Morning Report

As part of RNZ's series - Meth Toll, yesterday we heard about 57-year-old Deeann Herkt, who has now been sober for 11 years. In 2015, she referred herself to the Salvation Army Bridge Programme in Auckland, where she met a counsellor with a lived experience of meth addiction, who became a key navigator in her road to recovery. Emma Hunter, Service Development Lead at Salvation Army spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

A small rural town in Central Hawke's Bay is battling a big problem, it has one of the highest levels of meth in the country.In 2024, Waipukurau's wastewater testing revealed the biggest increase in meth consumption in the country, and since then the community has come together to tackle the issue. In the second instalment of our series Meth Toll, our Hawke's Bay Tairawhiti reporter Alexa Cook takes a look at the impact addiction is having on the town and the effort it's making to try and turn things around.

Later today, Treasury will open the books and reveal the state of the government accounts, just as the election campaign is getting underway. Business editor Corin Dann, and our political editor Jo Moir will head into the Treasury lock-up this morning. They spoke to John Campbell ahead of lock-up.

Business update for 29 September 2026.

Business update for 29 September 2026.

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

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

A family renting a new build home says their living space reaches unbearable temperatures because of the way it was built. Yesterday, we heard how building officials won't make changes to fix overheating houses for another five years. Nick Maarhuis lives in a home that overheats, and spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Yesterday, Chris Hipkins went to Christchurch, and Christopher Luxon stayed in Auckland, visiting an electorate National won for the first time ever in 2023, Mt Roskill. Labour losing that seat was emblematic of just how damaging the swing against them was in Auckland, last election. John Campbell asked local voters what issues they'll be voting on, this election.

An estimated one in ten eligible voters have not yet enrolled to vote, with less than a month to go before the deadline. Changes to electoral law introduced mean people need to enrol or update their details before midnight on October 25 to be able to cast a ballot. Meanwhile, Labour leader Chris Hipkins said over the weekend the Electoral Commission could be doing more to encourage enrolments. Karl Le Quesne is the chief electoral officer and CEO of the Electoral Commission. Le Quesne spoke to John Campbell.