PM Suspicious of Cancer Cure Claim - Suspicions from the Prime Minister about the hype surrounding a possible cure for
cancer. Jenny Shipley says as a former Minister of Health, the number of things about the announcement have pushed her
alert button. Researchers in Australia are about to begin human trials of the green muscle extract which they say has
killed cancer cells in the laboratory. Mrs Shipley says it is an exciting prospect, but she is suspicious that the
announcement came as breaking news on Friday night, when the extract was to go on sale Monday morning. She says it
sounded more like a well orchestrated PR campaign.
Y2K Worries - Worries that people fearing chaos at the end of the year are stockpiling large amounts of petrol and
money. The stockpiling follows the launch of the Y2K readiness commission information programme. It advises people to
have on hand a number of essentials to last three days in case of computer problems at the turn of the century.
Insurance Council chief executive, Chris Ryan says storing petrol is extremely dangerous and could mean people are not
covered by insurance. As far as storing cash is concerned that is just as dangerous. He says cash draws burglars, and
many policies become null and void if large sums of cash are kept on a property.
Claim Enters Final Week - The Hauraki Maori Trust Board begins its final week of claims before the Waitangi Tribunal
today. The claims are the largest and most comprehensive in the North Island. They include ownership of all minerals
including gold and silver, and ownership of foreshore and bed of the Hauraki Gulf. The hearing of the claims began in
September last year.