Copyright © 1995 Brian Harmer
As one of the most expensive, least popular councils in the country, the one thing the Hutt City unquestionably does right, is employ those splendidly talented women and men who create the nearly continuous displays of colour around the city. There is a place for informal gardens with placements in a more natural way, but given that these people are working in the medium of the formal garden, you have to admire exceptional talent when you see it. They add special joy to an already fantastic morning.
On with the news ****************
All news items are reproduced by kind permission of copyright owner, IRN Ltd.
Prime Minister in waiting Jenny Shipley has welcomed New Zealand First's decision to stick with the National led coalition government. Mrs Shipley says she's now determined to focus on what the two parties have in common rather than what divides them. She says Winston Peters statement today shows a real commitment to work for good government which she's confident of delivering. Mrs Shipley heard about the decision only after Mr Peters had announced it to his party faithful in Christchurch this afternoon.
(I fear Ms Shipley's chance of glory as the first woman to be PM will be overshadowed in the history books by the people with whom she associates - sad really - BH)
Labour leader Helen Clark says Prime Minister elect Jenny Shipley has accepted a poisoned chalice with New Zealand First's decision to stick with National. Ms Clark says Winston Peters had run out of options after Labour refused his offer to form a Labour-New Zealand First government. She says it spells the end of the coalition government. Helen Clark says Jenny Shipley will now follow in Jim Bolger's footsteps -- trying to reconcile the irreconcilable. She says on Tuesday she will still go ahead with a bid to pass a vote of no confidence in the government. Although, Ms Clark says given today's decision she doubts she has the numbers to win.
(She was of course, right. Since the leave of the house is required to introduce such a motion, it never even got debated - BH)
Alliance leader Jim Anderton is expecting an early election following today's decision by New Zealand First. He says Jenny Shipley was clearly put in charge of National to get Mr Peters out of the Treasury portfolio. Jim Anderton believes an election could come in the early part of 1998.
(I hope he's right - BH)
Rebel New Zealand First MP Neil Kirton says the decision to stick with National spells the end of the party beyond 1999. And he says NZ First is now a personality cult rather than a credible political party. Mr Kirton wanted New Zealand First to pull out of the coalition with National and instead throw its support behind Labour. Winston Peters says that option was canvassed in a letter to Labour leader Helen Clark. But Neil Kirton says a serious approach to Labour would have involved face-to-face talks.
Police investigating a homicide in Westport now believe up to three people were involved. The body of a 20 year old man was found under the Westport Wharf early this afternoon. Two 26 year old men are jointly charged with his murder. Police believe the victim, whose name hasn't been released, died during a fight outside a pub before his body was dumped. Inquiry head Detective Sergeant Wayne McCoy says the victim may have been attacked by several people.
You're about to hear a lot more of the road safety message "slow down, speed kills". The biggest campaign in New Zealand's history to cut down the number of speeding motorists is being launched today. Police Assistant Commissioner Phil Wright says with 177 road deaths linked to speed last year, he hopes people start listening. He says the message is clear - the faster you go, the bigger the mess.
Christchurch police say when it's quiet on the crime front, they can always rely on good keen citizens to keep them on their toes. On Saturday police received a 111 call from a soon-to-be bride desperate to know how to get grease out of her wedding dress. Later that evening they took a call from someone frantically trying to get reconnected to the Internet. And to top their weekend off someone rang this morning warning not worry if they received reports of lots of noise coming from a certain Christchurch house, where a home-birth was underway.
New Zealand is to lead a two hundred strong peacekeeping force into Bougainville. Papua New Guinea and Bougainville signed a truce at Christchurch's Burnham Army camp in October, and Foreign Affairs Minister Don McKinnon says this group will help them work towards peace. Mr McKinnon says a small advance party will leave in forty-eight hours, and the rest of the group will follow in early December. Mr McKinnon says we've had a group in Bougainville looking at what it would take to set up a Truce Monitoring Group. He says now that the Papua New Guinean Government has asked for help, New Zealand is able to send their forces.
