Copyright © 1998 Brian Harmer
My new computer (a 400MHz PII) is now up and running, and is a real screamer so I hope to avoid repeats of last week's truncated news, at least for technology reasons. ... Whoops I spoke ... too soon. Serves me right for fiddling around in complicated bits like the registry section of Win98.
It has been a wild and woolly week with wet and windy weather. Wednesday and Thursday especially saw tremendous volumes of water dumped in a very short time. The evening commute in wintry blackness was a misery as we crawled along the Hutt Road, wipers slapping, totally unable to see much beyond the tail lights of the car ahead. In fact most of the real chaos had occurred in broad daylight, and we were now experiencing an ordinary winter rush hour compounded by the caution that comes with heavy weather.
The next day, Friday, Wellington put on its "innocent" act, like a wilful child who knows that the parents are annoyed, but is not yet willing to acknowledge its role in the conflict. The day was picture postcard perfect. The Tararuas stood clean and proud beneath a pristine icing on their highest peaks. From the top of Wainuiomata hill road, looking back toward the city, the great curve of the harbour runs from the Petone foreshore around the edge beside the rail and road corridor jammed by the sea against the plunging hills. In the bright sun the hills look much more friendly than they are in the close-up. Silvery blue water almost challenges you to imagine the turbulent grey green waves of just a day ago.
On with the news
The Government looks set to cut spending by at least a further three hundred million dollars in response to the deepening Asian crisis... Treasurer Winston Peters has just released the briefing paper Cabinet received today from Treasury and things aren't looking too good... Mr Peters says in this year's Budget the Government set aside three hundred million dollars to bolster operating surpluses....that money came out of the five billion dollar spending package... Today Mr Peters says Cabinet has decided, in principle, to at least double the buffer which means the package will be cut by six hundred million dollars or more... Meanwhile prime minister Jenny Shipley says the government cannot guarantee that it will remain in surplus if the Asian situation deteriorates. Mrs Shipley says the advice given to cabinet today was that the extra 300 million dollars in cuts should ensure a surplus in the 1998-99 year. However she says the government cannot defend a surplus at all costs... and the possibility exists that the government may have to go into deficit in the 1999-2000 year.
Television New Zealand says it has been taken a-back by speculation it is about to lose the rights to free to air rugby coverage. The talks prompted State Owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall to ask staff to investigate how other governments ensure major sporting events are shown on free-to-air TV. But TVNZ spokesman Liam Jeory is bewildered by the speculation of free to air rugby's imminent demise. He says the contract talks with Sky Television haven't even started yet. Meanwhile, SKY Television says it is committed to ensuring delayed coverage of major rugby matches is shown on free-to-air TV.... whether it be TVNZ or TV3.
(The real surprise is that people in TVNZ should be surprised ... why aren't their sources as good as ours? - BH)
The Southland man who threw a container of drink at accused murderer Scott Watson in the Christchurch District Court this morning has been fined four hundred dollars. 36 year old Alan Fraser Henderson, of Gore, appeared before Judge Patricia Costigan this afternoon and pleaded guilty to behaving in a disorderly manner. Henderson says he was aiming at a clock and not Scott Watson when he threw the container of energy drink. He says he wanted to make the point that it was time the bodies of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope were recovered from the water.
A call for judges to have more power in dictating prison care in an effort to reduce prison suicides. The Auckland District Law Society's public issues committee has released a paper criticising remand facilities for young people. There have been 11 suicides at Mount Eden Prison in the last four years. Spokesperson, Peter Winter says judges can recommend special care for a prisoner and can only hope prison authorities take heed. Peter Winter says an increase in judicial powers needs to go hand in hand with improved and increased facilities for young offenders because there is no point in making special orders if they can't be fulfilled.
