Ask to use material, get more information or tell us about an item
HEADLINES & NEWS
Wood processing giant Carter Holt Harvey has announced it's slashing its workforce by almost half at the Kinleith Pulp and Paper Mill with 380 people losing their jobs. In the restructuring announced this afternoon the company says that 190 of the redundant workers may be employed by an outside business when maintenance work is contracted out. The company's chief executive Brice [illegible] says using a firm which specialises in maintenance as its core business means the work will be done more efficiently and save money. Mr Landman says [illegible] would hope the outside company will hire redundant Kinleith workers but there are no guarantees of that. And he's dismissing suggestions that the job losses are a blow to the nearby town of Tokoroa. PRE-REC.
Workers at the Kinleith mill say the redundancies aren't needed. Graham Holmes is union representative from the mill and says he doesn't believe Carter Holt Harvey's assertion that it's either job losses or closure. Labour [illegible] rethinking the sort of election campaign it will run against the Greens Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons in Coromandel, as tensions increase over genetic engineering. PRE-REC.
The Prime Minister says the hardening of the Greens' position on GE is also having a bearing on her decision about when to hold an election. Joining me now is our political editor Al Morrison. LIVE.
BUSINESS NEWS WITH JOHN DRAPER
It's been revealed that the Northland man who died in a house fire overnight, had his electricity cut off last year because he failed to pay a power bill. Stanley Rountree, who was 54, died when his home at Otaua, near Kaikohe, went up in flames early this morning. He had been using candles for light and gas for cooking since last August, when he was disconnected by Contact Energy for non-payment of an account. The Otaua man is the twenty-third Northland person to die in a housefire since 1992.
The Fire Service iwi liaison officer Willie More MAW- RAIR says around five thousand smoke alarms have been fitted into Northland homes in the last nine [illegible] - and Mr Rountree's house was one of them. He says it's very disappointing that another life has been lost in a house fire. PRE-REC.
The south of the country has been hit by a wintry blast that's brought freezing temperatures, disrupted travellers and closed schools. It's snowed off and on all day in some parts of Otago and Southland - coming on top of snow falls over the weekend.
Roads closed include State Highway 90 from Raes Junction to McNab, State Highway 87 from Outram to Middlemarch, and State Highway 93 from Clinton to Mataura. Some roads in the West Otago area are also closed, and extreme care is needed on many other roads. Maureen Lloyd PKGE.
5.30 NEWS HEADLINES
SPORT with STEPHEN HEWSON
The Columbian presidential election has been won in a landslide victory by the right-wing candidate Alvaro Uribe. (PRON oo-RREE-bay) The Harvard and Oxford educated lawyer won more than 53-percent of votes. In a victory speech, Mr Uribe said he was prepared to talk peace with illegal armed groups of left and right but they must lay down their weapons. I asked the BBC's correspondent in Colombia Jeremy McDermot about the significance of the win. PRE-REC.
A group of angry ratepayers today travelled in convoy from Palmerston to the Oamaru council offices to protest over the impact of rating changes. The organiser of the motorcade of about 60 vehicles, Max McFeat says some people in towns like Palmerston, Dunback and Hampden are facing rate rises of between 60 and 100 percent, while some businesses in Oamaru will get rates reductions. I asked Mr McFeat what sort of reception they got. PRE-REC.Joining me now is the [illegible] of Waitaki Alan McLay. LIVE.
Thousands turned out in Christchurch today for the Crusaders victory parade - celebrating the achievements of the most successful Super 12 team ever. As the Red and Blacks made their way down Colombo Street, the crowd showed huge appreciation for what's become a local tradition. Katy Gosset PKGE.
In Australia, one of the country's most controversial and colorful political leaders has been committed to stand trial on charges of electoral fraud. Former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and co-founder David Ettridge have denied fraudulently registering the anti-immigration party in 1997, but a judge in the Brisbane Magistrates Court today found the pair do have a case to answer. Hansen resigned from the party leadership in January to concentrate on her legal battles. The ABC's Sandra Fry PRE-REC.
MANA NEWS
CLOSE & THEME