Two a penny

.Sydney Roosters wing Sam Perrett bagged a hat-trick to help New Zealand ultimately thrash France 62-12 overnight as the Kiwis record their first Four Nations win.
New Zealand raced into a 10-point lead through skipper Benji Marshall and Perrett before France hit back thanks to Sebastien Martins’s maiden try.
But Perrett, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Frank-Paul Nuuausala led a succession of second-half tries to eventually put the underdogs to the sword as the world champions, held 20-20 by Australia last week, proved too strong.
World Cup hero Lance Hohaia and France’s Australian-born James Wynne exchanged scores either side of the break as the hosts kept their hopes alive.
Yet they started the brighter and when former Newcastle Knights man Wynne broke the tackle and fed the ball wide, Nicolas Piquemal came within inches of touching down. .
Within three minutes of the re-start Marshall was probing again and after Frank Pritchard and Fuifui Moimoi were denied, Nathan Fien chipped the ball into the corner for Perrett to collect and score.
But French hopes looked dashed in the first New Zealand attack when hooker Thomas Leuluai burst clear to lay-off for skipper Marshall to wander over and put the first points on the board.
Undeterred, Wynne, a former understudy to Australia half-back Andrew Johns, combined with New Zealand-born Kane Bentley to send Martins over for his first French try in the 23rd minute.
Bryson Goodwin dragged his first conversion attempt wide but managed to curl his second inside the posts to put the Kiwis 10-0 up.
The hosts produced three consecutive sets of six inside the New Zealand 22 but after Wynne was halted five-yards short of the line, Isaac Luke scampered clear and World Cup hero Hohaia grabbed his eighth Kiwi try.
Thomas Bosc converted to reduce the score further and after Perrett knocked-on over the line the French could smell an upset.
Yet any hopes they had of pulling away in the final 40 minutes appeared to be dashed when Bosc’s kick was fumbled in defence and Wynne downed the ball.
Goodwin made no mistake with the conversion to send the world champions in 16-6 up at the break.
New Zealand eventually turned up the heat and after a sustained period of pressure Hohaia and Fien combined to send Perrett in at the corner in the 53rd minute.
Bosc slotted over the extras from in front of the posts to peg the Kiwis back at 12-16.
With its hopes of a famous win snuffed out, France began to cave in and Nuuausala drove over before Hohaia sprinted the full length of the field to score on the hour.
Goodwin converted and after collecting the kick-off Perrett dug the ball out just short of the line to allow Waerea-Hargreaves to cross within two minutes.
Perrett did then grab his third try of the night before Goodwin and Waerea-Hargreaves rounded off the scoring.
Goodwin converted both tries before Perrett flicked the ball unselfishly out the back of his hand for Junior Sa’u to extend the lead.
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.A French magistrate has ordered former president Jacques Chirac to stand trial on embezzlement charges dating back to his time as mayor of Paris, in an unprecedented move against a former French head of state.
A statement from Chirac’s office says he and nine others have been charged with a role in awarding 21 contracts for non-existent jobs.
The statement describes the former president as “serene”.
Mr Marin is likely to appeal the decision by Xaviere Simeoni, a magistrate whose role is to investigate cases and decide whether suspects should face trial.
The retired Chirac, 76, who was mayor from 1977 until 1995 when he was elected president, is not certain to go on trial, as Paris public prosecutor Jean-Claude Marin had previously said there was no case against him.
The charges investigated by Judge Simeoni related to 35 work contracts allegedly awarded by Paris city hall as favours to friends or associates of Mr Chirac’s political camp. .
She concluded that 21 out of the 35 were for non-existent jobs.
Judge Simeoni’s decision is a blow to Chirac, who enjoyed constitutional immunity during his 12 years as president only to be hit by a flurry of legal problems after he stepped down in 2007.
The statement from Chirac’s office says he is “determined to demonstrate to the tribunal that none of the contracts that are still in debate were for non-existent jobs”.
In retirement from political life, Chirac has gained in popularity and has devoted his time to writing his memoirs and launching a charitable foundation.
No former French head of state has faced prosecution for corruption and a trial would be a public humiliation for a man who was a central figure in French politics for four decades.
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Although he has avoided direct involvement in any trial, a number of his former allies and associates have been convicted of corruption, leaving a bitter aftertaste of “the Chirac years”

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The Government has no plans to change superannuation entitlements or raise the age of eligibility in the face of a Treasury report’s dire warnings of the burden of an ageing population.

