Checkpoint FOR FRIDAY 13 MAY 2011
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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The Pike River families have been shown an image that is possibly a second a body down the mine. They've also for the first time seen a video image of what police had previously said might be a first body, and having seen that video one mother says she's fairly sure it IS indeed a body. Carol Rose whose son Stuart Mudge died in mine, is the secretary of the Pike River families committee
PREREC The police say the first video image is, in their words, "highly suspicious" of being a body. But the second laser image is very indeterminate and could be a body or a number of other things. The scans are being enhanced which will take another 2 to 3 months. The police add the mine is still unsafe to enter. PREREC
In Christchurch about 12-hundred buildings will now have to be demolished in the city's commercial districts. 900 of these are in within the centres four avenues and 300 are in commercial areas in the suburbs. Warwick Isaacs from the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority says the city is under going a shocking transformation. PREREC
The mayor of the main kiwifruit growing region says he wants to know how a Samoan worker with typhoid was able to enter New Zealand. The Kiwifruit marketer, Zespri, has recalled more than one-hundred thousand trays of fruit for destruction after a recently arrived seasonal worker from Samoa was treated for the disease.
Seven other workers also believed to be Samoan have also been isolated but are not showing symptoms. Ian Telfer reports. PKG
The MPs pay rise, to compensate them for the loss of their international travel subsidy has been put on hold. Last year the Speaker of the House decided to end the taxpayer funded discount, which became more generous the longer an MP served, after scandals around trips taken by Rodney Hide, Chris Carter and Roger Douglas. After that, MPs did receive two thousand dollars extra a year as reimbursement, along with a one and half percent pay rise. The Chairman of the Remuneration Authority, John Errington, told our parliamentary chief reporter, Jane Patterson, the Christchurch earthquake is the main reason MPs won't receive compensation at this time. PREREC
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH
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The ACT Party leader Don Brash says he still supports the National Party despite sending a critical open letter to the Prime Minister, saying he was disappointed in him. In the letter Dr Brash accuses Mr Key of running the country for the benefit of the Labour and Green voters who switched to National at the last election.
I asked Dr Brash why he needed to write it and make it public.
PREREC
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17.30 HEADLINES
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More now on the state of the Christchurch CBD. Latest estimates are that about 12 hundred buildings will need to be demolished in the city's commercial districts, many are in the heart of the city, which remains cordoned off. The Canterbury Earthquake Authority took a group of journalists on a rare tour of the red zone this morning to show them the developments. Our reporter Bridget Mills was on the tour. LIVE
The chair of the Waitemata District Health Board says it was an experienced nurse with a faultless record who made the mistake of giving a patient about ten times the dose of prescribed medication.
Shirley Curtis, who was 60, died a day after being given about 100-milligrams of the beta blocker metaprolol. The DHB's chair Lester Levy says the nurse is devastated and while the pharmacy's checking system discovered the error, there will be a full investigation into what happened. PREREC
Authorities in Australia say there is a growing problem with synthetic versions of illegal drugs, much of it coming from New Zealand. The substances are not detected by the usual workplace drug tests and the mining industry in Western Australia is worried about safety. Steve Allsop is the director of Australia's national drug institute. I asked him if New Zealand IS a major supplier of the drugs to Australia. PREREC
The operator of Japan's stricken nuclear plant, TEPCO, has admitted that water leaked from one of its reactors exposing fuel rods and triggering a meltdown. Seawater samples also show levels of radioactive caesium seas-ium at 18-thousand times the legal limit. The ABC's Mark Willacy reports. PKG
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17.45 WAATEA
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Twin explosions, one a suicide bomber, have struck a paramilitary training centre in northwestern Pakistan, killing more than 70 people. It's the bloodiest attack in the country since a US raid killed al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. The Guardian's correspondent in Pakistan Declan Walsh joins us now. LIVE
Two men have been arrested in New York City, accused of plotting to blow up a synagogue. Authorities say it's a case of home-grown, "lone wolf" terrorists and a sign of the continuing threat to the US even after the demise of the al Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.
The ABC's Jane Cowan reports. PKG
New Zealand Post is cutting ninety jobs and closing or downsizing 14 Kiwibank and Postshop stores. It's blaming a lack of demand and a shift to online services. William Ray reports. PKG
The eye-popping hat worn by Princess Beatrice at Britain's royal wedding is being auctioned to raise money for charity. Here's Mark Lobel. PKG