Morning Report

Labour leader Chris Hipkins discusses party's drop in polls; Auckland doctor discusses high levels of demand on hospitals; Fiji experiencing fast-growing HIV epidemic; Documents reveal problems at former charter schools; Seven-year-old Kiwi footballer picked for UK trial.

An aspiring seven-year-old footballer from Dunedin has been handpicked to take part in a trial in the UK. Nese Su'a will get the chance to train against Manchester City and Manchester United youth academies next month. He was scouted at a showcase event in Brisbane after playing football for just two seasons. But his trip will come at a cost and his parents have started a fundraiser to get them th...

One of the country's biggest shopping malls is for sale, in what could be one of the largest single-asset transactions in the New Zealand retail sector. Colliers has been jointly appointed to sell the mall. Its managing director - agency, Richard Kirke spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

New Zealand's luxury housing sales are shrouded in secrecy as unknown Kiwis compete with international buyers spending millions of dollars on property through off-market deals.

An early morning sports news update.

The latest market updates and news from RNZ's business team.

Ratings agency Moody's has released a new report into the New Zealand economy. It says recovery is coming, but there are still some risks. Money correspondent Susan Edmunds spoke to John Campbell.

Officials sacked the boards of two former charter schools because of problems including growing debt at one and an illegal Board of Trustees at the other. The issues were cited in documents released under the Official Information Act detailing why the Education Ministry appointed commissioners at sister schools the West Auckland and South Auckland middle schools earlier this year. Education corres...

The latest Taxpayer Union-Curia poll suggests the government's block would return to power - gaining 64 seats compared to the opposition's 56. Labour leader Chris Hipkins spoke to John Campbell.

The AIMS Games, New Zealand's biggest sports tournament is taking place in Tauranga, with more than 467 schools taking part. Tournament director Kelly Schischka spoke to John Campbell.

Recent polls show support for both major parties continues to drop. RNZ's political editor Jo Moir spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

An early morning sports news update.

The latest market updates and news from RNZ's business team.

A charity says the high cost of living is forcing some older people to go with little food. Hamilton's St Vincent De Paul has made pensioners the focus of their service after noticing the elderly have been falling through the cracks. Waikato, Bay of Plenty reporter Rachel Moore reports.

Port of Tauranga has been granted the green light for its wharf expansion project through the Government's fast-track approval process It ends the port's years-long effort to get approval for its Stella Passage development, which would allow it to accommodate more and larger ships. Simon Kebbell, Port of Tauranga's chief financial officer, spoke to John Campbell.

Health New Zealand is expecting increased pressure on its services to remain for at least another three to four weeks. It says hospitals are experiencing some of the highest levels of demand seen in recent years, with a significant surge in winter illness over the past month. Dr Mike Shepherd is the Group Director of Operations at Auckland City Hospital and spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

An early morning update from RNZ's business team.

The pending closure of a post office box hub in Christchurch will mark the end of postal services inside the city's CBD. Sockburn local and advocate Luke Chandler is fighting to stop the closures and spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

BBC Monitoring's chief analyst Vitaly Shevchenko spoke to John Campbell following a visit to Moscow and Kyiv by US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The latest rural news with Gianina Schwanecke.

An early morning sports news update.

Catch up with the latest headlines from around the world with RNZ's Alice Wilkins.

Fiji is experiencing one of the world's fastest-growing HIV epidemics with implications that extend to its Pacific neighbours, including New Zealand. A Public Health Communication Centre briefing released this morning shows a 14-fold increase in infections over the past five years. Dr Sharon McLennan co-authored the briefing and spoke to John Campbell.

PM discusses supermarkets, superannuation, and housing; Elective surgeries postponed due to demand on health system; Chloe Swarbrick discusses new publicly owned supermarket policy; Cold, damp housing linked to winter illnesses; Warriors boss Cameron George discusses weekend win

We crossed the Tasman to speak to our Australia correspondent, Emma Cropper.