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Quick action saves toddler
By ALICE COWDREY Monday, 01 December 2008
MARTIN DE RUYTER/
LITTLE HERO: Ciarna Epiha’s alert saved Degan Broker from drowning.
The actions of a quick-thinking Nelson five-year-old girl helped to save a toddler's life.
Ciarna said she quickly ran inside to alert Degan's mother Cindy Broker, who had gone indoors to answer a phone call.
Ciarna Epiha, who attends Stoke School, was playing outside at a friend's house on Saturday when she found 18-month-old Degan Broker in an old bathtub used as a tadpole pond in the garden.
She pulled him out of the water and hit him on the back, and he vomited and started screaming and coughing.
Mrs Broker ran outside to find Degan on his back with water covering his face, his body floppy and his arms "flailing around". . Mrs Broker rushed him to Nelson Hospital's accident and emergency department, where he was checked and given the all-clear."
She hoped that other parents would realise just how quickly things could happen.
"He would have been dead if (Ciarna) didn't tell us.
She had talked to Ciarna about accidents, and said she had good common sense.
Ciarna's mother Letitia Friend said her daughter did not seem too fazed by her heroics and was more interested in telling her about Saturday's Richmond Santa parade.
"She is my little hero.
"I had told her, `If you see something bad happening, you find an adult and tell them straight away'."
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Outrage over students using park for sex
By AARON LEAMAN - Monday, 01 December 2008
Allegations of high school students using a Hamilton park for sex during school hours were heard at a meeting of concerned residents yesterday.
About 50 people attended a community meeting at the Hillcrest Scout Hall to discuss ways of curbing anti-social behaviour at the adjourning Hillcrest Park.
One elderly resident told the gathering that she and her husband had seen teenagers dressed in Hillcrest High School uniform having sex on a park bench.
The woman, who did not want to be named, told the she had lived next to the park for 46 years and was shocked by the teenagers' antics.
On another occasion, students were seen having sex under a park tree. If I'd been there I would have put the hose on them," she said.
"Earlier this year my husband told me he saw two students having sex on a park bench in broad daylight when they should have been at school.
The "lovebirds" didn't make any effort to hide their behaviour, she said.
Residents said they were also concerned about binge drinking and drug use in the park, as well as tagging, rubbish being set on fire and young people doing "burnouts" in the carpark.
Yesterday's meeting was organised by resident group Hillcrest Park Guardians and was sparked by the recent assaults on two 11-year old girls. .
Senior Sergeant Lance Tebbutt urged people at the meeting to report all suspicious or inappropriate behaviour to police.
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The residents group plans to meet with Hamilton City Council staff later this month to identify ways to make the park safer
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Drunken mayhem in Christchurch ’shocking’
JO MCKENZIE-MCLEAN - Monday, 01 December 2008
Christchurch's inner city at the weekend was "absolute mayhem" with drunk people, particularly women, "at each other's throats", police say. . I don't know how many arrests there were.
"It was absolute mayhem. There were just so many confrontations, scuffles and violence going on; people getting bashed and robbed. We just didn't have time to make arrests; we were just pushing people apart. It was just incredible. It was just shocking, you know, with that 24-hour drinking. You couldn't afford to be off the street for an hour because it was just mayhem out there.
"You could not arrest someone, which takes (a police officer) off the street for an hour to process them.
"I could not get over the number of drunk women who were at each other's throats."
Some women had shown their nasty, drunken side, Johnston said.
"There is nothing wrong with alcohol, but I don't know why people stay out till after 3am and continue to drink and get written off and turn into nasty violent drunks. A lot of guys were trying to keep them parted and that would escalate and, from there, you would get a massive brawl," Johnston said.
Between 10pm and 3am there were 31 arrests."
The chaos started unusually early - about 11pm.
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A large number of people were summonsed to appear in court for breaching the liquor ban
.Search and rescue divers are still at the scene of Friday’s Air New Zealand plane crash off the south-east coast of France. .