The lawyer for prison escaper Arthur Taylor is considering laying a complaint with the solicitor general about the media publicity following the manhunt. Police launched what is said to be one of the biggest operations in this country in search of Taylor and three other Paremoremo inmates who escaped 14 days ago. They were all recaptured last week. There has been widespread media publicity on the escapes and lawyer Chris Tennet says he is not happy about it. He says none of the inmates have given a plea on the charges, and from Taylor's point of view, there are some charges he wants to defend.
(I suppose the next thing will be that security cameras in banks or even eye-witnesses will be banned because by being used against the alleged crims they prejudice their chance of getting off .... fooey! - BH)
Another oil strike in Taranaki. Fletcher Challenge is currently flaring off gas at the Toko Two well in the region's east. The find could contain up to 30 million dollars worth of oil. Spokesman Geoff Logan says the discovery, at the northern tip of the lucrative Waihapa field, has come when production at other reserves in the area are dying off.
(I bet no one uses the phase "Texas Tea" apart from the song writers in "Beverley Hills Hillbillies" - BH)
The Alliance is calling for more research into the housing conditions of New Zealanders, following a damning report from the National Health Committee. The government's health advisory group has drawn a strong link between poverty and poor health, and sites poor housing as a major cause of ill health. Alliance MP Grant Gillon says in 1994 the Government estimated that nearly 26 thousand people needed improved housing conditions. Mr Gillon says the Government knows its policies are failing.
The controversial talking pole in Tokoroa has now got a mate - and she is pregnant. A talking pole was erected in the town last month, featuring a man holding an erect penis. A second pole was erected over the weekend which features semi naked and pregnant women. Christian Heritage Party leader Graham Capill, who laid a complaint with the police about the last pole, says he has already received calls from Tokoroa residents about it. He says they don't think it is as bad as the last one... but they still aren't happy about it. However Mr Capill says he still isn't happy about the first one and won't be satisfied until it is either taken down or modified.
Plans are underway for a ceremony to welcome home eight ancestral Maori heads. Maori Affairs Minister Tau Henare is bringing the preserved heads... or moko mokai... back later this week... when he returns from a two week visit to the United Kingdom. The heads have been given back to New Zealand by the University of Edinburgh. They will arrive at Auckland Airport on Thursday night... then be flown to Wellington where they will be taken to the Museum of New Zealand. Te Papa spokesman Paul Brewer says talks are being held on what ceremony would be appropriate to welcome the treasures home.
Entrepreneur Stephen Tindall is launching a new project aimed at reducing the amount of waste this country dumps. Mr Tindall, who founded The Warehouse chain of stores, has chosen the Local Government conference in Dunedin to launch his Zero Waste New Zealand project. It focuses on creating community jobs by using the material currently dumped in landfills. Stephen Tindall says his challenge to local councils is to accept Zero Waste as a long term goal, and to make New Zealand the cleanest, greenest country in the world.
The Ministry of Health is going to carry out the first nationwide study into the eating habits of Kiwi kids. Nutritional advisor Robert Quigley says regional studies have shown children are suffering from a lack of calcium and regular bouts of food poisoning. But he says because of a lack of resources .. no one has carried out a nationwide survey. He says the survey will collect food and nutrition information and from that educational programmed can be established to make sure Kiwi kids are eating the right foods.
(Someone suggested that Kiwi kids are among the few groups in the world who are simultaneously malnourished and obese - BH)
The government is describing the imminent share float of Auckland International Airport as a people friendly float which is already attracting a high level of interest. The government has today announced plans to sell off its entire 51 per cent shareholding in the 1 point 5 billion dollar facility. Expressions of interest can be made from 9 o'clock tomorrow morning. It is open to all New Zealanders, who can pick up information at any Post Shop or through an 0800 phone line. Minister for State Owned Enterprises, Tony Ryall, says an advertising campaign got underway on Sunday resulting in more than six thousand calls to the line. The fixed share price will be announced on July 25th and conditional trading starts on the New Zealand sharemarket on July 28th.
