Spooking The Spooks - Top Scoops - Speaker In Trouble - APEC and East Timor - Producer Boards - Nats Tumble - Monsanto -
Genetic Misinformation - Ansett Epidemic and much more...
TODAY'S SCOOPS
The Man Who Spooked The Spooks - Interview With Aziz Choudry
- Aziz Choudry: he became a household name after the New Zealand Secret Intelligence Service bungled its break in on
his Christchurch home. On Scoop today, Selwyn Manning talks with Aziz Choudry about the SIS, APEC, foreign affairs, and
the dangers of legitimate dissent. As part of our Inside APEC Series, see... Scoop Exclusive - The Man Who Spooked The Spooks [1] in the Auckland wire.
Top Scoops
- For today's top 20 rating items at 2.40pm see... Scoop Ratings - Smoking, Labour and Monsanto [1] . For the week's Top 20 see... Scoop Ratings - The Week's Top 20 [2] both in the News Monitor wire.
Students Taking Police / Speaker To Court
- 75 Students arrested at a protest in parliament grounds during 1997 are commencing legal action against the police
for wrongful arrest. See... Students To Take Legal Action Over Arrests [1] in the Education wire.
APEC Must Discuss Pending Civil War in Timor
- Violence has flared again in the East Timor capital Dili and Indonesia has agreed that a UN peacekeeping force is
logical if autonomy is decided. Scoop's Selwyn Manning writes that next week's APEC leader's meetings must surely
present the perfect opportunity for a collective resolution to pending civil war in East Timor. If this opportunity is
wasted, then APEC is the lame duck its critics say it is. See... Inside APEC Series - East Timor Talks Must Be Held [1] in the Auckland wire. See also a detailed press briefing by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General,
Mr. Ian Martin, on the violence in Dili, Indonesian police response and the action needed in the area. Question and
answer follows. See... Timor Briefing By UN Special Representative [2] in the General wire. In earlier commentary on the crisis Scoop's Alastair Thompson discussed
why Only Indonesia Can Save East Timor Now [3] . See the US State Department on statement on East Timor ... US State Department On East Timor Situation [4] in the General wire.
Producer Board Progress - One Down Two To Go
- Sitting under urgency this morning Parliament has passed the Kiwifruit Board deregulation/corporatisation legislation
through all stages and has now moved on to the Apple And Pear Board legislation. After this the house will move on to
the key piece of legislation in the urgency motion presently before Parliament the Dairy Board reform bill. Following
that the house has two fisheries bills, a taxation bill and a Human Rights Amendment Bill to consider before it rises
for the weekend. This morning ACT Leader Richard Prebble said the situation for many of the country's apple growers was
desperate and they needed choice to survive. See... Status Quo Not Good Enough For Growers [1] in the Parliament wire. ACT MPs are very passionate about this legislation and have issued numerous statements
which you can see in the Parliament wire.
NBR Poll - National Tumbles
- National is staring down the barrel of a thumping defeat if the latest National Business Review-Compaq poll, taken
August 26-30, is anything to go by. It gives the government just 28 per cent of the vote share - the same rock-bottom
figure that sealed former leader Jim Bolger's fate in 1997. If that performance were replicated in the November's
general election, National would end up with about 37 seats in the 120-member House. Labour, on 40 per cent, would have
around 52 seats. The Alliance had nine per cent, ACT and New Zealand First on seven per cent each, the Green Party on
2.6 per cent and United on 0.9 per cent.
Monsanto Public Relations Funded by Taxpayers - Fitzsimons
- New Zealand taxpayers have spent $100,000 funding a public relations front for genetic engineers, including the
United States food and chemical giant Monsanto, Green Party Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said today. See... Taxpayer's Money Used In Monsanto's PR [1] in the Parliament wire.
Aussie Court Decision May Act As NZ Precedent
- An historic decision handed down by the South Australian Supreme Court over Australian Labour Party (ALP)
branch-stacking has caused chaos but could also have ramifications in New Zealand because it could be used as a
precedent. John Howard reports. See... South Australian Court May be Precedent For N [1] Z in the Headlines wire.
Age Discrimination Leads to Sacking Of Long-Serving Police
- "The government is acting with callous disregard of some of its longest-serving police officers by pushing through
legislation which seriously impacts upon their human rights in relation to age discrimination," said New Zealand First
MP Brian Donnelly. See... Government Dumps Long-Serving Police [1] in the Parliament wire.
Govt. Looks To Overseas Pilots To Help Ansett Epidemic / More sickness today
- The sudden outburst of illness, bordering on epidemic proportions, among Ansett pilots is worrying Transport Minister
Maurice Williamson. He intends talking to his colleague the Minister of Immigration to discuss the possibility of
bringing in overseas pilots. See... Concern At Sudden Epidemic Among Ansett Pilots [1] in the Parliament wire. Today Ansett pilots called in sick again, further disrupting flight plans.
Nats Privatising Roads - Alliance
- The Alliance says the Government is planning to let private companies take over new roads, and New Zealanders will
have to pay tolls to overseas owned companies in order to drive on them. See... National planning for private charge road tolls [1] in the Parliament wire.
Man Pulls Knife At WINZ Office
- Wellington staff at a Work and Income office called police after a man walked into the office, sat down and placed a
knife on the seat beside him. The man is in police custody.
Parliament Unanimous on Nuclear Fuel Motion
- Parliament yesterday unanimously approved Green MP Jeanette Fitzsimons' motion opposing regular shiploads of highly
radioactive nuclear fuel passing through the South Pacific. See... Green MP's anti-nuclear fuel motion passed [1] in the Parliament wire.
80 Suspensions Per Day - Minister says New Suspension Rules Working
- The Ministry of Education says a total of 3,968 students were suspended from school between April 1 and June 30.
That's an average of nearly 80 suspensions for each of the 50 schooldays in the term. See... Schools Suspensions Report [1] in the Education wire. However Education Minister Nick Smith today welcomed early indications that fewer students
are being permanently suspended from schools and that schools are making effective use of the new rules introduced on 12
July, the first day of term three. See... Early Indications Show New Suspension Rules Work [2] in the Parliament wire.
Greens Caught Out By Internet Misinformation
- Incorrect reports on genetic engineering are being circulated in the internet, which could be aimed at discrediting
anti-genetic engineering lobbyists, Green Party Agriculture Spokesperson Ian Ewen-Street says. See... Greens Warn Of Disinformation On GE [1] in the Politics wire.
Auckland's Future On the Line - Prebble
- Auckland faces two threats. First, Labour's proposals to unleash industrial civil strife and second, the complete
lack of leadership on Auckland's growing transport crisis. See... Auckland's future at stake - Prebble Speech [1] in the Parliament wire.
Setting Themselves Apart - The CIA, Labour and the 'Credit Card' Campaig
N - Scoop's Jonathan Hill looks at how Labour Party President Bob Harvey's comments on the CIA this week could be the
much needed start of a fresh new approach to Labour's election campaign. See... The CIA, Labour and the 'Credit Card' Campaign [1] in the Headlines wire.