HEADLINES
Lisa Blakie Inquiry
More Questions And Answers From The New Government
Sweet F16 Deal
Trade Front And Center In Presidential Clash
TV Crew Detained In Timor
The State Of Our Health
MMP Bias Feared
WINZ Student Bungle
Old-Age Threat
Govt: We Will Protect Toothfish
Maiden Speeches And Leaders Speeches
GE Sheep Trials
Retail Sales Up
Farmers Bury Differences
Movienet: Ihug-Cinema Merger
GE Wheat Tests Withdrawn
-----------------------------------######----------------------------------
"Think 'Trainspotting' but cooler! A film that gives you such a high, it makes you feel like someone's spiked your
Fanta." Human Traffic, in cinemas mid March: http://www.humantraffic.com.au
-----------------------------------######----------------------------------
http://www.scoop.co.nz/cgi-bin/newsagent/new_user.cgi?form=home
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0002/S00049.htm
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/images/0002/bf65579da5bd7f17d2f8.jpeg
TOP SCOOPS
Lisa Blakie Inquiry
- The police have discovered that murdered twenty-year-old Lisa Blakie was connected to gangs and worked in a
Christchurch massage parlour, says chief of the homicide team, Detective Inspector Rob Pope. See... Lisa Blakie Inquiry - Background Inquiries [1] in the General wire. For further background see... Christchurch River Body Identified [2] in the Headlines wire and... Name Released - Christchurch Police [3] in the General wire. See also... Scoop Images: Lisa Blakie And Her Dog [4] in the Headlines wire.
More Questions And Answers From The New Government
- Today's question time in Parliament was more testy than yesterday’s with the opposition making a great deal of the
Prime Minister transferring of a question on ACC to Dr Michael Cullen. Questions of the Day covered : ACC - Fishery
Sustainability - ACC - Prison Sentences - At Work Insurance - East Timor - TVNZ - Student Costs - Victoria University
Payout - Community Employment - HFA - NZ's External Accounts - ACC Submissions. See... SCP HOUSE: Questions Of The Day [1] in the Headlines wire. For yesterday's questions and answers see... SCP HOUSE: Questions Of The Day [2] .
Sweet F16 Deal
- Act leader Richard Prebble says it is "significant" the Phillipine government has confirmed it is negotiating to buy
New Zealand's aging Skyhawk aircraft fleet. Mr Prebble says the negotiations are part of an American move to make the
lease of 28 F16 fighter jets more attractive. See... F16 claim verified – ACT [1] in the Parliament wire. However, Defence Minister Mark Burton says he is not aware of any moves by the United States to offer better
terms for the F16 fighter planes. The Government is considering evidence from a report into the defence industry before
they decide to buy the aircraft from the United States. See... Defence Minister Denies Knowledge of F16 Deal [2] in the Headlines wire. Also see... 'Sweetener' deal for F16s - Prebble [3] in the Parliament wire.
Trade Front And Center In Presidential Clash
- “Last year at this time, if we looked ahead to our 2000 election year, most of us would probably have predicted that,
as in the past, trade would not be on the agenda, either the policy agenda or the political agenda. We were wrong. Trade
issues are now front and center.” – US Senator Senator Max Baucus’s address to Economic Strategy Institute Policy Forum.
See... How Can the WTO Survive Seattle? [1] in the Business Wire wire.
TV Crew Detained In Timor
- DILI, East Timor: Members of Portuguese TV crew detained for three days by police and military intelligence agents in
Indonesian West Timor claimed on Monday it was their documentation of the very close relations between a militia leader
and the Indonesian military and police that led to their harassment. See... Portuguese TV Crew Detained In West Timor [1] in the General wire.
The State Of Our Health
- The health of New Zealanders has improved greatly over the past 50 years but many challenges lie ahead, a new
Ministry of Health report shows. See... NZer's Health Improved, But Still A Long Way To Go [1] in the General wire.
MMP Bias Feared
- New Zealand First has asked the Prime Minister to appoint an independent person to head the MMP Review Committee
because of the public anti-MMP stance taken in the past by the Speaker, Jonathan Hunt. See... Independence Needed For Mmp Review - NZ First [1] in the Parliament wire.
WINZ Student Bungle
- A computer glitch has meant Work and Income New Zealand has sent 22,000 students incorrect student loan contracts.
See... 22,000 Students Caught In WINZ Bungle [1] in the General wire. It seems that Christine Rankin's assurances to the Social Services Select Committee last year regarding the
future administration of student allowances and loans by WINZ, were just hollow words, says ACT MP Dr Muriel Newman.
See... Christine Rankin In Hot Water Again - ACT [2] in the Parliament wire.
Old-Age Threat
- Pressures of population ageing on health spending are unavoidable, according to a report released by the Ministry of
Health today. See... Ageing Population Health Costs Unavoidable [1] in the General wire.The implications of New Zealand’s ageing population is a challenge, the Health Minister says. See... Population Ageing One of the Challenges - Minister [2] in the Parliament wire.
Govt: We Will Protect Toothfish
- Scarcity has driven the price of toothfish up to very high levels, creating the potential to draw poachers into
waters off the Ross Dependency in Antarctica, says Foreign Minister Phil Goff. See... NZ To Undertake Surveillance In The Ross Sea [1] in the Parliament wire.
Maiden Speeches And Leaders Speeches
- Former protester now Green MP Sue Bradford is just one of many MPs who will be giving their first speeches into
parliament this week. See... Sue Bradford - Maiden Speech [1] and see... Maiden Speech Notes of Mita Ririnui [2] both in the Parliament wire. Meanwhile both the National and the Green leaders have given their first speeches of the year. See...Shipley's Address in Reply Debate [3] and Address in Reply Speech - Jeanette Fitzsimons [4] in the Parliament wire.
GE Sheep Trials
- AgResearch, Ruakura should take a lead from Monsanto and withdraw its application for a new field trial of
genetically engineered sheep, before submissions on the application close next week, the Greens say. See... NZ Researchers Should Join Field Trial Withdrawal [1] in the Parliament wire.
Retail Sales Up
- Retail sales continue to grow according to the latest figures from Statistics New Zealand for the month of December.
The department says the increase spending is possibly due to preparations for New Year’s Eve celebrations and Y2k
millenium bug worries. See... December Retail Sales Continue [1] in the Business wire.
Farmers Bury Differences
- NZ Federated Farmers have resolved their differences with breakaway Northland farmers allowing the branch full
membership in the federation. See... Fed Farmers Agreement With Northland Struck [1] in the Politics wire.
Movienet: Ihug-Cinema Merger
- Internet Service Provider Ihug and cinema and entertainment company Force Corporation have announced their intention
to merge the operations of the two companies. See... IHUG And Force Corporation To Merge [1] in the Business wire.
GE Wheat Tests Withdrawn
- The international agriculture research company Monsanto has announced it will abandon it’s plans to field test
genetically engineered wheat in New Zealand, although it says it will continue to do trials in other countries. The
Green Party today welcomed Monsanto's decision. See... Green Party Praises Monsanto [1] in the Parliament wire.