Tax cuts and spending cuts dominated Question Time at Parliament today. Opposition MPs repeatedly questioned the Prime Minister and her deputy on their decision to go ahead with tomorrow's tax cuts, and yesterday's announcement that they will have to save another 300 million dollars. The Government already announced in the Budget it had to find 300 million in savings. Prime Minister Jenny Shipley repeatedly told the House that the taxcuts will boost the economy. And Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters defended yesterday's decision on savings, saying they are still spending 4.4 billion dollars, and any cuts are only being deferred until the economy brightens.
The Business Roundtable has told a Parliamentary select committee to let the Auckland Regional Services Trust get on with the job. The select committee has been hearing submissions on a bill which turns ARST into Infrastructure Auckland, which would then administer the old trust's two billion dollars in assets. But the Business Roundtable's chairman Roger Kerr says ARST should be left as it is. Mr Kerr says it is already well advanced in the process of setting up its assets to sell, so the best solution would be to allow it to go ahead and do just that. The capital could then be distributed to Auckland rate-payers.
Mercury Energy has today reported a net loss of 25 point 3 million dollars for the year to the end of March. The company says the one-off downturn is due to the power crisis which crippled Auckland's CBD earlier this year.
Twenty years ago Christine Rankin was struggling to make ends meet on the domestic purposes benefit....today she has been named as the chief executive of the new Department of Work and Income... The new department will oversee benefit payments including the new community wage, the pension and student allowances... It is a big job and our political editor has been told it carries with it a big salary...around $250,000 a year which would make Ms Rankin the highest paid civil servant in the country... She wasn't prepared to discuss her salary package...
Applications for non-association orders against members of the Road Knights gang are being heard in the Christchurch District court today ... which could have the effect of breaking up a family. A gang liaison officer, Detective Richard Neale, has told the court the Christchurch chapter of the Road Knights is dominated by three Harris brothers. Police want Judge Stephen Erber to order more than 20 people to cease association. They include three Harris brothers, their wives and de facto partners and the son of a fourth Harris brother who is a patched member of the gang.
Pahiatua residents who are losing their hospital today, may not be the hardest hit by the closure. Maternity and radiology services are being moved to Palmerston North from today. Tararua district Mayor, Bill Bly says provision has been made for 'continuing care' patients to be put in a new facility. But he says the area served by Pahiatua Hospital has a vast hinterland. Bill Bly says while Pahiatua is only half an hour from Palmerston North, the patients that Pahiatua serves are probably another hour away again, and some of them don't have transport.
A heavy rain warning has been issued for parts of the South Island and the central North Island as a low moves in bringing gale force winds to some areas. Around 40 millimetres of rain is forecast for the ranges of Buller and northwest Nelson this afternoon with a further 100 millimetres likely up until Wednesday afternoon. Richmond Range and Marlborough Sounds can expect rain to set in tonight and become heavier tomorrow evening with 100 millimeters likely to fall. 150 millimetres of rain is forecast on the upper slopes of Mt Taranaki from tomorrow morning, with around 70 millimetres possible in the hill country.
(And they weren't kidding ... BH)
FIRE & POLICE SHARE NEW COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Soon two of our emergency services will be on the same communication system. Next month the Fire Service plans to start using the new CARD Communication System with police. In future there will be just three communication centres, based in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch... compared to the current six. Fire Union Secretary, Derek Best says he is concerned the fire service will be placing too many eggs in one basket. Derek Best estimates about 40 jobs will go when the Hamilton, Palmerston North and Dunedin Communication Centres close.
The Government has just tripled the number of countries whose citizens will need Transit Visas when passing through New Zealand on their way to or from other countries in the Pacific region. The visas cost 60 dollars per person. Immigration Minister Max Bradford says the move is designed to minimise the risk of people using a transit stop-over in New Zealand as a means to obtain long term entry. Until now the citizens of 24 countries were required to pay for the visas. From tomorrow 70 countries will be affected.
