Copyright © 1998 Brian Harmer
On the motorway again. Late spring rain (or is it early summer?) lashing down. I came on to the Northbound motorway at Molesworth St. The on-ramp dives under the top end of Murphy street, but I could see that the Red Nissan van was moving right into the second lane, leaving me a clear lane on the left to enter the hissing water-spraying flow of traffic. What I didn't see, and he most certainly didn't see was that there was a car already in the space he was moving into. A confusing glimpse of tail lights, a bang, and the van spun and presented itself in my previously empty lane, full broadside. A vehicle travelling sideways seems to stop much quicker than one going forwards. Anchors on, 20 metres, 10 metres, slide, not stopping, pump brakes, almost stopping, pump, five metres, bang! Bonnet pops, shards of plastic fly from my grille in all directions. Sh*t!
Cars still hiss by at 110 to 120 Km/h. The van, remarkably undamaged, despite impacts on both sides, straightens up and we all get to the side of the road to deal with the gloomy business of swapping registration / driver license / insurance details. No injuries, not even to the lady in the passenger seat where I T-boned the van. The van driver decides that we need a cop anyway, and suicidally dashes across the wet road, though the flying spray. We see him climb the median strip, then he does it again across the Southbound lanes. Miraculously, he survives, to clamber the bank below the US Embassy. No one shoots him, and about twenty minutes later, he trudges up the road behind us. Five minutes after that, two cops who look really cheesed off despite being allowed to drive big BMW bikes in the rain, pull up.
In due course, when all the documents have been inspected, and statements have been made on rain-soaked incident forms, they say we can go. The radiator is intact, the bonnet has reseated somewhat uneasily on its catch. The wheels seem unaffected, no alarms on the dash. Bits of grille gathered from the road, and a nervous drive off to my insurer. Panel beater next week. Bummer!
Minor relief ... the splendid young constable has decided in his wisdom to inform the insurers that I did not cause the accident. No excess to pay ... wahoo!
On with the News:
A former girlfriend of the man accused of the Marlborough Sounds murders has given evidence at his depositions hearing in Blenheim today. She told the Blenheim District Court she asked Watson if he had committed the crime, but he told her he hadn't. Much of the woman's testimony in the Blenheim District Court today has been suppressed, as has her identity. The witness also told the court she noticed scratches on the hatch cover from the accused's yacht. When she asked Watson about it, he told her his nieces did it. She told the court before the New Year Watson always wore the same clothes, but after New Year she never saw them again.
Transpower says it has repaired the Cook Strait telecommunications cable which was broken early last month. The company says repairs were completed over the weekend, and the link is now back in full service. Transpower spokesman Kevin Mackey says he is extremely pleased that a very difficult repair operation was completed in a relatively short space of time. Transpower believes a fishing vessel was involved in the damage to the cable. It has offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to a successful prosecution.
The government has made a decision on the third frigate....but is keeping it under wraps until it briefs the National caucus and independent MPs. It is thought Defence Minister Max Bradford has proposed buying a second hand frigate to be paid for within the allocated defence money. If Cabinet has given the proposal the green light it may be with the proviso that Mr Bradford secures the support of the independents. He will brief them later this week but may face a tough job with MP Deborah Morris, who says any purchase may affect her support in February's crucial confidence vote.
The shipping line involved in a yacht rescue off Northland denies that its ship crushed the yacht. One man was pulled aboard the Direct Kookaburra, but a woman from the yacht is missing, presumed drowned. There are suggestions that the yacht may have collided with the ship, or that the woman slipped out of her rescue ring. The company which operates the ship says in no way did the ship contribute to the yacht's demise. And Maritime Safety Authority spokesman Tony Martin says an investigation should establish the facts about what happened. He says it is not useful to speculate.
The pupils who took part on a tragic school trip near Thames were apparently well supervised, when the trip claimed the life of one of their Auckland classmates. 13 year old Hollyfield Maori from Wesley Intermediate in Mount Roskill died late last night, after becoming distressed earlier in the evening. Police say they believe he had a history of epilepsy. Senior Sergeant David Pearson says there was one supervisor for every five pupils. He says three of the five instructors had army territorial skills, and another was a civilian search and rescue person. The other pupils are now out of the bush.
A sad day for staff and students at Woodville School near Palmerston North, after a tragic schoolbus accident which claimed the life of an 11 year old boy. Steven Lee Jensen was one of two children on board the bus, when it was involved in a collision with a ute just before nine o'clock this morning. He later died in hospital. Woodville School Principal Murray MacGibbon says Steven's classmates were told this afternoon. He says his thoughts go out to Steven Jensen's family.
