Saturday Morning

7am-8am News and current affairs:

7.10 The most significant changes to regional councils in decades - 2 perspectives

The government says there's too much duplication and confusion and that low turn out in recent local elections shows regional councils lost their social license.

At the moment regional councils deal with resource management including flood protection.

City and district councils - look after roads, water services, parks and libraries among other things.

The idea is to replace regional councils with panels consisting of local mayors.

Wairoa Mayor Craig Little Kapiti Mayor Janet Holborow join.

7.20 Ukraine latest

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff has resigned following an anti corruption raid on his home.

Andriy Yermak has been by Zelensky's side throughout the war with Russia - he was supposed to lead crucial negotiations with US President Donald Trump's team. 
 
Ceasefire talks seemed to pick up speed this week in a flurry of diplomacy with Ukraine's leader saying there was a "common understanding".

But then Russian President Vladimir Putin doubled down on his core demands saying Russia will lay down arms only if Kyiv's troops withdraw from territory claimed by Moscow.

7.30 Labour party plans ahead

Labour is holding its AGM in Auckland this weekend

With the economy front and centre of peoples' minds this year - and the party said to be working on its own Kiwisaver plan, it's a chance for the party to touch base with its own base and to look ahead to the next election.

RNZ political reporter Anneke Smith joins Saturday Morning.

7.35 Feral cats - how many are there?

With feral cats now being added to the predator free 2050 list one scientist at the Bioeconomy Science Institute is determined to figure out how many of them are out there.

2.4 million is the figure often reported but with the caveat that it is unclear and could be much higher.

But Dr Sze-Wing Yiu  is part way through a research project to figure out how to model feral cat populations.

Dr Sze-Wing Yiu will be presenting next week at the Australasian Wildlife Management Society Annual Conference in Queenstown.

7.45 Taniwha's Den

A first-of-its-kind indigenous economic summit aimed at bringing together business and investment leaders is taking place today.

The event, is being held at the University of Waikato and includes a business expo called Kohinga Koha. 

Kohinga Koha is open to the public to head along - and with us now to tell us all about it is Kiingitanga spokesperson Rahui Papa.

7.55 Star Trek Lego

Black Friday has had many out trying to pick up a deal but if you're a Lego fan - one hotly anticipated item has just become available.

Lego's USS Enterprise is now out. 

Pete Robson from the Wellington Lego User Group is desperate to get his hands on one!

8:10 Stranger Things Kiwi star Nell Fisher

The hotly anticipated final season of Stranger Things started dropping on Netflix on Thursday, with further episodes coming at Christmas and the finale on New Year's Eve.

And it's an emerging New Zealand talent who's the one to watch this time round - from the first to the last scene.

The show's creators cast 14 year old London-based Kiwi actor Nell Fisher in the role of Holly Wheeler, a character they describe as the centrepiece of this final outing.

8:40 Baby poo and long-term health  

No one looks forward to a dirty nappy but poo samples collected by parents for the UK's Baby Biome Study are proving to be a valuable source of information.

Microbiome refers to the trillions of micro-organisms living inside you. 

The bacteria in a poo sample is an indicator of gut health and new evidence suggests that the first microbes you are exposed to as a baby could have lifelong consequences for your immune system.  

Professor Nigel Field is Director of the Centre of Molecular Epidemiology and Translational Research at University College London and Principal Investigator on the study. He talks to Mihi about what they can tell from a baby's first poo.  

9:05 Gina Rippon: The Lost Girls of Autism

Generations of researchers have been convinced autism was a male problem - and didn’t look for it in women. 

Now, renowned British brain scientist Gina Rippon delves into emerging science in The Lost Girls of Autism. 

Gina tells Susie it's increasingly clear autism looks different in women and girls, who tend to hide autistic traits to fit in - and it is far more widespread than we thought.

9:45 Andrew Williams: Composing in Te Reo 

A Welsh man has won the waiata category in the Compose Aotearoa! national choral composition competition - for works with substantial Te Reo Māori content.

Andrew Williams' waiata Miha is for an unaccompanied choir to sing fully in Māori in a church, during holy communion.

Andrew is a tenor from Wales, living in Wellington, singing with the Choir at the Wellington Cathedral of St Paul.

Historically his native Welsh language and Te Reo have a lot in common - they've both been suppressed. But this year a law in Wales demands at least 10% of school teaching has to be done in Cymraeg/Welsh.

10:05 Hira Nathan: Living a more intentional life

An electrician by day, best-selling writer Hira Nathan's latest book is a bilingual journal about using matauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) every day to help set up healthier habits. 

Māori Ora is inspired by Hira's father, his Nan and pig hunting.

Hira is the author of Whakawhetai: Gratitude and Piki te Ora, with 35,000 copies sold.

10:30 Easy Christmas prep with chef Del Holland

Our food regular Del Holland is back this week to get us cracking on Christmas prep. Now's the time to get onto your Christmas cakes if you haven't already and even prep mince for homemade fruit mincemeat pies. 

Del also shares a recipe for apple pie, doris plum, and tomato basil 'shrubs'  - a non-alcoholic beverage a bit like kombucha, which uses up fruit and vege that's seen better days.  

Del has over 20 years' experience working in world-class kitchens and as a private chef. She now teaches others how to make easy, delicious and affordable food through her social media channels, Dishes with Del.

10:45 Jordi Webber: From Rotorua to Ancient Rome

Kiwi actor and musician Jordi Webber has just joined the cast of the New Zealand–filmed series Spartacus: House of Ashur. 

Jordi first came to fame in chart-topping boy band Titanium, before breaking into acting with roles, most recently, in Home and Away. After living and working in Australia, Jordi has recently returned home to Rotorua.

11:05 A taniwha tale with children's author Gavin Bishop

Award-winning children's book writer and illustrator, Gavin Bishop has over 70 books to show for the last five decades of his life including re-tellings of Māori myths, European fairy stories, nursery rhymes and original works. Gavin was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2013 and President of Honour of the NZ Society of Authors.

His latest work is all about the mythical monsters of Aotearoa, Taniwha.

11:25 Restoring NZ's link to the Titanic

A grave in a Christchurch cemetery serves as a reminder to a love lost in one of the world's most famous maritime disasters - the sinking of the Titanic.

In 1912, the then state of the art ocean liner was bound for New York from Southhampton when it struck an iceberg and sank with the loss of an estimated 1500 lives.

It's a tragedy that still fascinates - just this week a passenger's gold pocket watch sold for a little over $4 million at auction - a record for Titanic memorabilia.

While controversy has surrounded the death of First Officer William McMaster Murdoch, he left behind a wife - New Zealander Ada Florence Banks Murdoch.

Simon Strombom from the New Zealand Remembrance Army speaks to Susie about how they discovered Ada's grave and the work they've done to restore it.   

11:40 Kate Williams: From law firm to flower field

From a law firm to a flower field, Kate Williams did a 180 on her career and she couldn't be happier. 

Kate, also known as The After-Hours Stylist, runs her Canterbury flower farm alongside her husband Phil, as a place for the community to come and appreciate a slower pace of life. 

Kate runs workshops for things like foraging, flower arranging and even interior styling. 

Her new book Floral Abundance touches on all of this.