(As the father of a soldier, I have some misgivings about the position in which our contingent are placed ... they are being sent unarmed. Ideologically this may send some excellent signals ... but having seen news clips of the heavily armed combatants in this nasty little conflict, I wonder how many of our young people will die here? - BH)
A Papua New Guinean minister says his country is grateful for all of New Zealand's help over the Bougainville crisis. New Zealand is to lead a 260 strong multi-national peacekeeping force into Bougainville to help them with get on with implementing the Burnham Declaration. Papua New Guinea's Bougainville Affairs Minister Sam Akoitai says the Truce Monitoring Group will help broker peace. He says New Zealand's done a lot to end the bloody nine-year war.
(Grateful is fine. Look after our children! - BH)
The name of a Maori leader involved in a tax trial has been released. Sir Graham Latimer faces charges relating to alleged false GST and income tax returns. The Whangarei District court judge gave him only 14 days' name suppression, saying he couldn't curry favours for people from certain sectors of society.
(This is confusing story and I think it relates to the same set of omissions from a year or two ago which had previously been publicised anyway - BH)
Labour Leader Helen Clark has described as sad a comment by the Prime Minister that she let her chance slip by of becoming the country's first woman Prime Minister... Ms Clark says it shows that Jim Bolger's only interested in power and not in the stability of the country...she says she has to put the interests of the country and the Labour Party before any interests of her own... Ms Clark flatly rejected an approach by New Zealand First on Friday night asking her to consider forming a Government.
(Russell Brown's vivid articles cover the astounding unilateral action by Mr Peters which he subsequently attempted to distance himself from - BH)
The crown prosecutor's been cleared of any bias in the Peter Ellis Trial. Last night's 20/20 TV programme revealed that the jury foreman had officiated at the crown prosecutor's wedding. That jury found Ellis guilty of paedophilia... he's currently serving a ten year sentence. Solicitor general John McGrath says he's not concerned, because 15 years had passed since the wedding. He says while there shouldn't be personal connections between the jury and the prosecutor, each instance has to be looked at individually.
(One of the astonishing features of the media coverage arising from the the questions raised by the 20/20 programme was the fact that TVNZ ignored the role of their competitor in way which was, in my opinion, completely sleazy! - BH)
The remaining Kaimanawa horses can still be saved according to Minister of Conservation Nick Smith. On Friday the Franz Weber Foundation withdrew its offer to buy the last 100 Kaimanawa horses... saying the government was deliberately trying to destroy the animals. A spokeswoman from Mr Smith's office says the foundation had to meet three assurances before they could buy the horses. They were that the foundation could provide land and money, adequate grazing and not return the horses to the Kaimanawa ranges. Mr Smith says he wasn't satisfied the foundation had the resources to keep 380 horses ... but now with only 100 left this seems possible. Mr Smith says if the remaining horses don't find homes within the next two weeks they'll be sent to an abbattoir.
(These Swiss people are apparently taking action in the world court, but they have consistently refused to give assurances that if they got ownership they would not simply turn them loose in the Kaimanawas again - BH)
In the Environment Court in Christchurch today, pleas of not guilty were entered by three defendants accused of being responsible for last February's Opuha Dam collapse. The Opuha Dam Company Ltd, Doug Hood Ltd, and the contract manager, Christopher Robert Hollinghum are denying charges of allowing an illegal discharge of contaminants into the Opuha River. The partially completed South Canterbury dam was washed away in a major storm. The controversial prosecutions...under the Resource Management Act...have been laid by the Canterbury Regional Authority. All three defendants are remanded until December 15th when a trial date will be set. The trial is expected to take two weeks.
A sociologist says increasing reports of neo nazi groups around the country show it's time for the public to take action. Professor Paul Spoonley says he's concerned groups like the Auckland based Unit 88 maintain they only use force to defend themselves. But he says attacks such as those recently on Somali refugee families paint a different picture. Professor Spoonley says extremism of any sort is a threat to everybody.
New Zealand's strategic assets will now be protected by both the Coalition Agreement, and the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, after the latest round of Coalition talks. Prime Minister designate Jenny Shipley has released the summary of talks between her and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. The document has an assurance that TV One will not be sold, and that this asset and several others will also be included as reservations in the MAI. Mrs Shipley says this clarifies the Government's position to overseas buyers that these strategic assets can't be sold off.
