subject: 13 February, 2005 ----- WYSIWYG NEWS ------------------------------ Copyright, Brian Harmer Summer's brightest jewel, the crimson pohutukawa is all but gone. Just a few heroic clusters continue to resist the march of time and the blustering Nor' Westerly. For the most part, the glory of their flowering has simply fallen off or blown away, leaving nothing more than dusty red detritus beneath the trees, or clogging drains and gutters. This transformation is like watching the Coldstream Guards outside Buckingham Palace changing from the magnificence of their ceremonial scarlet tunics, to the dull patterned khaki of their working uniforms. For the next nine or ten months, these trees will wear the sullen camouflage of their evergreen leaves to persuade us that they are not really pohutukawa trees at all, at least not until next flowering season. "No-one here but us ordinary old trees! Move along! Nothing to see here!" Well thanks anyway for the show. Though summer was nothing much to speak of, you did your part splendidly despite the wind and rain. There is still the occasional Rata in bloom, of course, but they have always marched to the beat of a different drum. And here and there, there is a flowering eucalypt, whose gaudy orange red colours mark it as a flashy foreigner, well enough in its arid homeland, but jarring in this environment. Meanwhile, in the Hutt Valley, the new shape of the River is almost complete. It still has a gentle and pleasing curve, though not as nature designed it. Strand Park on the Eastern bank has had about a third of its area shaved off, and a new piece of land of roughly similar are has been grafted onto the Western bank. The reclaimed area is still raw, bright orange clay being the dominant colour, and no doubt it will take a season or two before new grass, and the promised native tree plantings will make us forget that it was ever different. Maybe some of the plantings will be pohutukawa, though sufferers from hay fever may hope otherwise.
Wahoo! Helen's computer is fixed, she is back on the job, and I am relieved of a considerable burden. ---- Any text above this point, and all subsequent material in parentheses, and concluded with the initials "BH" is the personal opinion of Brian Harmer as editor of this newsletter, or occasionally "HH" will indicate an opinion from Helen. In all cases they are honest expressions of personal opinion, and are not presented as fact. All news items (except where noted otherwise) are reproduced by kind permission of copyright owner, Newstalk ZB News. All copyright in the news items reproduced remains the property of The Radio Network Limited. Formatting this week is sponsored by Greg Pirie in Macedonia. Thanks Greg. ---- On with the news: Monday, 07 February ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FLOODING CAUSES PROBLEMS IN DUNEDIN ------------------------------------ A flash flood is creating major problems in Dunedin. Police and fire-fighters are responding to numerous calls - including to one family with a baby reported to be trapped in a house by flood waters. There are also reports of a roof collapsing in a building housing a business in Mosgiel. Apparently the downpour hit around six o'clock, and while it has stopped raining, it has left chaos in its wake. TRIAL CONTINUES OF ARSON-ACCUSED -------------------------------- The trial is continuing of a man charged with torching a historic Otaki Church. Francis Shaw is standing trial in Palmerston North for the 1995 arson of the Rangiatea Church. Crown prosecutors have so far called three witnesses: a security officer who raised the alarm and two firefighters. Both firefighters told the court there was no evidence to suggest the fire was anything but suspiciously lit. They say if there had been some kind of electrical fault then wires and fuses at the scene would have indicated that. Shaw is defending himself in the trial, which continues tomorrow. "I TRUSTED MY MANAGER" – TUA ---------------------------- David Tua says he "pretty much trusted" his former manager Kevin Barry with his life. The boxer has given evidence in a High Court hearing into his dispute with his former manager and former investment adviser Martin Pugh. Mr Tua claims a 51 hectare property bought through his company Tuaman Inc belongs to him alone. Mr Pugh and Mr Barry say they own a quarter each. David Tua says he always had a "funny feeling" about Martin Pugh, but allowed him to be involved because Mr Barry wanted him. Nevertheless he allowed Mr Pugh to make all the arrangements about the Pakiri property purchase, and took no independent legal advice. PM DOES NOT EXPECT ISRAELI APOLOGY ---------------------------------- Prime Minister Helen Clark is not holding her breath for an apology from Israel over the Mossad spy row. However, she does expect some move towards a thaw in diplomatic relations once the court process involving Uriel Kelman and Eli Cara is over. Miss Clark says once the appeal over the pair's conviction is heard, the ball will be in Israel's court. She says Israel is under no illusions as to what the Government expects. (The pair subsequently announced that they had dropped plans to appeal. That should leave the road clear for a rapprochement, but I still wouldn't hold my breath. - BH) EXTRA HELP FOR FLOOD FARMERS ---------------------------- Bay of Plenty farmers hit by last July's floods have been given extra assistance from the Government. Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton says the region experienced further flooding in December and the Government has agreed to enable farmers affected by both floods to claim further assistance. He says farms can receive a grant of 75 percent to restore uninsurable damaged property above a threshold of five thousand dollars, or 10 percent of restoration costs which is even greater. Mr Sutton says Cabinet ministers have accepted that it is impossible to distinguish between damage caused by the two events. CHERIE BLAIR MEETS PM AT STARSHIP --------------------------------- The wife of British Prime Minister Tony Blair has this afternoon met with Helen Clark in Auckland. Cherie Blair is in New Zealand for a speaking engagement in aid of the Starship Foundation. Mrs Blair arrived with Helen Clark at Auckland's Starship Hospital by mid-afternoon, amid relatively light security. She is visiting sick and injured children inside the hospital before speaking in the central city later this evening. People are expected to gather outside the speaking venue to protest against privatisation and Tony Blair's involvement in the Iraq War. (It's a pity that a fundraiser like this should be so tainted by the speculation of the magnitude of her fees both here and in Australia. She blotted her copybook here, by forgetting which country she was in, and referred to us as Australia several times during her session. - BH) ST JOHN CHIEF ADMITS DRUNK-DRIVING ---------------------------------- The head of St John Ambulance in Queenstown has pleaded guilty to a number of charges following an accident in one of the service's vehicles. Colin Robson was charged with drink driving, dangerous driving and failing to stop at an accident in Queenstown last month. He appeared at the town's district court this morning and pleaded guilty to all the charges. Southern Region manager Garth MacMillan says today's plea means they can continue their internal investigation. SAMURAI TRIAL UNDERWAY ---------------------- The trial of a man accused of attempting to hack two women to death with a samurai sword is underway. Antonie Dixon is facing charges of murder, attempted murder, aggravated burglary, kidnapping and using a firearm at the High Court in Auckland. Crown prosecutor Simon Moore alleges Dixon carried out an frenzy of activity which began in the small Hauraki Plains community Pipiroa on the evening of January 21 2003. He says Dixon intended to kill two women when he slashed and hacked them with a razor-sharp samurai sword. Mr Moore says Dixon then drove to the Auckland suburb of Pakuranga where he pumped 25 bullets into the back of James Te Aute, killing him. DEFENDANT DENIES TORCHING HISTORIC CHURCH ----------------------------------------- Opening arguments have begun in the trial of a man accused of torching Otaki's historic Rangiatea Church. Francis Shaw is accused of the 1995 arson. Prosecutor Ben Van Der Kolk told the jury the case depends on the confessions of the accused. He says Shaw told several people he had committed the arson. Shaw, who is defending himself, told the jury the credibility of Crown witnesses would be called into question. He says he did not burn the church down, but told people that he had in order to cause offence. The trial is expected to last four days. Tuesday, 08 February ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TINKERING WITH THE NCEA ----------------------- The Government is making changes to the NCEA after some students who should have got scholarships failed to pass. As an interim measure, there will now be a new distinction certificate. It is for students who got great NCEA level 3 results but failed to get a scholarship. Associate Education Minister Mr Benson-Pope says although unacceptable, the problem should not have come as a surprise. He says the country is moving from a system that has been completely scaled and manipulated to achieve desired results, to a system where people are encouraged to achieve at a particular level. (The expectation of a normal distribution is a perennial debate. Should people pass who meet a pre-agreed criterion, or should people pass who are in a particular fraction of the high achievers. Grief follows whenever the expectations are not clear to begin with. - BH) CRASH CAUSES LONG DELAYS IN AUCKLAND ------------------------------------ Traffic in central Auckland came to a standstill during the evening rush hour after an accident near the top of Symonds Street. A motorcycle and a car collided at the intersection with Karangahape Road just before four o'clock. The rider is in hospital with critical injuries. Police blocked off all but one lane on Symonds Street between Wakefield Street and Grafton Road. This affected traffic throughout the rest of the CBD, with Queen Street gridlocked, and long delays expected. PM NOT SURPRISED AT VISA CHANGE ------------------------------- The Prime Minister is not surprised by the changes to Britain's working holiday visa scheme. The UK has cut back the time allowed to work on the visa from two years to a year, though