HEADLINES & NEWS
Two men have been charges with drug offences after the biggest ever seizure of the party drug ecstasy in New Zealand. The manager of drug investigations with Customs, Phil Chitty says 36 thousand tablets were found in a packing crate [illegible] camping gear from South Africa. PRE-REC.
In the Middle East - hopes for an end to the bloodshed there have suffered another serious blow with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud Party, passing a resolution saying it will never agree to an independent Palestinian state. The vote was proposed by former prime minister and rival Benjamin Netanyahu, and has severely embarrassed Mr Sharon who first declared support for an eventual Palestinian state in September last year. There was swift reaction from the chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat who says the vote constitutes a major and dangerous shift in the peace process. CUT.
Ariel Sharon made a doomed attempt to prevent the vote, arguing that the resolution would tie his hands in any future peace negotiations. The BBC's Michael Voss told me Mr Sharon's failure shows he's losing control of his party. PRE-REC.
There's been a top level meeting between Auckland police and the Mayor of Manakau city to discuss the problem of boy racers. It follows a shooting in south Auckland on Sunday morning which the police believe was the result of an altercation between rival boy racer groups. We'll be joined by the Mayor in a moment but first ... the Labour MP Clayton Cosgrove wants parliament to speed up the process of introducing legislation to the house, so his private members bill - designed to crack down on boy racers - can be fastracked. The bill is based on New South Wales legislation that enables police to impound cars being driven dangerously, as well as disqualify and fine the driver. And the associate transport minister Judith Tizard says there is a way for Mr Cosgrove's bill to be put through the parliamentary process faster, despite not having been drawn from the ballot. CUT.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Manukau City Sir Barry Curtis has met with the police this afternoon to express his concern about the problem of boy racers and he joins me now. LIVER.
BUSINESS NEWS WITH JOHN DRAPER
The Prime Minister is seeking to play down the police investigation into whether she committed an offence by signing other people's artworks for charity, despite the wife of the complainant going public.
Wellington anaesthetist Graham Sharpe has been identified as the man who asked police to investigate, and his wife Kathleen has today phoned a radio talkback show, to say her husband was motivated by what he regarded as Helen Clark's arrogance over the issue. But Miss Clark won't respond to the comment, saying she regards the affair as trivial and is leaving it up to her lawyers to sort out. CUT. Joining us now is our political editor Al Morrison LIVER.
What would you do if Japanese people told New Zealanders, "No more Sunday Lamb Roast?" That's the question being asked by 125-thousand pamphlets being distributed in and around Wellington this week by a Japanese organisation which is questioning New Zealand's attitude towards commercial whaling. The Institute of Cetacean (sit-achen) Research is trying to compare New Zealanders eating the traditional meal of lamb, to their cultural tradition of eating whale meat. Nathan Mills PKGE.
5.30 NEWS HEADLINES
SPORT with STEPHEN HEWSON
The future of the Warbirds over Wanaka Airshow could be jeopodised by a subdivision planned next to Wanaka airport, according to submissions at a hearing in Wanaka today. The hearing's looking at an application by Poplar Beach Limited to create seventeen allotments on land between Wanaka airport and the Clutha river. Maureen Loyd's been covering the hearing LIVER.
A Melbourne man charged with the murder of his millionaire mother and stepfather made a brief and emotional appearance in court today, athew Wales wife, Maritza also appeared charged with being an accessory after the fact of the murders. The couple were arrested on Saturday. There's been intense media speculation over the case that Mathew Wales' lawyer claims has received unprecedented publicity. The bodies of Mrs Wales-King and Mr King were found by park rangers in a bush grave north-east of Melbourne, on April the 29th. They were last seen alive at a dinner with Matthew and Maritza Wales and their son, Domenik, on April the 4th. The ABC's Gabriella Rosetto was in the Melbourne Magistrates Court. She says the pair looked at one another often but did not speak. PRE-REC.
The capital of Papua New Guinea's ambulance service has been operating on an emergency-only basis since Thursday because it hasn't had money for fuel. The St John's Ambulance Service in Port Moresby has been waiting for a cheque from the government so it can buy diesel for its fleet. Its superintendant Graham Keake (key-a-ke) says the issue has drawn local and international media attention.
When I spoke to him he said a government offical had - just moments before - turned up with a cheque. PRE-REC.
The man considered New Zealand's oldest traditional boat builder has launched his biggest fishing vessel yet - at the age of 89. Nelson's Jack Guard believes the 21 metre Polaris 11 is his best boat ever and perhaps the biggest wooden fishing vessel built in New Zealand. Geoff Moffett PKGE.
MANA NEWS
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