Morning Report

The tourism industry is breathing a sigh of relief that the Government is stepping in to try to lessen the blow from Covid-19 and subsequent travel restrictions.

It's getting $11 million for a marketing campaign to attract visitors from outside China.

Charlie Dreaver reports the details of how exactly the money will be spent are very thin.

Kyle Jamieson says going home to Auckland has made him happy again and led to his rise on the international cricket scene.

The pea weevil has been declared to be eradicated from New Zealand, four years after it was first discovered in the Wairarapa.

The weevil feeds on and destroys fresh peas, and the eradication effort included a four-year ban on the growing of peas and the use of pea straw in the area.

Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor speaks to Susie Ferguson.

Rio Tinto is refusing to acknowledge a handshake deal it made with the Gore District Council to remove toxic waste from the Southland town of Mataura.

The company reiterated in a statement yesterday the owner of the premix material stored in the town's old paper mill is now the New Zealand Government's.

Rio Tinto says they will still provide $1.75 million to help fund the removal and disposal of the hazardous waste.

Residents want the waste removed as does the Mayor of Gore, Tracy Hicks.

He speaks to Corin Dann.

Rio Tinto declined to be interviewed on Morning Report.

Taliban fighters attacked Afghan government forces overnight, and militant commanders said their operations would continue until they get fresh instructions based on a deal with the United States to reduce violence in the country.

The US and the Taliban are perhaps just days away from announcing an agreement that could pave the way for peace talks between the Afghan parties themselves and the withdrawal of US troops from the country.

So far details of what has been decided are limited but an agreement seems tantalisingly close.

The BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet speaks to Susie Ferguson.

A grieving father wants a crackdown on logging companies saying they should have to prove they are safe before they're allowed to hire workers. Doug Laing's son, Les died three years ago when he was crushed between a shipping container and an excavator. His employer, logging exporter Guru NZ, was sentenced yesterday in the Manukau District Court and must pay almost half a million dollars in fines and reparations. Jordan Bond reports.

People returning here from mainland China are pleading for more help as they struggle to find suitable places to keep themselves apart from others.

Volunteers are helping people who have had to resort to sleeping in cars because they have had nowhere to go - and aren't sure what to do.

Chen Liu reports.

The National Party has flagged a tax cut package if elected - saying New Zealanders are struggling under the costs imposed by the coalition government.

But there has been little detail offered, except to say cuts would benefit "average wage earners".

Paul Goldsmith is National's finance spokesperson.

He speaks to Corin Dann.

A lobbying firm run by a New Zealand First Foundation trustee pushed for a law change on behalf of a property development company, which then donated tens of thousands of dollars to the foundation.

Doug Woolerton took on apartment developer Conrad Properties as a client for his firm, The Lobbyist.

He was lobbying for changes to the foreign home buyers ban for Conrad, which believed it would be adversely affected because it sells more than 40% of its apartments to overseas buyers - mainly Chinese.

But the Minister in charge of the legislation, David Parker, and the head of the select committee, Michael Wood, say due process was followed and Conrad didn't actually get the changes they were asking for.

Investigative Journalist Guyon Espiner reports

The Serious Fraud Office has laid charges relating to two donations made to the National Party - one in 2017 and one in 2018 - both of a $100,000.

At the end of last month the Office confirmed it was pursuing criminal charges against four people in relation to donations paid into a National Party electorate bank account.

National Party leader Simon Bridges says neither he, nor anyone connected to the party, has been charged.

The charge sheets have been released to the media by order of the Auckland District Court.

RNZ political editor, Jane Patterson, speaks to Susie Ferguson.