National Radio Midday Report

Health Legislation – US Election – Baby Investigation – Waitangi Day – Paralympics Scandal – Air Ambulances – Blacklisted Players – Middle East Conflict – Carlos Namana – Flooded Cars – Bloody Sunday – Terrorist Threat - Stowaways

- HEALTH LEGISLATION: The legislation setting up district health boards is in the balance. Labour’s coalition partner Alliance and NZ First are both discussing their stance in caucus meetings underway now. The Greens and National are working closely to force changes to the legislation. It could come to rest on NZ First, who say they will have a position by this afternoon. Helen Clark remains confident the legislation will pass. But the Government may have to wear some amendments to pass the legislation.

- US ELECTION: Republican George W. Bush has set up a transition team headed by running mate Dick Cheney, but they have been denied public money and access to the transition offices until there is a clear winner. Al Gore is preparing to make his case on TV to justify his challenge of the Florida result.

- BABY INVESTIGATION: Auckland detectives are investigating the death of an 11-month-old boy. Police were alerted to the child’s critical injuries by hospital staff. Post Mortem are hoped to reveal whether the death as accidental or not.

- WAITANGI DAY: The Navy won’t take part in official commemorations in Waitangi on Waitangi Day next year following a Government directive that there be no Crown presence in Waitangi.

- PARALYMPICS SCANDAL: The head of the New Zealand paralympics team says if allegations against the Spanish paralympics team that athletes of normal intelligence competed as intellectually disabled people are true, then it makes a farce of the whole event.

- AIR AMBULANCES: Tranz Rail won’t be renewing its sponsorship of five of the county’s air ambulances when existing contracts lapse in 2003.

- BLACKLISTED PLAYERS: The Fiji rugby sevens team may have blacklisted members in its side. The claim comes from an Auckland based campaigner from the Coalition for Democracy in Fiji. 156 Fijians are blacklisted by the New Zealand Government for their involvement in the May coup.

- MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT: The Palestinian Authority has rejected a proposal from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barac, which suggests a gradual agreement for a peace deal.

- CARLOS NAMANA: A Law Commissioner says the decision by the appeal court to cut the minimum non-parole period for Carlos Namana, who killed Mangakino constable Murray Stretch, from 18 years to 16 years doesn’t necessarily mean Mr Namana will be freed after that time.

- FLOODED CARS: The Road Transport Safety Authority says its rigorous checks on flood damaged cars being imported from Nagoya, Japan will prevent unsafe vehicles from being able to drive on New Zealand roads.

- BLOODY SUNDAY: The inquiry into Bloody Sunday in Northern Ireland has been told British paratroopers fired into what the believed were armed targets, but killed unarmed civilians.

- TERRORIST THREAT: British Police treating seriously the threat of a pre-Christmas terrorist from an IRA breakaway group after the seizure of arms and explosives.

- STOWAWAYS: Three stowaways who jumped ship in the port of Whangarei are to be interviewed by the immigration service today.

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