Four of the men who died were Air New Zealand staff.
“The aircraft wreckage is in about 40 metres of water and the sea bed is about 30 centimetres of mud so it’s quite difficult to work in,” he said.
The airline’s chief executive Rob Fyfe says investigators are working in difficult conditions.
He says this sort of speculation is harmful to the investigation.
Mr Fyfe has dismissed a report by an eyewitness that the pilots steered the plane into the sea to avoid a French village.
The plane’s cockpit voice recorder is being analysed in Paris.
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Cyclist who died in mountain bike event named
- Monday, 01 December 2008
Police have named a cyclist who died after crashing during a mountain biking competition north of Kaikoura at the weekend. .
Mr Kennedy was reported missing at 3pm on Saturday after he failed to finish the annual Moa Hunt mountain bike ride in Kekerengu Valley, 56km northeast of Kaikoura.
A Blenheim police spokesperson said the man's progress was logged at various checkpoints along the route and he was photographed about three-quarters of the way through the ride.
Distraught organisers of the back-country mountain-bike ride believe they have a safe event despite the death.
He was found dead, 20m down a bank, between 6km and 8km from the finish line.
A search by the event's organisers failed to find the man and police sent a helicopter to look. Police believe the man had failed to negotiate a right-hand turn on a moderate slope.
Halligan said the man was in the middle of the 600-rider field.
Ride organiser Pete Halligan, from Top of the South Events, said the death had left those involved in the race "pretty emotionally upset".
Halligan said the man was part of the "recreational ride" section of the field.
He declined to speculate whether anyone had seen the accident, but said he believed someone would probably have stopped if they had seen him.
It was for all abilities and included a challenging climb and a challenging descent, "depending on how fast you want to go".
The course was across private farm tracks and through native bush, he said.
Some farmers who provided access for the event were "pretty distraught", he said.
Some farmers who provided access for the event were "pretty distraught", he said.
Although the event's major sponsor was Moa Beer, there was no drinking before the event, Halligan said."
Despite the tragedy, Halligan said the company believed it had a "safe event" and at this stage he wanted to continue next year. They're just a sponsor like the Speight's Coast to Coast," he said.
"I don't want people to get the wrong idea.
- with
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Residents rescue woman from blazing car
By CLIO FRANCIS - Monday, 01 December 2008
Police are praising the bravery of two young men who rescued a woman trapped inside her burning car early today.
Hamilton police said the 48-year-old woman lost control of her car and smashed into a tree on Normandy Road, around 12am.
Two passers-by, an 18-year-old man and a 20-year-old man, discovered the crash and tried to tip the car back on its wheels to get the woman out, but it was too slippery.
Senior Sergeant Kevin Anderson said the car landed on its side, and caught fire with the women stuck inside.
The driver suffered minor injuries and was treated by St John paramedics.
"When that didn't work they found a concrete block, smashed the rear windscreen and climbed into the car to drag the woman to safety", he said.
Mr Anderson said the quick actions of the two men saved the driver from serious harm. The vehicle was extensively damaged by the blaze. . Fire fighters had told him if the two men had not acted so quickly, they could have been dealing with a fatality, he said."
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Air force to keep tabs on whalers
Monday, 01 December 2008
The Government now says it will send a Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion to keep tabs on Japanese whalers this season.
On Thursday Greenpeace called on the Government to say how it intended to put pressure on Japan because the whalers will operate mainly in waters in which New Zealand has search and rescue obligations.
Greenpeace is not sending a fleet to confront the whalers this year, but Sea Shepherd is sending its ship the Steve Irwin.
Dr Mapp said yesterday that the Defence Force did not intend to station craft in the Ross Sea to monitor developments but there would be regular Orion surveillance flights.
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully and Defence Minister Wayne Mapp issued a joint statement yesterday urging parties to show restraint after clashes last season involving stink bombs, the detaining of activists and allegations that whalers fired live ammunition.
