Checkpoint FOR Thursday 6 OCTOBER 2011
****************************
1700 to 1707 NEWS
****************************
The oil slick spreading out from the grounded container ship has claimed its first wildlife victims, with four birds found dead. The Rena is stuck on Astrolabe reef 12 nautical miles off Tauranga, and oil is still spilling from it in a narrow slick now stretching FIVE kilometres to the north. An international salvage firm's been given the job of plugging the holes and refloating the ship, but that's expected to be a difficult job, and possibly a long one. A spokesperson for Maritime New Zealand Sophie Hazelhurst joins us now. LIVE
The man who brought the world the Macintosh, the I-pod, the I-phone and the I-pad has died at the age of 56. Apple computer co-founder Steve Jobs lost a long battle with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. Announcing his death, a statement from the company, said Apple had lost a visionary and a creative genius - the latest I-phone was only launched earlier this week. The ABC's Peter Lloyd reports PKG
Auckland's fancy new fleet of electric commuter trains is to be built in Spain, following the signing of a half billion dollar contract this afternoon. The order is the biggest-ever for commuter trains in this country, with first of the units entering service in two years. Our Auckland correspondent Todd Niall was at the signing LIVE
Unions are hopeful the Spanish contractor will give some work to Dunedin's Hillside rail workshop, which has recently shed staff because of a drop-off in work. The Rail and Maritime Transport Union's branch chairperson, Stu Johnstone, is with us now. LIVE
***********************
1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Patrick O'Meara
************************
The Cook Strait ferry Aratere, which is fresh back from a costly re-fit, has run into engine problems on Wellington Harbour today. The ship had problems with its port shaft late this morning, while it was a hundred metres out from shore, and had to be towed back to its berth. It's less than a week since it was welcomed back from a 53-million-dollar refurbishment in Singapore, which took five months and was more than 10 million dollars over budget. The Interislander's general manager, Thomas Davis, joins us now. LIVE
A SAS trooper who died in Afghanistan last week has been remembered by family, friends and colleagues at a service in Auckland. Lance Corporal Leon Smith was shot while on a mission in the province of Wardak. Our reporter, Will Hine, attended this afternoon's service. PKG
Parliament has just passed the covert police surveillance bill under urgency. The Government only secured the votes it needed at the start of the week, after a parliamentary select committee made significant changes. Here's our parliamentary chief reporter, Jane Patterson. PKG
***********************
17.30 HEADLINES
***********************
A former chief executive at Auckland University of Technology has been sentenced to three years two months jail for stealing more than 650 thousand dollars from the institution. Jonathan Kirkpatrick, who is also an Anglican priest, signed off false invoices for companies he owned, while working for the university's Business Innovation centre. Natalie Mankelow was in court. LIVE
Salvage companies are expecting a long and difficult job trying to refloat the container ship stuck on a reef off Tauranga. The multinational firm Svitzer has been given the job of plugging the leaking oil and refloating the Rena, and has staff in Tauranga already assessing what's needed.
That narrow slick is now FIVE kilometres long spreading north of the Astrolabe reef, and the first dead birds have been found in it. We've asked Svitzer for an interview and hope to bring that to you later. But earlier I spoke with Howard Saunders who heads up the Lower Hutt firm New Zealand Diving and Salvage. He says there's no company in New Zealand that's big enough or experienced enough to have been able to attempt the salvage. His own firm has had divers in the water today surveying the conditions of the Rena and the reef. PREREC
There are fresh calls for a boost to the minimum wage because there has been the smallest rise in hourly earnings in more than a decade. In the year to June the median hourly earnings rose 1-point-9 percent to 20-dollars-and-38-cents Here's our political reporter Liz Banas. PKG
MPs face an embarrassing pay rise just a week or two before the election and are already saying they do not need it. The Remuneration Authority is due to announce a pay increase within four to five weeks to compensate MPs for having lost their international travel entitlement. The Labour Party deputy leader, Annette King, says pay rises for MPs always come at the wrong time. CUT
The Labour deputy leader, Annette King. Our political editor Brent Edwards has been looking at the prospects of a pay rise for MPs. LIVE
***************
17.45 MANU KORIHI
****************
Tēnā koutou katoa, good evening,
The Whanganui River iwi says complaints about new welcoming signs to the city, show some people still think Māori are second-class citizens.
