Checkpoint FOR MONDAY 24 JUNE 2013
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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The Government is struggling to convince United Future and New Zealand First to support its plan to extend the powers of the country's electronic spy agency. Both have doubts about the legislation and the United Future leader, Peter Dunne, says the Government Communications Security Bureau should stick to spying on foreigners. And in a submission on the Bill the New Zealand Law Society says there is no clear justification for the Government spying on its citizens. Here's our political editor Brent Edwards.
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Net migration has hits its highest monthly level in 3-and-a-half years, the gain mostly down to fewer people leaving for Australia. Statistics New Zealand says the seasonally adjusted gain of 17-hundred people in May was also boosted by people moving to work in the repair of earthquake damaged Christchurch. For the year, the country gained 62-hundred people, with Canterbury accounting for more than 40 percent of that. Our economics correspondent, Patrick O'Meara reports.
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Unprecedented damage to rail lines caused by the Wellington storm will disrupt commuter train travel all week, pushing more traffic on to the motorway. Kiwirail says its people are working 24 hours a day to fix to the track between Petone and Wellington washed out so badly by wind-driven waves last week that it's been hanging unsupported. Kiwirail's chief executive Jim Quinn says it's an enormous job that means trucking in huge rocks from Linton and Ōhākune.
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Helicopters, bulldozers and teams of volunteers are out in force helping snowed-in farms and stranded stock throughout the Otago and Canterbury high country. About 12 farms in Otago are cut off following last week's winter storm, and farmers fear their stock could starve if they don't get feed to them soon. Marcus Irvine reports.
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To South Africa now, where Nelson Mandela remains in hospital in a critical condition. His eldest daughter, Maki (mark-ee) Mandela, told CNN her father still opens his eyes and that he hasn't told the family that they should release him.
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She also rebuked the media.
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The BBC's Karen Allen is with us now from Pretoria.
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH JENNY RUTH
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A convicted killer, who's been captured in Queensland's Sunshine Coast after being on the run for 15-years, has been travelling on a fake New Zealand passport. Simon Hennessey was jailed for life after stabbing his aunt 70 times in Plymouth, England, in 1978. He escaped from an open prison 20-years later. Queensland police arrested him a week ago shortly after he arrived back from a trip to New Zealand where he'd been travelling on a false passport under the name Robert Jeffrey. Daren (Darren) Edwards from the Sunshine Coast CIB says Henessey told police his real name once he realised he was going to be in custody for some time.
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The police here have confirmed they're investigating Henessey for similar offending in New Zealand. They would not comment any further. Immigration New Zealand is also investigating.
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17. 30 HEADLINES
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A coroner has found a prominent Kāpiti Coast couple died in a suicide pact, after the husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Adrian Webster, who was 71, and his wife Marei [muh-RYE] Webster, 76, were found lying on a bed together, dead at their Paekākāriki home, north of Wellington, last year. Our reporter, Cushla Norman has been reading the report.
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The electronic surveillance whistle-blower, Edward Snowden, is in Moscow while reportedly preparing to travel to Ecuador where he's seeking asylum after he fled Hong Kong over the weekend. The United States government has revoked his passport, and there's fury in Washington that the authorities in Hong Kong allowed him to leave the territory AFTER America issued an extradition request. Mr Snowden faces theft and espionage charges in the United States. Our Washington Correspondent Simon Marks reports.
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The Law Society has condemned plans to extend the spying powers of the Government Communications Security Bureau saying the country is sleepwalking into alarming changes. In its submission to the Intelligence and Security Committee, the society says there is no clear justification for what's being proposed. The bill explicitly allows the GCSB to help Police, SIS, or the Defence Force gather information on New Zealanders. Dr Rodney Harrison QC, who wrote the Law Society's submission, says the legislation enables the bureau to spy on New Zealanders in a way not previously contemplated.