(I was always opposed to the sale of TV One until I saw the less than honest way in which they suppressed the truth about how the Ellis Story came to be in the news this week - BH)
Hastings police are worried a group of burglars may be feeling the side effects of a chemical store break in last night. Liquid chemicals were tipped over and powdered chemicals thrown about. Police say the chemicals are extremely dangerous if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Effects of poisoning include weakness, headaches, nausea, diarrhoea, excessive salivation, sweating, vomiting, cramps and, or blurred vision. Police say if the burglars feel any of these symptoms, they should seek medical help immediately.
A special service remembering the country's worst fire which claimed the lives of 41 people is just about to get underway in Christchurch. It's fifty years today since the Ballantynes fire in Christchurch. In an unusual move, Ballantynes chairman will do a reading in the service - traditionally, Ballantynes have never spoken publicly about the tradgedy. Later, representatives involved with the fire will be invited to light candles in memory of those killed.
The government's drug purchasing agency has asked the Commerce Commission to investigate the advertising campaign being run by pharmaceutical companies. PHARMAC says the ads are a breach of the Fair Trading Act. The May Day campaign is trying to drum public opposition to changes in the way the government purchases prescription medicines. PHARMAC is also laying a complaint with the Advertising Standards Complaints Board. General manager David Moore says the ads are misleading and deceptive.
(As I said last week, I have no difficulty in accepting that the drug companies are motivated by maintaining their quite possibly inflated margins. I would be much more comfortable if PHARMAC and the minister would do less huffing and puffing, and a little more to explaining precisely how the adverts are deceptive. - BH)
An unusual moment in parliament today... as opposition parties tried to outdo one another in their praise for a government minister. The subject of the accolades was Foreign Affairs Minister Don McKinnon... who was congratulated by representatives of all parties over his handling of the situation in Bougainville. Mr McKinnon organised the peace talks which lead to a truce in Bougainville.. and New Zealand defence personnel will now take a lead role in peacekeeping in the troubled region.
Taranaki farmers of Maori lease land are accusing Maori MPs of bloc voting for an unjust settlement. West Coast Settlement Reserves Lessees spokesperson Lyn Williams says it seems coalition trade-offs will prevent a just settlement of leasehold farms in the province. He says he believes the Maori members of the Select Committee on the subject have voted as a bloc across party lines for a patently unjust solution in order to keep Maori lobbyists happy.
(Ummm .... bloc voting is a crime? I thought parties did it every day? - BH)
The possibility of Prime Minister Jim Bolger taking over our ambassador's job in Washington isn't gathering much momentum at Parliament... United leader Peter Dunne believes the job would be beneath Mr Bolger who's served as this country's Prime Minister for the past seven years... Mr Dunne says if there's a change of Government in two years time, which seems likely, Labour's Helen Clark isn't going to want Mr Bolger continuing in Washington... When asked what alternative Mr Bolger has, Mr Dunne said the Pope's not looking too well at the moment..
Uncertainty over whether New Zealand First will push for the introduction of compulsory military training for young people. The party's annual conference last weekend overwhelmingly supported the idea... and said they wanted it to become official party policy. However Youth Affairs Minister Deborah Morris has some reservations... Ms Morris says she thinks the idea is outdated... and doesn't reflect the diversity of lifestyles among young people... However she says she is prepared to discuss the matter with young people.
(It's a worry when I find myself on the same side as this minister. My concern is that we currently have a military for good and serious, if not universally accepted reasons. I don't see why career soldiers, sailors, and air men and women should have to become baby sitters for a reluctant section of the community. In any event, even before the phrase "living beyond our means" became fashionable, the previous CMT scheme was terminated because it was unaffordable - BH)
Auckland University students fear an increase in fees this year won't be the last. The University Council has voted for a flat fee increase of 420 dollars across the board instead of a sliding fee scale. While they're unhappy there's a rise of any kind, students are at least relieved the sliding scale was abandoned. Student spokesman Mark O'Brien says it's time the Government took action over funding as it's likely they could be facing yet another increase next year.