kiwis will still be able to use the scheme until they are 31. The Prime Minister says it follows the changes made a few years ago, which allowed more countries to access the plan. However, she says since then, it has been abused by other countries' nationals, prompting the UK to revert to the old system. COURT HEARS PHONE CALLS IN DIXON CASE ------------------------------------- Two phone calls between Antonie Dixon and ambulance staff have been heard in court. Dixon is facing murder and attempted murder charges at the High Court in Auckland. He is accused of slashing Simonne Butler and Renee Gunbie with a samurai sword in Pipiroa two years ago. The court has heard two phone calls in which Dixon told ambulance staff people were injured at his address. He said they had fallen off the roof, and one person's hand was cut off. One of the first ambulance officers at the scene says one patient was at the door with blood around her and cries were coming from another woman on the far side of the room. (This fellow presents a startling figure on TV. He has a bowl haircut which as one Sunday columnist observes, looks as if it were detached from his head. He gives the impression of wild eyes, and I can't help thinking that the jury will need to be very disciplined to avoid having his very appearance prejudice them against him. - BH) WITNESS DESCRIBES TRIP WITH MURDER ACCUSED ------------------------------------------ A witness claims Antonie Dixon wanted to cut off the heads of the women he allegedly attacked with a samurai sword. The accused is facing murder and attempted murder charges at a trial at the High Court in Auckland. A former friend of Dixon, says he saw the 34-year-old attack Renee Gunbie and Simonne Butler with a samurai sword at their converted shed in Pipiroa nearly two years ago. As they were leaving the shed, Dixon allegedly said he wanted to take the victims heads off and put them in a letterbox. The witness says he drove to Hamilton with the accused, and steered the car from the passenger seat while Dixon smoked P. He says they parted in Hamilton, following which he called police and told them a madman was on the loose. MAORI QUEEN RECOVERS WELL ------------------------- Maori Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu is recovering well after undergoing surgery at Waikato Hospital. She underwent treatment yesterday to remove kidney stones which had bothered her for a while. Family say there were no complications and she is heading home this afternoon. She will be cutting back her formal commitments and tribal engagements as she recovers. SCOUT MASTERS SENT TO JAIL -------------------------- Two former scout masters have both been sent to prison for seven years on a raft of child sex abuse convictions. Andrew Pybus and Nigel Fenemore were sentenced at the High Court in Auckland today. They will serve minimum non-parole periods of three and a half years. Fenemore admitted sexually violating one boy, and Pybus two boys, who they had taken away on trips as trusted scout leaders. The court heard the abuse had been prolonged and repeated, occurring hundreds of times over many months. Justice Cooper told the pair they had abused their positions of trust in a way that would cause the two victims pain for the rest of their lives. Fenemore wept quietly in the dock as the judge described the suffering he had inflicted on his victim and his own family. His wife and son were in court, as were the parents of Pybus. Pybus' list of convictions included 28 relating to child pornography. The High Court heard that Pybus was caught importing objectionable material, and had 21 CDs that had a total of more than 60,000 images on it. However his lawyer, Marie Dhyrberg, does not believe there is a definite link between collecting child porn and sex abuse, though she says it is more likely that if someone is committing sex abuse, they are probably more likely to be attracted to pornography. She says her client hopes the jail sentences received by two former scoutmasters for a raft of child sex offences send a strong messages to other offenders. Ms Dyhrberg says the sentences should be seen as a deterrent and that her client is taking steps to ensure there are no more victims. (Ms Dhyrberg's logic eludes me. Viewing child porn is surely by its very nature, the exploitation of an act of sex abuse. How can there be no link? If there were no customers for this filth, then there would be less motivation for the abuse to occur. - BH) NATIONAL SLAMS BENEFITS FOR PRISONERS ------------------------------------- National says prisoners should lose their benefits as soon as they are put behind bars. Social Development Ministry figures show half the country's inmates were caught wrongly receiving benefits to the tune of more than $1.8 million last year. They show 54 percent were receiving an unemployment benefit, and 22 percent a sickness benefit. National's law and order spokesman Tony Ryall says the figures are outrageous. He says the minute criminals are sentenced to prison time, they should lose their benefits. Wednesday, 09 February ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ELECTRIC FINISH TO WOULD-BE GETAWAY ----------------------------------- Taupo police are shaking their heads over