Checkpoint FOR WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER 2012
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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A judge has found the man who killed Auckland teenager, Christie Marceau, NOT guilty of her murder by reason of insanity.
Akshay Chand who is 19 will be detained as a special patient in a secure ward indefinitely. He stabbed Christie Marceau to death at her North Shore family home in November last year. He was on bail at the time on charges of kidnapping and threatening to rape and assaulting her. Her family would say nothing till after sentencing tomorrow on those charges, which he admitted. Our reporter Bridget Mills is at court. LIVE
Iwi with treaty claims are going to be offered a stake in State-Owned Energy companies which are up for partial sale. The Government has announced that it will set aside shares and Iwi will be able to receive a percentage of their forecast settlement package 'on account’. Those taking up the offer must pay the full price for the shares, and any amount drawn down will be deducted from the final treaty settlement. And each Iwi will be limited to five, ten or 12-and-a-half percent of their likely total settlement, depending on their situation. The Treaty Negotiations Minister, Chris Finlayson, joins us now. LIVE
The Defence Force is checking to see if it has put dangerous goods on any other passenger planes after admitting putting explosive gas canisters on an Air New Zealand flight. It failed to tell the airline or safety authorities about endangering that 2009 flight, and the only investigation so far has been by Defence, though a Civil Aviation Authority inquiry began yesterday. We wanted to ask the Defence Minister what he's done to get to the bottom of what's gone on and to guarantee safety on passenger flights, but he refused to speak to Checkpoint and wouldn't give a reason. We similarly asked the Defence Force to come on.
But they refused - and hung up when we asked a spokesperson to explain their statement that the Air Force had done a 'full' investigation of 2009 flight. It has since admitted it did not tell Air New Zealand about the canister flight or about its investigation.
The chief executive of the Civil Aviation Authority Graeme Harris says there wouldn't have been anything about the shipment which would have alerted the airline. PREREC
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Kate Gudsell
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In New York, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have clashed numerous times in a second fiery presidential debate which produced no clear winner or loser. It was a town-hall style match where 80 undecided voters put questions to both candidates.
The pair attacked each other over jobs, Libya, and energy - here's Barack Obama. CUT The debate was moderated by CNN's Candy Crowley who had her work cut out controlling the candidates - including during this exchange which drew laughter from the audience. CUT Listening to the debate in Long Island was our correspondent Simon Marks who says Barack Obama certainly did better second time around. PREREC
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17.30 HEADLINES
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The killer of Auckland teenager, Christie Marceau, has been found NOT guilty of her murder by reason of insanity. Akshay Chand who is 19 will be detained as a special patient in a secure ward indefinitely. He stabbed Christie Marceau to death at her North Shore family home in November last year. Chand was on bail at the time on charges of kidnapping and threatening to rape and assaulting her, which he has admitted and will be sentenced on tomorrow. The Crown Prosecutor Simon Moore joins us now.
LIVE
Returning to a leading story this evening... Iwi leaders are pleased the government has preserved opportunities for yet-to-settle iwi. The Government has announced that it will set aside shares in State-Owned Energy companies and Iwi will be able to receive a percentage of their forecast settlement package 'on account'. Mark Solomon is the chair of Ngāi Tahu, which has already settled its Treaty claim and is therefore, is not affected by this announcement. However, as the chair of the Collective Iwi Leaders Group, Mr Solomon has been instrumental in securing the deal. He joins us now. LIVE
The Government Communications Security Bureau is refusing to say whether any disciplinary action has been taken against staff involved in the Kim Dotcom affair. Its director Ian Fletcher says he will not comment on employment matters after being asked whether senior staff member Hugh Wolfensohn had been put on gardening leave. Here's our political editor Brent Edwards. PKG
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17.45 MANU KORIHI
Tēnā koutou katoa, good evening,
About sixty five iwi are to be offered the chance to take shares in state owned enterprises.
The stakes will be available to tribes that have not yet settled their Treaty claims.
The Government says the scheme allows iwi more flexibility about how their settlement money is invested.
They would be able to get the shares up front - ahead of their final Treaty resolution with the Crown.
Tribes would be eligible to obtain between 5 and 12 and half percent of the their settlement package.
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The Iwi Leaders Group is pleased that tribes have a choice to take up the shares - saying the Government has done the right thing.
The Chair of the collective, Mark Solomon, says at the end of the day, it will be entirely up to each iwi - but the option is there to take the stakes.
He says it's very important for tribes to secure assets ahead of the Treaty settlement - because reaching a final resolution with the Crown can take years.
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A Ruapehu iwi says it will hold back on the Government's offer to set aside shares in State-Owned Energy companies - until the proprietary water rights issue has been resolved.
The Ngāti Rangi Treaty negotiator, Che Wilson, says in Te Reo his iwi can see the benefits of the offer - especially because it will help speed up negotiations with the Crown.
NRANGI SHARES TP
IN: KO TE MEA...
OUT: ...ON ACCOUNT SETTLEMENTS.
DUR: 27"
Che Wilson of Ngāti Rangi.
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A Hastings kaupapa Māori organisation has taken out the top group award in this year's New Zealand Water Safety Awards.
Te Tai Timu Trust which was established in 2007 by a Flaxmere resident, runs an annual summer camp to teach young Māori about staying safe in the water.
Heugh Chappell reports:
WATER AWARD VCR
IN: ONE HUNDRED SEVEN TO...
OUT: ...IS HEUGH CHAPPELL.
DUR: 50"
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The Chilean ambassador to New Zealand is confident the Waka Tapu expedition sailing towards Easter Island will cement stronger bonds between the Rapanui people and Māori.
In September two double hulled canoes Te Aurere and Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti set off from Auckland on an epic return journey to retrace the ancient voyages of their Polynesian ancestors.
The waka have already made their first pit stop at Tubuai in the Austral Islands, with Mangareva in their sights, before they reach Easter Island, which is a territory of Chile.
Isauro Torres says he knows the younger generation on the island will be very receptive to learn from their Māori cousins.
That's Te Manu Korihi news, I'll have a further bulletin in an hour.
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Some bars are forcing drinkers to have their photos taken to keep out people who are under age or known trouble makers.
Drinkers' IDs are also being scanned and stored, and the system will alert other bars about drinkers who've been kicked out of one. Briony Sowden reports. PKG
The Finance Minister says he will still veto a Labour member's bill to extend paid parental leave, even if the policy costs a lot less than he said it would. Bill English has said the Labour MP, Sue Moroney's bill to extend paid leave to parents of new-borns from 14 to 26 weeks, would cost 530 million dollars over three or four years, and that's unaffordable. But even with new official figures showing the cost would be about a third of that, Mr English is standing his ground and it will not become law Here's our political reporter, Liz Banas. PKG
Hilary Mantel has become the first British author and the first women to win the Man Booker prize for fiction - twice. Her novel, Bring Out the Bodies, was named the winner at a ceremony in the Guildhall in London earlier today. CUTS