The Land Transport Safety Authority is being cautiously optimistic about the road toll figures for the first half of this year. 246 people died on the roads in the six months to June... 13 percent fewer than for the same period in 1997. In fact it is the lowest road toll for any six month period since records began being kept 33 years ago. LTSA spokesman Dave Jones says that is pleasing news. But he says the fact that six people have died on the roads in the past 24 hours is a reminder that people cannot afford to lose their vigilance.
Bad weather has moved in to parts of the South Island and central North Island this afternoon bringing heavy rain and high winds. The Met service is forecasting more than 100 millimetres of rain in the ranges at Buller and northwest Nelson, as well as the Richmond Range and Marlborough Sounds. Taranaki is expected to bear the brunt of the bad weather with 200 millimetres of rain likely to fall on Mount Egmont. Emergency services say while the weather isn't too bad yet - they are keeping a close eye on coastal areas this afternoon as high tide approaches.
More help for Housing New Zealand tenants who want to buy the houses they are currently renting. The Housing Corporation says tenants wanting to buy are now eligible for an increased suspensory loan. The maximum loan has now increased to 15 thousand dollars - up from 12 and a half thousand. Housing Corporation spokesman Dave Thomas says the boost reflects the movement in house prices since the Homebuy programme started in 1994. The suspensory loan is written off progressively over seven years as long as the borrower remains in the home they have bought from Housing New Zealand.
Sharebrokers say they have been inundated by people wanting to buy shares in Auckland International Airport. The government is selling its 51 per cent stake in the airport, with shares expected to list at between one dollar fifty, and two dollars. The government officially launched the float yesterday, with investors able to register for shares from nine o'clock this morning. Craig and Co broker Murray Berkitt says the response has been tremendous.
Petrol prices are on the rise in Christchurch.... but Shell is refusing to join the price hike. Shell's competitors have raised pump prices by two cents, but Shell says it will continue to hold out against increases for as long as it possibly can. Shell Marketing Manager Geoff Davidson says customers need stability in the current economic climate.
(The other companies somewhat sulkily dropped their prices again when Shell wouldn't move - BH)
The government is gearing up for the launch of its year-long Time Use survey this weekend. Over the next year more than eight thousand people will be given special diaries... asking them to list their activities over a 48 hour period. Government spokeswoman Deborah Morris says that will help the government to replace assumptions and anecdotes about how people use their time... with facts. She says that will help in the development of government policies and programmes.
Convicted murderer David Bain is seeking a Royal pardon from the Governor General... His lawyers have sent a thick file to Sir Michael Hardie Boys, a former Court of Appeal Judge... Sir Michael sent the file to the Minister of Justice who has handed it on to departmental lawyers... A spokeswoman for Doug Graham says it could be some months before a recommendation is made...
People waiting for surgery will start getting letters in the next fortnight to tell them of their status under the new surgical booking system, which comes into effect today. Waiting Times project director, Paul Malpass, says the booking system is designed to give people certainty about when they will get their operations. Dr Malpass says of the 90 thousand people on waiting lists, about twenty thousand will automatically be booked for surgery, while another twenty thousand will receive letters taking them off the lists from July 14. He says standardised criteria has been worked out to assess the remaining.
Valuation New Zealand has a new name and a new look as of today. The Government's valuation department has become Quotable Value New Zealand, and will now be run as a commercial entity. State-owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall says he is confident the new company will be able to compete successfully for valuation contracts in both the local authority and commercial markets. He expects the establishment of Quotable Value New Zealand will lead to lower valuation prices.
