Copyright © 1998 Brian Harmer
Caution ... a really extended travelogue follows. Skip several pages to the news if you are not interested.
A holiday seemed long overdue, so with my younger daughter Helen, I set off with no particular itinerary to wander the North Island for a few days. At about sunrise on Sunday, we leave Lower Hutt in calm, slightly overcast conditions with the hint of better things to come in the golden tints in the Eastern sky. The Hutt River meandering between slightly frost covered banks is wreathed in swirling vapours, glowing in the day's first light. We are soon climbing the winding Rimutaka Hill road on our way into the Wairarapa, and once past the Summit, we begin to get glimpses of its distant flat farmland and the far away Haurangi State Forest and the Aorangi range.
Featherston is still sound asleep as we pass by and head up the long empty straights. Tauherenikau's spectacularly pretty little racetrack disappear on the right, and the climbing sun reveals seasonally parched, almost white, flat paddocks. Greytown too is not yet awake, though two distinctly shady looking characters incongruously dressed in white shirts with loosened ties like the remnants of yesterday's party blearily watch our passing. Across the Ruamahanga River, a mere trickle after a long summer, and through Carterton, we see almost no other sign of human activity. Over the Waingawa River, and around the Masterton Bypass, we find the still low angled sun shining through the poplars beside the long straight roads creates a hypnotic flickering which is quite distracting. Mikimiki and Mount Bruce are soon behind us, and the road begins to wind through gentle hills to the tiny town of Ekatahuna. For some reason, the butt of local comedy, Ekatahuna looks clean and fresh, but somehow emphatically "closed". The road straightens out and runs between the Makakahi River on the right and the Mangatainoka River on the left for Pahiatua. This is another town that is more attractive on a postcard than in real life.
On a spur of the moment decision, we turn left and wind our way up over the Pahiatua Saddle road, which clambers spectacularly over the only road crossing the mighty Tararuas. Coming down the Western face of the range, the Manawatu is spread out for our viewing pleasure. Palmerston North filled much of the foreground, and there we decided to stop for breakfast. Incidentally in the whole trip from Lower Hutt to Palmerston North, we saw just three other vehicles.
Skipping quickly over the culinary horrors we encounter at the golden M gourmet restaurant (Well nothing else is open this early on a Sunday morning) we set out again on the long straights through Sanson and Bulls. Turning North up the old familiar State Highway 1 we drive on through the wild landscape between the Ruahine ranges to the East and the Whanganui national park to the West. Hunterville, Ohingaiti, Mangaweka, Utiku, all pass as if on autopilot. Taihape is quite busy considering it is Sunday morning and many of its shops are closed. Waiouru, self proclaimed Oasis in the desert is welcome at least as a rest stop, and place for a cup of coffee. Not until halfway up the Desert Road does the cloud obscuring the South wall of the giant permit us to view the towering rocky faces of the Mountain. Only the barest hint of ice shows on the very high places, otherwise it is all naked rock. Soon we are through Taupo and Wairakei which I have described on previous occasions. This time, the whim takes us up SH1 through Tokoroa where I (mis)spent five years of my bachelor days from 1965 through 1969 learning to be a draughtsman, a computer programmer, and an apprentice beer drinker ... there wasn't much else to do in those days. The single men's hostel, scene of many a riotous event has clearly been massively downsized from the glory days when there were 3,500 employees at Kinleith. But I digress.
Northward, through somnolent Putaruru, we make our next spur of the moment decision at Tirau where we turn Eastward on SH27 towards Matamata and some of the most productive pastoral farming country on earth. Stud farms abound on the gently rolling flat land around Matamata. Splendid white painted fences, massive wrought gates, opulent houses characterise the properties which are less farming activities and more corporate investment opportunities .... but the dairy farmers don't do to badly either, especially the sixty or so who surround the tiny Tatua dairy company at Tatuanui. This company has always prospered even more than the mighty NZ Dairy Group with its nine or so major factories.