A new study shows New Zealand's economy will grow by around $27 million as a result of next year's APEC meeting in Auckland. That is over and above the $44.5 million the government will spend to host the event. Around 7,000 people will descend on Auckland for APEC - with at least a quarter of them expected to holiday in New Zealand afterwards. APEC is also expected to create an extra 500 jobs with taxation revenue rising by $9 million.
The agency responsible for approving trials of genetically modified organisms will soon hear an application involving human genes. The Environmental Risk Management Authority has today - for the first time approved a trial for a genetically modified organism. The trial will see genetically altered sugar beet grown in Canterbury. But ERMA chief executive Bas Walker says one of the next applications up for consideration could be a lot more controversial. Mr Walker says it is for genetically modified sheep... which have been altered using human genes. The aim is to produce pharmaceuticals to use against human diseases. ERMA will consider that application in two weeks time.
(Green light from some, absolute outrage from the green lobby - BH)
The newly-created Nobilo Wines Limited says it will offer 8.75 million shares at 80 cents apiece under its initial public offering in New Zealand. The founding Nobilo family will subscribe for 1.25 million of the total, giving them 31.6% of the company's shares. 7.1% of shares will be in the hands of the public. A prospectus will be released to investors tomorrow. Nobilo Wines is presently New Zealand's fourth largest wine producer by volume and one of the country's largest wine businesses by sales value.
(Slice? I think they are mixing their Nobilos up - BH)
Six young Christchurch friends, wrongly targeted by the police Armed Offenders Squad, have won compensation. But it is nowhere near the $1.5 million claimed for when the six sued police for unreasonable search and false imprisonment. The six were captured by gun carrying police, who were after an armed robber living in the flat next door. Justice Panckhurst has found Armed Offenders Squad members were high-handed in the way they treated two of the six. They have been awarded $18,000 each. Three of the others have been awarded $1,500 to $2,500.
The government is to float Contact Energy. Treasurer Bill Birch says they have decided to sell off 40 per cent of Contact to a private company ..and give the public the chance to buy the other sixty per cent. Contact Energy provides around a quarter of New Zealand's electricity.
ACT believes the Government will in many ways, be better off without Deborah Morris. Ms Morris is resigning from politics, citing the Government's decision to lease 28, F-16 jet-fighters as the last straw. ACT leader Richard Prebble says Deborah Morris hasn't had her heart in it for some time. He says she was becoming increasingly difficult and her attitude was probably viewed as unsettling for the government. Richard Prebble says Ms Morris's departure isn't likely to be lamented by many. He says although the Government has now been left with a one-seat majority, past governments have managed to survive in the same climate.
There may be a cunning plan behind Cabinet's decision not to go ahead with the purchase of a third ANZAC frigate. The Navy missed out in the latest scramble for defence dollars while the Air Force is set to receive 28 F-16 jet fighters. However the Editor of Jane's Defence Weekly says all may not be lost for the Navy. Ian Kemp says the Government has to be aware the Royal Navy is planning to shed a number of warships following a defence review in Britain. He says the frigates will be up for grabs between 2000 and 2002, fitting neatly into the time when our government will be looking at replacing the ageing Canterbury.
Police are investigating sightings of the car stolen during the murder of a Reporoa woman. Forty-four year old Beverly Bouma was viciously beaten when four men broke into the farmhouse she shared with her husband. She later died. The group stole the couple's gold Ford Laser car which police say has been sighted in Taupo around the time of the murder. Sergeant Wally Haumaha says police will release details on how the woman died this afternoon.
(In fact, Mrs Bouma was shot in the neck. After almost a week of searching, four young men reportedly aged 15 to 22 were arrested in Kaingaroa, and one has been charged with murder, the rest with being accessories - BH)
The written evidence in the Ben Smart and Olivia Hope murder depositions hearing is likely to be released around lunchtime. There are 371 documents in total, each giving an alleged account of what happened in the Marlborough Sounds on or around New Years Eve. The evidence was presented to the court last week, and has been kept under wraps since then while the judge decided which aspects could be made public.
A branch manager and a support worker have been sacked from the BNZ while the Serious Fraud Office investigates claims they embezzled around $600,000. The BNZ says it started an internal investigation into the pair when anomalies arose about a month ago. The pair worked together at a BNZ branch in Auckland's Queen Street. The Serious Fraud Office has been called in to investigate, as it always is in cases involving over $500,000.
A top level square-dance of the country's highest diplomatic posts. The government last month announced former defence Minister Paul East will become our High Commissioner in London... from early next year. But that necessitated moving the current High Commissioner in London - Richard Grant. The government has now decided to post him to Paris... as our ambassador there. However we already have an ambassador in Paris - Richard Woods. So the government has now decided to move him to Moscow... to become our Ambassador there. To complete the complicated dance... former MP Alec Neill... will move to Wellington to replace Mr East as a list MP.