Last season Australia sent a Customs ship to gather evidence as part of its threat to take Japan to the International Court of Justice. . Its government has been criticised for not advancing that action or sending a ship this year.
"We are actively engaged in a diplomatic process including through the International Whaling Commission to try to find a resolution to the problem," Mr McCully said.
Mr McCully said New Zealand was "firmly opposed" to the Japanese whaling programme and he gave that message to Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone at the recent Apec summit. If whalers or protesters got into difficulty it could take a while to get help to them.
New Zealand had to co-ordinate responses to maritime incidents in the Ross Sea area and usually the close toest vessels were called on to help. "We're urging all parties to refrain from any actions that may put their lives, or the lives of others at risk.
Searching in the isolated and treacherous Southern Ocean was difficult and rescue capability limited."
In February 2007, the Japanese government asked New Zealand to help a crewman who fell gravely ill close to the Ross Sea."
In February 2007, the Japanese government asked New Zealand to help a crewman who fell gravely ill close to the Ross Sea. Separately, two protesters were lost in sea mist and snow for several hours, and a Japanese whaler died in a fire aboard a whaling ship.
In the same month, a Japanese whaling ship and Sea Shepherd's ship collided twice in Antarctic waters.
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The whaling fleet left Japan in November and is expected to focus its hunt for about 1000 whales in the Ross Sea
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Families’ last remaining hope
Monday, 01 December 2008
The only remaining hope for the families of the Kiwis killed in the Air New Zealand crash off the coast of France is that they will be able to bring their loved ones home.
As Jeremy Cook's grieving family was reunited in France yesterday, friends and workmates back home in Wellington were banding together for support.
Mr Cook, 58, was one of seven crew - five New Zealanders and two Germans - killed when the A320 Airbus plunged into the Mediterranean off Perpignan during a routine maintenance flight on Friday.
Their flights were paid for by Air New Zealand, which had offered to fly all the families to France. . An airworthiness inspector with the Civil Aviation Authority, his job was to certify the plane for registration in New Zealand.
Mr Cook was the only Kiwi on the ill-fated plane not employed by Air New Zealand.
Acting authority director Graeme Harris said staff were struggling with the sudden, devastating loss of a colleague and friend, who joined the team almost four years ago. He was the kind of person who breaks down barriers in an office.
"Jeremy had a sharp, dry sense of humour and was well liked by everyone.
A licensed maintenance engineer with a background in aircraft maintenance, he worked for Air Niugini in Papua New Guinea, Ansett New Zealand and the Christchurch Engine Centre before joining the CAA."
He was an avid motorcycle enthusiast and motor-racing fan and was "a bit of a petrolhead"..
"People have this idea of a safety inspector as a staid bureaucrat but he wasn't like that at all …
Mr Cook was the only child of Spencer and Jocelyn Cook of Christchurch, both deceased."
His death was not only a huge blow to family, friends and colleagues but also left a huge hole in the organisation, Mr Harris said.
Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe arrived in Perpignan yesterday with Mr White's family members.
The other New Zealanders killed were Auckland pilot Captain Brian Horrell, 52, Christchurch engineers Michael Gyles, 49, and Noel Marsh, 35, and Auckland engineer Murray White, 37.
"It is important to me that we are here at the location of the accident as a means of bringing us closer to Murray," she said in a statement issued through the airline.
Mr White's partner, Emma Gould, who was travelling with her mother, Sue Bourke, said they had been "strong together during the long trip to Perpignan"."
She asked for "privacy, both for ourselves and other members of our family back in New Zealand as we try to cope with this tragedy".
"Our desire is to bring Murray home and I certainly hope that we will be able to do this.
"Olivia and Logan know Brian as a wonderful .
Mr Horrell's wife, Shellie, said family meant everything to him… father."
She said he brought the same dedicated, meticulous and professional standards to everything he did, as a pilot, flight instructor or jet-skier.
