Morning Report

It's that time of year when we find out what word has been judged Word of the Year by readers of the Public Address website.

Russell Brown from Public Address is here to make the big reveal and a word of warning to people over the age of 55 - prepare to have your hackles raised.

Listen to the audio above to find out which word took out the top spot.

The Government has failed to deliver on its promise to rein in spending on expensive contractors and consultants.

The total spending on this by a group of the biggest departments has jumped by 14 percent in a single year to more than $700 million.

Phil Pennington is looking into this.

A new report says tourism could be destroying the very attractions bringing people here in the first place.

The report from Environment Commissioner Simon Upton says the popularity of New Zealand's clean and green image is putting our environment in peril.

One of the biggest problems is the number of tourists overwhelming facilities and a lack of response from central and local government.

The Tourism Minister is Kelvin Davis.

He speaks to Corin Dann

Labour was torn asunder when claims of sexual assault, harrassment and bullying by a staffer hit the headlines earlier this year. Accusers, bitterly disappointed with how the party had handled their complaints, went to the media.

The scandal led to the resignation of Nigel Haworth as president, and the staffer at the centre of the allegations.

But a report by Marie Dew QC has found "insufficient evidence" to back up the most serious allegations.

The search for the remaining two victims of the Whakaari/White Island eruption is going to being scaled back to a locally-led operation.

A helicopter and a boat will continue to search around the island and also the coastline towards East Cape for the two people still missing after last week's eruption.

Fourteen Whakaari/White Island victims remain in hospitals across New Zealand, 10 of them in critical condition.

The people are being cared for at Middlemore, Hutt Valley, Waikato, and Christchurch hospitals.

Middlemore Hospital chief medical officer Dr Pete Watson speaks to Susie Ferguson.

Sir Ron Brierley's former deputy says he's staggered the New Zealand business tycoon has been arrested and charged in Australia for possessing child pornography.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, police acting on an anonymous tip stopped the 82-year-old at Sydney International Airport before he boarded a flight to Fiji.

It reports they found over 200,000 images and 512 videos of child abuse on his laptop and other electronic devices.

The House of Representatives is set to impeach president Donald Trump in the next few hours.

Mr Trump will be the third president in US history to be impeached. Democrats have brought two Articles of Impeachment against Mr Trump - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

The president has called the process an "attempted coup" and a "scam".

RNZ's correspondent in Washington is Simon Marks.

The country's new road safety strategy will see speed limits drop on unsafe roads and penalties increase for high risk driving such as using cellphones.

The Road to Zero strategy is based on the Swedish Vision Zero road safety plan, which expects drivers to make mistakes but ensures they don't die when they do.

The government is set to unveil the 10-year plan on Thursday afternoon, but our reporter Ben Strang has seen the plan and speaks to Susie Ferguson.

New All Blacks coach Ian Foster will start unveiling his coaching staff today.

News from the business sector, including a market report.