Morning Report

Veteran New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor has urged under fire England skipper Joe Root to simply trust himself.

The past 20 years have been a time of untold riches for New Zealand music and its fans.

To celebrate RNZ have pulled together of the top 21 New Zealand albums of the 21st century.

Over 150 albums made the inital cut. Then there was math, and a moderating panel and another round of voting.

The final 21 albums, will be featured from midday on Saturday on Music 101.

RNZ Music's Yadana Saw speaks to Susie Ferguson about the project.

A review of 960 onshore oil and gas wells drilled in New Zealand over the past 150 years has found more than 100 that have been abandoned and not shut down properly.

It's estimated the so-called "orphan wells" will cost more than $14.3 million to plug a cost current landowners are liable for.

RNZ Taranaki Whanganui reporter Robin Martin has more.

China has warned the US it could take "firm counter-measures" if Washington continues to show support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong.

The warning came after US President Donald Trump signed the Human Rights and Democracy Act into law.

The act mandates an annual review, to check if Hong Kong has enough autonomy to justify special status with the US.

RNZ's correspondent in Washington DC is Brent Budowsky from The Hill.

It's been a challenging year for the Labour Party - and members will have a chance to look back on the ups and downs at the annual conference this weekend.

The venue is Whanganui - where party faithful will gather, to take stock, propose policies, and begin preparations for the 2020 election campaign.

A few months ago the party was torn asunder by the sexual assault scandal - leading to the president Nigel Haworth stepping aside.

The parliamentary wing has also had its fair share of dramas as part of the coalition government.

RNZ political editor Jane Patterson will also be heading off to Whanganui.

The Hepatitis Foundation has called in the auditors as it pushes back against an investigation that's highly critical of its extravagant spending.

At the same time the Foundation's been put on notice with a threat of being referred to the Attorney-General if the chairperson and trustees don't resign by Monday.

RNZ political reporter Jo Moir has the latest.

Harrowing stories about Northland's housing crisis have been revealed at a Hui in Whanagrei with some people saying they resorted to living in treehouses.

The Minister for Maori Development Nanaia Mahuta and Labour MP Willow Jean Prime fronted up to the Housing Forum where locals spoke about feeling forgotten but desperate to find solutions.

RNZ reporter Jessie Chiang was there.

The Muslim community wants the proposed second tranche of new gun legislation to stand or fall on its own merits and not using the Christchurch attacks to justify it.

If passed the revised Arms Act would among other things, introduce a firearms register, to monitor and track every firearm legally held in New Zealand.

It would also give police the power to keep those they deem high-risk away from guns.

RNZ reporter, Andrew McRae was at the committee hearing.

The death toll from measles continues to rise in Samoa and now stands at 39 with almost 3000 people infected with the highly contagious disease throughout the country.

All but four of the deaths are children under the age of four, including the six who died in the past 24 hours.

A mass vaccination campaign is underway with over 40,000 people being immunised since November 20.

RNZ reporter Alex Perrotett is in Apia.

The widow of the pilot of the plane that crashed into Mt Erebus 40 years ago says an apology from the Government and Air New Zealand took her completely by surprise.

Maria Collins was at Government House on Thursday when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern apologised for failures and wrong decisions both up to and after the disaster in which 257 people died.

Ms Collins, widow of pilot Captain Jim Collins, says that while she always thought there would eventually be an official apology, she didn't think it would come within her lifetime.

Speaks to Susie Ferguson.