**** CKPT FOR WEDS OCT 18 *******
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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The Dunedin Casino has had its licence suspended - because it never intervened to stop a woman who gambled 6 point 6 million dollars in just under three years.
The landmark decision - by the Gambling Commission - the first time a casino has had its licence suspended. The Internal Affairs Department sought the suspension and hopes it will send a warning to the country's other casinos
Our Dunedin reporter Rowan Quinn has more. PKG
More from Internal Affairs' director of gambling compliance - Mike Hill.
He's pleased with the two day punishment handed out to the Dunedin Casino. PREREC
Iraq's President says introducing Iran and Syria into his country to help curb violence, would put an end to terrorism. Jalal Talabani is welcoming the recommendation, from an American cross-party panel set up to examine US policy. CUT
The panel, led by the former Secretary of State, James Baker, is looking at future alternatives to the US policy. The BBC's John Simpson has more. PKG
Industry experts predict Telecom will emerge as a stronger, more powerful player in the IT industry - as a result of a review expected to cost hundreds of jobs.
The country's largest listed company has confirmed cuts are in the pipeline, but won't confirm or deny reports suggesting there'll be as many as 700 redundancies by Christmas. Georgina Bond reports. PKG
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1720 BUSINESS NEWS WITH
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Amid cries of corruption and Mugabe-style politics, Parliament is set to pass the controversial legislation which will validate unlawful election spending within the hour. Labour has the numbers to pass the Bill, which retrospectively approves Parliamentary spending since 1989. The final vote will come after another day of high rhetoric and political point scoring in the House. Our political reporter Julian Robins has been monitoring the debate. PKGE
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1730 HEADLINES
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SPORTS NEWS WITH
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A man's been charged with sexually assaulting three women patients while he was working as an ambulance officer in Auckland. The police say the attacks happened while the women were being transported to hospital between 1999 and 2000. The 33-year-old is no longer working as an ambulance officer.
We're joined now by the head of the police investigation, Detective Sergeant, Tim Leitch. LIVE
FIJI: A brewing political crisis in Fiji has prompted Prime Minister Helen Clark to re-think whether she'll be at next week's Pacific Islands Forum. Fiji is set to host the meeting of Pacific leaders, but reports suggest that the head of Fiji's military, Commodore Frank Bainamarama, is threatening to unseat the Government. Our Pacific Issues Correspondent Richard Pamatatau joins us now. LIVE
VALIDATE (2): Returning to Parliament now... And in the last few minutes MPs have voted by 61 to 50 in favour of legislation which will validate the unlawful use of Parliamentary funding by political parties for electioneering. Labour, New Zealand First, United Future and the Progressives backed the bill, with National and ACT opposed. The Greens abstained, while the Māori Party did not vote.
The Bill retrospectively makes lawful ALL Parliamentary spending by political parties since 1989. It also sets out a temporary definition of what is allowable spending, until a full re-write of the rules can be undertaken. READER
WHALES: New Zealand may join forces with other countries to put diplomatic pressure on Iceland over its whale hunting. Iceland's resuming commercial whaling for the first time in two decades, ignoring an international moratorium and provoking outrage among conservation groups. Helen Vaughan reports.
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WAATEA NEWS WITH
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VOLUNTEERS: People who do voluntary work for charities might soon be able to claim a tax rebate against the time they spend volunteering. It's one of a range of proposals in a government discussion paper on providing tax incentives for giving to charities. Here's our political editor Brent Edwards. PKGE
NORTHLAND: Students at a Northland school have today fulfilled a vision that's been 16 years in the making, witnessing the opening of a local marine reserve they devised. Pupils at Kamo High School came up with the idea for the 236 hectare Whangarei Harbour Marine Reserve back in 1990, and it was developed by successive years of senior students. One, Samara Sutherland, became involved as a 7th former in 1998, and now works with students at her old school as a marine Educator. Samara says seeing all the hard work come to fruition is extremely satisfying. PREREC
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