Treasury secretary John Whitehead today warned New Zealand’s net debt could reach $2 trillion by 2050 if government spending followed historic trends.

The statement showed the Government was currently issuing about $250 million a week in debt.

Releasing the treasury’s long term fiscal statement this afternoon, Mr Whitehead said “as a nation we are going to have to make some choices about what we want”.

“The only options that are feasible are options of changing taxes around.

Finance Minister Bill English said the Government would not go back on its promise to retain entitlements but the next round of tax cuts would not be happening in the short term.

“If we can get some better results on the economy then we will get some more tax revenue in. We will need to collect all the current amount of tax,” he told reporters.”

Growth in Government spending has averaged 6. But in the shorter term there isn’t an option on giving away a whole lot of revenue.2 percent over the same period.3 percent a year for the past 15 years, in total more than 20 percent higher than economic growth, at 5.The shift in the past three years was partly due to lower revenue and increased expenses from the recession, and revised growth and revenue predictions.

The statement more than doubled the projected net debt from the 2006 forecast to 223 per cent of GDP by 2050 if things did not change.

Mr Whitehead noted the imminent threat to government spending liabilities from the increasing 65-plus age bracket.

Also contributing to the shift was the increased expense of new Government policies over the past three years.

“By 2050 the ratio of people 65 and over to those of working age will double,” Mr Whitehead said.

A quarter of Government spending currently went towards that group, which made up 12 per cent of the population. .

Mr Whitehead emphasised he did not expect the worst case scenario to come true, but it was up to the Government to make the necessary choices to address the fiscal issues highlighted in the statement. Treasury’s given the same advice about super for 20 years, it hasn’t changed.

“Future Governments haven’t made the undertakings the current Government has made.”

More people were choosing to stay on at work longer and Mr English expected that to increase. We made an undertaking and we are sticking to that undertaking.”

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Western Bay of Plenty District Council is trying to snuff out smoking outdoors with a smokefree policy targeting 30 of the district’s beaches.

They include the popular holiday spots of Waihi Beach, Maketu and Athenree – and the towns of Katikati and Te Puke.

Western Bay of Plenty District Mayor Ross Paterson said council hoped the policy would raise awareness of antipathy many people now have toward smoking in public areas.

“But it is a strong affirmation by this council to support a smokefree environment and to empower people to ask someone who is smoking to please stop,” he said.

“This is not a ban – council has no intention of taking any action against people for smoking in public spaces.”

Mr Paterson said he did not believe there would be any problems with the policy on the beaches.

“If we can raise the public’s awareness of the dangers of smoking on our children, young people, the environment and our communities in general, then I believe we are fulfilling our role as a responsible local authority. .

The policy was initiated by the Bay of Plenty Public Heath organisation Toi Te Ora.

Feedback on the policy was positive and only a couple of people had questioned how it would be enforced, he said.

Council staff had last week recommended the council make all council public facilities, except beaches, smokefree.

While 23 local bodies in New Zealand already have adopted smokefree policies, Western Bay was only the third to include beaches under its policy, the other two being Opotiki and Gisborne. This was unanimously backed by the council’s policy and planning committee, the Bay of Plenty Times reported.

But councillor Sam Dunlop moved another option be adopted, which included beaches in the list of smokefree public spaces.

Most people the paper spoke to in some of the affected areas supported the move, but many questioned how it would be policed.

Most people the paper spoke to in some of the affected areas supported the move, but many questioned how it would be policed.

A quick phone survey of residents in Waihi Beach and Maketu echoed those sentiments.

“You only have to go up to Tauranga Hospital to see it’s not working,” he said.

“But how the hell do you monitor this? Really what you are saying is people are just asked nicely not to smoke but can do so if they want?”

