Morning Report

Karla Bergquist discusses mental health emergency callouts; Ombudsman seeks urgent meeting over Education Ministry video; Researchers warn of deadly El Nino effects; Firefighter union responds to National's new FENZ policy

A young cheerleading team based in Kapiti Coast has reached new heights, taking first place and being named Grand Champions at the 2026 Australasian Majors in the Gold Coast last week. The win means the BigAir Rebels have now earned their spot in the 2027 Global Games in Hawaii. William Davenport, owner of Tawa's BigAir gym and cheerleader Fin Collins spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Let's head to the New Plymouth electorate now, where you'd be forgiven for thinking the potential building of an LNG terminal at Port Taranaki or rebooting the oil and gas sector would be the big election issues. But as our Taranaki Whanganui reporter Robin Martin found out, one issue trumps them all, the cost of living.

A protest is being planned tomorrow in the Northland town of Dargaville over council plans to demolish its local town hall. The Northern Wairoa War Memorial Hall which was built in 1953 is lined up for the wrecking ball this month.Over the years, the building has hosted balls, funerals, markets, fashion shows and even Selwyn Toogood hosting It's in the Bag. Dargaville Ratepayers and Residents Association chair Gordon Walker spoke to John Campbell.

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Lots of households have been feeling cost-of-living pressure, and many are looking for ways to earn more money to combat it.

Feral cats are a major threat to native wildlife across Aotearoa. On Aotea Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf, the approach to eradicating them looks a little different. An iwi-led conservation project is taking on thousands of feral cats, through a kaupapa grounded in te ao Maori. Maori news journalist Layla Bailey McDowell visited the island.

National has vowed to make Fire and Emergency New Zealand a departmental agency directly accountable to the Emergency Management Minister, if re-elected. This comes after a select committee report found FENZ had misled Parliament and mismanaged the purchase of new fire trucks. The NZ Professional Firefighters Union is calling for a full-inquiry. National Secretary Wattie Watson spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Citizens Advice Bureau is reporting higher levels of need from the communities they serve - from people seeking job hunting support, to others asking for help to find a place to stay. But the organisation says the resourcing it has to continue the work is under pressure. Kerry Dalton is the chief executive of the Citizens Advice Bureau and spoke to John Campbell.