The road veers more to the North towards the intersection of the roads which lead to Paeroa and Waihi, and Thames. Then suddenly it veers back to the West heading through Maramarua across more undulating but still prosperous farmland towards the poorer stuff at Pokeno. A surprise awaits us here for the long awaited intersection with SH1 is now complete and a wonderful flyover swoops up and over the main road to merge halfway up the Bombay Hills with the other traffic. From the top of the hill, it is motorway all the way in and through Auckland to Albany in the North. By now the sprawling haze of Auckland is visible with the Sky Tower dominating everything else. Traffic charges shoulder to shoulder, surging and jostling towards the city.
Our journey takes us straight through the city without stopping, to spend the first night with my irrepressible, but ever hospitable younger brother Laurie and his wife, Fran at Whangaparaoa. For one whose boyhood memory of the peninsula is of open farmlands and accessible beaches, the shore to shore suburbia is distressing. Like a game of SimCity gone mad, the sprawl has taken all the charm out of a once lovely place.
The next day, Helen and I "do" Auckland. We pay the $17 price of admission to ascend the Sky Tower (see Paul Bourke's splendid web page at http://www.mhri.edu.au/~pdb/skytower/)
Without a doubt the views are superb, and if you are in Auckland it gives a great perspective on the City of Sails. Something to do once, when you are in Auckland. But like all converts, I retain a fierce preference for Wellington, my adopted home.
Next morning we set out with no plan, but head South until, at Te Kauwhata, the urge to go East takes us. A pretty backroad leads us past the yellow waters of Lake Waikare (which I always thought was "the Rangiriri swamp") through little settlements I'd never heard of ... Waerenga, and Okaeria to the Hapuakohe range which we cross to rejoin SH25. The whim takes us across the Hauraki plains for mile after mile of flat swampy farmland. What does surprise me is the absence of the stands of kahikatea trees which I remember as being characteristic of those plains. Over the Piako River and the Waihou river, we turn South away from Thames, and at Kopu, begin the long and winding climb over the rugged Coromandel range. This really is a most magical landscape, with occasional glimpses across the tops, but more often we are clinging to the side of a cutting with steep bush lined gulleys below. It is so green and unspoiled, and on such a journey I have a strong sympathy with those who would ban all mining on the Coromandel. Down near sea level on the Eastern side, just short of Hikuai, we turn South again. The road twists and turns through interminable pine plantations until at last we emerge into the nouveau riche resort of Whangamata. Like Whangaparaoa, this place has developed beyond my fond memories. Finding no reason to stay, we continue South through Whiritoa and emerge in Waihi ... the scene of more "undetected crime" where as an employee of Pye and later Philips I installed manufacturing software systems long ago.
After an unappetising lunch, we pass on through the pretty Athenree gorge to Katikati and on to Tauranga. Unlike so many other cities which somehow insist that you have to pass through the industrial engine room before you get to the attractive bits, Tauranga has managed to confine most of its industry to the Mount Maunganui area. As a consequence, the approaches to Tauranga are visually appealing no matter which direction you come from. It is still too early in the day to stop, and with a vague hint of Whakatane in my mind we carry on South through Papamoa and Te Puke. Driven to distraction after following an inconsiderate driver at 70 km/h on the open road for many kilometres, I finally manage to get past, only to discover I have missed the turnoff to Whakatane at Papamoa. We are now on SH33 heading over the hill in the direction of Rotorua.
A very pleasant motel on the main street provides that essential feature, the geothermally heated pool in the suite ... excellent for unwinding after a day at the wheel. Day four is fine and clear. State Highway 5 takes us first to the South East, to Waimangu, and the South West to Taupo. About here, Helen has the brainwave that she would like to visit both sets of grandparents in Waverley and Wanganui respectively. Somehow my brain fails me, for I take it into my head that to get to Waverley I had to come in from the North and so I set course for Te Kuiti. From Taupo this involves a pretty, if somewhat hilly and occasionally winding road to join up with SH32 and thence North to Whakamaru. Blissfully unaware of how far North I was deviating, we went from there to Mangakino and then across country, Westward towards Benneydale and Te Kuiti. It's a very scenic route in a very backblocks rural sort of way, and an awful long way between any public toilets!
