**** CKPT FOR WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 29 *******
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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FIJI MEETING: Fiji's Prime Minister and its military commander are now flying home amidst new hopes that talks here in Wellington might have averted the prospect of a coup. The Foreign Minister Winston Peters, who sat in on the talks between the Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase and the army commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama, is optimistic. He says good progress has been made. CUT
Mr Peters says New Zealand is willing to offer any help to defuse tension in Fiji and it might include him travelling there for more talks. But he refused to be drawn on just what the two men have agreed to in their meeting today. CUT
Fiji's police commissioner Andrew Hughes was one of those who accompanied Mr Qarase to Wellington, prompting questions about his involvement in the process. Mr Peters says that was a matter for Mr Qarase. CUT
I spoke to the Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase just before he boarded a plane for Nadi. PREREC
HEALTH BAN: The Medical Council has come out in support of a ban on strike action in the health sector. 12 hundred laboratory workers walked off the job today in yet another pay dispute to hit hospitals this year. Just last month the Canterbury District Health Board voted to ask the Government to make it illegal for health workers to go on strike. Professor John Campbell who is chairperson of the Medical Council agrees with the Board's move saying another way has to be found to resolve arguments over pay and conditions. PREREC
HEALTH STRIKE: Auckland City Hospital is providing emergency and urgent services only - as the strike by laboratory workers is into its first day.The Chief Medical Officer for the DHB Dr David Sage is with us now . LIVE
BRASH LAPSE: The National MP Don Brash concedes he may have had a memory lapse about receiving an email from the Exclusive Brethren on their election campaign. He maintains the first he knew of the pamphlet campaign was in August last year. But the author of the book the Hollow Men, Nicky Hager, has released more emails today to back his claim that Doctor Brash received an email from the Brethren about the campaign, in May. Here's our parliamentary chief reporter Clare Pasley. PKG
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1720 BUSINESS NEWS WITH BADEN CAMPBELL
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1730 HEADLINES
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SPORTS NEWS WITH STEPHEN HEWSON
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DUNEDIN CADBURY: Cadbury's has unwrapped plans for a 20 million dollar expansion to its New Zealand factory in Dunedin. It says the cash injection will make it a big player in the Asia-Pacific chocolate market. And the government's got behind the company with a 2 million dollar grant to go into the new plant's research and development centre. Rowan Quinn filed this report. pkg
SPRAY DEATH: The Hamilton man who died after being restrained and pepper sprayed by police has been described by his family as placid and easy going, but someone quite different if he didn't take his medication. 46 year old Johnathan Ripia was a schizophrenic and was known to the police. He was taken off life support yesterday, after he collapsed while being arrested at the Hamilton District Court on Monday for allegedly assaulting a police officer. His family attended a media conference today. Andrew McRae was there and compiled this report pkg
HEALTH GARDASIL: Australian schoolgirls will start being immunised with the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil from next April. Prime Minister John Howard and his Health Minister Tony Abbott announced that the national vaccination program would cover 12 and 13 year-olds. CUT
For New Zealand schoolgirls - there's no such national programme. Gardasil is available from GPs for girls and women aged 9 to 26...for a price. But the Ministry of Health is still deciding whether the vaccine will be included on the National Immunisation Schedule in 2008. Doctor Nikki Turner is director of the immunisation advisory centre at Auckland University has been pushing for Gardasil to be more widely available - and free. She's on the line now. LIVE
AIR NZ KORU: Unions are fighting a legal battle with Air New Zealand, over their use of the koru symbol. The carrier's issued a copyright infringement notice, objecting to union use of the image morphed into a pair of scissors, as part of their 'Stop the Cuts' campaign. Helen Vaughan has more. PKG
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WAATEA NEWS WITH ERU REREKURA
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MURDER CHARGE: An Auckland man charged with murder had pictures of one of the victims displayed in front of him when he appeared in court today. In the packed public gallery grieving family members held up photos of the dead man. 24 year old Darin Joseph Gardiner was today charged with the murder of Kane Wright after a car repeatedly rammed a group of people in Pakuranga last month. He's already been charged with murdering Melissa Viall. Our reporter Hannah Ockelford was at the Manukau District court. PKGE
HEALTH RELEASE: Patients committed for treatment after being found insane by the courts, could be released into community care earlier - without being a danger to the public. The is according to the first annual report from the Office of the Director of Mental Health. It finds although most of these patients are commonly readmitted to hospital following their initial rehabilitation, only a small percentage reoffend violently. The report's excited the Mental Health Commissioner, Mary O'Hagan. CUT
The Director of Mental Health is Doctor David Chaplow. He told me more about the reoffending rate for special patients. PREREC
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