Copyright © 1995 Brian Harmer
One more week, people, and I hope to have a semblance of a life back. In the meantime, Helen continues to gather and format the news. Between us, we neglected to agree who was doing what this week, so we have just three days. Sorry about that.
All news items (except where noted otherwise) are reproduced by kind permission of copyright owner, IRN Ltd. Any text above this point, and all subsequent material in parentheses, and concluded with the initials "BH" is the personal opinion of Brian Harmer as editor of this newsletter, or occasionally "HH" will indicate an opinion from Helen. In all cases they are honest expressions of personal opinion, and are not presented as fact.
On with the news:
Desperate Marlborough grape growers have unsuccessfully appealed to the Immigration Minister to allow Tongan grape pruners into the country. President of the Marlborough Grape Growers Association Stuart Smith says with an unemployment rate of just 2. 8 percent, and increasing areas in grapes, they have soaked up all the local labour. He says they have also tried advertising in other parts of the country. It is understood Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel did not support the proposal to bring Tongan workers over, because she feared it would encourage overstayers.
A hearing date's been set for charges against the parents of mentally deranged killer Claude Gabriel. Gabriel escaped from care in Queensland last year and ended up in Auckland, where he was held at the Mason Clinic and then sent back to Brisbane. John and Alessandra Gabriel are charged under the Mental Health Act with assisting their son to flee last November. The Gabriels were once again not present, but their solicitor says today was merely a formal matter. Police did not oppose the non-appearance, and the couple was excused by the magistrate. The matter's been set down for a three day hearing in early September.
National is querying why the Prime Minister has used an interview in a gay magazine, to apologise to the gay community. In the interview, Helen Clark offered a personal apology on behalf of the Government, for the way gays have been discriminated against. National's deputy leader, Roger Sowry, wants to know why it was not done with the same fanfare, as recent apologies to the Samoan and Chinese communities. He says it appears to be an apology designed around an election campaign. Mr Sowry declined to comment on whether his party supports the apology, saying it has not yet talked about the issue.
A Dargaville couple have been told they can expect a jail term of more than two years, for causing the death of their six months-old son Caleb. A High Court jury in Auckland has found Deborah Anne Moorhead and Roby Jan Moorhead guilty of manslaughter. They have been remanded in custody until June the 13th for sentence. The pair - who are Seventh Day Adventists - asked for bail so they can deal with business affairs before being sentenced. But the judge told them this is a serious case. and they can expect a jail term in excess of two years. Meanwhile the Dargaville detective who worked on the case has spoken of his frustration in trying to find six-month-old Caleb Moorhead, after he was taken by his parents from Auckland's Starship Hospital. Detective Sergeant Chris Scahill says, in trying to find the child, police traced a cellphone tower in South Auckland which carried the Moorheads' phone calls. But he says there were two thousand houses in the area, and Caleb died before a search could start. Detective Sergeant Chris Scahill says the verdict sends a strong message to those who deny children medical assistance. He says family members feel the case will be worth it if it prevents anybody else from doing the same. He says the Moorheads have not indicated they intend to appeal.
Constable Keith Abbott may face a charge of manslaughter instead of murder, for shooting Steven Wallace. Before reserving her decision on an appeal, Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias put the question of lessening the charge against Constable Abbott. Defence Counsel Susan Hughes responded that if the matter were to proceed further, she would prefer that to happen on a charge of something other than murder. However, she would not retract her submission that no crime had been committed by Constable Abbott. Justice Elias also got compliance from prosecution counsel John Rowan QC. She has reserved her decision on the outcome of the appeal.
National has announced its policy to try to get the country's young offenders back on the straight and narrow. Leader Bill English says it includes plans to reduce the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12. He says they will also increase the use of restorative justice schemes and give more power to the Youth Court to deal with alcohol abuse. Mr English says getting to young offenders early is the key. National also wants to make parents more accountable for the actions of their children, and may make them pay reparations.
National's reiterating there is no reason for the Prime Minister to call an early election. Speculation's been rife around the Beehive that Helen Clark might call an election as early as July 27th or August 10th. But National leader Bill English says there is no justification for going to the country early. He says New Zealand First and the Greens have indicated they will continue to vote with the Government on confidence issues. Mr English says there is no indication that Labour can not see out the full term. He says the Prime Minister will have to give the public a very good reason if she does go to the country early.