On the way we are struck by the extent of the roadworks being undertaken in apparently uninhabited country, but instantly dismissed the unworthy suspicion that this might somehow be connected with the forthcoming Taranaki- King Country by- election. This suspicion resurfaces briefly when, arriving at Te Kuiti we discover that the main street is full of politicians bellowing into electric megaphones.
Our epic journey continues after lunch through the magnificent Awakino Gorge. Moments after emerging on the West coast at Awakino there is a glimpse of the sea with colours so perfect as to belong on a postcard. Deep blue on the horizon shading into bright luminous green near the thundering white surf crashing onto the black sand, all against the backdrop of a perfect clear blue sky.
When our eyes turned forward again, there is beautiful Taranaki towering into a cloudless sky. No trace of snow appears on it majestic slopes ... the first time I have ever seen it so. Mingling with heavy trucks carrying big loads of steel pipe, presumably for the oil industry, we carry on around that lovely coast, crossing the occasional river, then inland briefly, up and over Mt Messenger (I remember it when the road was unsealed and the tunnel was a single lane) and down the steep slopes on the other side until we bypass Waitara and at Lepperton turned Southward. Through Inglewood, Midhurst, Stratford, Eltham and Hawera, Manaia, Patea and Waverley, All the while the sun sinks towards the horizon, and the evening light becomes a beautiful mellow golden colour. The road from Waverley to Wanganui used to be called the Goat track (with some justification). They have almost finished straightening out the kinks and it is a very easy drive now.
And we have done Wanganui to Wellington before.
On with the news
Honda New Zealand is set to close its vehicle assembly plant in Nelson later this year, with the loss of two hundred jobs. The decision comes following the government's moves to phase out tariffs on new imported vehicles and a dramatic decline in new car sales as consumers delay new car purchases in the hope of cheaper car prices. The Director of Honda New Zealand Graeme Seymour says the decline in sales had made local assembly uneconomic more quickly than if tariffs alone had been the only consideration. It's believed staff were notified of the closure this afternoon
(Closures in towns like Nelson (Honda) Thames (Toyota) and
Wanganui (Suzuki) are very severe blows where there are few
alternative employment opportunities - BH)
Fighting talk from Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, who's opened National's by-election campaign in Taranaki-King Country by taking pot-shots at both ACT and Labour. Speaking in Inglewood, she told a crowd of 200 people that the two parties are the only serious contenders for the seat after National. She says voting for ACT won't help National at all - and she doesn't need their help. Last night's TVNZ Colmar Brunton poll showed National ahead of Labour and ACT by more than 20 percent.
A seven year old girl's undergoing surgery at Auckland's Starship Hospital after being viciously mauled by two Rottweiler dogs. Police say the girl jumped over a fence at the Glenfield property to retrieve a toy when the dogs attacked. Sergeant Garth Stockley says she has serious injuries to her arms and legs. He says she was rescued by an occupant of the house and a neighbour who jumped in and started beating the dogs with a plank of wood. Sergeant Stockley says they managed to pull the girl away and threw her over a fence to safety. It's believed the owner's been spoken to by dog control officers and the dogs will be destroyed.
Ashburton police have completed a scene examination of the house which was the scene of an armed siege on Sunday. 25 year old Jian Paul Beange shot a constable in the shoulder and was later found dead inside the house with a single gun shot wound. The Police Minister says he's working on getting tougher gun laws in place, but he wants it to be done right, and that's why it's taking longer than originally intended.
Foreign Minister Don McKinnon is to attend the signing of an historic cease-fire agreement on Bougainville later this month as Australian troops prepare to take over a peace monitoring group on the war ravaged island. Papua New Guinea Bougainville Affairs Minister Sam Acad. said both Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and Mr McKinnon would attend the cease-fire ceremony at Arawa in central Bougainville on April 30. The cease-fire follows nine months of talks between leaders of the island's warring factions which culminated in the signing of the Lincoln agreement in Christchurch earlier this year.
