HEADLINES & NEWS
The government has approved New York financier John Griffin's purchase of the Gisborne farm which includes the historic landmark Young Nicks Head, despite protests from local Māori. Ngaita Manuhiri wanted ownership of 200 hectares of the 660 hectare farm and staged a hikoi to Wellington to press their claim, where they briefly occupied parliament grounds. The Finance Minister Micheal Cullen has decided the sale can go ahead, subject to certain conditions. Dr Cullen says those conditions will see the headland protected from commercial development, while Young Nicks Head, the cliffs and pa site will be gifted into public ownership. IV
John Griffen has also offered to set up a trust with Ngaita Manuhiri to protect [illegible] cultural and historical values of the property. Tu Wyle is the spokesperson for the iwi members protesting the sale - Speaking earlier from parliament grounds he told me he can't give an opinion on the deal yet because he hasn't seen the details. IV
But the Gisborne Chamber of Commerce is delighted the sale will go ahead - its President Morrin Hardy says the outcome is excellent for all concerned and improvements John Griffin intends to make to the station will sigificantly benefit the local economy.
The police are standing by their decision to issue a public warning about the danger posed by a twice-convicted rapist, despite the man killing himself in the wake of the publicity.
Following an attack on an Asian woman in Auckland, the police issued a warning about 41 year old Richard Hunia, saying he had a dangerous fixation on Asian women. Richard Hunia's body was discovered in west Auckland yesterday - Brad Markham reports. PKGE
BUSINESS NEWS WITH JOHN DRAPER
The Desert Road has re-opened, after being closed for much for the day by heavy snowfalls which blanketed much of the central North Island. Some schools were also forced the close - Craig Dickson reports. PKGE
A new survey says adult New Zealanders are worth a total of 367 billion dollars once they have sold their assets and paid off their debts. The survey was conducted by Statistics New Zealand on behalf of the Retirement Commission. Our economics correspondent Brent Edwards has been looking at the results. LIVE IV
Intensive care specialists are backing calls for urgent action to boost the number of donor organs avilable for lifesaving transplant operations. But some say the donor shortage is more to do with refusals by grieving families than a failure by intensive care staff to identify potential donors and act. The debate follows reports in today's Medical Journal which say a shortage of donor organs means patients are dying while waiting for operations. Our Health Correspondent Rae Lamb reports. PKGE
5.30 NEWS HEADLINES
SPORT with ELMA TEUA
In Pakistan, four people are dead after a grenade attack at a Christian missionary hospital near Islamabad. Three of the dead were nurses and an official from the hospital in Taxila (tax-ela) says one of the suspected attackers also died in the incident. The incident comes just four days after six Pakistanis died in an attack on a Christian missionary school for foreign students in the resort town of Murree. About six New Zealand children attend the school but were not hurt. The BBC's correspondent in Islamabad Zaffar Abass has the latest. CUT Zaffar Abbass says authorities are saying the two attacks at the Christian school and the hospital could be linked. CUT
The Government is to tighten up on immigrant investors in an effort to crack down on those abusing the system. In the last year over 1 point 3 billion dollars was brought into the country by new immigrants but the Government is concerned very little of it is being invested in businesses. The Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel has asked officals to look at the entry requirments for [illegible] investors who want to live in New Zealand. Barbara Dreaver filed this report. PKGE
The company which grew the maize at the centre of the latest GM contamination alert says it will stop purchasing and importing seeds from the United States. The Australian company Pacific Seeds tested a sample of seeds at a MAF accredited laboratory in Melbourne before planting them in Pukekohe and Gisborne. While those tests showed no GM contamination, later test results received on Tuesday showed positive results for GM contamination. I asked Pacific Seeds International Manager Nick Gardiner whether there was a 200 metre buffer zone between crops to guard against cross pollination. PREREC
Auckland mental health workers are upset that priorities for thier region's new mental health spending are being finalised, before a government-ordered review of existing services has even been completed. Auckland's mental health units have been under extreme pressure, with a bed shortage meaning some seriously ill people cant be admitted. The Minister of Health has ordered an urgent review by the Mental Health Commission - its initial findings are expected later this month. But the mental health workers union, the PSA, is worried [illegible] before the review is even finished, spending priorities have already been finalised. Leigh-Anne Wiig reports. PKGE
Angry community leaders in Papua New Guinea's Southern Highlands province are threatening to break away from the rest of the country if election results are not declared by six oclock tonight, New Zealand time. The Highlands is the backbone of the country's economy but six of the province's nine seats remain vacant after armed bandits destroyed votes, leaving up to 400 thousand people unrepresented in the new parliament. I asked the ABC's Port Moresby correspondent Shane McLeod about tonight's deadline. IV
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