Morning Report

Rescuers are digging through the rubble in Colombia, after a magnitude 7.4 earthquake toppled dozens of buildings. The death toll has risen to 224. Emergency teams continue to hunt for survivors, and a state of emergency has been declared. Journalist Luis Molina spoke with John Campbell.

Dairy companies are capitalising on a bit of a protein boom at the moment, meanwhile the prospect of an El Niño weather event is starting to factor more prominently in farmer thinking.

An early morning sports news update.

A campsite in Christchurch's earthquake damaged redzone has been given the initial go-ahead by a committee overseeing the future of the land. The Motor Caravan Association wants to set up a park for its members on redzone land near the Avon River in New Brighton. It comes shortly after the council handed out leaflets to a community of about 60 homeless people on redzoned land the other side of the river, giving them a deadline for when they need to move on from their make-shift camp. Rachel Graham reports.

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

National's entire caucus is meeting after Christopher Luxon called an emergency in-person meeting to quell questions around his leadership. Last night there were extraordinary scenes at Wellington Airport as Cabinet Ministers and backbench MPs jetted back into the capital and did, and didn't, offer their support. Brigitte Morten is the managing director of Wellington-based law firm, Franks Ogilvie. She was a senior ministerial advisor for the previous National-led government - and is currently volunteering for the election campaign of Hutt South MP Chris Bishop. She spoke to John Campbell.

Major Electricity Users' Group spoke to Morning Report after Contact Energy reported a record profit of $423 million dollars. Time again for the weekly interview with the leader of the opposition, Chris Hipkins. Central government is beginning to trawl through proposals for how councils want local government to be reshaped. Researchers are hopeful they are on the cusp of an obesity treatment that might represent a new way to lose weight - targeting the body's fat-storage processes and leaving the appetite untouched. And a proposed Christchurch-based rugby league team - the Southern Orcas - are hoping to enter the Australian NRL in 2029.

Reptile scientists are over the moon following a sighting of the rare Canterbury spotted skink. A fly fishing guide snapped a photo of the nationally endangered reptile in the Korowai Torlesse Tussocklands Park and Castle Hill area, about an hour from Christchurch. Ecologist and reptile scientist Marieke Lettink spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Concerns have been raised about the number of voters who may have been moved to the dormant electoral roll without their knowledge. The Electoral Commission has since revealed about 115,000 people are on the dormant roll, a number Chief Electoral Officer Karl Le Quesne has conceded is not good enough. He spoke to John Campbell.

An early morning sports news update.