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Checkpoint FOR WEDNESDAY 13 APRIL 2011
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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The Auditor-General's office is investigating the use of travel perks by the former National MP Pansy Wong and her husband Sammy Wong.Mrs Wong resigned from Parliament in December after admitting misusing the international travel subsidy available to MPs.An independent investigation by senior public servant Hugh McPhail into 13 trips to China found no systematic abuse by the couple but did find one example where some private business was carried out which is against the rules.The Auditor General last year decided not to investigate further but has now changed its mind after Labour provided new information.The party also says Sammy Wong is involved with Chinese rail companies which are bidding on the contract for 38 new electrical units for Auckland.Labour MP Trevor Mallard is with us now. LIVE
An enormous open chequebook the Government cannot afford to cash.That's how the Justice Minister describes legal aid.And today he announced the Government's new plans to rein in costs.Here's our political reporter, Danya Levy, with the details of those changes.PKG
Ted Faleauto (Farly-arto) has practised law in Manukau for almost two decades - all his business is criminal legal aid work.He joins us now.LIVE
The Independent Māori Statutory Board is getting more money from ratepayers and is now dropping its legal action against the Auckland Council.The board today accepted a funding agreement worth nearly one-point-eight million dollars, after the council significantly cut its original funding proposal in February.At the moment the board's chairman and the Auckland mayor won't talk to Checkpoint. Our Auckland affairs correspondent Todd Niall has been following the day's developments and joins us now. Q AND A
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Amy Williams
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Civil Defence has just announced 123 more Christchurch buildings will be demolished or partly demolished.26 of those buildings are classed as heritage buildings.That brings the total to 307 - and about a hundred of those are heritage buildings.The National Controller at Civil Defence Headquarters is John Hamilton and he joins us now.LIVE
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17.30 HEADLINES
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A legal team for iwi and Greenpeace protesters is meeting now to decide whether to ignore police instructions to stay away from an oil and gas survey ship working for Petrobras off East Cape.A protest flotilla temporarily stopped the survey for around 48 hours, at one stage swimming in front of the vessel.The police yesterday issued the activists with notices under the Maritime Transport Act saying for safety reasons they must stay at least 200 metres away from the company's ship and support vessel.Dale Takitimu is a lawyer for Whanau a Apanui. She says the meeting is also deciding whether to ask the High Court for judicial review of the exploration permits Petrobras got from the government and for an injunction against the ship doing any more work while a review is heard.PRE REC
It's been revealed that the head of failed Hanover Finance, Mark Hotchin was the victim of a finance scam, known as a Ponzi scam and that he was granted name suppression when the case went to trial.Today that suppression order was lifted.
Andrew McRae has been looking at the case.Q AND A
In Christchurch local councillors are outraged they were forbidden to see the legislation for the new authority to oversee the rebuild of Christchurch, despite council staff having a copy. The bill to set up the Canterbury Earthquake Recover Authority is being fast tracked through parliament, and today a Select Committee was in Christchurch to hear submissions. A legal advisor for the city council told the MPs, the chief executive was given a copy of the draft legislation a week ago but was told it couldn't be shown to councillors.Councillor Yani Johanson is with us now. LIVE
More now on the deal done by the Auckland Council that gives the independent Māori statutory board more money.The new deal will cost ratepayers 984-thousand dollars, plus eight hundred thousand dollars worth of accommodation, staffing and other support.In response the board is dropping its legal action against the Auckland Council.Councillor Chris Fletcher who previously had been pushing for the board to get less money, and was involved in the negotiations, joins us now.
LIVE
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17.45 WAATEA
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Japanese authorities are trying to re-assure people they are dealing with the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant after raising the severity of the emergency to level seven, the same as that at Chernobyl. They stress the reclassification is because of a re-appraisal of existing data and the reactors have only released a tenth of the radioactive material that was spewed out in Ukraine in 1986.
The ABC's Meredith Griffiths has been finding out what a level seven ranking means :PKG
The Law Society is promising to pressure the Government over legal aid, saying its changes to cut down costs are a threat to children.It fears fewer lawyers will be appointed to represent a child in family law cases.And it says new and narrower testing will mean only cases likely to succeed will get legal aid.Overall, the changes to legal aid for family and criminal cases are expected save 139 million dollars over the next four years.Anthony Mahon chairs the Law Society's family law section and joins us now.LIVE
Government legislation aimed at curbing child abuse is being labelled socially destructive.The proposed law changes widen who can be prosecuted in a child abuse case, to people like neighbours and medical workers.It would mean people closely connected to children, and not living in the same home, would have to take steps to protect them.Kim Baker Wilson reports.PKG