Checkpoint FOR THURSDAY 17 MAY 2012
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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Plans to slash 300 jobs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been radically scaled back to only 79 positions - with the head of MFAT still saying the original proposal was a good one. An outcry from Ministry staff, criticism from the Minister and months of leaks and negotiations have seen the final plan whittled down to job losses for 23 senior policy staff and 56 admin and corporate people. One embassy will close instead two and although some allowances for diplomats will go up others will be cut. The overall savings are about half the 24 million dollars they were supposed to be. Chief Executive John Allen rejects any suggestion the original proposals were badly thought through. PREREC
The Prime Minister, John Key, is promising to help fight an eight dollar increase in Australia's departure tax on behalf of tourism operators. Industry leaders in both New Zealand and Australia fear the 17 percent tax hike will discourage travellers from both countries crossing the ditch. Will Hine reports. PKG
As many Greeks rush to get their savings out of the country's banks, there are growing fears about the possibility of a run on the banks.
On Monday, some 800-million euros was withdrawn, and on Tuesday about the same. It's estimated that Greeks already have some 35-billion euros at home, sometimes literally stuffed under the mattress. And today, newspapers are warning the full cost of a chaotic exit by Greece from the Euro could top a trillion U.S. dollars. The BBC's Mark Lowen reports from Athens : PKG
A defence expert witness in the trial of George Gwaze has told the Christchurch High Court the injuries his adopted daughter received were not the result of a sexual attack, but were in fact caused by her HIV infection. George Gwaze is on trial for the sexual violation and murder of his adopted daughter, Charlene Makaza, in 2007. Conan Young is covering the trial . LIVE
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Anusha Bradley
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The dangers of methamphetamine use are being laid bare by a coroner looking into a woman's death from a brain haemorrhage while on the drug. Lisa McMillan was in a top job with the insurance firm, AXA, and was considered happy and healthy before being found dead in her Lower Hutt home in January 2010. Our reporter, Tim Graham, has been reading the findings and is with us now. LIVE
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17.30 HEADLINES
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A man from the United States, has been stopped at Auckland airport trying to smuggle cocaine inside his body. Mark Henderson, who's 41, had arrived from Chile, and admitted being a drug mule when his baggage was searched. He appeared in the Auckland District Court this afternoon. Mark Day from Customs is with us now. LIVE
The woman who flew to China after Westpac accidentally put 10-million dollars in her partner's account, says he was telling people he had won Lotto. Kara Hurring, who is 33, is on trial on 30 charges of theft and money laundering. Our Bay of Plenty reporter, Lorna Perry has been at the Rotorua District Court. LIVE
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17.45 MANU KORIHI
Thank you Mary, kia ora good evening,
Some patients are telling the Māori Pharmacists Association they're likely to stop asking for heart and blood drugs when the price of a prescription goes up from 3 to 5 dollars.
The Association says it appreciates that the health sector needs a cash boost, but it isn't fair that the fee applies to everyone - rich and poor.
A clinical pharmacist, Leanne Tekaru, says the cost increase will affect people - especially those on the poverty line.
MEDS-HEART-TP
IN:.......PEOPLE WERE SAYING..
OUT:...LIKELY TO COLLECT.
DUR:..23"
Leanne Tekaru says cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of mortality among Maori.
She says it worries her that some people won't be able to afford medicines.
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The director of a Māori anti-smoking group is thrilled more Māori will soon be able to help others to quit.
Te Puna Oranga, the Waikato District Health Board's Māori Health Service, has offered free quit card training to all Māori staff working within the Midland region.
Once the training is complete later this month, staff will be able to prescribe nicotine replacement therapy, where previously only health professionals could do so.
Te Ao Hurihuri director, Shane Bradbrook, says having more Māori available to help people quit will be a huge benefit.
QUIT-CARD-TP
IN:.......ITS MAORI INTERACTING AND...
OUT:...THEYRE ROLE MODELS AS WELL.
DUR:..18"
And Shane Bradbrook says that'll all help towards the goal of making New Zealand smoke-free by 2025.
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An expedition by two waka hourua, double hulled sailing canoes to Rapanui or Easter Island in August will be officially launched in Rotorua tonight.
The ten-thousand nautical mile return trip will use traditional methods of navigation.
The two waka hourua, Te Aurere and Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti were built by Hekenukumai Busby, who at the age of 80 will travel on the voyage which retraces the ancestors voyages to Aotearoa.
Te Aurere has visited parts of the Pacific before including Hawaii.
A crew member, Jack Thatcher says while the vessels will have modern technology as a backup, the voyage will be attempted using the stars, the moon and ocean currents.
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IN:.......WE HAVE SOME...
OUT:...TRADITIONALLY YES.
DUR:..15"
Jack Thatcher says the trip is likely to take about 10-weeks.
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The call's going out for budding Māori authors to join an intensive writing scheme.
The Māori Literature Trust wants people to enter the Te Papa Tupu Writers Programme, where works can be developed - and possibly published.
Writers need to first submit a story in Te Reo Māori or English.
Those selected will be given a basic living allowance for the six-month programme.
That's Te Manu Korihi news, I'll have a further bulletin in an hour.
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People living near Wellington airport are digging their heels in to airport demands they must leave their homes because of potential future noise problems. Yesterday, tenants living in 19 airport-owned properties on Bridge Street were told they have six months to leave before the houses will be demolished. The airport also wants to buy 22 other privately owned homes in the same area. Our Wellington Issues reporter, Cushla Norman, spoke to some of those whose homes are on the line. PKG
More than a thousand cannabis plants and 10 kilos of harvested marijuana, worth a million dollars, have been seized by the Police in Hawke's Bay. Five men, who police say are linked to the Mongrel Mob, have been charged with cultivating and possessing the drug.
Four properties in Napier, Hastings, Havelock North and Tuai - were searched in the raids.
Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Foster says the biggest haul was from a home in Havelock North's Middle Road, where 850 plants were taken from 3 rooms. PREREC
Mystery surrounds the death of Robert F Kennedy Junior's estranged wife, Mary, whose body has been found at her New York home. Her former husband is the nephew of President John F Kennedy and son of Senator Robert F Kennedy, who were both assassinated in the 1960s. The BBC's Jonathan Blake, has more: PKG