(Don McKinnon has hit the news twice recently, once when he made some subtle comment about an Australian attempt to take the credit for the Bougainville cease-fire, and again when it was revealed that his name is in the ring as a potential Commonwealth Secretary General. - BH)
The Defence Minister has confirmed he's been given a copy of a draft Defence Force real estate review, but won't be rushing into making any decisions. It's thought the review recommends closing the army and air force bases at Auckland and downsizing the army base at Waiouru, with most of the troops moving to Linton and Burnham camps. The review is also thought to include suggestions to move the navy base from Devonport to either Whangarei or Picton.
Taihape's predicting a slump in their population if the Government goes ahead with a recommendation to down-size the Waiouru Army Camp. Taihape Community Board chair Julie Hesketh says the camp employs many Taihape people who would find themselves out of work if it were to downsize. Ms Hesketh says the resulting unemployment would mean people would be forced to leave town to look for jobs elsewhere.
A remand in custody for a man accused of injuring a Palmerston North Police Officer. Constable Andrea Tyson suffered severe bruising after being kicked repeatedly in the stomach on Saturday night while attempting to arrest a man in connection with a domestic incident in the city. Her alleged assailant, 25 year old Rangi Snowdon, appeared in Palmerston North District Court yesterday on seven charges. Snowdon was remanded in custody and will reappear in Court on Friday.
A promise to make child proof lighters mandatory, after the Auckland fire which killed two three year old twins. Consumer Affairs Minister Robyn McDonald says there have been three deaths in a week attributed to children playing with lighters and it's now not a question of if child-proof lighters will be mandatory, but when. Robyn McDonald says as of last week, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, intended making child proof lighters a mandatory standard. But she says it'll take time to think through legislation to cover all eventualities. Robyn McDonald says one problem is that in countries where child proof lighters have been introduced, a product's gone on sale which over-rides the safety device.
A Masterton man who's eaten the same dinner for 52 years has no plans to change his order. 76 year old Eric Blake has sat down to the same flounder, mashed potatoes, vegetables and salad dinner every lunchtime for the past half century. Mr Blake says when he was a soldier in Egypt he promised his mates he'd eat a flounder every day if he got back to New Zealand and that's what he's done. He says everyone in Masterton's Waldorf Cafe knows him, and he's well past giving his order each time. Eric Blake says he'll keep eating it for the rest of his life because it's healthy and he likes it.
Prime minister Jenny Shipley says she's very optimistic that the future of Auckland's assets can be resolved before the local body elections... later this year. Mrs Shipley tonight met with Mayoral Forum chair David Hawkins, Auckland Regional Services Trust chairman Craig Little and Auckland Regional Council chairman Phil Warren. Mrs Shipley was playing her cards close to her chest after the meeting.... saying it had been constructive and the parties had established a programme to work through the issues. But she isn't giving any deadline as to when a decision will be made. Mrs Shipley has already been tripped up on the ARST issue by setting deadlines for a decision on a number of occasions... then failing to meet them.
Three Christchurch hospitals were only able to provide essential services today after a thousand staff walked off the job at the Templeton Centre, and the Princess Margaret and Sunnyside Hospitals. The striking workers' unions say their next move is to hold stopwork meetings in a fortnight's time... when they hope to present the latest pay offer from Healthlink South. However, Nurses Organisation spokeswoman Chris Jones says if that doesn't happen, they'll discuss further strike action. She says what the workers are demanding from the CHE is very reasonable, and is actually slightly below the national average for pay increases.
The infectious bug cryptosporidiosis has been found in an Auckland public swimming pool prompting a warning from local authorities for people to keep an eye on their health. The Manurewa pool in Manukau City has closed after testing positive for the bug which causes diarrhoea, cramps and vomiting. Medical Officer of Health Dr Donald Campbell says while there haven't been any reports of infection so far, people should be vigilant if they've swum in the pool recently. Dr Campbell says anyone with persistent diarrhoea should see their local doctor immediately.
