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Checkpoint FOR WEDNESDAY 14 DECEMBER 2011
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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Two men have appeared in the Wellington District Court this afternoon charged with the murder of the Radio New Zealand journalist, Phillip Cottrell. They are Nicho Waipuka who is 19 and a 17 year old man who has been granted name suppression. Our reporter, Cushla Norman has the latest. PKG
Our Court reporter Ann Marie May is with us now . LIVE
Heavy rain is pounding the top of the South Island, bursting riverbanks, flooding roads and leaving people stranded. River levels are rising slowly and numerous roads from Nelson city to Golden Bay are closed, or partially so. The police have had to rescue two tourists from trees earlier today after they were swept away by flood waters in the Maitai River. Vulnerable areas are being sandbagged, although there are no reports of people evacuating their homes yet. Our reporter, Geoff Moffett, is standing beside the Maitai River in the city. LIVE
The father of the Kahui twins is seeking a judicial review of the Coroner's findings on the babies' deaths. The three-month old twins died of head injuries five years ago. Their father, Chris Kahui, was found not guilty of their murder and no one else has been charged. The findings of the Coroner, Garry Evans, were due to be released any day. But that has been delayed. Our reporter Jessica Maddock is covering the story. LIVE
Five people have died and dozens have been injured in Belgium when a gunman opened fire in a town market place, he was also armed with grenades. And in a separate attack a man believed to be linked to a far right group has killed two African streets vendors in the Italian city of Florence.
The ABC's Timothy McDonald has our report : PKG
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Patrick O'Meara
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An Australian woman almost killed when her leg got sucked into the propeller of dolphin watching boat in the Marlborough Sounds has been awarded 80 thousand dollars in compensation.
A Picton-based company Dolphin Watch and Nature Eco Tours has also been told to pay 55 thousand dollars in fines after being convicted for failing to make sure the propellers couldn't hurt anyone. Dr Catherine Carlyle was badly injured as she jumped into the water to go swimming with dolphins in the Sounds last December. Here's Maritime New Zealand spokesman Steve van der Splinter. PREREC
The binge-drinking All Black Zac Guildford is being given one last chance by his Crusader's coach. But Todd Blackadder says he's not confident the winger won't get into trouble with drinking again, and if he does, he's gone. The New Zealand Rugby Union has suspended Guildford from the first four weeks of the playing season, and ordered him to undergo alcohol treament, following a misconduct hearing into his drunken attack on patrons at a bar in Raratonga last month. Briony Sowden filed this report. PKG
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17.30 HEADLINES
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An inquest into the death of prison officer Jason Palmer has been confronted with conflicting evidence about threats to the victim. The Spring Hill officer died last May after being punched in the face by an inmate who was being removed from his cell. Olivia Wix has been at the inquest and joins us now LIVE
To Papua New Guinea now where governor general has attempted to resolve his country's political deadlock by swearing in Sir Michael Somare as Prime Minister along with his cabinet.
But the standoff continues with parliament still backing his rival Peter O'Neill who it reconfirmed as Prime Minister yesterday. With the latest the ABC's Liam Fox is on the line now from Port Moresby. LIVE
The Prime Minister, John Key, says one of the first matters the new Government will consider is the partial sale of State assets. The Governor-General, Lieutenant-General the Right Honorouble Sir Jerry Mateparae, has appointed the new Government and re-instated John Key as Prime Minister. Here's our political reporter, Demelza Leslie. PKG
Our political Editor Brent Edwards says that timeframe of a year for a sell-off fits with what National said before the election. PREREC
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17.45 MANU KORIHI
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Mokori ano kia rere nga mihi a te Manu Korihi, tena koutou katoa,
The Ngapuhi leader Sonny Tau says the runanga has decided to suspend Ngati Hine iwi from attending Board meetings, until it complies with the requirements of Te Runanga a Iwi o Ngapuhi's constitution.
He says the Kaikohe based runanga has been waiting for months for the iwi to meet its legal requirements, and appoint a Board representative at a properly constituted annual meeting.
Sonny Tau says Ngati Hine's failure to stick to the rules, affects the whole of Ngapuhi.
NGATI HINE SUSPEND TP
IN TO BE NON...
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Sonny Tau says the runanga will welcome Ngati Hine back to the Board table, once it holds a general meeting which meets the legal requirements of the Ngapuhi constitution.
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to follow Ngati Hine suspend tp:
But Ngati Hine Chairman, Waihoroi Shortland, says neither he nor his board are bothered by the suspension.
He says it's just another step along the road the iwi wants to take, to completely withdraw from Te Runanga a iwi o Ngapuhi.
Mr Shortland says if the runanga wanted to show some respect, it should have agreed to Ngati Hine's wish and cut its ties with the iwi altogether.
He says the suspension is just another example of the Ngapuhi runanga putting its focus on process rather than outcome.
Waihoroi Shortland says the way the Ngati Hine Board conducted its annual meeting this year, and appointed a representative to the Ngapuhi Board, was no different from what it's done for the past six years.
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Pita Sharples and Tariana Turia will continue to lead the Māori Party.
They've been confirmed as co-leaders by the party's National Council.
Party President Pem Bird says he's confident they have the team to take the party forward - as the next three years are crucial to the party's renewal as a strong and credible force.
The decision to re-appoint the co-leaders was made at a general meeting held via a conference call.
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A Treaty of Waitangi lead negotiator says it makes sense that the National Party's Hekia Parata has been appointed as Minister of Education - because Māori are underachieving.
Ms Parata replaces National's Anne Tolley.
Ms Parata also takes up the role as Minister of Pacific Island Affairs
The lead treaty negotiator for Ngati Raukawa, Chris McKenzie, says she would have been suited to the role of associate Māori Affairs Minister.
But, he suspects she'll do far better in the role as Education Minister because Māori feature in negative statistics year on year.
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The head of the national stop smoking service Quitline says having the Governor General as its inaugural patron means its campaigns should get plenty of attention.
Lieutenant General Sir Jerry Mateparae has accepted the invitation to the role and says he's looking forward to working with the Quitline Group, which has a vision of a smokefree Aotearoa.
Paula Snowden says Sir Jerry is a humble man with a lot of mana and will be a positive influence, and when he says things people listen.
That's Te Manu Korihi news I'll have a further bulletin in an hour.
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A coroner says a mental health assessment on a suicidal farmer who later killed herself was flawed and almost certainly wrong. The woman took her life within 48 hours of being seen by a crisis team at Whanganui Hospital. The woman, who the coroner Tim Scott says had a major drinking problem, killed herself at a farm in November last year. Earlier on, her husband had taken her to the hospital after finding her unconscious with a suicide note. The DHB's director of area mental services Jeff Hammond joins us now. LIVE
The United Nations human rights chief has called on the Security Council to refer Syria to the International Criminal Court saying more than five-thousand people have now been killed in the government crackdown there. Syria's representatives have reacted with outrage and they are backed by Russia and its allies who don't support punitive action against the country. Tanya Nolan has the latest PKG