The Weekend Scoop

Lamb And APEC - Lobbying on the US threat of trade restrictions to NZ lamb imports is stepping up. Australian and NZ Ministers, Lockwood Smith and Tim Fisher, are meeting this afternoon with farmers in Canterbury. APEC trade ministers are meeting in Auckland next week amongst them will be the US Trade Representative, Charlene Barshefsky.

SOAPBOX: Privacy And Publicity - Scoop's regular Christchurch based Sunday columnist Matthew Thomas discusses Chatham House Rules and the PM's recent encounter with TVNZ's interpretation of the same beginning with a quote from Samuel Johnson - "To tell our own secrets is generally folly, but that folly is without guilt; to communicate those with which we are intrusted is always treachery, and treachery for the most part combined with folly." - see… SOAPBOX: Unwanted Privacy, Unwanted Publicity in the Headlines wire.

SCOOP IMAGES: "Ooo Aaah Umaga" - The last international rugby test to be held at Athletic Park today proved a memorable one for local heroes Tana Umaga and Christian Cullen who scored three tries and two respectively. The touring French side was thoroughly outclassed by the All Blacks who beat them by the all-time record scoreline of 54-7. Scoop has pictures and a report of the match in the Headlines wire. See.. SC IMAGES: "Oooh Aaah Umaga" Earlier in the same wire, is a look back at a personal memory of Athletic Park.

River Report - The Waitangi Tribunal has come down in favour of river tribes along the Whanganui river. The Tribunal's long awaited report says past and successive Governments are to blame for theft. They say while the river was and is not privately owned it was the common property of the people and compensation should be paid. Tau Henare says the Government will look at the report and respond in several weeks time. Various environmental groups are relaxed about joint management of the river.

The Return To Kosovo - In the headlines wire, the Kosovo Press reports on the return of refugees. Meanwhile, British troops have arrested a man suspected of murdering 56 people in Kosovo and have informed an international tribunal investigating war crimes of the arrest. The man was arrested by military police at his home about 15 kilometres south of Pristina.

Mauri Pacific Conference - The first national conference of Mauri Pacific is underway in West Auckland. The party is still not officially recognised in Parliament with MPs voting as independents to evade rules concerning attendance in Parliament.

Road Deaths - Seven people have been killed on the roads this weekend. One person died after a car crash just south of Hamilton and a pedestrian was killed in a motor accident in central Wellington this morning. Yesterday five people were killed in three separate crashes around the country.

DNA Report - The Justice Minister, has announced he has directed the Ministry of Justice to report on ESR's reporting protocols in cases where DNA results are unclear. See the Parliament wire.

Escaper Recaptured - A violent rapist who escaped while serving a sentence of preventative detention at Auckland's Paremoremo prison has been recaptured. The 28 year old is believed to have escaped through a hole in a perimeter fence and his escape was not noticed for some time, because guards were fooled by a dummy in the man's bed.

ACC Killing - Health and Safety officials are looking into the death of an ACC worker in Auckland. A man has been charged with murder and the PSA is calling for a safety audit in the wake of the incident. See general wire.

GDP Data Out - 'It's a recovery Jim, but not as we know it.' The latest trade and economic data show that Imports in May continued to rise and Gross Domestic Product figures for March showed that there is recovery fueled by domestic spending and tourism spending. All the figures are in the business wire. One side of the argument says that the "Trade Deficit Disaster For National ". While National says the"GDP Figures Show Steady Growth". All that and more in the Parliament wire.

Parental Leave Debate - The Alliance is angry that their parental leave legislation has been sidelined by a select committee considering it. They say the Government has bullied the bill off the agenda. Tariff Debate - The pros and cons of removing tariffs are debated in the Parliament wire. Jenny Shipley says NZ consumers are better off, but others point to 25,000 jobs lost though tariff reduction. Land Claim

- NZ First wonders whether Paraparaumu Airport is another Bastion Point in the Parliament wire.

THAT Story - TVNZ are still running strong on the "I made it up" comment. See the News Monitor wire. In the headlines wire are two views from two journalists: The Rules Of Engagement Are Changing and Opinion Piece: "TV1 Did The Right Thing". There are numerous releases in the Parliament wire.

Political Resignation - Max Bradford has announced the resignation of new polytechnic council member, Glen Dillon. Mrs Dillon, a senior member of the National Party came under pressure from Labour MPs earlier in the week to stand aside because of her political connections.In the same wire, Labour welcomes the resignation

Trade Minister to Visit - The Government has announced that the Japanese Trade Minister Yosano is to visit See the parliament wire.

Inebriated With Rhetoric - The ability of crime as an issue to produce more heat than light from politicians was highlighted in the House this evening as the House completed the committee stages of the home invasion legislation. The Scoop takes a look at the debate in The House: Inebriated With Rhetoric in the Headlines wire. Meanwhile New Zealand First member of the Justice Law Reform Select Committee, List MP, Hon Robyn McDonald, says that the Crime (Home Invasion) Amendment Bill is a travesty and has achieved nothing real for New Zealanders. See…New Zealand First Opposes Home Invasion Bill in the Parliament wire.

Scoop Launches SCOOP GOLD - The Scoop Team after a few sleepless nights is proud to present SCOOP GOLD, an evolutionary step forward in internet news publishing. SCOOP GOLD is an interface to an XML database which allows users to browse through the past three years of New Zealand political history. Users will notice a few references in the database to a company several Scoop staff were formerly involved with. At this stage the database remains in a development phase and new components to the content will be added in coming days with a new design in the wings.

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