Checkpoint FOR FRIDAY 21 DECEMBER 2012
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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It's been revealed Treasury has problems with the Government's controversial plan to introduce charter schools and opposes using unregistered teachers. The privately-run but publicly funded schools should be in place by 2014. Documents show Treasury is not convinced the benefits of introducing the schools will outweigh the costs and risks because so little is known about what makes them a success or failure. Our Education Correspondent John Gerritsen has been looking the Treasury documents. I/V
The principal of the Taranaki school, that the teenage killer Jordan Nelson went to, is promising to campaign to change the nationwide system that failed to alert them to his troubled background. Jenny Gellen says this is in the face of inaction by the Education Minister Hekia Parata who she wrote to complaining about the electronic student tracking system called Enrol. Jordan Nelson, who is 13, was yesterday sentenced to 18 years in prison for murdering his step grandfather's partner in April. The step grandfather Kerry Locke told Radio New Zealand today that Child Youth and Family was supposed to organise counselling for the boy but it never happened. CYF has admitted there were delays in transferring the boy's case when he shifted from Hawke's Bay to Taranaki, but it has refused requests for an interview. Jenny Gellen of Waitara High School joins us now. I/V
There's been furious last minute political wrangling in the United States over the so-called fiscal cliff and the mix of tax hikes and spending cuts. As the clock ticks down towards the year-end deadline, Republicans have crafted a backup plan in case broader agreement can't be reached with the White House. The Republican dominated House of Representatives has passed a bill to cut domestic spending but after an abrupt recess the Republicans decided to postpone the vote on tax breaks, having failed to get the numbers. Kim Landers has the story from Washington. PKG
And now for another Novopay blunder - a school caretaker Ronnie Moffat has gone from being short by 110 dollars every pay day to getting holiday pay of 100 million dollars. Mr Moffat who works at Mt Aspiring College had asked for 26 days annual leave. He got the shock of his life when he opened up his pay slip this week to find he was getting his holiday pay at the rate of 658,800 dollars an hour. I/V
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH - Patrick O’Meara
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An international team of scientists in Antarctica has successfully drilled a 763 metre ice core which they say will give the most detailed record yet of climate change in the Ross Sea region. The project leader Dr Nancy Bertler from Victoria University says the drilling finally hit bedrock on Roosevelt Island after four summers of hard work on the ice. I/V
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17. 30 HEADLINES
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An Auckland Relief Committee and a mayoral fund have been set up to help Samoa and Fiji recover from Cyclone Evan. It follows a meeting today (Fri) of nearly 100 representatives from Pacific communities, Auckland Council, the foreign affairs ministry, the Samoan consulate and aid agencies. Here's our Pacific Issues correspondent, Karen Mangnall. PKG
Record numbers of low income people are relying on emergency food in the lead up to Christmas. The Auckland City Missioner says the queue of people waiting for food , from the Mission on Hobson St down the road to St Matthew's Church, and is the longest she has ever seen. Aid organizations say people are feeling the pressure of high unemployment and job cuts, combined with the stresses of Christmas. Astrid Gjerde (Yer-da) looks at why so many people need help this Christmas. PKG
In Australia it's been revealed that a dozen customs staff are now suspected of corrupt activity which has allowed drugs and guns to enter Australia through Port Botany in Sydney. The Federal government has announced a review of the nation's customs agency after an investigation by the ABC and Fairfax Media revealed that a cell of suspected corrupt customs officers helped smuggle drugs through Sydney Airport. The ABC's Simon Lauder reports. PKG
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17. 45 MANU KORIHI - Eru Rerekura
Kia ora mai,
The Crown signed a Deed of Settlement today on Whakatū marae in Nelson, for all outstanding historical Treaty claim with Ngāti Koata.
It's the 12th settlement the Crown has signed this year with iwi.
Heugh Chappell reports:
NGATI KOATA SIGN VCR
IN........THE DEED INCLUDES
OUT....IS HEUGH CHAPPELL
DUR....1' 02"
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The Māori tertiary institution Te Wānanga o Aotearoa which deliveries programme at 24 locations throughout New Zealand, has moved its staff and students in Palmerston North onto the Hokowhitu site of Massey University's Manawatu campus.
The move followed a ceremony to handover guardianship of Te Kupenga o Te Mātauranga marae.
The marae which opened in 1980, is on the grounds of what was then the Palmerston North Teachers' College, which became part of Massey in 1996.
It's now covered by a lease agreement between Te Wānanga and Massey University, that includes several buildings at Hokowhitu, which about 60 Wānanga staff and up to 600 students will use.
The lease is for two years and provides further rights of renewal in 2014 and 2016.
Te Wānanga o Aotearoa will share the site with Massey staff, and existing tenants which include Tū Toa School, which offers a secondary education for students, with excellence fostered within a culture built on Māori values.
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The Waitangi Tribunal has released its fourth report on how the Crown treated the people of Ngāi Tūhoe in the past.
Previous editions have covered how the Crown acted mercilessly during an 1869 military operation in the Urewera district, broke promises and ruthless purchased land.
The more than 350 page report investigates how Māori communities have fared in the twentieth century, with only fragments of their original land.
It examines the police action to arrest the Tūhoe leader and prophet Rua Kēnana, in Maungapohatu in April 1916.
The Tribunal describes the action as an invasion, and the Crown guilty of destroying a vibrant community.
The Crown has conceded that its force was excessive, and breached the Treaty of Waitangi because it acted in an unreasonable manner.
The Waitangi Tribunal also investigated land development initiatives by the Crown, which were intended to deliver benefits, but instead Ngāi Tūhoe was lumped with heavy debts when some of its land was returned.
That's Te Manu Korihi news, I'll have a final bulletin for the year in an hour.
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Sea Group Holdings which has been granted a prospecting permit to look for gold in part of Coromandel harbour is already facing opposition. Gold miners in the early 20th century dumped their debris and waste into the harbour which has made the Bay muddy. Mani Dunlop reports. PKG
The founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, has addressed his supporters marking six months since he sought asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. The checkmate continues with the UK which is obliged to extradite him to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault, and Ecuador which says Mr Assange's fears of political persecution in the United States are legitimate. Rachael Brown has our report from London. PKG
A Dunedin secondary school is hoping to improve their 13 and 14 year olds' literacy by tackling what's known in the teaching profession as "summer fade". Queens High School has given out bags full of books for students to read over the holidays in a new programme teachers hope will be a success. The librarian Carole Gardiner, came up with the idea. I/V
A company helping to demolish earthquake damaged buildings in Christchurch, has come to the rescue of the heritage-listed Peterborough Centre. And it's holding the project up as an example for owners around the country debating whether it's worth strengthening historic buildings. Conan Young reports. PKG