HEADLINES & NEWS
Australian troops have begun forcibly removing asylum seekers from the Australian navy frigate the Manoora onto the Pacific Island of Nauru for immigration processing.
Reports say 12 soldiers in full battledress escorted six people off the ship via a landing craft, in the first of what was expected to be progressive removals. More than 200 other asylum seekers have refused to leave the Manoora, which is about 200 metres offshore. I asked the Sydney Morning Herald's Nauru correspondent Craig Skehan for the latest. IV
Meanwhile in New Zealand, the Corrections Minister Matt Robson says he is not satisfied with the circumstances leading to two men - believed to be of Afghan [illegible] - being detained at Auckland Maximum Security Prison at Paremoremo. The men appeared in court on Friday - a judge has suppressed all details of the case. But the Prime Minister has dismissed reports that the men are suspected of being terrorists or of having links to terrorists. Mr Robson says the judge's reasons for detaining the men in a maximum security prison have also been suppressed. IV
One of ten refugees charged with rioting following a serious clash at a resettlement camp north of Auckland last night has also been charged with threatening to kill an employee of the immigration service. Four people were injured in a fight which broke out between a group of five Iraqis and five Iranians at the facility in Whangaparaoa last night. The men appeared in the North Shore District Court this afternoon our reporter Barbara Dreaver is there and she joins us now. LIVE IV
The Queenstown policeman Trevor Burton is laying official complaints against two doctors at Southland Hospital after his wife was stabbed to death by the Burton's son.
[illegible] Burton's son Mark was treated at the hospital's mental health unit and [illegible] his mother to death the day after being discharged. Trevor Burton is complaining to the Medical Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal and the Health and Disability Commissioner, about the hospital's head of psychiatry Dr Tom Flynn and medical officer Doctor Peter Fisher. Mr Burton says he wants them held accountable - I asked him if he wants them to lose their jobs. IV
BUSINESS NEWS WITH JOHN DRAPER
The government has agreed in principal to pay Tranzrail eighty one million dollars for the Auckland Rail corridor. The government entered the negotiations in March after deciding a conditional agreement between the company and Auckland local authorities for one hundred and twelve million dollars was too high. The Finance Minister Michael Cullen announced the main terms of the new deal a short time ago - the eighty one million dollars includes the lease and infrastructure assets which will provide Auckland with the rail corridors for its rapid passenger transit system. I'm joined now by Les patterson, the chair of the Auckland Regional Council's Land Transport Committee. LIVE
The Waitangi Tribunal has found the Crown has breached its Treaty of Waitangi duties when dealing with Māori health issues in Hawke's Bay. The criticism comes in the Tribunal's report on claims made to it over the 1999 decision by the former Healthcare Hawke's Bay to close Napier hospital and relocate major health services to Hastings. The report states the Crown breached its obligations between 1867 and 1920 and also didn't sufficiently consult with Māori during the health reforms of the 1990's. Heugh Chappell reports. PKGE
5.30 NEWS HEADLINES
SPORT with STEPHEN HEWSON
The United States is growing increasingly impatient with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban and is warning Americans to brace for retaliatory attacks once Washington's war on terrorism moves beyond tough talk. US impatience comes after the Taliban admitted it knew the location of Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect for the devastating atacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. Our Washington correspondent Vicki Ford reports. PKGE
There's no relief in sight for the drought hit areas of the South Island with latest climate figures showing very low rainfall over the last month. Jim Salinger from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA says a very large part of the country had only a quarter of the normal rainfall for September. Dr Salinger says the area affected extends from the south and west of the North Island, down through central Marlborogh and right through to Otago. PREREC
Fiji's seventy one members of parliament were sworn in today, signifying the start of a return to democracy following last year's coup. The new prime minister is Laisenia Qarase and the MPs have been sworn in for a five year term. But the Fiji Labour Party, which has attracted support mainly from Fijian-Indians, won 27 of the 71 parliamentary seats, but it has been omitted from Cabinet - a decision which is being challenged through the courts. Our reporter in Fiji, Samasone Pareti, joins me now. LIVE
The Minister of Fisheries, Pete Hodgson, has announced a twenty percent cut in the catch limit for hoki. More hoki is caught than any other species, and the [illegible] is estimated to be worth about eighty million dollars in lost sales. And while there's been a muted response from the fishing industry, environmentalists say the cuts aren't big enough. Michele Hollis has the story. PKGE
The Wildlife Enforcement Group is worried that the trading of endangered species is on the increase, following the busting of a bird-smuggling operation.
Two properties in Auckland and Northland have been quarantined and charges laid against three people. The two properties were raided after a six-month undercover investigation by the Wildlife Enforcement Group which is made up of representatives from the Department of Conservation, the Ministry of Agricultire and Forestry and Customs. Liz Banas compiled this report. PKGE
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