IV
Rescue operations have resumed in flood hit northern India after a temporary suspension of helicopter flights due to bad weather. Tens of thousands of people are still stranded in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand (ooh-tah-ruh-kand). It's feared at least one thousand people have died and it's unlikely the true number of victims will be known for some time. Where possible survivors are being lifted from the worst-hit areas by helicopter and special trains are also carrying people to safety. Uttarakhand (ooh-tah-ruh-kand) has been experiencing its heaviest rainfall in nearly eighty years. The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appealed to all Indians to donate generously to help their distressed fellow citizens rebuild their lives. Samjoy Majumder reports.
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17. 45 MANU KORIHI
Nga mihi o te ahiahi po,
More than two hundred hapū members have marched to their local council - to reinforce their opposition to a major roading project planned for Rotorua.
Ngāti Uenukukopako, Ngāti Te Roro o Te Rangi and Ngāti Hurunga Te Rangi are against a plan preferred by the Transport Agency.
The route called the Rotorua Eastern Arterial will run from the city airport, close to the edge of Lake Rotorua, towards Sala Street.
A Ngāti Hurunga Te Rangi descendent, Selwyn Insley, says they timed this morning's hīkoi with a hui for Rotorua District Council's Te Arawa Standing Committee.
ROAD-REMIND-TP
IN and let them know
OUT the kaupapa at the moment
DUR 17
Selwyn Insley of Ngāti Hurunga Te Rangi.
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A Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whakaue ki Maketū representative says a diversion of the Kaituna River almost sixty years ago, has resulted in a change for the worse for what was once known as the food bowl of Te Arawa.
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council has committed six-point-two million dollars towards a project which would see almost a quarter of the River re-diverted back into the Estuary to improve its health.
Since 1956 the River has been diverted out to sea at Te Tumu, north of Maketū, to protect low-lying farmland from flooding.
Maria Horne from Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whakaue ki Maketū says the Estuary was once known as the food bowl of Te Arawa.
maketu-maria-tp
IN WE STILL GET
OUT OF OUR FOODBOWL
DUR 42"
Maria Horne from Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Whakaue ki Maketū
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The FIRST Union says it wants to hold urgent talks about forestry sector deaths with the politician who wins the Ikaroa-Rāwhiti by-election.
The union is campaigning for an independent inquiry to be held into the number of deaths in the industry.
It says twenty five people have died and almost 900 have been seriously injured while working in forests in the past five years.
The Wood Secretary of the FIRST Union, Rawiri Daniels, says a meeting with the new MP for the eastern Māori seat will be a priority - as there are a lot of forests in the region.
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The fine weather in the capital city has allowed the voyaging waka, Te Matau a Maui, to finally set sail from the harbour.
The double hull canoe was due to return to Napier a week ago, after spending a week in the city to celebrate the Māori new year, Matariki, or Puanga.
The Ngāti Kahungunu waka also faced a choppy journey to Wellington early this month, with strong winds prompting the crew to anchor in Island Bay for two nights.
That's Te Manu Korihi news, I'll have another bulletin in an hour
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An American intent on solving the mystery of pilot, Amelia Earhart, is heading to Christchurch to see what he calls a gold mine of photos. They show the remote Nikumaroro island in Kiribati, previously Gardner Island, north of New Zealand. The archivist at the Air Force Museum, Matthew O'Sullivan, knew for 20 years he had the film, but not what was on it until he opened it recently. Some people believe Earhart and her navigator ended up as castaways on the island, rather than dying at sea after taking off from Papua New Guinea in 1937. Ric Gillespie is the founder of the International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery.
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The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has accepted the resignation of his newly-appointed prime minister, Rami Hamdallah, just over two weeks after he took office, plunging the government into another crisis. The university professor, with little political experience, abruptly resigned on Friday. Correspondents say there's been a power struggle within the Palestinian leadership, with the prime minister and president unable to strike a deal. Yolande Knell reports from Ramallah.
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Presenter: Mary Wilson
Editor: Maree Corbett
Deputy editor: Phil Pennington
Producers: Mei Yeoh, Craig McCulloch