Another bid to stamp out white supremacist gangs with the notorious Road Knights gang in Christchurch one which is likely to go under the spotlight. Race Relations Conciliator, Doctor Rajan Prasad is taking a tough line with neo-Nazi groups following revelations another group, Unit 88 has set up in West Auckland and plans to recruit around the country. Dr Prasad wants to hear from Christchurch people who have concerns about the actions of white power type groups. He says he'll then he'll take action.
Gisborne man Darren Torrey has been committed to stand trial in the High Court for the murder of his wife. Andrea Torrey's body was found in the grounds of Gisborne high school in August. Darren Torrey entered a plea of not guilty during a depositions hearing this morning. His murder trial is set to begin in February.
A Te Kuiti High School teacher has been sentenced 200 hours community work and two thousand dollars reparation for assaulting a 13 year old student. In the Hamilton District Court, Judge Robert Spear lifted name suppression of the 56 year old teacher, Roimata Wipaki, who had pleaded guilty. The court was told Wipaki pulled the girl off the chair and started kicking her in a Maori language class. The Prosecution said the assault had caused the girl to move out of the area and disrupted her preparation for school certificate.
Labour says the government's rejection of youth radio is a personal failure for Youth Affairs Minister Deborah Morris. The government's decided not to support a youth radio network... despite Ms Morris speaking strongly in favour of the venture on numerous occasions. Labour's Lianne Dalziel says that shows Ms Morris has no influence within the government. Ms Dalziel says the decision not to fund the network is a shame... as it would have been a cost-effective way of keeping in tune with young people.
We're earning more and working less, but only just. Statistics New Zealand says the average weekly wage has increased 3.4 per cent to 624 dollars . At the same time hours worked per week has dropped. Part time work has seen the biggest increase with over 20 thousand new workers. Full time employment increased but at the lowest annual rise since 1993.
There's to be no compensation for Auckland man David Dougherty, after spending three years in jail for a rape of which he was later cleared. Mr Dougherty was convicted of rape and abduction of an 11 year old girl in 1992. But after a damning independent police review of the original investigation, he was cleared of the charges in April this year. The Minister of Justice has today announced compensation is to be declined because it's considered his innocence is yet to be established. It says recently re-opened police investigations into a number of these cases could shed new light....and the decision may be reconsidered.
(This is a loathsome decision, and the minister should be ashamed. In the absence of proof of guilt Dougherty _is_ innocent. The evidence used to send him to jail was discredited. He deserves to be compensated for the undeserved time in jail - BH)
Hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders are in line to receive free shares in AMP. The largest life insurance and funds management group in Australasia has voted to turn itself into a public company. The plan will see more than a billion shares given away to the nearly two million policy holders... nearly three hundred thousand of them in this country.
(Free my butt! The equity which is being given in the form of shares is merely a distribution of what was bought and paid for by premiums - BH)
Motorists are going to have more cash in their pockets with Fletcher Energy joining the petrol price war, according to the Consumers Institute. Fletchers is going to open petrol stations around the North Island next April. The announcement follows a move by Australian company Liberty Oil to open discount petrol stations around the country. Consumers Institute spokesman David Russell says that means petrol prices are bound to go down .. and stay down. But BP and Mobil are optimistic about the move, saying they're ready for the challenge.
The Police Association is scotching claims that the behaviour of a detective in the Peter Ellis case warrants a police inquiry. Police Commissioner Peter Doone is investigating allegations of inappropriate behaviour against Colin Eade. But Association spokesman Greg O'Connor says people are forgetting that both a jury and the Court of Appeal have already examined the case. He says debating the role of one detective ignores the fact that the credibility of people who gave evidence has already been tested.
(The credibility of those people was scarcely given a test when only selected utterances were used, and the more bizarre and ludicrous claims were suppressed so that the jury never heard just how unreliable the testimony was - BH)
Treaty Negotiations minister Doug Graham says today's signing of the Ngai Tahu treaty settlement is a marvellous end to the tribe's hard work. The ceremony is underway in Kaikoura today. Doug Graham says Ngai Tahu have put a lot of effort, both financial and emotional, into the settlement claim and it's nice to see a positive result for them.