New Zealand Cricket management is confident fans of the sport will follow the game to pay television. It's been announced Sky Television has a 5 year deal for the rights to ball by ball coverage of all cricket played in New Zealand. Sports Minister Murray McCully and some cricket fans have already expressed their disappointment in the loss of free cricket coverage. But cricket Chief Executive Chris Doig says he doesn't expect the cost of Sky TV to discourage hardened cricket supporters. He says the new deal also includes more domestic and women's cricket.
(Yes well the same bunch of rocket scientists were convinced that Rixon would turn the cricket team into world beaters too. - BH)
The team investigating the disappearance of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope looks set to shrink. Fifteen officers are still working on the mystery of the missing friends, who disappeared early on New Year's morning after a party at Furneaux Lodge in the Marlborough Sounds. Inquiry head Detective Inspector Rob Pope says they have now spoken to 99 percent of the people who were at the lodge that night. Mr Pope says with most of the leg-work now complete the police team is likely to be down-sized, possibly by half. A decision will be made later this week.
A multi-million dollar export industry could be under threat by yet another car assembly line closing. Honda's decided to close its Nelson plant and is putting the blame on the Government's plans to reduce car tariffs to zero by the year 2000. The Automotive Component Manufacturers' Federation head, Rex Baynes, says a 180 million dollar car component export industry's been built on the back of the assembly plants. Mr Baynes says not having those plants is going to make it much harder to stay in the technological loop, because the expertise and quality accreditations these companies bring with them won't be there. However, he believes it won't be the last straw for the industry.
Two companies have been hit with the heaviest fines ever handed down under the Fair Trading Act. Colrayne Holdings and Spencer York Publishing have been fined 67 and a half thousand dollars. They were convicted of running a false invoicing scam, phoning companies and demanding payment for advertisements in a magazine that were never run. The Commerce Commission says salespeople would claim they had spoken previously with someone from the company, trying to trick them into authorising payment for the bogus ads. Commission chairman Peter Alpert says false invoicing costs New Zealand businesses millions of dollars every year.
A further million dollars could be made available to Hawkes Bay agriculturists and horticulturists who lose their income due to the drought. Lockwood Smith the Minister of Agriculture is visiting the region today in a bid to get to grips with the severity of the drought. He says the worst affected area seems to be in the hill-country. He's concerned that it may now be too late in the year for grass to grow properly. Lockwood Smith says he'll be talking to Cabinet within a couple of weeks where he hopes to get the additional funds.
The ACT political Party seems to be the party to beat in the Taranaki King Country by election... All the other parties are talking about it...In her launch of the National campaign Prime Minister Jenny Shipley told ACT not to make assumptions about forming any coalition with her... And New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters is also concentrating on ACT... Mr Peters says it's leader Richard Prebble used to live in a $20 million ministerial house but now preaches Government austerity... Our political editor says the house is of no value to the Government because it was a gift and can't be sold...it's land value's $2.8 million.. Mr Peters himself used to live in a hotel suite but last year bunked down with an uncle...this year though he's moved into rented ministerial accommodation..
A sixteen-year-old Dunedin youth Iosa Wayne Upu Sa has today been sentenced to three years jail on four separate charges including burglary, and the aggravated assault of a ninety-four-year old woman. The woman is a neighbour of the youth's family and is now recovering from severe bruising and a broken arm. In sentencing the youth Judge John McDonald said as far as aggravated assaults went this was in the very worst category. Judge McDonald took into account the early guilty plea, the age of the defendant and the fact that he had shown genuine remorse.
Wannabe police officers could end up having to pay for their own training. Labour's George Hawkins claims the latest police review now underway will look at closing the Police College at Porirua. The idea was first raised in a 1996 Treasury paper and Mr Hawkins says the College is a sitting duck as Treasury looks for ways to cut costs. He says if it closes the police will be trained at polytechnics and have to pay like other students.
