Lately for Tuesday 1 December 2020

10:20 New Zealand weighs in to China/Australia conflict​

New Zealand and France have now joined Australia in denouncing an inflammatory tweet sent by a Chinese official about Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

The fake tweet showed an image of a grinning Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to an Afghan child's throat. The image has been labelled 'repugnant' by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison who has demanded an apology from China. China has refused.

Today our Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand has voiced its concerns directly with Chinese authorities and the French government described it as an insult to all countries whose armed forces had been engaged in Afghanistan. China expert Professor Anne-Marie Brady spoke to Karyn about the escalating conflict between the two countries. 

10:30 Festival testing gets the green light 

Today the Government announced it will put legislation through Parliament by the end of 2020 to allow drug checking at music festivals this summer. Volunteers have run drug testing at festivals for a few years now, but their legal status has made it difficult to operate. 

The news comes just in time for the peak of the New Zealand festival season running from late December through January. Know Your Stuff NZ has been running these services at festivals for six years and its Managing Director Wendy Allison joins Karyn to discuss the significance of the change. 

10:45 Royal Albatross colony set for a good breeding season

The Royal Northern Albatrosses who nest on Otago Peninsula have laid the second-highest number of eggs ever recorded at the Colony.

More than 120 of the seabirds have returned to Taiaroa Head for the breeding season, and 40 eggs have been recorded in nests.

Karyn talks to the Manager of Eco Tourism at the Otago Peninsula Trust Hoani Langsbury about his hopes for the season.

Check out the live web-cam