considering hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2034.

The New Zealand Olympic Committee has told the Commonwealth Games Federation it is… Read more Audio

8:42 AM.A new attempt to break the deadlock in secondary teachers' pay talks is unlikely to stop further industrial action.

The Employment Relations Authority says it will start facilitated bargaining… Read more Audio

8:40 AM.Restore passenger Rail protestors are out again in the capital, this time blocking Adelaide Road near the Basin Reserve.

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8:39 AM.Hawke's Bay Civil Defence's emergency response structure was identified as needing to be "addressed with urgency" more than 18 months before Cyclone Gabrielle smashed through the region.

This week… Read more Audio

8:29 AM.The latest inflation figures are due out later today, and economists aren't expecting a dramatic change from the current 7.2 percent figure.

Analysis in the New Zealand Herald suggests people are now… Read more Audio

8:18 AM.On the same day the police watchdog's report into the force's handling of last year's protest and three-week occupation of parliament is being released, a think tank's report into the government's… Read more Audio

8:11 AM.The Agriculture Minister, Damien O'Connor, says the National Party's proposed 'Getting back to farming' policies would be a "backward step".

National unveiled a list of 19 proposals yesterday, such… Read more Audio

7:52 AM.The National Party is promising to reverse a ban on live animal exports if it's elected to government.

The ban has only just come into effect, with the last shipment of animals leaving Napier this… Read more Audio

7:41 AM.An agreement kept quiet for years by the government shows it embarked on a project for a US tech giant to push AI learning in schools.

The $2 trillion Microsoft corporation was also engaged to look… Read more Audio

7:38 AM.Fox executives including Rupert Murdoch may have avoided having to take the stand after it settled the defamation suit taken against it by Dominion Voting Systems, but it now has another law suit… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.Summer tourist numbers bounced back this year to about half of what they were pre-Covid.

Overall, as well as domestic travellers, we welcomed close to 900,000 overseas visitors.

That's about two… Read more Audio

7:23 AM.Aotearoa is considering hosting the 2034 Commonwealth Games.

If successful it would be the fourth time we have held the games.

Christchurch has held it once and Auckland twice, in 1959 when it was… Read more Audio

7:16 AM.The latest inflation figures will be released later this morning with little expectation it will show price increases slowing.

The cost of living continues to rise and New Zealanders are already… Read more Audio

7:10 AM.The police watchdog's report into the force's handling of last year's protest and three-week occupation of parliament will be released later this morning.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority's… Read more Audio

6:50 AM.About 5,600 cattle sailing to China this week will be the last live exports by sea after a government ban on the practice.

That's unless the National Party gets its way - the opposition yesterday… Read more Audio

6:46 AM.Beef and Lamb New Zealand says the National Party have found a balance between environmental and economic outcomes with its new agriculture policy.

National wants to cut red tape in the farming… Read more Audio

6:19 AM.Businesses and residents in Auckland's Mercury Lane are vowing to fight Auckland Transport over its plans to turn the Lane into a pedestrian mall.

The project aims to enhance the area around the new… Read more Audio

6:09 AM.The delays to changes around secondary students' assessments - NCEA - has the National Party saying it proves the current education policies aren't working.

Yesterday the government announced its… Read more Audio