Checkpoint. 2002-05-07

HEADLINES & NEWS
The Manukau City Council is calling for urgent action following reports that overcrowded emergency housing centres have reached crisis levels and large numbers of families there have gambled away everything they own. Manukau City, [illegible] is mostly a residential area, has the third highest number of gaming machines in New Zealand - and is surpassed in that only by Auckland and Christchurch which have casinos. Barbara Dreaver PKGE.
In Holland - the assassination of the controversial anti-immigration politician Pim Fortuyn has stunned the country, with the Dutch Prime Minister appealing for calm and preparing for a crisis meeting with his Cabinet. Outside parliament, riot police earlier clashed with Mr Fortuyn's supporters who tore down barricades, screaming abuse against the political establishment they blame for the assassination. It's still unclear whether next week's general election will be delayed and also unclear what the motive is for the killing. Mr Fortuyn who's had a meteoric rise through the opinion polls was shot dead outside a radio station in a town near Amsterdam, after giving an interview there. Police arrested a lone "white Dutchman" aged 33, after the attack on the openly gay ex-professor and magazine columnist. BBC's Nicholas Jones PKGE. I asked the BBC's correspondent in the Netherlands, Geraldine Coughlan what had been behind Mr Fortuyn's rising popularity. PRE-REC.
Anti-smoking campaigners believe they may have turned the corner in trying to cut teenage smoking rates. A survey by the anti-smoking group ASH of 30-thousand fourth formers last year, shows smoking among teenagers has dropped significantly over the past two years, and is at its lowest level in ten years. Elizabeth Brown PKGE.
BUSINESS NEWS WITH TODD NIALL
The United States has been roundly condemned by human rights groups for refusing to recognise an International Criminal Court being set up to handle war crimes, genocide and crimes against the humanity. In a letter delivered to the United Nations, the US government says it will not consider itself bound by the treaty establishing the court, even though former President Bill Clinton signed up to it. Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld says the court could be used for politically motivated prosecutions of US soldiers and diplomats and puts them at unacceptable risk. Kenneth Roth from the international organisation Human RIghts Watch says the "unsigning" of the treaty is unprecedented and an outrage. PRE-REC.
A david and goliath story is being played out in the HIgh Court in Wellington with the giant drug company Glaxo-Smith-Kline arguing that a competitors anti-depressant should be banned from New Zealand. The drug has already been [illegible] for use in New Zealand but Glaxo-Smith-Kline, which has it's own anti-depressant already on the market, says the new drug may not be safe. Merle Nowland LIVER.
5.30 NEWS HEADLINES
SPORT with STEPHEN HEWSON
In Bethlehem, a deal has finally been struck to end a month-long standoff between the Israeli army and Palestinian militants holed up inside the Church of the Nativity. Palestinian sources say that under an accord approved by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, 13 Palestinian militants inside the church would be exiled to Italy while 26 others would be sent to the Gaza Strip. But an Israeli army spokesman declined to confirm or deny the information. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet with United States President Bush at the White House tomorrow. Mr Sharon will present a peace plan for the Middle East and a dossier which he claims links Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to terror attacks on Israel. Vicky Ford PKGE.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons says a shortage of surgeons in rural areas cannot be addressed by money alone. Grey Hospital on the West Coast should have three surgeons but only has one - Michael Sexton. His wife Marg Sexton says he is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and that he can't carry on working the way he does. The College's executive Director of Surgical Affairs John Simpson says West Coast surgeons would be paid at the bottom end of a pay scale ranging from 130 thousand to 230 thousand dollars. He told me while luring doctors to rural areas with more money may seem to be the answer, the situation is more complex. PRE-REC.
Meanwhile it appears getting police to work in rural areas is also a problem. The police have been trying to fill four positions in Wairoa for several months and is now enticing candidates with houses that would only cost them a dollar a week to rent. The northern Hawke's Bay town should have 15 staff instead of 11 and a Police Association Director Tony Jeurissen says its a familiar scenario of police officers avoiding small towns. He told me besides the issue of whether people's partners would get work in the area, rural policing is a difficult job. PRE-REC.
Australia, under attack for its tough stance on boatpeople, has announced a huge increase in the number of skilled migrants it's prepared to let into the country but will not increase the number of refugees. Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock says the overall number of migrants could be as high as 110 thousand, but 60 percent of those places will be set aside for those who are skilled. RUDDOCK CUT. Mr Ruddock says it will accept 12 thousand refugees in the next financial year. Four thousand of those placements will be for off shore applications - that could include asylum seekers who've had their applications processed on islands like Nauru, as part of what's called Australia's Pacific solution.
Joining us now is our Canberra political correspondent Kerry Anne Walsh. LIVER.
MANA NEWS
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