Morning Report

Wellington's water entity is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to fix a foul stench that's plagued a Lower Hutt community for years. Residents have spoken out about the rotten, vomit-inducing smell caused by the Seaview sewage treatment plant, which brought on headaches for some, and prevented people from opening their windows and doors. Wellington Issues reporter Ellen O'Dwyer reports.

1 News Sports Editor Abby Wilson and All Black and Manu Samoa player, Lima Sopoaga join Morning Report for this week's sports panel.

The chief executive of Air Chathams says it's time to rethink regional air connectivity in New Zealand. With rising costs and the price of fuel, regional airlines are struggling at the moment - many have been assisted up by government loans in the last year, whilst recent grants have been announced to keep routes operating. In the last year Air Chathams has suspended its Kapiti service and cut a significant number of flights from several North island routes. CEO Duane Emeny spoke to John Campbell.

Wellington's City Gallery re-opens tomorrow after a two-year closure, during which the 1930s heritage building underwent earthquake re-strengthening and a full scale refurbishment. Its return marks the latest step in the rejuvenation of Te Ngakau Civic Square as the capital's civic and cultural centre, after the Central Library reopened earlier this year. And the gallery is back with a blockbuster exhibition from one of Britain's most celebrated contemporary artists, Cornelia Parker. City Gallery director Charlotte Davy spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

New Zealand Rugby is going to court in a case of what it believes are too many chiefs. It launched High Court proceedings against Papua New Guinea's incoming NRL franchise to stop the new club from using the Chiefs name. NZR is seeking both an interim and final injunction stopping the use of the names "PNG Chiefs", "Chiefs", or any other similar names in New Zealand. Lawyer Kate Duckworth is a specialist in intellectual property and trademarks and spoke to John Campbell.

Business update for 9 October 2026.

An update on what's happening in the sports world with Nathan Rarere.

Lifejackets are now mandatory on all recreational boats up to six metres in length. The rule will apply to people using small recreational vessels such as jetskis, dinghies, sailboats, kayaks, paddleboards, and motorboats. Previous lifejacket requirements varied from region to region and the responsibility of usage was largely left to the discretion of the skipper. Water Safety NZ chief executive Glen Scanlon spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

A Defence Force commander warned New Zealand would be cut off from information exchanges within the Five Eyes intelligence group if it did not sign up to build a new digital super-system. A month later it signed up to what's dubbed Project Arcadia. The US says it will be the new digital backbone of the five militaries. Newly released briefings say Arcadia will become so foundational, including for fighting and intelligence, that not signing up would have effectively cut New Zealand off. Phil Pennington spoke to John Campbell.

National wants to cut payments to some beneficiaries by up to $81 dollars a week, as part of its five point welfare plan, as well as introducing random drug testing. Thomas Maharaj, founder and director of Wellington employment support service, I'm In spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.