Children as young as 12 could be found criminally responsible under National's youth crime policy announced today. The policy also calls for the powers of the Youth Court to be boosted so that curfews and alcohol bans can be imposed. National wants to make parents more accountable for the actions of their children and increase the use of restorative justice for young people. Leader Bill English says his party wants to make young offenders face up to their actions and help them turn their lives around. He says early intervention is the key and reducing the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 will allow the Youth Court and Police Youth Aid to step in early.
An Anglican Church Trust says it felt obliged to pay compensation to a person who was sexually abused in one of its foster homes. The abuse happened in Blackwood House in Auckland's Herne Bay, more than 30 years ago. The abuser, Ramon Doughty, has admitted the charges and is due for sentencing in Hamilton next week. He was a foster parent at the house. Anglican Trust for Women and Children chairwoman Dianne Kenderdine will not comment on the size of the payout. She says the trust deals with victims of sex abuse and wants to be seen to support them. Ms Kenderdine says it would be churlish to not treat this person with the same care as anyone else who comes to them.
The Environment Court has turned down a request for work to immediately stop on a disputed Northland prison. The request was made by protestors, who are angry construction on the Ngawha site is continuing, even though they have lodged an appeal against the project. The Environment Court's decision was based on the grounds that stopping work would delay an urgently needed and nationally important facility. The Department of Corrections says the court's decision proves the department was acting within the law, when it decided to commence work on the site.
Northland Health says it is in the process of assessing the long term future of health services in the Far North. The issue has come to the fore again, with claims a young boy almost died due to the shortage of anaesthetists and absence of intensive care services in Kaitaia. The eight- year-old had to be airlifted to Whangarei on Saturday night, with what turned out to be a case of peritonitis. Northland Health ordered the evacuation as Kaitaia had only one anaesthetist, and no intensive care unit. Kaitaia Hospital Action Group Chairman Millie Srhoj claims doctors have said the boy nearly died. Her says locals have long- feared the lack of 24 hour emergency cover in the town will kill someone. Millie Srhoj says Kaitaia Hospital needs an emergency unit, given that it serves more than 30,000 people. Northland Health spokesman, Luke Worth, says the concerns of Kaitaia locals will be discussed at a meeting later this month. He says attracting intensive care specialists would be harder than attracting anaesthetists.
The Government's welcoming a proposal by the United States, to eliminate agricultural subsidies over the next five years. The US has made the proposal to the World Trade Organisation's Agricultural Committee. Trade Negotiations Minister, Jim Sutton, says the proposal by such a major player in the international trade arena would add momentum to the Doha trade round, started last year. He says New Zealand has long been against trade subsidies. Mr Sutton says New Zealand will be pressing hard in negotiations to have the subsidies eliminated and markets opened.
Health campaigners are claiming that the Far North's anaesthetist shortage almost claimed a young boy's life. An eight-year-old boy with peritonitis had to be airlifted from Kaitaia to Whangarei on Saturday night. Northland Health said the surgery could not take place, partly because there was only one anaesthetist in town. It was deemed a safety risk to use the anaesthetist, when he was required to work the next day. Kaitaia Hospital Action Group Chairman, Millie Srhoj, calls the situation unacceptable. He claims the boy's mother was told that, given her son's ordeal, he should have been dead. Millie Srhoj says Kaitaia Hospital serves 30,000 people, and must be staffed to perform operations whenever necessary.
Strong feelings from Wellington's secondary school teachers, at a meeting over ratification of the Government's latest pay offer. The teachers voted yesterday, but the outcome won't be known until nationwide results are released on Monday. The proposed settlement gives teachers a 5. 5 percent pay rise, along with a special allowance for teachers implementing the new Certificate of Achievement. Although the PPTA agreed the settlement with the Government, teachers themselves proved to be unhappy with the proposals, launching a series of wildcat strikes around the country in defiance. PPTA spokesman, Trevor Hook, says there was good debate at the Wellington meeting, and some good points raised. He says teachers are worried the offer still is not enough, and that it won't address recruitment and retention problems in the secondary sector. Mr Hook says the meeting was calmer than some have been lately.