Wellington's serial arsonist may have struck again and the latest incident has authorities very concerned. A fire in the basement of a Kelburn house last night fits the pattern - but police say its too early to tell if the fire is suspicious. Fire chief Rod Nightengale says last night's fire breaks with the tradition of the arsonist striking over the weekend and this puts people at even greater risk.
A 28 year old Hawkes Bay Prison inmate faces assault charges after two officers were attacked. An officer was admitted to hospital with rib damage after being assaulted yesterday while another officer suffered minor facial injuries in an attack on Monday. The inmate will appear in court on Friday charged with two counts of assault.
Power has been restored to 100 households on the Coromandel Peninsula which have been in the dark since the weekend's violent storm. Helicopters were used to replace three poles damaged in the storm. Power has also been restored in Te Hana and Kaipara Flat. Winds of up to 170 kilometres an hour ripped through the upper North Island, bringing down power lines and causing widespread damage.
New Zealand local authorities want assurances from power companies over the millennium computer bug. The president of Local Government New Zealand says unless there is a guaranteed supply of electricity on January the 1st 2000, water and sewerage systems could fail. Kerry Marshall knows individual energy companies have been working on Y-Two-K compliance, but he believes there needs to be some sort of Government intervention. Mr Marshall believes electricity suppliers should be reporting progress on a quarterly basis.
Unemployment is the chief worry cited by New Zealanders... according to an international survey. The International Environmental Monitor surveys 30 countries on what people are most concerned about. Unemployment was the main concern for 36 per cent of kiwis... followed by economic issues for 18 per cent...and health issues for 14 per cent. 10 per cent of those surveyed said the environment is the biggest problem facing New Zealand today... ahead of crime on three per cent... and three issues - education, poverty and discrimination - on two per cent each.
A personal milestone for an MP who has spent more than half his life in parliament. Labour's Jonathan Hunt today turns 60 and he has been in parliament for more than 32 of those years. He was elected at the age of 27, at a time when Keith Holyoake was prime minister and Norman Kirk leader of the opposition. Mr Hunt says MPs are no longer held in as high a regard by the public. He blames that on broken promises about superannuation by both National and Labour governments. Mr Hunt will be seeking re-election next year.
(Mr Hunt achieved a certain notoriety and fell into some loss of regard himself, when it was learned his annual taxi bill from Auckland airport to his Titirangi home amounted to $29,000. To some extent, the criticism was ill informed since Mr Hunt's eyesight is so poor that he cannot have a driving license. - BH)
One of Wanganui's foremost Maori leaders has died- Niko Tangaroa passed away this morning. Mr Tangaroa played a leading role in the Maori occupation of Moutoa Gardens in 1995. Fellow activist Ken Mair says Mr Tangaroa was a respected elder, who will be sadly missing. Maori Affairs minister Tau Henare has also paid tribute, saying Mr Tangaroa was a principled man who stood by what he believed in.
Central North Island residents are being urged to think about their personal security following two home invasion attacks. Police are still tracking the four men who killed Beverly Bouma in her Reporoa home overnight on Monday. Meanwhile an Ohakune family of three was targeted for a similar attack early this morning. The trio were taken to Wanganui Hospital for treatment. Police investigating Mrs Bouma's death have been in Ohakune today, looking at links between the two crimes and there has been an unconfirmed sighting of the Bouma's gold coloured laser in the area this morning. Ohakune Country Pub bar staff say the attack has been the talk of the town today. Patsy Mareikura-Johnson says there is an element of fear in the usually quiet community.
(In fact the Bouma's Laser was hidden in the Kaingaroa forest, and police say it looks increasingly as if the Ohakune attack was by different people - BH)
A cruel jibe in parliament today... about the fact that Labour leader Helen Clark is childless. Ms Clark asked Maori Affairs Minister Tau Henare why he had failed to turn up at the launch of a government scheme in Northland. Mr Henare responded that he had promised to spend three days with his children. He said he loves his children... and that Ms Clark wouldn't have any idea what that means. Ms Clark asked Tau Henare to apologise... as she regarded the comments as derogatory. But Mr Henare did not apologise.
A group of South Island investors have announced plans for an 80 million dollar resort to be built on the outskirts of Christchurch. The resort is to be located at the Groynes...12 minutes from the centre of the city. It will have an 18 hole golf course designed by Bob Charles, a residential area, a hotel, polo grounds and 40 acres of water ways and lakes. Christchurch's mayor Garry Moore welcomed the news, saying it'll complement the city and the Groynes area. Construction starts next week.
