Checkpoint. 2014-08-08. 17:00-18:00.

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Year
2014
Reference
260290
Media type
Audio
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Rights Information
Year
2014
Reference
260290
Media type
Audio
Item unavailable online
Series
Checkpoint, 1984-03-01, 1985-05-31, 1986-01-13--1998-10-30, 2000-05-08--2014
Categories
Nonfiction radio programs
Radio news programs
Radio programs
Sound recordings
Duration
01:00:00
Credits
RNZ Collection
Wilson, Mary, Presenter
Mora, Jim, Presenter
Radio New Zealand National, Broadcaster

Checkpoint is a drive-time news and current affairs programme on Radio New Zealand National. It broadcasts nationwide every weekday evening for two hours and covers the day’s major national and international stories, as well as business, sport and Māori news. This recording covers the first hour. The following rundown is supplied from the broadcaster’s news system:

Checkpoint FOR FRIDAY 08 AUG 2014
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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Hours after James Takamore's family blocked the exhumation of his body from the dirt at a Bay of Plenty marae, his uncle is vowing never to give up. But the lawyer for Denise Clarke, the dead man's widow, says they will try again, after the standoff at dawn today at the entrance to the family's cemetery near Opotiki. The two police officers sent to keep the peace pulled back when Jim Wikotu,(week-or-two), James's uncle, told them they would have to shoot him before he'd allow the body to be taken away. That stand defies the Supreme Court which has already ruled Ms Clarke has the right to take her husband's body back to Christchurch, from where it was snatched in 2007 at the funeral. Her family thought the Kutarere marae had smoothed the way for this to happen and they are shattered it could not go ahead. Jim Wikotu has this message for her. i/v

b/u He says Denise Clarke is welcome to visit her husband's grave whenever she likes.

The U.S President Barack Obama has authorised targeted airstrikes in northern Iraq to blunt the onslaught of Islamic militants threatening the lives of thousands of refugees. No strikes have happened yet and Mr Obama has stopped short of sending American troops in. He says the intervention is justified now because of a threat to wipe out the Yazidi people, many of whom have fled into nearby mountains. CUT The U.S has already begun military airdrops of humanitarian supplies and President Obama says he's now gone further because the moral imperative to act is overwhelming. CUT The White House correspondent for the US political website, Politico, Josh Gerstein says there are two reasons for the military action. i/v

The Palestinian militant organisation Hamas has rejected any extension of its three-day ceasefire with Israel, saying that Israel has failed to meet fundamental demands. The truce has just expired, but earlier today two rockets were fired from Gaza , hitting southern Israel. The ABC's Matt Brown is in Jerusalem i/v

The deeply troubled carrier, Malaysia Airlines is to be privatised ahead of a major restructure following the double disasters of MH370 and MH17. The restructure, expected by the end of the month will likely include wide ranging job cuts and the cancellation of some or all of its international routes. Malaysia Airlines' association with tragedy has pummelled bookings, and analysts say it's burning through its cash reserves at a rate of over 2 million dollars (NZ) per day as it struggles to survive. A research analyst at Maybank Investment Bank in Malaysia, Mohshin Aziz, says an overhaul is urgently needed i/v

TV3 have been banned from holding their minor party leaders debate unless Conservative Party leader Colin Craig gets an invite. Mr Craig took emergency legal action to the High Court in Auckland this afternoon. Our reporter Edward Gay was in court and joins us now. i/v
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17.30 HEADLINES
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17.35 MARKET UPDATE
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A man accused of slashing one woman's throat and injuring another, AND who police shot with both a Taser and a gun, has told a court the women aren't telling the truth. The trial began today of 48 year old Ruka Hemopo, who's accused of attempted murder among other charges. Ann Marie May has been at the High Court in Wellington.i/v

More now on our lead story, of the family of a man whose body was meant to be disinterred near Opotiki today, are vowing to carry on passive resistance to prevent that for as long as it takes. James Takamore's body remains buried near Kutarere marae, after a standoff at dawn led to the police, who'd been sent to keep the peace, pulling back. His widow Denise Clarke has headed back to Christchurch after being thwarted, despite having a Supreme Court ruling on her side. Her lawyer Gary Knight is with us now. i/v