Help could be on the way for South Island farmers whose sheep are dying in wintry blasts. A lecturer at Lincoln University has worked out a way to identify which sheep are not tolerant to cold weather. Rachel Forrest has isolated a gene which is useful in heat production. She says this gene can only be found in some animals. Ms Forrest says when her research is released for commercial use, farmers will be able to blood test their stock and breed their animals accordingly. She says you could also breed an animal which can produce heat quickly without producing extra layers of fat.
A warning has been issued to steel smelters, following a fatal accident at a Christchurch factory. A 30-year-old man died yesterday after being hit by fragments from a disintegrating grinding wheel. He was operating a Richards Snagging Machine at the time of the accident. Occupational Safety and Health spokesman Margaret Radford says they believe this particular type of grinding wheel is used in three factories in the South Island. She says they are getting in touch with those companies, as well as tying to trace any other factories using the equipment in the North Island.
New Zealanders living or holidaying overseas are now able to download voting papers over the Internet. They will then be able to fax their completed voting papers to the Chief Electoral Office in Wellington right up to 7pm on election day. In the past voters have had to either do it all by post or go to a New Zealand embassy or consulate. Chief Electoral Officer David Henry says this move will make voting easier and quicker for New Zealanders overseas. Voters are still not able to e-mail their completed voting papers, but Mr Henry says that is something they are looking into for the future.
Pre-production is underway on the West Coast of the South Island, for Sam Neill's latest movie. The romantic thriller, called Perfect Strangers, is written, directed and produced by Greymouth-born Gaylene Preston. This is the first time Gaylene Preston has directed her own original screenplay. Sam Neill and Rachael Blake play a pair of unconventional lovers, in the darkly funny, but deadly serious story. This is Sam Neill's first New Zealand feature role since The Piano, in 1993. This film is the second to be supported by The New Zealand Film Production Fund which was set up to support the production of New Zealand films by established film makers.
New Zealand animal doctors descend on Hamilton today for a five-day conference which boasts some of the world's top veterinarians as keynote speakers. Doctor Steve Cranefield, from Otorohanga Vet Services, is one of the local vets speaking at the New Zealand Veterinary Association conference. He will speak about New Zealand's first risk management programme against leptospirosis, a disease humans get from cattle urine. Dr Cranefield says the issue needs to be highlighted since 10 percent of Waikato herds still are not vaccinated against the disease.
Waiting lists for gynaecological surgery at Christchurch Women's Hospital have grown by nearly 100, from March to April this year. Some 47 women have been waiting more than 18 months for their semi-urgent surgery. The number of women waiting more than six months stands at 578. In total, 1,745 women are in the surgery queue, which has been steadily growing for the last year and a half. Recruitment difficulties have been blamed for the long waits. Canterbury DHB Chief Operating Officer Bill McDonald says they have just appointed a new obstetrician and gynaecological specialist, which should start to have a positive effect on the waiting times. He says they had more trouble recruiting that person than expected. Bill McDonald says a shortage of anaesthetic staff is also contributing to the problem.
Greenpeace claims the Australian Government has caved into pressure from its coal industry over the Kyoto Protocol. Prime Minister John Howard has announced Australia will not ratify the global warming agreement. Australia's move is in line with the United States, which has also refused to ratify the treaty. Greenpeace climate campaigner Robbie Kelman says Mr Howard has been lobbied by the coal and aluminium industries not to endorse Kyoto. He says the Australian Prime Minister is also favouring the American position. New Zealand intends to ratify the treaty.
A part of a proposed law change giving police power to impound and seize the cars of illegal road racers, has been found to be inconsistent with the Bill of Rights. Proposed legislation cracking down on so-called boy-racers was fast tracked into Parliament last month, following a public outcry over their antics. Attorney-General Margaret Wilson has been considering a clause of the bill, concerned with the impounding of vehicles of drivers who break the law. Ms Wilson says the description used in the clause constitutes unreasonable seizure. The bill will go before a parliamentary select committee next week.
