Checkpoint FOR THURSDAY 4 APRIL 2013
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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The State Services Commissioner says he was surprised the Prime Minister rang an old family friend directly about the country's top spy job. Iain Rennie, addressing a news conference today about Ian Fletcher's appointment to head the Government Communications Security Bureau, said he had expected the Commission would ring Mr Fletcher. We'll speak to Mr Rennie in a moment. The Prime Minister John Key today again defended his role, calling the criticisms ridiculous. The Labour Party deputy leader Grant Robertson is calling on the Auditor-General's Office to investigate Ian Fletcher's appointment.
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Another critic is the director of the GCSB for four years up till 2010, Sir Bruce Ferguson. He says the sticking point is that Mr Rennie and Mr Key were happy to appoint the head of a crucial agency facing big changes after interviewing only a single person. We'll speak to Sir Bruce shortly. But first, the State Services Commissioner, Iain Rennie, is with us now.
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Sir Bruce Ferguson is the former Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force and headed up the GCSB under a four year contract till 2010. He's with us now.
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH
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The lawyer for one of the men charged with assaulting Jesse Ryder says the attack wasn't a Jesse hate crime and the cricketer was only punched once. Two men aged 20 and 37, appeared in the Christchurch District Court this morning and have been remanded on bail without plea for two weeks. Marcus Irvine was in court for the defence lawyer Jonathan Eaton's comments.
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A victim of cyber bullying says she wishes new laws to tackle the problem were around in 2009 to help her. The Justice Minister, Judith Collins, has announced details of the proposed laws, which would mean online bullies could face up to three years in prison. There'd be a new offence - incitement to commit suicide - that could mean jail time for the offender even if the victim does not kill or harm themselves. Sending or posting material online that is grossly offensive, indecent, menacing or knowingly false could be punished with three months prison or a two thousand dollar fine. A separate agency would also be set up as a first port of call for complaints. Jess Wilson was 20 when she started to receive anonymous threatening emails, which only stopped when she said she was going to the police.
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17. 30 HEADLINES
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The Housing Minister says the shortage of homes in Christchurch is a challenge, not a crisis. A report released by his Ministry today had found the loss of about 11 and a half thousand homes in the city, is driving up house prices and rents, and increasing financial pressure on families. The Housing Minister, Nick Smith is with us now.
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Mighty River Power's directors are to receive a pay hike worth tens of thousands of dollars, in a move the Prime Minister describes as sensible but which opposition parties are branding exorbitant and outrageous.
The Government says it needs to pay more to attract and retain directors who have the required governance skills to run the state owned energy company, which is to be partially privatised within weeks. Here's our political reporter, Tim Graham.
PKG
North Korea's army has declared it's got final approval to launch a "merciless" military attack on the US using "cutting edge" nuclear weapons. As Washington analysts try to decipher whether it amounts to an all-out declaration of war, the US military is moving an advanced missile system to the Pacific island of Guam. And, in the last few hours North Korea has told South Korean companies operating in an industrial park on the northern side of the border that they have to be out within a week. With each development in this growing crisis there's an increasing focus on China's role in helping to resolve it. As the ABC's Barney Porter reports.
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17. 45 MANU KORIHI
Kia ora mai, good evening,
The High Court's ordered that all trustees on an Auckland treaty negotiating tribal body be removed and a new election be held.
Two factions of Ngāi Tai ki Tamaki Tribal Trust applied to the court due to a squabble within the organisation.
Rosemary Rangitauira has been reading the judgement:
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The Department of Corrections says it received no indication from Māori rehabilitation providers that its programme was lacking Māori focus.
The Mauri Tū Pae programme was recently re-written and rolled out in the five Māori Focus Units around the country, which house about 300 men.
One of its authors, Hinewirangi Kohu-Morgan, says only forty per cent of the new content is based on Māori values and tikanga, which is a step up from past versions, but is still not enough.
The department's Assistant General Manager for programme design and implementation, David Wales, says there's more Māori content than that and concerns about the level of Māori haven't been raised.
He says there was a lot of collaboration with Māori providers when writing the programme, which is still in its early stages.
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Iwi representatives in Waikato are praising the consultation process over the design of the southern-most stage of the Waikato Expressway.
The contract was announced today for the section between Tamahere and Cambridge, which will cost 250-million dollars.
Ngāti Korokī Kahukura and Te Whakaminenga O Haua have worked closely with the design team over a number of years.
A spokesperson, Rangi Kaukau says urupā or burial grounds, burrow-pits and a pa site were discovered along the planned corridor of the new road.
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Rangi Kaukau says they were successful in getting the wāhi tapu sites protected.
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Waikato-Tainui is to distribute nearly one-million dollars in education grants and scholarships.
The money will go to just over 600-tribal members for assistance in tertiary study.
The majority of the successful applicants are studying at Bachelor degree level, with 46 studying for a Masters degree and 12 at PHD level.
The grants money comes from the Iwi commercial company, Tainui Group Holdings.
That's Te Manu Korihi news, I'll have a further bulletin in an hour.
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Street cleaning and gardening work will be contracted out in Wellington with at least 20 council jobs to be axed. The mayor Celia Wade-Brown used her casting vote to break a deadlock this afternoon over cutting the number of council City Operations staff from 35 to between 12 and 15. Councillor Paul Eagle who opposed the move questions how the mayor is OK with outsourcing but recently stood against state asset sales. Wellington's mayor Celia Wade-Brown joins us now.
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The latest extension to the Waikato Expressway is being hailed as an economic necessity and a lifesaver by reducing fatal crashes. The two-point-four billion dollar project linking Auckland with Cambridge by a four-lane highway is slowly taking shape as the various sections are designed and then built. The Hamilton to Cambridge section, worth 250-million dollars was today awarded to Heb Construction. Andrew McRae was at the contract announcement in Cambridge.
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The US talk-show host, Jay Leno , is stepping down as the presenter of one of the most famous programmes in the country - the Tonight Show. It's one of the longest-running and most successful shows on American television with Jay Leno presenting it for more than 20 years. He will be replaced by Jimmy Fallon, who will take the show back to its original home of New York. The BBC' s David Willis reports from LA.
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