There's been a breakthrough in the Christmas Island refugee crisis with the Australian Defence Force today giving the all-clear for a ship-ship transfer of the 438 asylum seekers ending a week-long deadlock over their immediate fate. The asylum seekers on board the Norwegian vessel, Tampa, off Christmas Island, will soon be on their way to Port Moresby, as an Australian court continues to determine their legal future.
The Federal Court in Melbourne has now lifted an injunction preventing the removal of the 438 would-be refugees.
That means they can now be transferred aboard the Australian troop carrier, Manoora and taken to Port Moresby, before they are flown out to New Zealand and Nauru.
The Australian Defence Minister Peter Reith says the defence force is ready to [illegible] the people from the Tampa. DROP-IN
We're joined now by the ABC's Alan Everett, who's been in the Federal Court in Melbourne today. LIVER
Meanwhile, a New Zealand nurse on Christmas Island has been trying for several days to get access to the refugees.
Jane Coster, is part of an Australian-based medical team for international organisation Medicins Sans Frontiers, who asked Australia for permission to board the ship.
She says they are very disappointed that the refugees are being transferred to another ship and not to land. PREREC
The jury has now been out for more than four hours in the trial of David Gates, the man accused of 1999 murder of Wellington law student Gavin Dash.
Gates, who once flatted with Mr Dash, has admitted he killed him, but claims he was insane at the time.
However, the Crown contends that Gates, although suffering from schizophrenia, was not legally insane when he strangled and decapitated Mr Dash.
Our court reporter Merle Nowland joins us now. LIVER
BUSINESS NEWS WITH JOHN DRAPER
The performance of Māori students in South Island schools will come under greater scrutiny as a result of a new agreement between Ngai Tahu and the Ministry of Education.
A memo of understanding signed in Christchurch at the weekend is aimed at developing a strategy to lift the achievement rates of Ngai Tahu students.
But as our education correspondent, Gael Woods, reports, the agreement has left schools wondering just what this means for them. PKGE
The Government may end the 10 percent electricity savings campaign weeks early. The Energy Minister Pete Hodgson says another week of good savings could be enough to call off the campaign, and a decision will be made next Monday.
Pete Hodgson says the five-and-a-half week old savings effort has seen lake storage levels stabilise, and that the risk of a supply shortage is receding. And he joins us now. LIVER
The Land Transport Safety Authority has received a record number of submissions on whether or not to allow heavier and longer trucks on the country's roads. While the LTSA is proposing new stability limits for heavy vehicles, it is also taking submissions on a Transit New Zealand study that says bigger trucks would improve productivity for the transport and industry sectors. Liz Banas has more. PKGE
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Returning now to our lead story, a court in Melbourne has lifted an injunction preventing the removal of 438 asylum seekers from the Norwegian freighter Tampa, off Christmas Island. The move means the transfer to a waiting Australian troop ship the Manoora, and eventually the asylum seekers will go on to Nauru and New Zealand. A representative of the Afghani community in New Zealand says international pressure must go on Afghanistan to ensure that life is more bearable for people there and fewer are so desperate to leave. Siraj Salarzai has welcomed the New Zealand government's move to help resolve the Christmas [illegible] refugee crisis by taking 150 of the asylum seekers, but says something [illegible] to be done to solve the situation in Afghanistan. He says the huge exodus of refugees is the result of 25 years of war culminating in the current oppressive rule of the Taleban. PREREC
Controversy continues to surround the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Durban. A human rights forum running parallel to the conference has ended with a declaration branding Israel racist, with the United States and Israel both threatening to pull out of the meeting.
Our Washington correspondent Vicki Ford reports. PKGE
In Fiji - as vote counting continues today in the elections many hope will restore democracy to the troubled nation - but the electoral office says it will investigate the accuracy of extraordinarily low voter turnout figures. Initial estimates were of an 83 percent turnout - but figures posted today for the central region which includes Suva, show that in one seat only eight point eight percent of voters bothered to take part. In over 32 constituencies there [illegible] turnout of 65 percent. Our reporter in Fiji Barbara Dreaver - joins us now. LIVER
Vote counting is still going on in the first general election for East Timor but the expected early results have not yet eventuated. The main party Fretilin is still expected to gain the majority in the 88 member constituent assembly but the makeup of the government will be decided by East Timor's United Nation's administrator. The United Nations estimated about 425,000 East Timorese were eligible to vote but it's not clear yet how strong the turn out has been. Our reporter Eric Frykberg is covering the story. LIVER
Internet experts say there are still gaps in New Zealand's defamation laws, following a judgement in this country's first libel case on the world wide web. The former director of a Manawatu-based Internet service provider, Alan Brown, was ordered to pay 42-thousand dollars in damages after posting comments about the head of another internet company. But experts say the jury is still out on just who can be held responsible for such actions.
Antony Byers takes a look at the issue. PKGE
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