FAHEY SENT DOWN FOR SIX
The prominent GP and former Christchurch deputy mayor Morgan Fahey has been sent to jail for six years, for sex crimes committed against his patients over a period of 35 years, Fahey had earlier pleaded guilty to 13 charges including one of rape. One of the women who laid a complaint against him says she is disappointed with the sentence imposed by the High Court today, saying its light compared to what Fahey's victims have put up with for so many years. Our reporter Shona Geary was the court today and she joins me now.
SPEIGHT ISSUES FRESH DEMANDS
Fiji's rebel gunman George Speight has issued fresh demands today as negotiations drag-on over the release of his hostages, telling the military government to hand over power to him as leader of a new civilian government. The military in an attempt to win the release of the hostages held for almost two weeks, has offered Speight and six gunmen an amnesty for seizing parliament but NOT for crimes committed since then. Speight told a media conference he believes the amnesty should apply to ALL acts committed after the May 19th coup. That includes the murder of a policeman by a supporter of Speight. He's also called on the army to withdraw from the streets of the capital, Suva. AUDIO. Speight also criticised the chief of Fiji's military. AUDIO
PARENTAL LEAVE PROPOSAL
There are signs of increasing tension today between the Government coalition partners, after the Prime Minister Helen Clark's decision to slow down the pace of reform following a sharp slump in business confidence. Miss Clark is anxious not to impose any more costs on businesses and says the Alliance's proposal to fund paid parental leave through an employer levy will happen over her dead body. But Alliance MP and Women's Affairs MInister Laila Harre says the Prime MInister hasn't told her that, and she's sticking by an employer levy as the best approach. Laila Harre joins us now. LIVE
BUSINESS WITH CATHERINE WALBRIDGE
UNION MAN OF A GENERATION DIES
The leader of the bitter 1951 waterfront strike has died. Jock Barnes was the president of the Watersiders Union, and was at the forefront of the dispute which halted work on the waterfront for 151-days which at its height left 20-thousand people out of work. He died in Auckland yesterday, aged 92. Karlum Lattimore compiled this report. PKG
NEWS HEADLINES, SPORT WITH STEPHEN HEWSON
IMPOVERISHMENT HITS MāORI HARD
Two years after the much vaunted Closing the Gaps inititative was first announced Māori are still at the bottom of the heap. A major report just released by the Government shows the same degree of impoverishment as a similar report produced two years ago. Our Māori Issues Correspondent Chris Wikaira joins us now. LIVE Q&A
CALLS TO PROTECT
There've been calls today for law changes to stop the elderly being ripped off by their children who get power of attorney over their parents affairs. Power of attorney gives people the ability to make wideranging decisions about another's estate, including day-to-day matters such as how much money the other person can spend. Age Concern says there is growing evidence of the power being abused, with parents suddenly finding their accounts have been emptied or their house sold from underneath them. Age Concern's chief executive Clare Austin joins me now. LIVE
BOGUS TEACHER SENTENCED
A former Northland school teacher who has admitted faking his qualifications, has been sentenced to four months in jail, and ordered to repay the college 24 thousand dollars. Magnesh Reddy, who is 41, earlier pleaded guilty to charges of uttering a forged document, and using a document to obtain a benefit. Reddy had been working at Bream Bay College as a science teacher for four years when questions were raised about his competence. Our reporter Eileen Cameron's been at his sentencing at the Otahuhu District Court LIVE Q&A.
MORNING AFTER PILL GETS FULL SUBSIDY
The Morning after pill is to be fully subsidised by Pharmac, the Government's drug buying agency. From today, women will only have to pay their doctors' fee to get the morning after pill. Pharmac says it will cost them about 150 thousand dollars a year to subsidise the drug which is regarded as the most reliable form of emergency oral contraception. The move is being welcomed by reproductive health specialists including the Family Planning Association, who say it should result in fewer abortions. Christine Roke, is the Clinical spokesperson for Family Planning and she joins me now. LIVE
BEER GOES UP
If you are heading out for a drink this weekend, expect to pay more for your pint of beer. In keeping with inflation, the government has increased its alcohol excise tax by one-point-eight percent, and its the consumer who is expected to wear the cost. Jane Patterson reports. PKG
CLOSE AND THEME