The Independent, 19 July 2000
Front page:
- New Zealand judges mull whether to serve on the Fijian Court of Appeal. Foreign and Justice Minister Phil Goff trying
to balance the need to support the rule of law in Fiji against the appearance of propping up an illegitimate government;
- Argentine Chamber of Exporters representative in New Zealand seeking expressions of interest in establishing a free
trade zone between Mercosur (Latin American customs union) and CER. No early progress, but start of a process lasting
years;
- Property syndication company Waltus Investments starts marketing fixed interest securities. Despite producing losses
on 19 of its 37 funds in the year ended March 1999, the company tells would-be investors it has a "supber track record
in property investment in both Australia and New Zealand;
- Telecom and Telstra-Saturn sign interconnection, wholesale services, and 0867 internet traffic agreement;
elsewhere in the paper:
- Deutsche Bank's NZ arm tries to find sceptical foreign investors worried by the coalition government's economic
policies and finds little evidence of such concern;
- Opposition MP's say changes to ERB are superficial;
- Chief Justice Sian Elias is investigating circumstances under which an Auckland High Court Master sought surrender of
a reporter's notes, which were destroyed by the court, during a hearing involving defamation proceedings against The
Independent by Auckland law firm Dyer Whitechurch & Bhanabhai;
- mining industry dangling jobs carrot in depressed regions in attempt to win overhaul of restrictive minerals regime
relating to access to private land;
- claims worth $82 million against telco Ericsson by contractors left out of pocket after Telecom abandoned its First
Media cable network roll-out nearing settlement;
ends