The report card's out for public health - and the Ministry of Health is giving a score of seven out of ten. The Ministry has been examining progress towards meeting public health targets and says while there are big improvements in some areas, there are also causes for concern. PACKAGE FROM Health Correspondant Rae Lamb.
Earlier this afternoon, lawyers acting for convicted childcare creche child abuser Peter Ellis lodged an appeal with the governor general. The lawyers wont elaborate on the grounds for the appeal but say there are compelling reasons why it should be granted. Meanwhile, the public focus on the Ellis case is forcing men to leave the childcare industry in droves. PACKAGE FROM Emma Brown
The rising cost of donestic electricity is being targetted by a new lobby group launched this afternoon - the Public Power Campaign. The group - a coalition of community groups - is opposed to further reform of the industry which it fears will increase power prices. PACKAGE FROM Karen Gregory-Hunt
LIVE IV with Energy Minister Max Bradford.
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The Papua New Guinea government is in danger of collapsing following a scandal involving videotapes apparently showing prime minister Bill Skate organising bribes and boasting of having an opponent killed. LIVE IV WITH Radio New Zealand International's Bruce Hill
If Cantabrians are feeling worried, excited or just plain irritated, it may not be their relationship or job that's to blame, just a lot of hot air. The November Nor-westers have struck again - PACKAGE FROM Canterbury regional correspondent Tania Oolders
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To the courts now, and high profile cases in Wellington and Dunedin. In the High Court in Wellington, the trial's begun of a District Court Judge accused of sexually abusing a young boy in the 1970s. Fifty-four year old Judge Ross Malcolm Elliott has denied two charges alleging indecenties committed against the then 11 year old boy. LIVE IV WITH Court Reporter Merle Nowland
To Dunedin now, and the case of Gareth Lawrence Smither the man accused of murdering his former girlfriend Karen Jacobs just two days after being released from acute psychiatric care. Smither's defence counsel is seeking a reduced [illegible] regional correspondent, Graham Mckerracher.
The Alliance is campaigning against the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment, or MAI. But one economist - Ian Duncan of the Institute of Economic Research - thinks it's not a major issue as far as New Zealand's overall economic welfare is concerned. PACKAGE FROM Eric Frykberg
Foodbanks appear here to stay - but in Christchurch, there's concern not only at the growing numbers being forced to resort to such charity, but also the changing profile of those on the poverty line. One such foodbank is the Methodist Mission. It provides emergency relief to more than seven thousand households per annum - and that is growing by six hundred each year. PACKAGE FROM Christchurch correspondent, Lauren McKenzie,
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New Zealand are making a bold chase for victory on the last day of the third cricket test at Hobart. LIVE IV WITH cricket commentator Brian Waddle.
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6.00 MANA NEWS
A remote Marlborough Sounds island is being used as a safe haven for the most-threatened kiwi species. Okarito brown kiwi chicks are being transferred to predator-free Motuara Island - PACKAGE FROM Nelson regional reporter Helen Shea