The Canterbury District Health Board and unions are involved in last ditch attempts to avert next week's strike action. Over a thousand mental health, geriatric and school dental staff are scheduled to take strike action from Friday week over failed pay talks. The board's 5 o'clock deadline to unions to decide whether to exempt staff caring for acute mentally ill and high risk patients from strike action has just passed - shortly we'll be talking to our Christchurch reporter John McDonald about the latest developments. But first, the clinical directors of mental health services in Christchurch are warning that the strike could lead to the deaths of some patients. One director, Dr Phil Brinded, says they concerned about the possible dangerous consequences for the [illegible] vulnerable patients. PREREC
Unions and the Canterbury District Health board are continuing last minute talks to try and avoid strike action altogether. Our reporter John MacDonald is monitoring today's talks and joins us now. LIVE
Both the Prisons Service and the union representing suspended prison workers say they are in for the long haul, as defence staff help to run the country's prisons. Following massive suspensions of nearly two thousand prison workers who belong to the union - Corrections Association New Zealand - defence personnel moved into prisons last night after being on standby for several weeks. At the centre of the industrial dispute is a 6 percent pay claim and a department that says it can only offer 3.1 percent.
Union members have been refusing for a month to do some admministrative tasks and last night the Department of Corrections suspended them and called in the military. Liz Banas has compiled this report. PKGE
BUSINESS NEWS WITH TODD NIALL
The Government is to close the Kimberley Centre, the country's last remaining large institution for the intellectually disabledResidents will now go into community care. The Centre near Levin is home to 375 residents aged from 16 to 77 [illegible] they have varying levels of disability, some require tube feeding and others have severe epilpsy. The decision by the Minister for Disability Issues, Ruth Dyson ends years of uncertainty and fierce debate over the future of the centre which is more than fifty years old.
I'll be talking to Ms Dyson shortly but her decision has created a sense of relief for some of the families and friends of Kimberly residents. Andy Anderson is the father of one resident - he was one of three Kimberley Parents and Friends Association members involved in making the decision.
DROP-IN
Kimberley's nearly four hundred staff have been told of the closure. The centre's residential director Tineke Stokes says even though they expected the closure, it was still a shock.
DROP IN
Jude Marshall's 30 year old son lives at Kimberley - she says he needs high level medical care and she hasn't seen anything in today's announcment that promises that will be provided. PREREC
Minister for Disability Issues Ruth Dyson joins us now. LIVE
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SPORT with RICHARD CROWLEY
The Fiji coup leader, George Speight, has just been elected a member of parliament in the country's general election. The Prime Minister toppled in the coup, Mahendra Chaudhry, has also won a seat. Our reporter in Suva Barbara Dreaver joins us now. LIVE
In the High Court in Auckland, the defence has opened its case in the trial of a doctor accused of murdering his mother. Christopher Simpson has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of 82 year old Margery Simpson, who was in the final stages of bowel cancer. Our reporter Kirsty Jones has been at the court today - I asked her what the defence had to say. PREREC
The Taranaki Dioxin Awareness Group says a report released today claiming there is no evidence of any new chemical dump sites in the region flies in the face of eye witness accounts. The report by the Taranaki Regional Council investigated 36 sites where it has been alleged agrichemicals from the Ivon Watkins Dow plant in New Plymouth were dumped between 1960 and 1980. The council says that apart from five sites, where it was always known chemicals had been [illegible] the other 31 sites proved clean. Andrew McRae compiled this report. PKGE
Australia is pressuring Indonesia to cooperate with joint efforts to combat people smuggling, in the wake of the Norwegian freighter rescuing 433 asylum seekers off its coast. Australia's defence, immigration and foreign affairs ministers will be meeting with Indonesia's foreign affairs minister in Jakarta over the next couple of days. The ABC's Jakarta correspondent Mark Bowling says Indonesia acknowledges Australia's concerns. But he told me the country is facing a huge number of domestic problems so a few thousand illegal immigrants is not a high priority for the Government. PREREC
Supporters of a popular Wellington bar have generated a wave of support to have noise by-laws in the inner city changed. Over ten-thousand people have signed a petition, which is asking for a review of current sound restrictions and mandatory soundproofing in apartments. The owners of the Matterhorn bar are presenting the petition to a meeting of the Wellington City Council. Patric Lane takes a look at the issue. PKGE
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