Checkpoint FOR WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH 2013
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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The Government has had to admit in Parliament that it forced Solid Energy to take on more debt. But the Finance Minister, Bill English, denies the Government is responsible for the state-owned coal company's financial demise. Here's our political reporter, Demelza Leslie.
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Our political editor Brent Edwards was listening to that and joins us now.
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The Minister of Housing has acknowledged tension between the Government and the Auckland Council over how to boost the supply of homes in the city. Nick Smith has released a report showing a sharp increase in house construction will be needed to meet demand in Auckland. The figures generally match those used by Auckland Council. Earlier the Government and council had disagreed over the best way to deal with the shortage and how quickly new housing land could be made available. Dr Smith says the two can now put their differences behind them and make progress.
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Sharon Brett-Kelly
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The Government has called off debt collectors trying to reclaim money from teachers and school staff overpaid by the school payroll system, Novopay. It is now looking again at Talent2's policies for pursuing overpayments; though it says they are the same as those used by the previous payroll provider, Datacom. The Government says about 200 school payroll debts are with the debt collecting agency Baycorp, but only seven relate to payments made since Novopay was introduced in August. Our education correspondent, John Gerritsen, filed this.
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For the first time, scientists in the United States can say for certain that Mars was once capable of supporting life. Experts at the US space agency NASA, say the first rock samples collected by its Curiosity rover prove the planet could have supported living microbes. One of the scientists, Joel Hurowitz, says it answers a fundamental question and they're giddy with excitement.
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17. 30 HEADLINES
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Failures at Immigration New Zealand have opened the way for scores of Pacific Island people to get reassessed for residency. The department's admitted the failings after an Ombudsman's investigation found over stayers were given inconsistent advice by poorly briefed immigration officers in late 2004 and early 2005. But the chair of the Auckland Tongan Advisory Council, Melino Maka says people have been deported recently because of the mistakes back then.
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Immigration New Zealand refused to be interviewed. In a statement it says it's now trying to contact people who may be eligible to invite them to apply for a visa and they'll have three months to do that. It says there is no guarantee a visa will be granted. Immigration lawyer Richard Small estimates a thousand people were denied visas eight years ago - he's with us now.
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To Rome now, and the cardinals have not yet chosen a new pope, but while a quick decision was always unlikely it hasn't stopped the faithful gathering outside, just in case. The ABC's Europe correspondent Mary Gearin is in St Peter's Square.
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A human rights activists says there is speculation in Fiji that three prison guards were sacked because some prisoners escaped, and NOT because they took part in beating the men. The country's prison department sacked the guards saying it was in connection with a nine minute video of one prisoner being beaten with batons and metal bars, and another being set upon by a dog. The video caused an international outcry. The chair of the NGO Coalition on Human Rights in Fiji - Shamima Ali - is with us now.
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17. 45 MANU KORIHI with Rosemary Rangitauira
Kia ora mai,
A kaumātua, who leads a group opposing state-asset share sales says the government's pre-registration figures do not prove New Zealanders are keen to buy shares.
Two-hundred and ninety thousand New Zealanders have registered their interest to buy shares in Mighty River Power, a few of which appear to have been falsely submitted.
Meanwhile, Keep Our Assets' petition that opposes the sale was delivered to parliament yesterday - complete with 392-thousand signatures.
A signatory, Te Ātiawa kaumātua, Peter Love, who heads the group, Say No to Asset Sales, doubts interest in buying shares is as popular as the government makes out.
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Peter Love of Te Ātiawa.
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A major Taranaki Māori dairy farmer is counting on its diverse farming portfolio to mitigate the effects of the increasing drought conditions.
Taranaki is joining other North Island regions seeking Government recognition that it is in a state of drought.
Eru Rerekura reports:
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The Māori Battalion's ceremonial Mere or greenstone club has been gifted to the National Army Museum in Waiouru for safe-keeping.
The Māori Battalion Association formally wound up in December.
The Director of the National Army Museum, Ginette Richardson says seven veterans attended a ceremony at the museum today to hand over the Mere.
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Ginette Richardson says the Mere will be given pride of place along with other artefacts from the Māori Battalion.
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Māori Television says it will continue to create a virtual Māori language classroom on its day-time programming.
In July last year the broadcaster began running a range of Māori language tuition shows from ten in the morning until three in the afternoon.
The programmes include the popular Kōrero Mai, which mixes basic Te Reo with an element of drama, and Tōku Reo which also uses elementary level Māori language.
Māori TV's Chief executive, Jim Mather, says ratings vary from about three-thousand to 19-thousand viewers for different shows.
He says it's important to give people the tools to develop their Reo Māori.
that's Te Manu Korihi news. . .
The Minister of Housing has acknowledged tension between the Government and the Auckland Council over how to boost the supply of homes in the city. Nick Smith has released a report showing a sharp increase in house construction will be needed to meet demand in Auckland. The figures show there's greenfield land ready to develop for fourteen and a half thousand new homes - enough to last for the next three years. They generally match those used by the council.
The two have disagreed over the best way to deal with the shortage and today Dr Smith acknowledged there is what he called constructive tension with the council. Our Auckland correspondent Todd Niall is with us now.
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The United Nations' Children's Fund is warning that two years of fighting in Syria has put an entire generation of children at risk. UNICEF says their mental and physical health is under threat and their education has been severely disrupted. The organisation also says its humanitarian funds are running so low a number of aid programmes may stop by the end of the month. The ABC's, Sarah Dingle, reports.
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