Checkpoint FOR FRIDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2010
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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The Coroner who conducted an inquest into the death of a policeman and a gunman during a Napier siege says having an extra officer at a house search could have saved lives. In May last year Jan Molenaar killed 53 year old Senior Constable Len Snee and critically wounded two other police and a member of the public, before barricading himself in his house on Hospital Hill. Two days later the 51 year old shot himself in the head. A police search of the house found an arsenal of 18 firearms along with fully loaded magazines, more than a hundred spent cartridges and more than 2000 bullets. The Dunedin based Coroner David Crerar has released his findings and is satisfied the police conducted the siege according to best practice and that Jan Molenaar's suicide could not have been prevented. Our reporter Heugh Chappell has been reading the report and joins me now. Q&A LIVE
Auckland's giant Waterview roading project will be the first to go through the government's fast-tracking consent process, introduced last year. An independent Board of Inquiry has been appointed to consider the impact of the two billion dollar plan to build the five kilometre link, between State Highway 20 and State Highway 16.
Decisions by the Board of Inquiry are required to be made within nine months. The Environment Minister, Nick Smith, says Waterview is the largest infrastructure proposal that's ever been lodged under the Resource Management Act and a Board of Inquiry is the best way to decide the outcome of the roading plans. But not everyone's happy at the decision to speed up the process. The motorway will run through Mt Albert, and the Eden Albert Community Board deputy chair, Phil Chase, says the new consents process is undemocratic.
TP Joining me now is the Environment Minister, Nick Smith. LIVE
A government's announcement of a three-and-half million dollar injection for a Pacific tsunami system comes amidst accusations that the Foreign Affairs Minister is running a paternalistic policy aid programme in the region. Murray McCully says not enough has been done to prepare the Pacific for such disasters, following warning system failures during the tsunamis that hit Samoa and Tonga last year. But Labour's associate Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Phil Twyford, says Mr McCully is running New Zealand aid programmes on a whim and ignoring advice from his own officials. TP Mr McCully is currently in Samoa and I spoke to him about the tsunami system, while he was in Lalomanu examining the re-building efforts there. The Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully. LIVE
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH NAOMI MITCHELL
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The lawyer for a senior Judge who is the subject of complaints of bias has told the High Court in Wellington that a flawed process was used to establish a panel to investigate his client. He's urged the Court to set aside the Judicial Conduct Commissioner's report into Justice Bill Wilson and instead refer the matter to the head of the Court. Our Court reporter Ann Marie May has been following the case and joins us now. LIVE Q&A
Russia has extended its ban on grain exports for another year, which could be good news for the New Zealand economy. The move in Russia has sparked fears of a return to the food shortages and riots of 2007 and 2008, when rioting spread through developing nations dependent on imports of grains. The BNZ's Agricultural Economist, Doug Steel, says Russia needs all the grain it can get. The BNZ's Agricultural Economist Doug Steel. PRE REC
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17.30 HEADLINES
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Returning now to our top story on the coronial inquest into the death of a police officer and a gunman during a Napier siege. The police are welcoming the report which they say agrees with their view that Jan Molenaar's reaction to what was a routine search was extreme and totally out of proportion.
Superintendent John Rivers joins us now. LIVE
A fire on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico is now out after an explosion earlier today. The coastguard says all 13 the workers who were on the Mariner Energy rig near the coast of Louisiana are uninjured and have been accounted for. Our correspondent in the United States, Steve Mort says Louisiana authorities are angry it's been allowed to happen so soon after the recent BP oil spill. PRE REC
Israel and Palestinian leaders have agreed to work on a permanent peace deal during talks held in Washington. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Ben-yah-min) Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have agreed to meet for direct talks every two weeks. They’ve also pledged to try and resolve all the core disagreements within a year, with the aim of establishing a Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel. From Washington Daniel Ryntjes (Rent-ches) reports: PKG
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17.45 TRAILS
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WAATEA
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New drugs which allow cancer patients to swallow a pill rather than having to endure painful chemotherapy infusions, will be funded by the Government's drug buying agency Pharmac. Pharmac has signed a deal with the drug company Roche to fund a new drug for people with advanced lung cancer and to widen access to two other cancer treatment drugs. Here's our reporter, Catherine Hutton. PKG
A greenstone club, which once belonged to the Māori prophet Te Whiti, has been found after being stolen almost a week ago. The mere pounamu, which is usually housed at the Parihaka Pa in Taranaki, was found in nearby bush. The Taranaki Police's Māori liaison officer, Constable Warren Wi Patene says Marae justice may be used to punish the thief. PRE REC