Contact Energy is buying the retail arm of Dunedin-based United Electricity from Fernhill Power. The state-owned enterprise says the deal makes Contact the country's second largest energy retailer, with more than 420 thousand customers. Contact chief executive Paul Anthony says they are paying nearly $350 for every United customer. There is also an additional payment for debtors, and fixed assets. United Electricity has around 130,000 consumers in Dunedin, Invercargill, Southland, South Canterbury and Christchurch.
Olivia Hope's sister Amelia has today given evidence at the Scott Watson deposition hearing in Blenheim. Miss Hope has told of going back to her group's chartered yacht during the early hours of New Years Day and of Olivia asking to be taken ashore. She says there was an unknown male on the water taxi along with the driver and another couple. When she and her friend got off, Olivia and Ben Smart got on. Amelia Hope says she hadn't seen the unknown male before but described him as having dark short hair. Miss Hope says she didn't take a lot of notice of him and didn't get a clear look at his face.
A group of Far North Maori will collect shellfish in defiance of the law this weekend to reaffirm their ownership of the foreshore. Local hapu will collect shellfish - including endangered Toheroa - from Ninety-Mile Beach in the Far North throughout the weekend. Toheroa are scarce, and collectors must get authorisation from local Maori tribal authorities before shellfish are taken Te Paatu Kaumatua, Rupene Karaka says they are making a pilgrimage to reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
Dame Susan Devoy has resigned from the board of the New Zealand Sports Foundation, in a dispute over sports award ceremonies with the Halberg Trust. The Foundation is seeking to set up its own "People's Choice" award, to be televised on TV 3, just days before the Halberg Awards on TVNZ early next year. Dame Susan chairs the Halberg Trust, and fears the Foundation's proposal would be in direct competition. The former world squash champion says the Sports Foundation's actions are unacceptable.
(Rather late in the day, the sports foundation has backed down and avoided the clash with the well respected Halberg awards. Pity it took the loss of Dame Susan and outrage from the public to make them see sense - BH)
Deputy Prime Minister Wyatt Creech won't be trying to win back his Wairarapa seat at the next election and will stand as a list MP. Mr Creech announced today he will be opting for National's list... and as deputy leader he will come in at number two. He says being a list MP would allow him to have a lighter workload... and more time to spend with his family. Mr Creech says he has already served four terms as the representative for the people of the Wairarapa... and he feels it is time to move on.
Controversy has erupted over an anti-suicide campaign being launched by a group of concerned parents. The Youth Suicide Awareness Trust is launching the campaign, which focuses on encouraging people to think about suicide. However the Ministry of Health says that is the wrong message. Ministry spokeswoman Janice Wilson says campaigns which raise awareness of suicide can backfire... and cause more suicides. She says depressed young people can interpret posters with the word "suicide" on them... as a sign that they are meant to do it. Dr Wilson says a safer approach is to encourage people to seek help when they are feeling down.
The Health and Disability Commissioner has ordered a doctor who suggested prayer to a patient as a cure to his illness to apologise. The Commissioner has just released her findings into the case after a complaint in April last year. The patient says the doctor said he was a Christian and asked the patient if he would look at prayer to cure his illness. The patient rejected the offer ... and suggested the doctor continue along medical lines. Health and Disability Commissioner Robyn Stent says the doctor exploited the trust the patient had in him and ignored a request to stop pushing the prayer option. She has recommended the doctor apologise in writing.
Air New Zealand says it will comply with a directive for airlines using Boeing 747s to change their practice of running fuel pumps until tanks are dry. America's Federal Aviation Administration is worried by the risk of explosion. Normally the pumps in both the horizontal stabiliser tank and centre tank are run until dry in order to use up fuel efficiently. The FAA is worried about the possibility of sparks from overheated pumps, and has sent out the notice while it investigates further. Air New Zealand says it will comply with the FAA directive, but adds it hasn't had any problems with the pumps.
Date: 3 December 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 0.5307
AUD 0.8421
GBP 0.3187
JPY 63.89
CAD 0.8146
FRF 2.9826
DEM 0.8892
HKD 4.1210
SGD 0.8759
ZAR 3.0136
CHF 0.7272
INTEREST RATES (%)
Call : 2.5
90 Day: 4.09
The prices below are given in cents.
To buy NZ Investment Trust:
21 June 1993 409
Today
To buy TeNZ:
1 June 1996 103.7
Today
*****
Apologies for the mix-up. Helen and I are still working out our
protocols, and we lost some of this week's news.
Brian Harmer
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~bharmer/
I may not be disgruntled but I am far from gruntled
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