Residents angry at a decision to allow lights to be built at Eden Park in Auckland say they have no money left to keep fighting. The residents say they've already spent 100-thousand dollars on trying to stop the lights being built -- and say they can't afford another legal challenge. Meanwhile there's no decision yet on permanent floodlighting for Carisbrook. The Otago Rugby Football union has applied to erect 4 pylons to provide lighting for night rugby, cricket and other entertainment. They hope to hear back from the Dunedin City Council by the end of the week.
Further warnings from the Serious Fraud Office for people to beware of letters from Nigeria... offering large sums of money. Earlier this year it issued warnings about unsolicited letters being sent to businesses or individuals offering a large commission to launder funds from Nigeria. The author is often described as an investigator..who's discovered a multi-million dollar fund in Nigeria, during a government investigation. The Serious Fraud Office says a bank account is then requested, as well as a sum of money to cover bank fees.. before the money is supposedly sent.
The union representing MP support staff says Parliament is becoming more like a Royal palace than a democratic seat of Government. The PSA is angry MPs are getting a pay rise from 74 and a half thousand to 78 thousand while the people who keep their offices ticking over won't get an increase until the turn of the century. Spokesman Quentin Noble-Conway says effectively with inflation that means their pay will actually drop at about the same rate MPs pay goes up.
(At the same time, PSA members who work for the parliamentarians are being asked to sign a zero rise roll-over of their present contract to take them to the year 2000 and beyond on 1995 pay rates. Parliamentarians hide behind the supposed impartiality of the Higher Salaries Commission who seem hell-bent on tying the parliamentarian's wages to parity with the highest and most rapidly moving of senior executive packages. Bah! Humbug! - BH)
The Singapore government is defending its move to cane a New Zealander. David Peden's been sentenced to three strokes of the rattan cane and a year in jail for overstaying by two years and for taking morphine. Singapore's Minister of Home Affairs, Wong Kan Seng says he country's laws apply to everyone - including foreigners. The New Zealand government has told Singapore it does not condone the use of the rattan cane as punishment.
A court appearance in Wellington today for 74 university students charged with trespass. The students were arrested during a protest rally at parliament nearly two months ago. After the arrests Parliament's speaker Doug Kidd banned the students from setting foot on parliament grounds for two years. However Mr Kidd later withdrew that ban. Today's court appearance is a procedural one... where dates for court hearings will be set.
Celebrations in Greymouth today for the railway station's hundredth birthday, and its almost half-million dollar facelift. Tranzrail says the money was well spent as the TranzAlpine route was recently rated one of the world's top six train journeys. The return service runs between Christchurch and Greymouth each day. Tranzrail spokeswoman Jane Green says that makes the Greymouth station a significant gateway to the West Coast.
Auckland police are helping with a family outing on the Western Springs motorway off ramp this morning. Officers have escorted a mother duck and her nine ducklings off the road after they went for a wander in rush hour traffic. Police say the patrol car will stay in the area to keep an eye on the straying birds.
(Can this be the same force which cannot find enough officers to attend to burglaries - BH)
Date: 20 November 1997
Brian Dooley
Wellington New Zealand
CURRENCIES
The currency codes given below conform to ISO 4217, which
can be found at http://www.xe.net/currency/iso_4217.htm.
The rates given are for telegraphic transfer and are
as given in the Wellington Evening Post today.
To Buy NZD 1.00
USD 0.6290
AUD 0.9078
GBP 0.3725
JPY 80.15
CAD 0.8907
FRF 3.6631
DEM 1.0941
HKD 4.8755
SGD 1.0125
ZAR 3.0646
CHF 0.8860
INTEREST RATES (%)
Call : 7.00
90 Day: 7.52
The prices below are given in cents.
To buy NZ Investment Trust:
21 June 1993 409
Today 505
To buy TeNZ:
1 June 1996 103.7
Today 120
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