1700 to 1707 NEWS
The New Zealand meat industry will be closely monitoring developments in its biggest beef market, the United States, following confirmation of a suspected case of Mad Cow disease there. There's likely to be an immediate drop in beef consumption in the US and that would hit the demand for imported beef from New Zealand and elsewhere, used in hamburgers. New Zealand shipments to its second biggest beef market, Canada, fell as a result of the single case of BSE confirmed there earlier this year. Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton says beef prices will fall as consumers turn off meat. CUT
A cow on a farm in Washington state tested positive for the disease, but only after it was slaughtered. The Bush Administration says there is minimal risk to human health and immediate steps are being taken to ensure the case is an [illegible] one. Our Washington correspondent Owen Fay reports. PKGE
Meanwhile Meat New Zealand, which administer's the country's export quota and supports the export industry, is playing down the threat from today's announcement. The chief executive Mark Jeffries disagrees with predictions of mass a consumer turnoff from meat. PREREC
Rotorua pharmacists and GPs have banned the sale of pseudoephedrine based products in a bid to curb the production of the illegal drug 'P'. The president of the Pharmacy Guild, Richard Heslop, says many chemists are robbed for cold and flu products. He says if pharmacists are continually robbed the only action they can take is to stop selling pseudoephedrine-based products. The police have welcomed the move saying it's a clear message to criminals involved in the production of 'P' that Rotorua is not the place for them to do business. The chairman of the Rotorua General Practice Group Doctor Bev O'Keefe told me what sparked the ban. PREREC
The Australian government is being warned that if it doesn't provide more medical help for a group of hunger striking asylum seekers on Nauru there may [illegible] be a death. Around 18 people have been refusing to take food for the last fortnight and the local hospital doctor Kieran Keke, says if the protest escalates the hospital will not be able to cope. The Australian Medical Association is calling on the government to send a medical team to Nauru to assess the situation. Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone says a delegation which returned from Nauru yesterday did not say the hospital needed more resources, but she will make further investigations. Greg Barns is with the refugee group, A Just Australia, and he joins me now. LIVE
A memorial service for the 151 victims of the Tangiwai rail disaster has heard moving tributes to the heroes and victims of the tragedy. The ceremony was conducted at the national monument for the victims, in Wellington's Karori cemetery. There's already been one memorial service, on Sunday, at the site where the Auckland bound express crashed into the Whanga-ehu river in the central north island. However today's ceremony marks the actual day, 50 years on, that the tragedy occurred. James Hollings reports. PKGE
1720 BUSINESS NEWS WITH JOHN DRAPER
A lawyer is warning the police in Tauranga that they could face damages claims if they insist on taking such an overzealous approach to enforcing the city's liquor ban this year.. Barrister and Senior Lecturer in Law at Victoria University John Miller has helped quash 30 convictions after more than 600 people were charged last summer under the city's invalid liquor ban last summer which was improperly advertised. He says even if the ban had been lawful some of the arrests may not have been. PREREC
But Tauranga police are making no apologies for their tough stance on liquor in public places. Area controller, Inspector Murray Lewis says they will arrest people for breaching the liquor ban but he disputes allegations that people are told they'll be released from police cells if they plead guilty. PREREC
The traditional Christmas migration is underway with holiday makers heading off for the summer break. North of Wellington, traffic is at a virtual standstill up the Kapiti Coast from Raumati to Waikanae, and the police say traffic is also very heavy through Paramatta, a few kilometres further south. They say motorists should either be prepared for extensive delays for postpone their [illegible]. But in Auckland it's a smooth run on the city's motorways with much lighter traffic than normal. No problems have been reported in the South Island, although Christchurch police says many motorists are still travelling too close to each other and overtaking in inappropriate places. READER
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