RNZ: Morning Report

On today's episode, at least 16 people are dead and over 12,000 buildings have burnt down from the deadly fires burning Los Angeles, an advocate for abuse in care survivors is calling on the government to hurry up and announce its plans for redress, Monday is the last day to submit on the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill, the Desert Road is closed for approximately two months, a conservation initiative focused on protecting the endangered whio - or Blue Duck and a pizza shop in the UK is charging customers £100 - to order Hawaiian pizza in an effort to dissuade customers from buying it.

Lupa Pizza, in the UK city of Norwich, is charging customers £100 - about $220 NZD - to order their Hawaiian pizza on deliver app Deliveroo in an effort to dissuade customers from buying it. The pizzeria's co-owner Francis Wolf spoke to Alexa Cook.

Parents are starting to raise concerns about the price of uniforms ahead of the start of the new school year. Otago University's Johanna Reidy spoke to Paddy Gower.

An advocate for abuse in care survivors is calling on the government to hurry up and announce its plans for redress. Ken Clearwater spoke to Alexa Cook.

After a gruelling nine-day tournament, New Zealand has crowned two new national chess champions. Grandmaster Gabor Nagy from Hungary and 16-year-old FIDE Master Felix Xie both finished first on seven out of nine - with zero losses. Xie spoke to Paddy Gower.

An update on what's happening in the sports world with Ben Strang.

A conservation initiative focused on protecting the endangered whio - or Blue Duck - says the aggressive trapping of rats and stoats has helped to successfully fledge over 120 chicks in the Waioeka Gorge between Opotiki and Gisborne. Sam Gibson, also known as Sam the Trap Man, founded EWL in 2020, and he spoke to Alexa Cook.

Consultation on a proposed bill that would determine how the Government makes regulations closes on Monday, January 13. Auckland University's Emeritus Professor Jane Kelsey spoke to Paddy Gower.

Thousands of firefighters are working desperately to contain deadly wildfires raging across Los Angeles. New Zealand's Consul-General Katja Ackerley spoke to Paddy Gower.

At least sixteen people are dead and over 12,000 buildings have burnt down from the deadly fires burning Los Angeles. Journalist David Farrier spoke to Paddy Gower.

The first day of the Australian Open served up disappointment for some tennis fans, with five singles matches called off due to rain. Tennis correspondent Dave Worsley spoke to Alexa Cook.

US special counsel Jack Smith, who led two federal cases against president-elect Donald Trump, has resigned. New York correspondent Sally Patterson spoke to Paddy Gower.

Kiwis can expect the cool summer to continue for at least another week. Meteorologist John Law spoke to Alexa Cook.

One kiwi currently living in Los Angeles says she's "constantly on edge" whilst the deadly fires continue to spread. Kiwi music artist and tour manager Poppy Tohill spoke to Alexa Cook.

From Monday morning, the Desert Road will be closed for approximately two months. The closure is part of Waka Kotahi's Tirau to Waiouru Accelerated Maintenance project. Waka Kotahi regional manager of maintenance and operations Roger Brady spoke to Paddy Gower.

Abuse in care survivors are calling on the government to announce its long-awaited plans for redress. Timothy Brown has more.

Many Aucklanders will be returning to work on Monday, but they won't be able to use train services until later this month. Auckland Transport's Director of Public Transport Stacey Van Der Putten spoke to Alexa Cook.

Police have confirmed that two people who fell, one fatally, from a Coromandel Cliff over the weekend were both under-18. Thames-Coromandel mayor Len Salt spoke to Paddy Gower.

Feedback on the proposed Regulatory Standards Bill closes on Monday night, and critics are saying it would entrench ACT Party ideology in the country's constitutional framework. Political reporter Lillian Hanly reports.

Four wildfires are currently burning around Los Angeles and at least 16 people have been killed so far, 11 in the Eaton fire, and five in the Palisades fire. AP's International Affiliate correspondent Phillip Crowther spoke to Alexa Cook.

On today's episode, the latest on the devastating fires in California, further questions are raised about the Treaty Principles Bill submissions and a close friend of out-going Warrior's captain Tohu Harris weighs in on his retirement. Plus, the giant wasp nest found in South Auckland, scientists say they've worked out how to halve our carbon emissions and an update on the scrub fire in Whangarei.

More than 100 people descended on the capital for the Royal New Zealand Pipe Bands' Association annual Summer School. It's the biggest summer school in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the biggest in the world. Here's reporter Krystal Gibbens.

