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Lately for Thursday 31 October 2019

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Photo: RNZ

10:20 Measles epidemic causes deaths in Samoa

A mass vaccination program is being considered for Samoa after a measles epidemic broke out there a month ago.

There's been hesitancy around the measles vaccination MMR program in Samoa which was suspended after human error in the program caused the death of two babies in Samoa last year.

RNZ Pacific's Jenny Meyer has been following the measles epidemic from Auckland where it started before Samoa and Tonga, and she speaks with Karyn about conversations she's been having with New Zealand and Samoa public health officials.

Measles, mumps, rubella, virus vaccine and syringe on blue background.

Photo: Sherry Yates/123RF

10:30 The ghostly history of Wellington's Mount Victoria Tunnel

On all Hallow's Eve, ghost stories abound, including the haunting that lies behind the tradition of motorists beeping their horns as they drive through the Mount Victoria Tunnel in Wellington.

Charlotte Graham McLay takes Karyn through the origins of the true murder story, that many think is an urban legend.

The opening of Wellington's Mount Victoria Tunnel in 1931.

The opening of Wellington's Mount Victoria Tunnel in 1931. Photo: Alexander Turnbull Library

10:45 The Rest is History: He Whakaputanga 

On the 28th of October in 1835 thirty four Māori chiefs signed a document in Waitangi, but it wasn't the treaty we usually associate with the Northland settlement.

He Whakaputanga, known in English as the Declaration of Independence, made it clear that both local authority and general sovereignty in Aotearoa belonged with Maori and that while British people would be protected they would be expected to be governed by local rule.

It's one of the most significant events in New Zealand history, but is often overlooked. Robert Kelly is in to paint us a picture.

Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand. He Tohu, a new permanent exhibition of three iconic constitutional documents that shape Aotearoa New Zealand. Treaty of Waitangi, Declaration of Independence and Women's Suffrage Petition.

Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King