Increasing amounts of international aid are now arriving in the tsunami disaster area on Papua New Guinea's northern coast. There is still no clear idea of the death toll - so far, more than 12 hundred bodies have been recovered but around six thousand people known to have been living in the region are still missing. The relief operation is now seeing tonnes of basic supplies - such as clean water, canned food and tents - flown in. Aid workers are now concentrating on disease prevention and housing victims. IV WITH John Moypuis from the Catholic Mission in Aitape
Earlier today, the first RNZAF Hercules, laden with medical staff and supplies, arrived in Vanimo, a town about 70 kilometres from where the tsunami hit. LIVE IV with Hercules pilot Squadron Leader Richard Marshall
The Alliance is accusing the government of using the unemployed as guinea pigs [illegible] experiments. MP Rod Donald says four-thousand unemployed people are being denied the chance to take part in Community Task Force schemes - so the Employment Service can see whether they are more or less successful at getting jobs. LIVE IV WITH Rod Donald
LIVE IV WITH the employment minister, Peter McCardle,
1715 BUSINESS HEADLINE
A Christchurch political activist is suing the Security Intelligence Service for an alleged breach of the Bill of Rights after a botched burglary at his home 2-years ago. Aziz Choudry wants 150-thousand dollars from the SIS - a preliminary hearing today in the High Court in Christchurch - LIVE IV WITH our reporter Jeff Hampton
School projects - for many parents, they're the bane of their lives. If you [illegible] tackled the nine planets, recycling, whales or a Pacific Island country, you're probably don't have a primary age child. School projects are used extensively by schools, but their value is beingquestioned in the light of a report released today which surveys the information skills of three thousand primary children. PACKAGE FROM Education correspondent, Gael Woods,
1730 HEADLINES
Electricity users throughout the country may benefit as a result of Auckland's power crisis. The highly critical ministerial inquiry released yesterday found a string of inadeqaucies in the way Mercury Energy and its predecessor the Auckland Electricity Board were run. The inquiry also recommended the whole electricty industry enhance consumer contracts when it comes to the security of their power supply. PACKAGE FROM Eileen Cameron
The High Court in Christchurch has today been told that a district court judge was wrong to order six gang members not to have contact. Judge Steven Erber made legal history earlier this month when he used new anti-gang laws to impose a non-association order against six members of the Road Knights. LIVE IV WITH our reporter Lauren Mckenzie
The Government's wheeled out its big guns to defend its political and economic credibility in a heated and at times abusive debate in Parliament. This afternoon's General Debate was the first opportunity since early June for politicians to hold a wide-ranging argument about the impact of the Asian economic crisis, and the political tensions in its own ranks. PACKAGE FROM Chief Parliamentary Reporter Kathryn Street
The fraud case involving the former chief executive of Kiwi International Airline has continued today in the Hamilton district court. Ewan Wilson is charged with five counts of fraud relating to an application by the budget airline to gain an international air services licence. LIVE IV WITH reporter Andrew McRae
1745 SPORTS
There's a claim that prison riots could be a thing of the past if a new [illegible] technique being trialed overseas takes off in New Zealand. An Auckland man who teaches the Indian meditation art of Vipassana Vip-pash-ana says its effects are so beneficial, he'll teach it free of charge to Auckland Prison inmates. John Luxford claims the technique would rid prisoners of aggression and negativity, but that's being met with scepticism by prison officials and sociologists. PACKAGE FROM Catherine Walbridge
1750 MANA NEWS
Dunedin's much criticised shark nets look likely to stay at the city's St Kilda, St Clair and Brighton beaches. Environmentalists are concerned that the nets are catching rare species of shark. But a Dunedin City Council committee has decided to keep the nets, sayingthere's no scientific evidence they ARE catching endangered species OR protecting bathers from hungry sharks. PACKAGE FROM Otago regional reporter, Graham McKerracher,