Checkpoint FOR TUESDAY 10 MAY
****************************
1700 to 1707 NEWS
****************************
The Māori Party is urging its members who felt they were threatened at a hui in Waitangi to take the matter up with the police. The hui was one of two Māori Party meetings at the weekend that resolved to stand a candidate against Hone Harawira in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate. Labour has today confirmed it will also stand a candidate, making the by-election a three horse race. Here's our political reporter Clare Pasley. PKG
The police in Waikato are investigating the death of a baby in unusual circumstances, while in Hawkes Bay they're looking into how a 10-week old got significant non-accidental injuries. Toxicology results have revealed a seven month old girl from Morrinsville, who died in March, had traces of adult medication in her system. And adding to the mystery, her older sister was admitted to hospital last month with a similar problem. Andrew McRae joins me now. Q&A
The National-led Government is now borrowing 380 million dollars a week but the Prime Minister says that has to stop. John Key told Parliament the Government is borrowing more than it needs to take advantage of lower interest rates. Here's our political editor Brent Edwards. PKG And we'll hear from Finance Minister, Bill English, later in the programme.
The Urewera raids trial is being delayed again, with one lawyer claiming it will be devastating for his client if this carries on. The trial of 15 of the 18 people facing various firearms charges stemming from police raids on alleged terrorist training camps in the Urewera Ranges in 2007 was due to begin in the High Court on May the 30th. But it's being put off again, with no new date set. Georgina Ball reports. PKG
***********************
1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Amy Williams
************************
In Libya, witnesses have reported a number of air strikes over Tripoli apparently targeting the leader Muammar Gaddafi's compound and state media offices. Meanwhile rebels say they are making progress against government forces in a number of areas, including Misrata, which has been under siege since the beginning of the conflict. The United Nations says the situation for civilians is dire and it's calling for an immediate ceasefire to allow aid through. The ABC's Timothy McDonald reports. PKG
The owners of two underground coal mines, that an audit's found are probably breaching safety laws, are strongly rejecting the charge. The audit of the country's four working underground mines was ordered by the Government after explosions at the Pike River mine killed 29 men last November. Ian Telfer reports. PKG
Have you heard the one about the kiwi which ended up in Russia? Stories in the Russian media say a native bird has been caught by locals in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi. (Soh-chi) Ruben Williams, from the Department of Conservation, says it is following up the reports, and is still waiting to confirm if this kiwi even exists. TP Tony Halpin is the Moscow correspondent for The Times newspaper. PRE REC
***********************
17.30 HEADLINES
***********************
The Finance Minister Bill English won't be drawn on when the Government might get its books back into surplus but agrees the job is looking increasingly difficult. Latest figures show the operating deficit was just over ten billion dollars in the nine months to the end of March and Mr English says it's likely to hit 16 to 17 billion by the end of the financial year. He says the cash deficit will be about the same. The picture looks better if earnings from the Superannuation Fund and ACC are taken into account but Mr English says that's really not the case. He says his focus is on the operating deficit excluding gains and losses. PRE REC
A 25-year-old man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Scott Guy's cousin at a pub in Perth. Andrew Marshall, who was 29, was a cousin of the Feilding farmer who was killed last year. Western Australia police say Mr Marshall was having a drink with friends at the Ocean Beach Hotel on Sunday night when he was pushed through a window, falling seven metres onto a footpath. He later died in hospital from serious head and spinal injuries. The ABC's Grant Wynne has been covering the case and joins us now from Perth. LIVER
A lawyer representing 3-thousand investors in the failed Hanover finance says Mark Hotchin can be expected to appeal after he lost in court today. The High Court has ruled the freeze on Mr Hotchin's assets should remain, saying there are good grounds for the Securities Commission investigation. The Commission froze his assets to meet any civil claims from investors in Hanover Finance, Hanover Capital or United Finance. Mr Hotchin had argued any claims against him were unlikely to succeed and he was being singled out by the Commission. Parts of the decision, including details of the investigation into Mr Hotchin, have been suppressed. Tim Rainey is a lawyer representing 3000 investors in Hanover finance. He joins us now. LIVER
***************
17.45 WAATEA
****************
The Syrian government is claiming to have secured the upper hand after weeks of anti-government protests. That's according to a senior spokesperson of President Bashar al Assad, in an interview with the New York Times. But the claims came as the Syrian president blocked a United Nations human rights delegation from visiting the besieged city of Deraa, and the European Union announced an arms embargo. The ABC's Michael Vincent has this report. PKG
In Australia - the Federal government is promising opportunities for everyone from the mining boom in a budget Treasurer Wayne Swan will deliver in a few hours time. (9.30 pm NZ time) Mr Swan is also pledging to have the government's finances back into surplus in two years and to focus on job creation. And while no-one is talking about an austerity budget as they are here economist Saul Eslake says there are signs there will be cuts. PRE REC
The widening search for three teenagers and three children missing off the coast of Kiribati has again failed to find any trace of them. The group aged between eight and 19 set out on a three-metre canoe towing a smaller dingy on Friday, to collect palm leaves for roofing. The vessels are believed to have drifted out of a lagoon and in to the open ocean. A search and rescue officer from the New Zealand Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Greg Johnston, joins me now. LIVER