A new study has revealed we could halve the carbon emissions caused by humans, by simply changing the materials we build with. A US research team calculated that over sixteen billion tonnes of carbon could be 'captured' and added into common building materials. Professor David Dempsey from Canterbury University spoke to Morning Report

The cost of building a house is increasing at a fraction of the pace of recent years, but some involved in the industry say the price is still too high. The latest data from Corelogic shows the cost of building a standard single-storey, three-bedroom, two-bathroom standalone house increased by 0.6% in the December quarter. Money correspondent Susan Edmunds has more.

A massive wasp nest in South Auckland has been destroyed with exterminators taking two days to get rid of over 200,000 wasps. The "frighteningly large" nest was in a conifer tree on a farm in Karaka. Wasp expert Lloyd Carpenter spoke to Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira.

Warriors captain Tohu Harris has called time on his NRL career announcing his immediate retirement from NRL Former player Lewis Brown says he had a phenomenal career and his departure leaves leadership opportunities for younger players He spoke to Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira on Morning Report.

Around three hundred Maori leaders are meeting today at Omahu near Hastings to discuss the creation a new pan-Maori assembly. The assembly would promote a collective response to Government challenges. Maori affairs reporter Pokere Paewai spoke to Morning Report.

Tech experts say the huge number of submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill earlier this week may have been the result of nefarious online behaviour. The numbers set a new record and some tech experts aren't ruling out the possibility of an automated online attack. Our political reporter Anneke Smith spoke to Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira.

FENZ says 20 hectares are still burning near Whangarei, and two helicopters have been dispatched to work on the fire. Crews were called to the fire just after midday yesterday. Operations Manager Denis Cooper update Morning Report.

Ferocious winds are fuelling the fires in California and there are now multiple fires burning in different parts of Los Angeles Residents say it's like nothing they have ever seen. LA correspondent Ira Spitzer spoke to Morning Report.

More than a hundred thousand people have been evacuated from their homes as the most destructive wildfires in the history of Los Angeles continues to spread. So far, five people are confirmed to have died. Tim O'Brien, a New Zealander living in Pasadena spoke to Morning Report.

On today's episode, descendants of the original Treaty translators speak out against it the treaty principles bill, a least two people have died in Californian wildfires, Meta is getting rid of its US-based fact-checking team and if you're heading to the UK you now need an electronic visa. All this plus we talk to a professional namer about New Zealand's most popular baby names.

The list of last year's most popular names has been released, with "Noah" topping the boy's list for the second year in a row. Isla returned as the most popular name for girls, followed by Amelia and Charlotte. "Baby Namer" Sonya Prior spoke to Morning report about why these names are so popular.

Blenheim has secured the award for sunniest spot in New Zealand for 2024. It comes after NIWA released its annual climate summary for the year, which saw an ongoing warming trend locally, and around the world. The top of the South Island scored a lot of sunshine, which Blenheim Mayor Nadine Taylor says wasn't a suprise. She spoke to Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira.

Residents in the lower South Island are still in the dark about the future of the new Dunedin Hospital. Local leaders say they expected a decision would be made before Christmas, but instead they have been met with radio silence. Tess Brunton reports.

The Black Caps secured a series victory against Sri Lanka last night in the second One Dayer in Hamilton. Sri Lanka never got going in reply, with Will O'Rourke taking three wickets as the tourists were skittled for 142. Peter McGlashan spoke to Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira.

A stranded pod of whales at Golden Bay in the Tasman district were successfully re-floated last night. Two of the ten whales died after the pod stranded at Farewell Spit on Tuesday evening, but the remaining eight were saved. Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira spoke to Ross Trotter from the Department of Conservation.

New Zealanders travelling to the UK now need an electronic travel authorisation to enter the country. The new requirement came into force yesterday and will cost each traveller just over 22 dollars. House of Travel's chief operating officer Brent Thomas spoke to Morning Report.   An earlier version of this story referred to the ETA as an EVisa, it has since been corrected.

Meta is abandoning the use of independent fact checkers on Facebook and Instagram, replacing them with X-style "community notes" Chief Executive, Mark Zuckerberg says it is a matter of promoting free speech but there are concenrs it will make it easier for disinformation to spread. John Kerr spoke to Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira

At least two people have been killed in California as wildfires force the evacuation of tens of thousands Just one of those fires, in Pacific Palisades has already destroyed at least 1-thousand buildings. Correspondent Nick Harper spoke to Morning report.

165 descendants of Henry and William Williams have collectively submitted against the Treaty Principles Bill The Williams brothers translated te Tiriti o Waitangi and promoted it to Maori rangatira Martin Williams spoke to Tuwhenuaroa Natanahira.

Tech experts say website problems preventing people from submitting on the Treaty Principles Bill may come down to cost-cutting measures. MPs will consider allowing late submissions - though bigger questions about the state of Parliament's tech infrastructure remain. Anneke Smith reports.