a near disaster in the town today. They say three people sped off without paying from a local service station. The driver sped through an intersection, forcing another vehicle off the road and into a power pole. The collision brought down high voltage lines which burnt holes into both vehicles. Police say it was amazing no-one was seriously hurt. One person is expected to face dangerous driving and theft charges. (The second vehicle was seriously damaged by the 11,000 volt electricity supply arcing through it. It burned holes in the door panels. More amazing was that the lady driving it, managed to leap from the car to the ground unharmed. - BH) CRASH TRAGEDY TAKES THREE YOUNG LIVES ------------------------------------- It has emerged that family members of those killed in a horrific road crash in North Canterbury this morning witnessed the smash. Three young people, all from the same Christchurch family, were killed when their car crossed the centre line, colliding with a fully laden petrol tanker north of Parnassus around eight o'clock. The 17-year-old woman, a 23-year-old man, and a 14-year-old boy were all from the same family. Chief Fire Officer Ira McNab says family members were in the car travelling behind the young people. He says they were very distraught and were taken to Cheviot by St John Ambulance staff. Police senior sergeant Dave Harvey says police are extending their deepest sympathies to the family of the victims. Dave Harvey says the driver of the tanker has also been deeply affected by the accident. He says the indication is their car had crossed the centre line, though the car was not overtaking at the time. AUCKLAND CAME CLOSE TO POWER PROBLEMS ------------------------------------- Auckland's power demand came close to exceeding the possible supply this afternoon. Transpower had to warn lines companies to cut back or increase generation. Transpower spokesman Chris Roberts says the problem is rising temperatures in the Waikato River. The Huntly Power Station discharges water into the river, and when it reaches the resource consent limit it has to virtually shut down. Mr Roberts says after the warning, the gap between demand and supply widened from 30 megawatts to almost a hundred megawatts - enough to power a city the size of Hamilton. NO-HELMET MOTORCYCLIST DIES IN HOSPITAL --------------------------------------- A motorcyclist involved in a police chase in Christchurch this morning has died. The man was involved in a high speed crash near the central city around four. He had fled police at speeds in excess of 100 kilometres an hour after they had tried to stop him for failing to wear a helmet, and crashed a short time later. He was taken to hospital with serious injuries and Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Wormald says unfortunately he passed away this afternoon. He says the incident is being investigated and police would like to hear from any witnesses to the crash. POSTIE SPY" SCHEME CANNED ------------------------- New Zealand Post has canned its controversial 'postie-spy' exercise. It has been revealed the SOE had been equipping its mail-delivery people with microphones to record details about houses on their runs. Those details were passed on to paint giant, Resene for the company to target homes which needed repainting. State Owned Enterprises Minister Paul Swain says it was a short-lived project. He says it was a five-day trial and given public feedback, NZ Post does not intend continuing with it. Resene says the idea originated with NZ Post rather than with them. (Though all the material being gathered could be as easily obtained by Resene if they hired one of those people who deliver junk mail, or even a person who did nothing but record what could be seen from the street, there seemed to be a sense of betrayal that the posties were involved. I am not sure of the logic of that. - BH) ANOTHER 111 FAILURE DOCUMENTED -------------------------------- More damning stories of police failures to respond to emergency calls have been revealed in Parliament. Minister George Hawkins faced a question from Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia, asking about a young woman in Hamilton who was raped two weeks ago. She says the woman was asked to walk around the corner to the police station to make a statement, despite the presence of the offender in her house. Mr Hawkins says it is totally unacceptable and will make inquiries with the Police Commissioner. He says the 111 review prompted by the Iraena Asher case has been widened to include recent issues. (Mr Hawkins seems to be a magnet for episodes of ineptitude in areas for which he is accountable. They seem to be made worse by his handling of them in parliament. I gather he has his allies in the Labour caucus, but I can't help thinking that the best action he could take as a politician is to resign his portfolio and perhaps even leave parliament. - BH) LEVIN DEATH TREATED AS HOMICIDE ------------------------------- The death of an elderly Levin man is now being treated as a homicide. The 77-year-old was found dead at a Paisley Street address on Saturday. A post mortem examination revealed he died of asphyxiation. Levin police understand the man had suffered from a mental illness for