The family was gathering in the family home in Howick to wait as the recovery mission in Perpignan continued.
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A million homes ‘unhealthy’
By NICK CHURCHOUSE Monday, 01 December 2008
A million substandard homes are each up for a $22,000 bill to meet recommendations from a new national housing performance report.
The survey found one in four Kiwis say the poor quality of their home has made someone living in them sick, and indicated the severe cost of poorly performing homes.
The survey of 3526 New Zealanders, conducted in October and November, is the culmination of a two-year $300,000 research project by the Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Proposing a mandatory rating system to apply to all homes when they were sold or rented, the report estimates the cost of bringing homes up to minimum health and efficiency standards would be $20 million over a decade, or roughly $22,000 a household. .6 million homes were built between 1900 and the 1970s, before insulation became mandatory in 1979, Mr Neilson said.
Two-thirds of New Zealand's 1.
Registered Master Builders Federation chief executive Warwick Quinn said the report wrapped up a widespread issue, but solutions were fragmented across disparate pockets of the community and industry and had little government support.
Most homes built before 1979 would not meet current building code regulations, he said. "Having a consolidated approach would be very helpful," he said."
While there were 80,000 homes renovated every year, Mr Neilson said the odds were stacked against New Zealanders doing up their homes for their own good because the benefits were largely unknown. "The [suggested] efficiency rating would help bring that to the surface.
The survey showed 69 per cent of people thought they could not afford to upgrade their home and half said they were too uninformed to do it.
"Most people assume the cost is much more than it is and the benefits are much less," he said.
Mr Neilson said the residential real estate market did not value "invisible" improvements like insulation and water efficiency, so house owners' priorities lay with marketable benefits such as decorating, improving fixtures or adding a deck.
Mr Neilson said the residential real estate market did not value "invisible" improvements like insulation and water efficiency, so house owners' priorities lay with marketable benefits such as decorating, improving fixtures or adding a deck.
The estimated average $22,000 bill to make a home energy-efficient and warm was realistic, and might become more palatable if householders could see the long-term benefits as energy prices rose.
Domestic Energy Users Network spokeswoman Molly Melhuish said harnessing 80,000 annual home renovations to improve living standards was a huge opportunity and a mandatory rating system was the only way to do it."
Ms Melhuish said there was a strong lobby against mandatory rating but she believed it was a fair approach in order for house hunters to get accurate and dependable information.
"There is a limited number of householders who are driven by eco-thoughts - pricing issues are a major motivator. Research showed the worst places for ill health caused by living conditions coincided with poor local populations who avoided using electric heating because of the cost.
The report was admirable but ignored the need to improve home-heating solutions to battle dampness, a greater health threat than cold, she said."
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"Their houses, even if you insulate them, are not going to become healthy houses
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Melanoma cases likely to decline
- Monday, 01 December 2008
New Zealand could lose its unenviable reputation as the skin-cancer centre of the world thanks to climate change.
Extreme levels of ultra-violet (UV) radiation caused by clear skies and bright sunshine kill between 250 and 300 Kiwis a year, giving New Zealand the highest death rate from melanoma in the world. .
The maximum value of the UV index which at this time of year can reach "extreme" levels of 12 over the South Island and 13 further north would drop by two or more steps under such a scenario.
Scientists think that climate change will speed up a recovery of the ozone layer over much of the world and block out more of the damaging UV rays.
Beyond that, increased ozone concentrations were likely to take New Zealand and the rate back to where it was in the 1950s or 60s.
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research scientist Greg Bodeker said the peak in the skin-cancer rate was expected about 2040.
"It's a good story, absolutely.
"Skin-cancer rates of today are caused by UV exposure 20 or 30 years ago. We are already seeing ozone recovery over New Zealand," Bodeker said."
Some people were concerned that if UV radiation levels fell lower than so far experienced that might lead to vitamin D deficiencies, but that seemed unlikely, he said.
"All the indications are that climate change will accele-rate the recovery of the ozone levels.