BP has recalled some of its trucks in New Zealand after a petrol tank in Australia crashed killing three people, including a four year old boy. The boy, his mum and a woman in a second car died when the trailer became detached while rounding a bend on a country road in the state of Victoria yesterday. BP has recalled its entire fleet in Australia as it investigates what caused the crash. In New Zealand, BP's spokesperson Jonty Mills says it has also taken trucks off the road. CUT Jonty Mills says they don't know how long the trucks will be off the roads, but he doesn't anticipate it will affect the supply of petrol. ABC reporter, Emma Younger, has been covering the story in Australia and she joins us now i/v

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17.45 MANU KORIHI with Eru Rerekura

Kia ora mai, good evening,

Two Motiti Island groups fighting for the wreck of the container ship Rena to be completely removed say saving money rather than the environment is the Government's top priorities.

The Crown's announced that only part of it to 30 metres below the surface should be cleared away from the Astrolabe/Oaiti Reef due to safety concerns for salvors.

The government reached its decision after considering environmental, cultural and economic interests as well as the cost and feasibility of the wreck's entire removal.

But the Tauranga Moana Iwi Chairs Forum spokesperson, Charlie Tawhiao, says if it was gold on the seabed - the owners and the Crown would have found a way to retrieve it by now.

RENA-CHARLIE-TP
IN THE DEPTH...
OUT ...OVER-RIDING ENVIRONMENTAL INTERESTS.
DUR 23

Charlie Tawhiao says that shows a lack of respect for the environment which affects everyone living in the Bay of Plenty, not just Maori.

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The uncle of James Takamore says the only way authorities will be able to remove his nephew's body from a Tuhoe cemetary is to put a bullet right between his eyes.

Jim Wikotu says the mana of Tuhoe and its laws and regulations is at stake and the cemetry where his nephew lies is the tribe's holy grail and the site will never be disturbed.

The Supreme Court ruled that the partner of James Takamore, Denise Clarke, could decide where he should be buried, but when police went to retrieve his body early on Friday morning it was considered too risky to carry out a disinterment due to the tribe's objections.

Jim Wikotu says he and his whanau refused to let the police access the body and if they came again they will receive the same response.

Mr Wikotu says the iwi support his stance, but the tribe would not take up violence against the authorities and will continue with passive resistance.

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Time's running out for some sperm and embryos being stored across the country and a Maori researcher says those with frozen samples should make sure theirs are safe.

By law in November, storing facilities will have to dispose of reproductive cells and tissues over ten years old.

A researcher at Waikato University, who's exploring how Maori tissue is used and stored, Maui Hudson, says there aren't many Maori donors and that it's rarely talked about.

However, he says people will be devastated if their situation changes and they need the sample, only to find it's been destroyed.

Mr Hudson says discarding reproductive cells and tissue is sacred to Maori because of the possibility it has to create life.

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The Electoral Commission is thrilled its receiving positive feedback about a Maori advertisement its launched encouraging people to enrol to vote for the upcoming general election.

Vote Maori Vote, a Rotorua-based lobby group, which is trying to get Maori enrolled to have their say, has thrown it's support behind the initiative.

The commission is running two television ads, including one which is bilingual, and recounts a well-known Maori proverb.

It says the idea came from ordinary New Zealanders, who are in the ads.

That's Te Manu Korihi news, I'll have a final bulletin in an hour.

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TV3 has bowed to pressure and legal action and decided its minor party leaders debate will go ahead tomorrow as scheduled with the Conservative Party leader Colin Craig. Mr Craig took emergency legal action to the High Court in Auckland this afternoon because he hadn't been invited and the court rulled in his favour. Mark Jennings TV3's Director of News and Current Affairs is with us now i/v

A Kapiti Coast driver who seriously injured a friend in a game of chicken has been sentenced to five months community detention and ordered to pay seven thousand dollars in repairation. The car 21 year old Jordan Holmes was driving hit Marcus French, so hard one of his shoes ended up 34 meters down the road and he was left with a serious head injury. Our reporter, William Ray, was at Wellington District Court. PKG

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Presenter: Mary Wilson, Jim Mora
Editor: Maree Corbett
Deputy editor: Phil Pennington
Producers: Jo Leavesley, Mei Yeoh, Bridget Mills