Associate Health Minister Health Tariana Turia commended the council on its policy.

One Waihi Beach resident, who asked not to be named, said while he smoked, he could see the advantage of making beaches smokefree.

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“Banning smoking in public spaces not only makes it harder for smokers to light up but it helps reduce youth uptake of smoking,” she said

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Police have arrested two men who allegedly stopped a car in Waikato and beat and kidnapped the driver for cash.

The victim was driving on Gordonton Rd, towards Hamilton on October 1, when he crashed into a car that did an illegal U-turn front of his vehicle, Detective Inspector Russell Le Prou said.

When he checked if the occupants of the other car were hurt he was set upon by a group of men armed with softball bats.

The victim was told the group took the money as a form of reparation or “anger money” before they released him, Mr Le Prou said.

They beat him, took his ATM cards, then held him at a close toby property while others drove off to take $1300 from his bank account.”

Officers from the armed offenders squad executed two search warrants in Taupiri and Morrinsville, because of the need to stamp out serious, unprovoked, violent behaviour, Mr Le Prou said.

“They seem to have been quite brazen about it, even informing their victim there were no hard feelings and that they were in the business of selling car parts should he want to repair his vehicle. .

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Further arrests and charges were likely, Mr Le Prou said

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New South Wales police say they hold “grave concerns” for a New Zealander who disappeared since last month.

Oliver Sims, 26, was last seen on September 18 at a university in Wollongong, where he worked in a function centre, NSW police said in a statement. .

Mr Sims, who lived in Wollongong, 82km south of Sydney, failed to return home after his shift and did not show up for work the next week.

“I was at home and he sent me a text message about 11pm, saying `Don’t wait up, I will be home late.

In the six weeks since he was last seen, his girlfriend of seven years, Pauline Cook, has retraced his steps, kept a constant vigil and made a public appeal for information to help find him. And that was the last I heard from him,” Ms Cook told the Illawarra Mercury newspaper. I love you’.

“I have been in contact with his family in New Zealand pretty much every day and they’re very distraught and extremely worried,” Ms Cook said.

Mr Sims, who did not have a driver’s licence, usually used public transport or got a lift home with a workmate. I’ve gone to places locally where he might be or go, and I’ve gone up to Sydney to places where we used to hang out.

“We’re all scared for his welfare and there’s not much we can do.”

Ms Cook and Mr Sims had talked of a future together that included marriage, and she said he was a “quiet and gentle kind of guy”.

“We’ve tried everything we can think of to find him.

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Family members have set up a “find Oliver Sims” Facebook group

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A special police unit is being set up to
seize criminal assets and it will have a hit list to work on.

Police Minister Judith Collins and Police Commissioner Howard Broad announced the formation of the 22-member Assets Recovery Unit (ARU) today, saying it would hunt down and seize millions of dollars in profits from organised crime.

“The ARU will be at the sharp end of our fight against organised crime and methamphetamine,” Ms Collins said at a press conference.”

Mr Broad said organised crime posed a national security threat and the methamphetamine trade alone was worth $1 billion a year.

“Gangs in this country have evolved into sophisticated criminal businesses that make tens of millions of dollars a year.

“There are certainly people associated with some of our criminal organisations that they will have in mind.

Intelligence gathered over the last few years had delivered the information the new unit would need, he said.

“Our people are busting to get going on this.

The Act comes into force on December 1 and under its provisions police can demand answers from people about their “unexplained wealth” without having to prove a criminal conviction against the person holding the assets. .

“The question is where did it come from? If there’s a reasonable explanation, that’s easy to answer.

“We know there are people who haven’t worked throughout their adult life yet they control considerable assets,” Mr Broad said.”

The Act gives police similar powers to the Inland Revenue Department and the unit will work with it, the Customs Department, Immigration and the Serious Fraud Office. But there are those who have acquired large assets through drugs and other criminal means and they should be held to account.

Ms Collins said “the most dreadful thing” about the methamphetamine trade was its potential for corruption.