They depict a person in a red canoe floating on the Whanganui River.
The signs also feature the phrases, Haere Mai ki Whanganui, followed by the English translation, Welcome to Wanganui.
The District Mayor, Annette Main, says some councillors have raised concerns about the Māori text being above the Pakeha phrase.
There's been conflict in the past, about whether the word Whanganui should or shouldn't contain an H. In 2009 the Government decided it could be spelt either way.
A spokesperson for the River iwi, Ken Mair, says the recent complaint from a few councillors shows just what they think of Māori.
WHANGA-NEWS-TP
IN IT'S ONLY HIGHLIGHTING...
OUT ...TO THEIR ASPIRATIONS.
DUR 15
Ken Mair of Ngāti Tuera Hinearo.
--------
A driving force in the national resurgence of Kaupapa Waka, an initiative that looks to teach such knowledge as waka history and traditional navigation, has died.
Tepene Mamaku who affiliated to Mataatua waka, which covers the eastern Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, died yesterday at the age of 79.
He was a composer, historian, and a teacher of waka traditions in areas such as haka, prayers, and moteatea or traditional chants.
A close friend, Joe Harawira, says in the 1990s Mr Mamaku was part of the drive to teach young people about Kaupapa waka to boost their confidence, which also improved their home lives.
MAMAKU-AITUA-TP
IN PENE WAS A...
OUT ...MATAATUA AREA.
DUR 21
Joe Harawira of Te Runanga o Ngati Awa.
The body of Tepene Mamaku is currently lying at Taiwhakaea Marae in Whakatane.
A funeral service for him will be held on Sunday.
--------
The Māori Party MP for Bay of Plenty, wants two reports on the raids in Te Urewera to be released.
Te Ururoa Flavell says both the one from the Independent Police Conduct Authority and the other from the Human Rights Commission, outline a severe miscarriage of justice occurred during the raids in October 2007
He says he's read one of the draft reports and wants them released so the public understand exactly what happened.
Mr Flavell says they highlight the unfair treatment which people living in and around the Ruatoki valley suffered.
Today during question time in Parliament he asked the Police Minister whether she'd received the reports.
Nathan Guy who answered on behalf of Judith Collins, said no she hadn't seen the reports.
--------
The Law Society says a Treaty of Waitangi claims lawyer facing disciplinary charges, can continue working.
Donna Hall from Wellington is accused of negligence or incompetence, which has brought her profession into disrepute and reflects on her fitness to practise.
The Society says it only applies for the interim suspension of lawyers for more serious charges, such has incidents involving clients money.
Ms Hall is accused of a conflict of interest, by acting on behalf the vendor and the buyer of land, without telling either party of her position.
The Lawyers and Conveyances Disciplinary Tribunal will hear the charges.
That's Te Manu Korihi news, I'll have a further bulletin in an hour.
Now to Greece where the nation ground to a halt today as thousands of people marched through the streets as part of a twenty four hour general strike. Greece is in the midst of an economic crisis that's threatening the stability of the entire Eurozone. It's been given a bailout but in return it's had to introduce massive cuts -- a move that has angered many people. This report from the BBC's Chris Morris : PKG
A joint US New Zealand mercy mission taking water to drought-hit Tokelau is about to cast off.
Water supplies on the nation's three atolls are due to run out in a matter of days and a state of emergency has been declared. A Royal New Zealand Airforce Hercules has just arrived in American Samoa with supplies for the mission. There's also a state of emergency in nearby Tuvalu, and New Zealand has already sent desalination equipment there. Lieutenant (lootenant) Andrea Holt, the executive officer of the US coastguard cutter Walnut, joins us now from American Samoa. LIVE
With more than five-thousand goals under her belt already, one of netball's greats will make history tonight when she takes the court for her 200th test. 39-year-old Irene van Dyk is already the most capped player in the sport after beginning her career in South Africa in 1994 and moving to New Zealand six years later. Tracey Fear is Netball New Zealand's high performance manager and has worked with van Dyk since then. PREREC