some time but they say they are keeping an open mind in relation to his death. A team of eight on the case is expected to take some weeks to complete a detailed investigation process. GOVERNMENT SLAMMED OVER EYE-TESTS ---------------------------------- United Future's family spokeswoman is having another go at the Government. Judy Turner is slamming its decision not to support an inquiry into the school vision testing programme which she says is flawed. Mrs Turner says a recent trial showed the test falsely cleared 40 percent of children. She says the decision is the "lowest level political rubbish" and makes a total mockery of the Government's alleged concern for the welfare of children. Judy Turner says the programme is failing huge numbers of young people and leaving them in the classroom with undetected sight problems. SUSPECTED "P" LAB CLOSES ROAD ----------------------------- Part of a Christchurch road bordering an intermediate school has been cordoned off this morning while police removed what is suspected to be a 'p' lab. Residents in Heaton Street in Merivale were told to stay inside their houses before midday. Police say a member of the public reported a suspicious man and vehicle to police shortly before midnight. Senior Sergeant Peter Stills says the car was stopped and the man is now helping police with inquiries. He says the lab has since been removed with help from the Fire Service. Thursday, 10 February ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TWO REMAIN IN HOSPITAL AFTER BUS CRASH --------------------------------------- A school bus crash has landed a 10-year-old girl and a truck driver in Palmerston North hospital. Twelve passengers were on the bus when it collided with the truck on a single lane bridge. Police say there was heavy fog at the time of the incident. The truck driver has serious injuries and is in intensive care. The 10-year-old girl is in a stable condition. Eight other children and the bus driver were also taken to hospital for treatment. They have since been discharged POWER SHORTAGE WARNING WITHDRAWN -------------------------------- Transpower has withdrawn a power shortage warning for the upper North Island. The company has been urging residents and businesses this week to cut down on their power usage. It blames an increase in the temperature of water in the Waikato River making it difficult for the Huntly thermal station to generate electricity. Transpower spokesman Chris Roberts says the Huntly station has been able to handle the situation much better today, than it could yesterday. He says the industry is going to have to keep a close eye on the situation for several weeks to come. NAMES RELEASED FROM ROAD TRAGEDY -------------------------------- Police have confirmed the identities of three siblings killed in a horror road smash in North Canterbury yesterday. They were 23-year-old Stefano Laulau, 14-year-old Sive Laulau, and 17-year-old Malae Gautusa. They are believed to have died almost instantly after their car crossed the centre line on State Highway One near Parnassus and collided with a petrol tanker. WITNESSES SOUGHT TO POLICE CHASE -------------------------------- Police are looking for witnesses to a fatal pursuit through central Christchurch early yesterday. A 36-year-old man died after crashing his motorbike in St Albans, having earlier been chased through several streets by a police patrol car. The man was not wearing a helmet. Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Wormald says police want to hear from anyone who saw the rider. He says the man was riding a late model Harley Davidson motorbike around four o'clock yesterday morning. 111 INCIDENTS WERE "HUMAN ERROR" -------------------------------- The Police Minister has defended the 111 system, describing recent cases as "moments of human error". George Hawkins has again faced Opposition attacks over the bungled responses to several 111 calls. United Future's Peter Dunne claims there have been 17 incidents in the past three years, but Mr Hawkins says almost 500,000 111 calls are taken every year. He says there are occasions when things go wrong, which is usually because of the human factor. Mr Hawkins says that is why the service is under review. 80 STAFF SAVE JOBS ------------------ Good news for around 80 staff at the Sealord Plant in Dunedin. The company has agreed to retain one wet fish processing line and the fishmeal plant at its Dunedin site. The decision was the result of the consultation process with staff and the union. Chief executive Doug McKay says the original plan was to scale back the Dunedin Plant to become primarily a squid processing site, moving the Wet Fish operation to another plant. However he says staff put forward alternative options and the company agreed they had made a case for retaining some hoki, roughy and dory processing, and a fishmeal plant. BILL WOULD REMOVE WAITANGI CLAUSES ---------------------------------- Parliament will soon debate the removal of principles of the Treaty of Waitangi from all legislation. