Checkpoint FOR THURSDAY 12 APRIL 2012
****************************
1700 to 1707 NEWS
****************************
The Serious Fraud Office has taken just hours to dismiss a complaint of fraud against a union, brought by the AFFCO meat company amid one of the country's most bitter industrial disputes.
AFFCO charged that millions of dollars of Meat worker union fees couldn't be accounted for and were disappearing into a black hole. But today, the SFO's chief executive, Adam Feeley said its evaluation of the union's accounts failed to show any evidence of fraud - and it didn't take long to discover that. PREREC
The latest talks to solve the months-long Auckland ports dispute have failed amid claims of overkill security on the wharves. The union says the company has brought in many more security guards and put cameras inside crane cabs, to try to paint the unionised workers as thugs. Just under 300 of them returned to work last Thursday after weeks of striking. But after just one day of renewed mediation talks today, the Ports of Auckland is already calling for a change of tack, to use the Employment Relations Authority's facilitation process. Ports of Auckland declined to be interviewed. The Maritime Union's president Garry Parsloe joins us now. LIVE
Rescue teams in Indonesia are on standby as the country assesses the damage from an eight-point-six magnitude earthquake which struck off the coast of Sumatra last night. So far it appears the earthquake prone region has escaped largely unscathed. A tsunami warning sounded not only in Indonesia, but also in Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Kenya and Somalia.
The ABC's Timothy McDonald has our report: PKG
***********************
1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Anusha Bradley
************************
The police say an eleven-year-old boy who they describe as a recidivist burglar has assaulted his Child Youth and Family caregivers after just one night in their care. The boy was placed in care in Napier yesterday after being arrested for burglary, along with his 12-year-old brother and two others on Tuesday.
The police say the boy has been involved in 10 burglaries in recent months. The head of Napier police youth services, Sergeant Allan Potter, says he's now being transferred to a secure CYF unit in Auckland. PREREC
Sir Douglas Graham and three other men are appealing their criminal convictions for misleading investors in the Lombard finance company. But civil proceedings against the four former directors could start in weeks rather than months. The Court of Appeal confirmed today it's received papers from Sir Douglas and Bill Jeffries, who are both former ministers of justice, and from Lawrence Bryant - former press secretary to the Queen, and Lombard chief executive Michael Reeves. Ruth Hill reports. PKG
Some home owners in Christchurch are furious their previously condemned houses can now be fixed - leaving them out of pocket by tens of thousands of dollars. The Department of Building and Housing last year loosened guidelines so that big cracks and tilts in foundations previously deemed irreparable, could be fixed.
Insurance companies have been reassessing homes previously written off. And as Conan Young reports the government is being accused of giving in to pressure from the insurance industry by changing the rules. PKG
***********************
17.30 HEADLINES
***********************
A survivor of a ferry disaster that killed as many as 220 people in Papua New Guinea has told an inquiry the lifejackets were locked away. The Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the Rabaul Queen in February is looking at the cause and if any criminal acts contributed to it. The ABC’s correspondent in Port Moresby Liam Fox joins us now. LIVE
To Florida now, where 44 days after a neighbourhood watch volunteer shot an unarmed black teenager, he's been charged with second-degree murder. George Zimmerman said he killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in self-defence, and under state law no charges were laid. He turned himself into police - but his lawyer says he'll plead not guilty. The case has caused a national outcry, sparking protests and accusations of a race crime. The ABC's Stephanie Kennedy has the latest from the US: PKG
A mystery benefactor has stepped up to get a veteran RAF fighter pilot from his Nelson home to a memorial service in London. And there's so much support for the pensioner John Beeching that a second veteran pilot might be able to go too.
John Beeching joins us now. LIVE
***************
17.45 MANU KORIHI
Tēnā koutou katoa, good evening,
The Māori Affairs Minister has helped set up a community initiative in Wairoa, where over one hundred workers are locked out of AFFCO's sheep and beef plant.
Pita Sharples took part in a hui in the town yesterday, which discussed the effect the dispute is having on workers, most of whom are Māori.
He says it's really taking a heavy toll on both workers and their families who need help in dealing with the Council, WINZ and banks.
AFFCO WAIROA TP
IN:........SO WHAT I'VE DONE...
OUT:....AND IN PUBLIC.
DUR:...25"
Pita Sharples says families who need assistance should make inquiries at Te Puni Kōkiri's office in Wairoa.
--------
Meanwhile the Meat Workers Union is expecting a lot of support for a march tomorrow morning through the Northland town of Moerewa.
The six week long dispute between AFFCO management and the union has seen about a thousand workers locked out at the company's North Island plants, including one hundred and 15 at Moerewa.
The Union's Site Secretary, Laurie Nankivell, is one of the locked out workers, as is his 25-year-old son.
He says it's been a tough six weeks, but there's been a lot of support for the workers and their resolve is still strong.
AFFCO MARCH TP
IN:........SEEMS PRETTY...
OUT:....YEH COOL.
DUR:...12"
Laurie Nankivell says the march, which his eight children will take part in, begins at half past eight tomorrow morning at the Moerewa Rugby Club rooms and ends outside the AFFCO plant.
--------
The Governor General has agreed to open Kaitaia's new multi-million dollar Te Ahu Civic Centre on April the 28th.
Lieutenant General Sir Jerry Matepārae will cut a ribbon especially created by Te Rarawa weavers for the occasion.
Because the day marks the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty in Kaitaia in 1840, schools from all over Te Hiku o te Ika will take part in the opening ceremony and officially welcome the Governor General.
--------
A co-producer of a new CD featuring Māori songs by the late Dr Hīrini Melbourne, hopes the reworked tracks will become popular among non-Māori speakers.
Dr Melbourne was renowned for his music and reviving traditional Māori instruments such as the flute, as well as setting up the Māori Music showcase, Pao, Pao, Pao.
Rosemary Rangitauira reports:
HIRINI-NGATAPA-VCR
IN:........THE NEW ALBUM...
OUT:....SOC.
DUR:...52"
That's Te Manu Korihi news, I'll have a further bulletin in an hour.
****************
The Hutt Valley District Health Board says it accepts a coroner's finding that a patient may not have died if doctors hadn't taken five days to find out what was wrong with her. But the DHB says it wouldn't have done the diagnosis any differently despite the coroner saying earlier intervention may have saved Katherine Cains' life. Ms Cains died of abdominal sepsis or blood poisoning on Boxing Day two years ago, following acute surgery for a perforated colon. She'd first gone to hospital on December the 13 complaining of abdominal pain, diarrhoea, passing blood and vomiting. Doctors diagnosed gastroenteritis and sent her home. She was back five days later and a CT scan showed she had peritonitis and needed acute surgery. The DHB's chief operating officer is Pete Chandler PREREC
To Spain now, where the Prime Minister has warned his country that it must urgently reduce its deficit. But, with the highest unemployment rate in the developed world, it has little capacity to do so, as the ABC's Europe correspondent Rachael Brown explains: PKG