Ms Collins said “the most dreadful thing” about the methamphetamine trade was its potential for corruption.

“We’ve made it plain, in the methamphetamine strategy, that we’re not averse to taking these ill-gotten gains and using it against the criminals themselves,” Ms Collins said.

The Government intends using some of the seized proceeds of crime to fight crime.

The seized proceeds will also be used to help rehabilitate victims of the drug trade.

It would go into crime-fighting agencies but there would be no direct connection with police funding.

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The vast majority of New Zealanders are happy with their lives, according to a new survey.

The first New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS), conducted by Statistics New Zealand, found that 86 percent of those questioned were content with most aspects of their lives, including their health, environment, and social contact with family and friends.”The focus of the survey is a broad view of how New Zealanders are doing across many areas of life,” said Statistics New Zealand spokesperson Conal Smith.The survey canvassed traditional measures such as income, employment, and education, along with fields where little information has been available, such as volunteering, emergency preparedness, and housing problems.The overall satisfaction rating of 86 percent compared broadly with Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. .

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A survey has found New Zealanders are suffering “green fatigue” through constant warnings of an approaching environmental armageddon.

Researchers questioned 1000 people and in their findings noted: “We know global warming is a problem.”

While 97 percent said they were doing their bit for the planet, only 3 percent claimed to be “totally committed”. But incessantly remind us that we’ll ruin a perfectly good planet if we don’t half-flush, ride to work, or recycle and - guess what - there’s a real danger we’ll just zone out.

More than two thirds said they resented having to sort rubbish for recycling and only 24 percent felt bad about using the wrong bins.

The vast majority used plastic bags (with 23 percent getting a rebellious thrill from the practice), took long showers and drove gas guzzling cars when they could have walked or taken a bus or a train.

While men appeared to be less concerned about the environment, one woman’s comment summed up the mood of many respondents.

Readers Digest, which commissioned the survey, spoke with an advertising executive who said “Green” was a “damaged brand” and media saturation had led to “green fatigue”.”

Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty agreed people could easily become “burnt out with a sense of catastrophe and powerlessness”.

“I’d like not to be made to feel guilty for making my life easier.

“If people feel blamed they go into denial and if we can get out of denial and start realising that people have power it can be a very positive and rewarding thing.

“I think inspiration rather than blame is what encourages people to feel they can make a difference and care for the planet,” she told .

“I think it’s really hard sometimes to make the connection between ‘the arctic’s melting’ and ‘my shower heads need to be different’.”

She said the scale of the problem, combined with the environmental disasters depicted in the media could make the issue hard for the average person to relate to.”

Ms Delahunty’s interview with was cut short when the connection was lost after the train she was travelling on entered a tunnel.

“But we need to make changes easy for people.

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Customs expects to seize a tonne of methamphetamine precursors by the end of the year, a parliamentary committee has been told.

Precursors are the ephedrine and pseudoephedrine products which go into making the drug, also known as P, and the amount coming into New Zealand has increased massively in the past few years.Comptroller of Customs Martyn Dunne told Parliament’s foreign affairs, defence and trade committee 796kg of precursors, with a value of $90 million, had been seized in the nine months to September 30.”We will crack a tonne of precursors by the end of the year, I’m confident that we’ll do that,” Mr Dunne said. That compared with 733kg for the whole of last year.Many methods were used to try to bring it in, including in shrewsbury biscuits and washing powder.The amount of precursors seized had been steadily increasing, from 292kg in 2004 to last year’s 733kg.”We are seeing changes in modus operandi, about how they’re doing it,” Mr Dunne said. .”What we’re looking for, unfortunately, is the next big thing.”That’s also been backed up, somewhat anecdotally, by increasing levels of violence by the organised crime elements that are involved in this,” Mr Dunne said.”Customs had “pretty good evidence” that the cost of P precursors had increased considerably, which showed the seizures were having an effect.”Meanwhile, Customs had identified $2.”So if that’s the case, then good.8m in cost cutting, mainly in staff costs, in a line-by-line review requested by the government.8m in cost cutting, mainly in staff costs, in a line-by-line review requested by the government