A private members bill is being introduced to Parliament in a bid to get gun control laws tightened. The government's been under fire this week for not yet introducing any of the recommendations made in the Thorp Report on gun control released last year. The Alliance's Jim Anderton, who's introducing the bill, says he can't understand why it's taken so long for the government to implement the recommendations. He says the bill would ensure an independent Firearms Authority is established and a new Firearms Act is drafted.
Scientists may be hailing a cloning breakthrough at the Ruakura Research Centre near Hamilton - but some politicians are less than impressed. It's been revealed that New Zealand's first cloned calf was born at the centre last month. Last February two cloned lambs were born at Ruakura. The Green Party says it's against cloning of any kind and National's John Banks agrees. He says he's an animal activist opposed to the indignity and cruelty of any kind of testing, altering or interfering with animals.
Associate Minister of Health John Delamere has attacked eye surgeons, and what he calls medical cartels. The MP was addressing a public meeting in Tauranga. In answer to a question on cataract operations, Mr Delamere spoke of eye surgeons earning over three million dollars a year -- adding that he would like to break medical cartels. Mr Delamere said world renowned eye surgeon Fred Hollows trained assistants to perform cataract operations for ten to twenty dollars -- while in New Zealand they cost a minimum of three thousand dollars. He said Australian wharfies were amateurs in "closed shop techniques" in comparison with local medical cartels.
Official sales figures out today appear to confirm the devastating impact of the Auckland power crisis on retailers in the city's central business district. Sales in the CBD dropped more than 12 per cent when compared to February 1997. However sales in the overall Auckland region fell just two per cent. Statistics New Zealand says sales rose nationally by 1.3 per cent for the month. Wellington experienced a rise of 3.4 per cent, a jump attributed to the opening of several new clothing stores.
The government's to give 300 thousand dollars as a grant to help publicise the fact that Auckland's back in business. Energy Minister Max Bradford says the recent power cuts damaged Auckland's reputation. The money will be split between a domestic advertising campaign and one in Australia
Authorities in Auckland are hunting for a potentially lethal container carrying a radioactive material. The isotope is shielded by a large amount of lead- it was stolen from Pacific Steel in Auckland sometime after the 5th of April. Dr Andrew McEwan of the National Radiation Laboratory says the substance is lethal if someone's exposed to it for long enough. Dr McEwan says the lead container weighs around 250 kilograms, even though it's only the size of a bucket, and would have needed several people to lift it. He says the worry is that the thieves will try to melt down the lead, exposing the radioactive substance in the process.
(The thieves were indeed about to do just that ... they intended to make fishing sinkers, when the police acting on a tip off possibly prevented them from giving themselves a lethal dose of radiation - BH)
Key wholesale interest rates have dropped today in the wake of lower-than-expected inflation data. Statistics New Zealand says the rise in the Consumers Price Index for the March quarter was point two of a per cent. That's lower than either the markets or the Reserve Bank were expecting. Core inflation, excluding interest rate fluctuations, rose 1.7 per cent for the year, well within the Bank's nought to three per cent target. Economists say today's data suggests monetary conditions could ease throughout the year even further than the Reserve Bank has projected. Meanwhile the Treasurer believes today's lower than expected inflation figures proves the government's economic policies are working. Winston Peters says the government's targets are being met and the country is economically sound. He says today's figures put our inflation rate well below Australia's and that of other OECD countries.
Earlier this week Jenny Shipley launched a scathing attack on the party - now Winston Peters has done the same thing, In a speech this afternoon he's laid into ACT's policies on health, welfare and taxation. And Mr Peters has denied that all they've managed to do is give ACT more profile - just weeks out from the by-election. He says ACT has gone into the electorate tossing money around like an eight armed octopus, breaking all the electoral rules and all they want is some fair play.
The Race Relations Conciliator won't be taking any action against a South African rugby player who abused a black woman in a Christchurch bar. Springbok and Western Stormers rugby prop Toks Van Der Linde has been fined and sent home for calling Bernardine Oram a "kaffir". Conciliator Rajen Prassad says Ms Oram hasn't made a complaint so his office won't investigate. But he says New Zealanders can take heart that South African rugby officials have taken such decisive action.
