Checkpoint FOR FRIDAY 25 MAY 2012
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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FX Chanting protesters confront the Prime Minister as he arrived at a central Auckland hotel for a post budget speech today. About 40 anti-poverty campaigners, angry at what they see as a hard-hearted Budget yesterday, blocked the way of people who'd come to hear John Key, and they had to be escorted in by police. In Parliament too there've been angry scenes this afternoon as MPs debated what the Opposition is calling the Budget's dirty little secret - a change to asset testing that means more elderly people will have to pay to stay in rest homes. The opposition parties say the elderly have been ambushed by the change. Our political reporter, Liz Banas, has more. PKG
The Crown says fundamental incompetence by the captain and navigation officer of the Rena, led to the grounding of the container ship on the Astrolabe Reef last October. Both men have pleaded guilty to several charges including wilfully attempting to pervert the course of justice, operating a vessel in a way which causes unnecessary danger and discharging harmful contaminants into a marine area. Tauranga District Court has been packed for today's sentencing of the pair. The Crown has said corners were cut from the agreed voyage plan to avoid being late into Tauranga Port, bringing the container ship perilously close to shallow waters before it grounded. The Crown says both men breached fundamental principles of navigation. The court also heard the captain believed the echo that appeared on the radar directly in the Rena's path, minutes before the grounding, was a small vessel or a false return. Reading from a transcript, here's the Crown lawyer Rob Ronayne Roh-NAYNE. CUT Mr Ronayne Roh-NAYNE says the actions of the captain and navigation officer reveal a theme of incompetence. CUT The court also heard that after the grounding the captain instructed the navigation officer to plot a false position and alter the GPS log book, and also asked him to destroy the original - although the navigation officer didn't do this. The captain then made a further alteration to the charts to show Rena was planning to pass well clear of the reef. Victim impact statements have also been read out in court. Colin Reeder, the chair of Te Moana a Toi iwi leaders forum, says local tribes have accepted the men's apology. CUT Sentencing is continuing, and we'll bring you the outcome on Checkpoint as soon as we have it.
The police want to test front line officers including members of the Armed Offenders Squad for drugs and alcohol after they've been involved in a shooting. 14 of the 35 AOS officers called out to an armed siege in Ōpunake last July, which resulted in Anthony Ratahi being shot dead, had been drinking in the previous 24 hours. One had had five beers over five hours - and his last drink was five and half hours before he was back in uniform. The men were all on call-back which means they can be asked to work but don't have to. None of them actually fired their weapons. Assistant Commissioner Nick Perry says the regulations haven't been clear enough and staff have been told they must not work if they've had anything to drink in the previous 12 hours. The squad members revealed the drinking to investigators after the shooting - and Mr Perry says ESR analysis shows they would not have been drunk. PREREC Assistant Commissioner Nick Perry. He says AOS members may have to be flown in from other parts of the country if too many off-duty staff close to an emergency have had a drink in the previous 12 hours.
Anger is growing among intermediate schools and others with children in years seven and eight over big cuts to staffing for technology teachers. The government's budget has done away with their special allocation of teachers for what used to be known as subjects like woodwork and cooking. Principals say the change endangers those subjects and the government has made a big mistake. Our education correspondent, John Gerritsen, reports. PKG
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Naomi Mitchell
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The Prime Minister is refusing to comment on the Te Urewera raids case, which has led to a series of protests following the sentencing of Tame Iti and Te Rangikaiwhiri Kemara. Today's protests in Wellington and Auckland follow a large rally outside the Mount Eden Prison last night, where the pair are jailed. And more action is planned for the weekend. Bridget Mills filed this report. PKG
In Egypt, the second day of voting for a new president has finished, with a result expected next week. The four front runners include two ministers from deposed president Hosni Mubarak's regime, and two fundamentalist Muslims. Whoever wins will face the daunting challenges of uniting a people divided by more than a year of turmoil and repairing an economy left in tatters. The ABC's Middle East correspondent Anne Barker reports from Cairo. PKG
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17.30 HEADLINES
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Christchurch has been shaken by another sharp aftershock but there are no reports of damage or injuries. The five point two magnitude quake, centred 10 kilometres east of the city at a depth of 11 kilometres, struck at about a quarter to three this afternoon. In the Cashel Mall in central Christchurch shoppers were sent running. CUT Pete Murphy had just landed in Christchurch on holiday from Sydney. CUT The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority cleared the central city's red zone of workers and the buildings there will be checked by engineers tomorrow morning. A move that one central city worker, Paul Heron, agrees with. CUT Mr Heron says the increase in aftershocks recently is a little unnerving. CUT
Papua New Guinea's political impasse has descended into chaos again after the Supreme Court ruled Prime Minister Peter O'Neill's Government is illegal. The ruling, upholds a court order from last year for the re-instatement of long-time Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare, and has the two rival groups claiming power ahead of next month's general election. As Johnny Blades reports, yesterdays arrest for sedition of PNG's Chief Justice has brought new uncertainty to the situation. PKG
An automatic enrolment of all workers into Kiwisaver looks even further away - just a day after the Budget delayed the move until the Government is running significant surpluses. Bill English now says the one-off exercise would have to compete with a number of other demands for the money. Our economics correspondent, Nigel Stirling, reports: PKG
In Western Australia, millionaire businessmen, property developers and some of the world's largest companies are paying 25 thousand dollars a year for exclusive access to the Premier and his ministers. The money gets you entry to a Liberal Party fundraising group called the Leaders' Forum. The revelations are in the West Australian newspaper - it's political editor Gary Adshead broke the story about the secretive club. PREREC
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17.45 MANU KORIHI
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In just the last few minutes, the captain of the Rena and its navigation officer have both been sent to jail for seven months. Name suppressions also been lifted at their sentencing in the Tauranga District Court. They were convicted for perverting the course of justice, operating a ship in a dangerous manner and discharging contaminants. Their ship ran into a reef off Tauranga last year, shedding tonnes of oil and debris. Our reporter Lorna Perry joins us now from the Tauranga District Court. LIVE
Documents show cash strapped KiwiRail might turn to hocking off assets in a bid to raise money. But the Rail and Maritime Transport Union says that's the last thing it should do. Here's our transport reporter, Clint Owens. PKG
Drug companies are warning the decision to cut Pharmac's budget will mean patients missing out on the latest medicines. The Health Minister, Tony Ryall, says funding for medicines is to be reduced by 30 million dollars in the coming year. Our Health Correspondent, Karen Brown, reports. PKG
Opposition politicians in Ukraine are demanding an investigation after a session in the parliament, or Rada, descended into a mass brawl. The bone of contention was a parliamentary bill that would give the Russian language equal status to Ukrainian in some parts of the country. And as the BBC's Jonathan Josephs explains, it all comes at a rather sensitive time. PKG