An Auckland-based biotechnology company has launched a new trial in the United States of a drug targeting the skin disease psoriasis . Genesis Research and Development Corporation says the trial will evaluate how useful its PVAC treatment could be to sufferers. Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease affecting more than seven million Americans, or about 2. 6 percent of the U. S. population. About 150,000 to 260,000 new cases of psoriasis are diagnosed each year, and the condition costs America up to $6 billion dollars a year. Psoriasis occurs when new skin cells grow too rapidly, resulting in inflamed, scaly skin lesions - however, the cause of psoriasis is unknownPatients with mild to moderate psoriasis will be divided into four groups, each of which will be treated with one of three different dosages of PVAC or a placebo. People are already enrolling for the study at fourteen separate sites across ten states. Genesis CEO Dr Jim Watson says the trial gives the company an opportunity to test the safety and effectiveness of PVAC, and is an important step in the development of a treatment programme.
ACT MP Stephen Franks is to contest the high profile Wellington Central electorate. He takes over from party leader Richard Prebble who lost the seat to Labour MP Marian Hobbs last election. Mr Prebble has decided against standing in any seat this year, and will concentrate instead on campaigning nationwide to boost the party's list vote. Mr Franks says his main goal in the seat is to attract party votes.
The disgraced former boss of the Maori Television Service has had his sentence reduced by two months. John Davy was originally sentenced to eight months in prison for fraud, after he misrepresented his qualifications. In the High Court at Auckland today Justice Potter reduced that sentence to six months.
The spending boom continues. Sales in April were up 2. 6 percent on March. The growth is virtually right across the board, with 13 of the 15 store types recording increases. The two areas where there were falls were in accommodation, hotels and liquor, and in personal and household services. Statistics New Zealand says some of the growth can be attributed to Easter. Good Friday and Easter Sunday, when shops are closed, fell in March. This meant April 2002 had more trading days than the same month in previous years.
The wife of National Party leader Bill English says she is relieved his flirtation with physical danger is over. Mr English went toe-to-toe with blues singer Ted Clarke in a charity boxing match in Auckland last night. Mary English says, despite the fact her husband lost on points, she is proud of him. She admits she was nervous watching the fight ringside. Mrs English says, if her husband's fight won him any votes, they are well-earned. Meanwhile, it has been confirmed Peter Fatialofa lost one of his back teeth as a result of his boxing match with Tawera Nikau.
There are questions today about whether justice has been done in relation to the Cave Creek tragedy. It is seven years since the Department of Conservation viewing platform collapsed killing 14 people. Lawyer Grant Cameron represents 22 families affected by the disaster and he has made an appeal to the Prime Minister for an independent inquiry. He says the families are not calling for heads to roll but they do want to know if there is a defect in the decision- making process. Mr Cameron says the families want to know who made the decision not to prosecute and on what basis that decision was made.
John Davy's lawyer has completed submissions at the High Court in Auckland, in the appeal of his client's eight month prison sentence. The former Chief Executive of the Maori Television Service was found guilty of fraud after lying about his qualifications to get the job. Davy's lawyer, Kahu Barron-Afeaki, has argued for a suspended sentence for his client, saying it should adequately act as a deterrent. He says if Justice Potter finds there are special circumstances, then a reduced sentence should apply. Mr Barron-Afeaki describes Davy's offending as substantial but not spectacular, with no malice. Justice Potter has reserved her decision until later today.
The PPTA is accusing the Education Minister of aggression. Trevor Mallard has indicated that if secondary teachers do not accept the Government's latest pay offer, they will automatically be put on individual contracts, as a matter of law. PPTA President Jen McCutcheon says that law has not been tested under the Employment Relations Act. And she says it is an aggressive comment for an employer to make. Ms McCutcheon says the pay negotiations have been difficult, bloody and unpleasant. Teachers around the country have completed voting on whether or not to accept the pay deal. They are widely tipped to reject it, however Ms McCutcheon will not give any indication of which way the decision has gone until it is formally released on Monday. Teachers have rejected a 5.5 percent pay offer over three years and an allowance for work carried out on the new National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA).
Date: 6 June 2002 Brian Dooley
Wellington New Zealand
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The rates given are for telegraphic transfer and are
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To Buy NZD 1.00
USD 0.4938
AUD 0.8589
GBP 0.3364
JPY 61.61
CAD 0.7571
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