A leading lecturer in psychiatry says improving mental health services may not be the answer to Auckland's alarmingly high suicide rate. A new study done by the Auckland University medical school shows there's been a suicide in the city every three days for the past nine years. 78 percent of the suicides were by males, mostly in their twenties. Doctor Simon Hatcher, who carried out the research, says only a handful of those people were in contact with mental health services before killing themselves. ...so he says putting efforts into improving services, while important in itself, isn't likely to reduce the suicide rate.
He used to be just plain old Deputy Prime Minister - now he's the People's Treasurer. Winston Peters has begun referring to himself as the People's Treasurer over the past month as New Zealand First tries to scramble from the bottom of the opinion polls for the Taranaki/King Country by election. Mr Peters says his self proclaimed title stands for itself. He says politics isn't just about ideology and extremism - politics is about the expansion of people's happiness.
The man at the centre of the Wicked Willies homicide inquiry in Christchurch wants heads to roll, in the wake of an independent report into the way police investigated the case. The Police Complaints Authority has found deficiencies in the way police handled the original inquiry into the death of Barry Coleman, who fell down the stairs of the Wicked Willies nightclub on Christmas Day 1996. At a media conference Greg Mather, who was originally charged with the death, once again demanded a public and personal apology from police. He says it's not good enough that officers involved in the case still have jobs. Greg Mather says his family have endured 16 months of hell, and he's been financially destroyed.
People on widows benefits, sickness and invalids benefits and domestic purposes benefits could end up being forced to do community work... under the Community Wage scheme. From October the country's 150 thousand unemployment benefit recipients will be compelled to do community work... or face penalties which could see their benefits suspended for up to 13 weeks. Social Welfare Minister Roger Sowry is currently completing a Benefit Review... which could see another 200 thousand beneficiaries included in the scheme. He is refusing to comment on the review... the outcomes of which will be announced in next month's budget.
(Happy Birthday Catherine)
A black week for New Zealand's police force with two holding cell deaths and now a death in the back of a patrol car. A homicide inquiry, dubbed "Operation Shoes and Socks", is underway in Taupo this afternoon following the death of a 24 year old man while he was being shipped to the police station for detoxification. Detectives are appealing for sightings of the heavily drunk man in Taupo early this morning, a cause of death has not yet been established. The Police Complaints Authority is also investigating. The latest tragedy follows this week's holding cell deaths in Tokoroa and Auckland.
Remembering their fallen comrades - thousands of Wellington war veterans and their families will attend Anzac Day services in the Capital tomorrow. Official commemorations will start at dawn with a service at the Cenotaph near Parliament and end at 4.30 in Civic Square with bands from the combined services "beating the retreat." And tomorrow will be a particularly special day for Porirua veterans - a new memorial was unveiled in Te Rauparaha park yesterday and will be the focal point for tomorrow's commemorations. Porirua RSA vice president Evan Black says its long overdue.
On the eve of ANZAC Day the Deputy Prime Minister has called for New Zealanders to reconcile their differences over the controversial Vietnam War. Winston Peters says he's revolted to see that many people are still unsympathetic to the plight of Kiwi soldiers who served in Vietnam, and are now suffering from health problems. Mr Peters says many of those veterans live under an enormous sense of guilt and betrayal and it's time they were relieved of it, and the public's protest and condemnation. He says he's always prepared to listen to veterans who believe their health has suffered because of Vietnam.
Date: 23 April 1998 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 0.5655
AUD 0.8643
GBP 0.3383
JPY 73.92
CAD 0.8100
FRF 3.4092
DEM 1.0167
HKD 4.3936
SGD 0.8996
ZAR 2.8615
CHF 0.8427
INTEREST RATES (%)
Call : 8.40
90 Day: 8.68
*****
That's enough for one week.
See you :-)
Brian Harmer
"Our luck is even better than I expected Don Quixote exclaimed ... I'm going to attack those mighty giants and slay them in their tracks" - Cervantes
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