Telecom Challenger - Kirsty Robinson - Chill Fills - Matrimonial Property Act - E-Dictionary - Car Stickers - Mmp Ruling
- Radiotherapy Refused - Internet Security - Zimbabwe Observers - Petrol Prices - GE Commission - Editorial: Matrimonial
Property Rights
TELECOM CHALLENGER: A High Court judge has blocked Telecom's attempt to cut off free Internet services offered by
competitors. Justice Robertson ruled yesterday that Telecom must reconnect three Internet numbers it disconnected at the
weekend until a hearing next week.
KIRSTY ROBINSON: Sixteen-year-old Kirsty Robinson, who survived almost 30 hours in the sea, begged her father to take
her lifejacket as they clung to each other. Kirsty was the only one of four people to be found after a 6m aluminium
craft capsized near Plate Island in the Bay of Plenty on Sunday morning.
CHILL FILLS: A chilly turn in the weather has filled Auckland hospitals, forcing them to divert patients across the
city. By last night ambulance services and GPs had been instructed to send all seriously ill patients to Middlemore
because Auckland and North Shore Hospitals could take no more. Middlemore also cancelled about 20 routine operations due
today to free more beds for urgent admissions. The overcrowding crisis struck suddenly at the weekend.
MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY ACT: Judges settling disputes after failed relationships may soon be given discretion to take into
account future income and whether one partner sacrificed a career. The current Matrimonial Property Act does not allow
future earnings to be treated as matrimonial assets after a break-up.
E-DICTIONARY: An electronic dictionary capable of storing examination answers is the latest technique used for cheating
in school exams. Altogether, 35 cases of suspected cheating in last year's School Certificate and Bursary examinations
have been investigated by the Qualifications Authority.
CAR STICKERS: Police have held off plans to expand the under-25 car sticker scheme, as they await a legal opinion on
whether it is discriminatory. A national legal service for people aged under 25 has added its condemnation to criticism
of the scheme, which is being piloted in Christchurch and may go nationwide soon.
MMP RULING: The fate of MMP could be settled by a binding referendum as early as September next year, but the odds are
still against New Zealanders getting a cut in the number of MPs in Parliament. It is likely that the outcome of any
referendum will be implemented in time for the general election the following year.
RADIOTHERAPY REFUSED: A young boy from the Pacific Islands faces death in his homeland after his parents refused
lifesaving radiotherapy treatment at the Starship hospital in Auckland. Starship surgeons removed a brain tumour from
the 6-year-old on February 22, but his parents objected to the radiation treatment and took him home last week before
Auckland Healthcare's legal bid for guardianship could be heard.
INTERNET SECURITY: A global attempt to stop shoppers being cheated when buying on the Internet has been launched in New
Zealand. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs yesterday released a discussion paper on a proposed code of conduct for doing
business on the Internet.
ZIMBABWE OBSERVERS: Prime Minister Helen Clark has suggested the Commonwealth supply observers for Zimbabwe's upcoming
election as that country grapples with rising violence and a deteriorating economy. Zimbabwe is the first big issue
former deputy prime minister Don McKinnon faces after taking office as Commonwealth Secretary-General, says Helen Clark.
PETROL PRICES: The yo-yoing price of petrol is on the descent again. Shell yesterday said the average price of unleaded
91-octane petrol in the main centres would now be 98.4c a litre. Diesel would fall to around 65c a litre and 96 octane
to $1.03.
GE COMMISSION: Prime Minister Helen Clark is moving to have details of the royal commission of inquiry into genetic
engineering tied up before Easter. She said yesterday that the Government had been expected to announce the make-up and
terms of reference for the inquiry for weeks, but negotiations between Labour, the Alliance and Greens had delayed
progress.
EDITORIAL: MATRIMONIAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: Property rights for de facto couples can only be a good thing, especially for
their children. There is no quicker way to poverty than when the main income-earner - so often the male - leaves a
household. Under the Government's plan to amend the Matrimonial Property Act to include de facto and same-sex
relationships, all cohabiting couples will be obliged to split the assets of their relationship down the middle, so
assuring some financial backing for each party and security for any children. Although relationships are about love and
commitment, this amendment relates purely to property. It does not demean the special status of marriage and all that
implies, nor does it try to add any element of moral direction. What it does do is provide some protection for the
236,397 people in de facto relationships, and their children.