HEADLINES & NEWS
A top US military commander has been in Wellington today telling New Zealand it needs to contribute more to regional defence. Admiral Dennis Blair, Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Command, also says New Zealand should be using technology more. He met today with the Prime Minister Helen Clark and other ministers and officials, and the opposition leader Jenny Shipley. Our political editor Al Morrison was at a briefing with Admiral Blair and he joins me now.
LIVE WITH DROP INS
New Zealand and Australia have signed a long awaited open skies deal to liberalise air travel between the two countries and beyond. Among other changes the agreement will mean airlines from both countries will have no restrictions on crossing the Tasman and picking up passerngers to fly on to third countries. At present the number of beyond flights per week and the number of third country destinations is strictly limited. It also allows unrestricted access to each country's domestic market.
I asked the transport minister Mark Gosche what the deal means. PREREC
BUSINESS NEWS with CATHERINE WALBRIDGE
The Dairy Board says New Zealand's future as one of the world's leading dairying nations depends on using genetic engineering.
The Board was presenting its submission to the Royal Commission on Genetic Modification, which is continuing its public hearings in Wellington this week. Our reporter Bryan Crump was there, and I asked him why the Dairy Board believes it needs to use genetic engineering. PREREC
A television ad encouraging tourists to visit Fiji after the May coup has been ruled inaccurate and misleading. In the ad produced for the Fiji Visitors Bureau the words "Fiji Before" and "Fiji After" were screened over unchanging [illegible] scenes of a beach. The voice-over stated "the only thing that's changed is the price" prompting the complainant, the Coalition for Democracy in Fiji, to successfully argue this implied the coup had no lasting effect. The Advertising Standards Complaints Board says the ad specifically referred to Fiji rather than isolating tourism as being unchanged and this was clearly not accurate. I asked Bill Whiting from the Fiji Visitors Bureau what he thought of the Board's ruling. PREREC
But the Coalition for Democracy in Fiji is annoyed that the ad is still inaccurate, even with the addition of the word holiday. The Coalition's spokesperson Nik Naidu joins us now. LIVE
5.30 NEWS HEADLINES
SPORT with STEPHEN HEWSON
The long-running trial of the man accused of murdering Wellington contractor Terri King is now in its final stages. The Crown has spent most of today summing up its case against 23 year old William Haanstra, who has denied murdering Mr King in the Tararua Ranges in April last year. Our Court Reporter Merle Nowland has been listening to the Crown's final address to the jury and joins me now. LIVE
The Ministry of Education says it will investigate any complaints of students being enrolled incorrectly at Auckland schools. An education lobby group believes a number of schools in the city have not strictly followed new zoning legislation and the audit of enrolment procedures at the high-profile Auckland Grammar school which revealed 14 boys were offered places to which they weren't entitled, is just the tip of the ice berg. However, the ministry says it hasn't received any specific complaints about other schools. Our education correspondent, Gael Woods, reports. PKGE
A dispute between the Auckland City Council and a Waiheke Island property developer over a sewage dumping proposal went to the High Court in Auckland today. The developer claims that the proposal led to the collapse of a resort development he was planning. Our reporter Todd Niall has been in court and joins me now. LIVE
[illegible] eyes are on the Florida Supreme Court in the battle for the White House. Judges will decide tomorrow whether ongoing hand recounts should be included in the final certified election result for the state. Official results put Republican George W Bush ahead of Democrat Al Gore by 930 votes after absentee ballots were counted. Both men need to win Florida's electoral votes to win the US presidency. Our Washington correspondent Steve Mort reports. PKGE
In Peru, there's increasing speculation over the motives behind President Alberto Fujimori's sudden announcement from Japan that he is resigning in the next few days. Mr Fujimori's decision to leave office after ten years in power, comes after the opposition won control of Congress last week, and follows a corruption scandal involving his former spy chief, Vladimiro Montesinos. Members of his Cabinet have also formally resigned but will stay in their posts until an interim administration is named ahead of April elections. I asked our correspondent in Peru, Jonathan Miller what Mr Fujimori is expected to do next. PREREC
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