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters' private members bill has been drawn from the ballot. Mr Peters says it is a truly great day for everyone as it is the beginning of a process which will see them freed from a highly expensive shackle of political correctness. He is appealing to all MPs to cast aside their differences and show they are prepared to create a society in which one rule for all applies. Mr Peters is adamant the bill will not disadvantage Maori. (The phrase "principles of the Treaty" has been used in so many ways, to push so many arguments, that I suspect no one is very sure what is meant by it. Without a doubt, many of its appearances in legislation are well meant. However, unless the phrase can be translated into tangible action in a particular circumstance, I tend to think it should be abolished. Being in the same boat with Winston does not sit well with me. - BH) IMMIGRATION HUNTS FBI FUGITIVE ------------------------------ The Immigration Service says it is following some leads to try to track down an American woman now on its wanted list as an overstayer. Juliette Gilbert and her son have been on the FBI's wanted list after fleeing a custody dispute in the US. The pair turned up recently - living in Welcome Bay, Tauranga, with a local man. Immigration Service spokeswoman Kathryn O'Sullivan says Ms Gilbert was given a deadline and that has passed. She says they are mindful of not putting her son under a lot of stress, and says Ms Gilbert still has the option of buying tickets and leaving of her own accord. NEW INSECT PEST IN AUCKLAND --------------------------- MAF is investigating a bio-security scare in Auckland. A particularly voracious moth called the fall webworm, has been found in a trap in Mount Wellington - the second such find this year. Another male moth was found in a trap in Hillsborough four weeks ago. MAF's Biosecurity boss, Ian Gear, says the fall webworm feeds on a wide variety of plants and could have a significant impact on our native trees and horticulture and forestry industries. The Ministry is conducting a ground search in the immediate area where the latest moth was found and increasing its surveillance traps. It will decide next week whether it needs to embark on yet another aerial spraying programme in Auckland, which Mr Gear says is just one possible option. Friday, 11 February ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GUILTY VERDICT IN CHURCH ARSON CASE ----------------------------------- A guilty verdict in the trial of a man accused of being party to an arson that occurred almost a decade ago. Francis Shaw has been convicted in the Palmerston North District Court this evening for the arson of Otaki's Rangiatea Church. It took the jury just over five hours to return the guilty verdict. The Crown argued that Shaw always knew the church would be burnt, and openly encouraged it. Shaw was unmoved as the verdict was read. He is due back in court for sentencing next month. (Shaw retracted his confession, claiming that he only said he burnt the church in order to cause offence. According to the reportage of the case, he was certainly involved in the actions which resulted in the burning down of the lovely and historic old church. - BH) HISTORICAL RAPE TRIAL MOVES TO WELLINGTON ----------------------------------------- The trial of four men accused of a historical rape has been relocated from Rotorua to Wellington. The men are facing rape, sexual violation and abduction charges relating to an incident alleged to have occurred in Mount Maunganui 16 years ago. They have pleaded not guilty and have interim name suppression. At the High Court in Auckland today, Justice Priestly ruled the trial will be moved to Wellington. JAIL FOR FORMER TV STAR ----------------------- Entertainer, and former TV and radio personality Dwayne Francks is this afternoon beginning a one year jail term. He has been sentenced in the Christchurch District Court on two charges of indecent assault and one of inducing an indecent act. The court heard in October last year 47-year-old Francks was staying at a friend's house in Wellington. He abused the friend's daughter, and her friend, who was staying the night. The two girls were aged six and seven. Judge Holderness sentenced Francks to a year in prison and ordered him to pay $15,000 in reparations. He was also granted leave to apply for home detention. The father of one of the girls, in whose house the offending occurred while he and his wife slept, stormed out of the Court before the sentencing finished. ARREST FOLLOWS WINZ ATTACK -------------------------- A woman has been arrested after a Work and Income employee was stabbed while working at her desk. The incident happened at the Hamilton East Service centre this morning. The employee was attacked while trying to help a member of the public who wanted a Work and Income form. She is reported to be in a fair condition in hospital with neck and shoulder injuries. Another employee was injured while trying to help her. Liz Jones from Work and Income says they have good security measures in place, but they do not know when their staff might be attacked. She says all of their offices are fitted with closed circuit television and staff are fully trained to deal with the public, but this type of attack is pretty rare. She says staff normally face verbal rather than physical abuse. NATIONAL CALLS FOR TAX CUTS --------------------------- National is urging the Government to cut