(Do other parts of the world suffer from this delusion? Back in the seventies, it was alleged in a British motoring Journals that a Holden performance car was one with four thou' shaved off the dipstick and the doorhandles lowered by an inch. The corporate equivalent is the reorganisation which consists of a new sleazy title and logo and the expensive dumping of a whole heap of perfectly good stationery. - BH)
Despite delays, the developers of Auckland City Council's controversial underground transport terminal Britomart remain committed to the project. Pacific Capital Assets has just sold the Chief Post Office on the Britomart site to Morning Star Enterprises which will restore the building. Capital assets Managing Director Jihong Lu says it was always their intention to on sell the building, which will become the front entrance to the terminal, to a specialist restorer. He admits they have been frustrated at delays to the whole project caused but what he says are commercially driven objectors trying to bring it to a halt.
Mercury Energy is guaranteeing electricity charges won't rise despite the company announcing a 25.3 million dollar loss for the year to the end of March. In 1997 Mercury Energy announced an 82 million dollar profit...however the Auckland inner city power crisis cost the company over 128 million dollars plunging it into the red. Board Chairman Jim MaCaulay admits the power crisis forced them to cancel the last customer dividend payout but says they are back on target this year and making profits so he doesn't expect it to happen again. He says it is the shareholder and not the customer who will bear the brunt of the company's loss.
(Unloaded and re-loaded Win98 .... twice :-( - BH)
The controversial power reforms have now passed through their final stages in Parliament. Parliament rose at 5.30 after sitting under urgency to pass the legislation, which took about sixteen hours of debate. The new law means power companies will have to sell off either the line or retail side of their businesses, which is designed to break any monopolies. It also splits ECNZ into three baby SOEs, which they will compete with each other in the generation business. Opposition parties are outraged the bill has been pushed through in only two days, and say it is likely in 12 months, they will be fixing all the things wrong with this bill.
(I listened with some sense of unreality to the Minister, Max Bradford, justifying the urgency by saying New Zealanders needed lower prices as soon as possible. Almost in the next breath, he said there was no direct linkage between the legislation and lower prices, and that it would take about 18 months for any change to filter through to the consumers. So, Max, why was that again, that the normal democratic process needed to be trampled on? - BH)
Relief from victims of serial rapist Malcolm Rewa today following a sentence that will keep him behind bars for at least 22 years. Rewa was sentenced on 44 charges of rape and assault. He stood motionless as he was sentenced to preventive detention for a minimum of 22 years by Justice Anderson in the Auckland High Court. The sentence means he will be in jail until he is in his late sixties .. and that pleased his victims. Meanwhile, the police officer responsible for Rewa's arrest, Detective Inspector Steve Rutherford, says he too is pleased with outcome.
Seven years in jail for the three ring-leaders of last October's hostage drama at Paparua Prison. However, in the case of Rex Haig and Michael Wayne October, the seven year terms are concurrent with their present life sentences. For Dean Parata, the seven year term will be added to the ten years he is serving for manslaughter. The new sentence will be concurrent with the two years he is serving for grievous wounding. And Nathan Earl Schriek and Richard Lyall Genge have each been sentenced to three and a half years, to be served concurrently with their life terms.
Six Christchurch Road Knights are appealing against non association orders imposed on them in the Christchurch District Court today. It is a landmark use of anti-gang legislation. In sentencing the six to suspended jail terms on charges of assault, Judge Stephen Erber also banned the three Harris brothers from talking to each other. However, he allowed them to continue associating with other members of their family. Two of the other Road Knights are prohibited from associating with more than 20 named people, including Harris family members, for the next year. Lawyer Dave Ruth says all six are very disappointed and unhappy with the sentence and have lodged appeals.
The actions of Maori Affairs Minister Tau Henare in returning 11 shrunken Maori heads to Te Papa in Wellington in the glare of publicity has been attacked by his Labour counterpart... Dover Samuels says the heads should have been returned to the country without fanfare... Mr Samuels has accused Mr Henare of self promotion... He says there is little point in now trying to establish which tribes the heads belonged to...he says that would be virtually impossible... Mr Samuels says the heads should be given a decent burial and that should be the end to the matter.
