New Zealand Herald

New All Black - Tougher Speed Limit - Shipley’s Heart - Cold Snap - Waikato Drinking - Kylie Jones Funeral - Fiji Sport Sanctions- Pa Site Wrecked - Pre-Schooler Death - Rugby Prices - Electricity Inquiry - Healthy Revenue

NEW ALL BLACK: New All Black Troy Flavell began the season thinking he might be a backup lock in the Blues squad. His professional sporting career hit serious paydirt yesterday when he was told he would partner captain Todd Blackadder on Friday against Tonga.

TOUGHER SPEED LIMIT: Police are getting tough on speeding in a move which could produce an extra 165,000 tickets each year - and an extra $20 million for the Government. From next month, anyone caught exceeding the speed limit by 10 km/h or more will get a ticket.

SHIPLEY’S HEART: Jenny Shipley underwent coronary angioplasty at Wellington Hospital yesterday to unblock heart arteries. A spokesman for the National leader said last night that she felt good enough to return to Parliament for the Budget tomorrow - though she won't.

COLD SNAP: Heaters will be blazing in the upper North Island this week but anyone complaining of the cold should spare a thought for those who experienced the big chill of 1939. Temperatures around Auckland plunged to 9 degrees yesterday and snow fell in parts of the North Island, closing the Desert Rd.

WAIKATO DRINKING: Aucklanders will be drinking water from the murky Waikato River in two years whether they like it or not. And while they are drinking it, pristine water from native bush catchments will go to waste as dams overflow.

KYLIE JONES FUNERAL: The stunned Auckland suburb of Glen Innes has taken the first steps towards healing itself after the murder of Kylie Jones. At 5 pm yesterday, more than 200 residents gathered on the footpath outside the reserve where Kylie died, while her family and local Maori went into the park for a tapu-lifting ceremony.

FIJI SPORT SANCTIONS: New Zealand effectively imposed sporting sanctions against Fiji last night, drawing cries of discrimination from the troubled Pacific nation. Foreign Minister Phil Goff announced that two Fiji rugby teams due to arrive in New Zealand this month would not be issued visas, preventing their entering the country.

PA SITE WRECKED: RUSSELL - An Auckland property company has to pay thousands of dollars in fines after a landmark court case found it had wrecked part of a historic pa site. Northern Projects Ltd was yesterday told to pay $15,000 to the Historic Places Trust after admitting one of its contractors bulldozed through the pa site near Russell.

PRE-SCHOOLER DEATH: Had James Whakaruru survived beatings by his mother's partner, he would have turned 6 yesterday. Instead, the results of an investigation into the death of the Havelock North pre-schooler were being finalised.

RUGBY PRICES: Many child rugby fans will get socked adult rates to see the Scottish test at Eden Park but will pay far less to see the Tongans at Albany or the Springboks in Christchurch. The Auckland Rugby Union yesterday announced some children's concessions for the July 1 night test against Scotland in response to an outcry from talkback radio callers.

ELECTRICITY INQUIRY: Switching to a new electricity company, or moaning about the one you have, should get easier if the Government acts on an inquiry into the electricity industry. The ministerial inquiry has suggested that the Government appoint an ombudsman to hear consumer complaints about the companies and who could impose fines and order compensation.

HEALTHY REVENUE: How's this for a coincidence? The Government's "health" measure of raising the price of cigarettes last month was the precise increase that would rake in the most revenue. Documents released to the Act party show officials sweated over their calculators trying to maximise the gain for the Government's coffers.

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