taxes immediately following news that unemployment has dropped to an all time low. New Zealand's jobless rate is now the lowest in the OECD at 3.6 percent. While this is seen as good news for employers and employees, BNZ's chief economist Tony Alexander says this does not mean the Government will want to cut taxes. He says the economy is tight as a drum and that if taxes are cut it will put upward pressure on the economy. But National's finance spokesman John Key says it is now time to offer tax relief to all hard-working New Zealanders. Mr Key says the Government is going to get increased tax revenue and should share that around. He says unemployment was bound to drop in spite of the Government. Johh Key says optimal economic conditions over the past decade have seen the Government reap the rewards of being in the right place at the right time. He adds it should be remembered long-term optimum economic conditions have helped reduce the number of unemployed so the Government cannot take all the credit. Mr Key says external factors like the reforms of the 80s and 90s, very high commodity prices and quite high levels of immigration have helped. He says the Government should now concentrate on shifting some of the country's 300,000 beneficiaries off welfare and into work. DOG ATTACK IN SOUTH AUCKLAND ---------------------------- A dog attack in South Auckland has left a woman fighting for her life. Manukau City Council say the police called animal control officers to a home in Manurewa this morning. Spokeswoman Bridget Vercoe says the unregistered pure-bred red-nose pit bull is extremely dangerous and its owner has not been located. Bridget Vercoe says the dog will be kept locked up until the police have finished their investigation into the incident. She says council cannot put a dog down without the owners' consent or a court order. Sergeant Rachel Whear told Newstalk ZB police were initially called to an unrelated incident at the Manurewa address. She says it appears family members entered the bedroom where the incident was happening followed by the dog, who subsequently attacked the woman. She says it took three adults about 45 seconds to drag the pit bull off her. She says that type of dog is known to be a fighting dog and they can be quite dangerous. Sergeant Whear says the fate of the dog will depend on interviews with the family, and woman once she is out of surgery. CALL FOR NCEA REFUND -------------------- There are calls for students to be refunded any money spent on getting NCEA results reassessed, following discrepancies in the scholarship exams. Students have until Tuesday to resubmit their exams for review at a cost of $20. The Government is considering waiving the fee, but National's education spokesman Bill English says any students who have already paid should be reimbursed. He says it is hardly fair to expect people to pay to make sure they are not victims of a botched system. MCCULLY UNHAPPY WITH CONDOM PROMOTION ------------------------------------- National MP Murray McCully has stopped short of accusing the Government of promoting homosexuality. The East Coast Bays MP says the Health Department's "Hubba Hubba" ads, promoting condom use, could be seen as a subliminal message that homosexuality is officially endorsed by Labour. The ad alternately features a heterosexual couple locked in embrace and two men kissing. Mr McCully says cynics could consider this a message that the Government is endorsing homosexuality as one of the lifestyle options to be carefully considered by young people. He says the safe sex message could easily have been relayed without graphic depictions of sexual encounters of any kind. MYSTERY AS WOMAN FOUND TIED UP ------------------------------ Police are trying to work out if they have an abduction case on their hands. They found a West Auckland woman with her feet bound and her hands tied to the steering wheel of a car abandoned on State Highway 16 in Helensville last night. Detective Phil Cox says the woman was treated for minor injuries at North Shore Hospital. He says at this stage details are sketchy and he has not been able to question the woman. He says they will not know if she was abducted until they get a full statement from her. THE FINANCIAL PAGE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Date: 10 February 2005 Brian Dooley Wellington New Zealand CURRENCIES ~~~~~~~~~~ The currency codes given below conform to ISO 4217, which can be found at http://www.xe.net/currency/iso_4217.htm. The rates given are for telegraphic transfer. To Buy NZD 1.00 USD 0.7102 AUD 0.9197 GBP 0.3823 JPY 75.32 CAD 0.8881 EUR 0.5607 HKD 5.5530 SGD 1.1736 ZAR 4.4608 CHF 0.8696 INTEREST RATES (%) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Call : 6.50 90 Day: 6.80 SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian Harmer does NOT administer the mailing list. Please do not send subscription related messages to him. Instead, visit the website listed below, where you can make changes as required. _______________________________________________ WYSIWYG News mailing list News@wysiwygnews.com If you wish to unsubscribe, please visit http://wysiwygnews.com/mailman/listinfo/news Mailing List services provided by OneSquared <http://www.onesquared.net/>