(Some real bitterness applies here. It is alleged by some that Tau joined the bandwagon at the last moment to take the glory for a whole lot of work done over several years by a number of others such as Dalvanius Prime. Mr Henare faced some strong criticism over the extravagance of several first class return trips to London, and it seems the return of the heads is a handy vehicle to counter this attack. He claims his legs are too long for him to travel comfortably in economy class. Business class is still a whole heap cheaper than first. And I think history will record that Dalvanius did indeed do the real work, despite the sneers Mr Henare uttered when confronted with this claim. - BH)
The remaining 16 Russian seamen still holding out in Lyttelton for payment of wages before returning home have been granted the right to stay in New Zealand while they prepare their case for the High Court. In the Christchurch High Court today Mr Justice Young continued his interim order banning the Immigration Department from taking action to have the seamen deported. However he also ruled that the seamen's case against the fishing boats' Russian owner is not sufficiently prepared to be heard this month and he put it off until October.
The Earthquake Commission is facing a bill of at least 750-thousand dollars for damage caused by this week's brutal storms. Insurance Manager Lance Dixon says 180 claims have been received so far, mostly from Wellington and the top of the South Island. He says most are of relatively small value, but there is one substantial claim which could see a whole Marlborough Sounds property declared lost. Lance Dixon expects more claims to come in after people inspect their properties more closely this weekend.
Junior medical staff at Taranaki Base Hospital and Hawera Hospital have issued notice they are joining colleagues around the country in strike action later this month. The New Zealand Resident Doctors Association says its members will strike for nine days starting from 4 pm on Friday the 17th. Taranaki Healthcare Human Resources manager Liz Huckerby says the notice of the strike came as a surprise. She says there has only been one meeting with the Resident Doctors Association to discuss a new contract and management had felt that some progress had been made. She says the issues in dispute are national ones and are not specific to Taranaki.
The race for the Auckland mayoralty has lost one of its highest profile contenders, before it is even started. Media personality Paul Holmes has announced, after much deliberation, he will not be standing for Mayor. He says he has learnt a lot about the world of politics over the last few weeks and isn't closing the door on the prospect entirely. Paul Holmes says he may well reconsider entering politics, at the next local body elections in three years time.
A jet skier, who was found guilty of manslaughter, has been sentenced to three years in jail. 19 year old Moti Shawn Tomasi was riding a jet ski which collided with a teenager in a kayak, on Porirua Harbour last year. The young woman was killed in the incident. Two trials failed to produce a result, before a third jury found Tomasi guilty of manslaughter three weeks ago. He was sentenced in the Wellington High Court this morning to three years in prison.
The Prime Minister has given dairy farmers an assurance that the Government is looking after their interests. Jenny Shipley was speaking in Hawera this afternoon. Mrs Shipley says the Government has a series of measures in the pipeline to help dairy farmers, such as the power reforms currently being debated by the house. She says those will reduce power prices. She also says costs will be lowered by changes to ACC, in roading management, and to the Resource Management Act.
The Reserve Bank's top boss has come out against criticisms his officials have been sleeping on the job. The ACT Party has attacked the Reserve Bank, saying it had wildly underestimated the effects of the Asian financial crisis. But the Reserve Bank Governor, Don Brash, says as far back as December last year the bank was easing monetary policies and citing the Asian situation as the reason for this. Doctor Brash says they also warned the situation could get worse, and have had to ease monetary policy again since then. He says the reality is no-one can forecast the economy with great precision.
Date: 2 July 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 0.5231
AUD 0.8415
GBP 0.3152
JPY 72.39
CAD 0.7653
FRF 3.1975
DEM 1.9536
HKD 4.0628
SGD 0.8823
ZAR 3.1594
CHF 0.8015
INTEREST RATES (%)
Call : 7.50
90 Day: 7.95
Winter woolly weather down here ... I hope those of you in
cold places keep warm and those in hot places stay cool ...
especially those in Florida.
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
http://www.vuw.ac.nz/~bharmer/
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