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Trampers who were missing in Rimutaka Forest Park have made it out safely.
Police had been considering a search for the group after they failed to return from an overnight tramp to the Ongaonga River yesterday.
A police patrol met them about 3. No one was injured, according to a police statement.30 pm. “They made the right decision to wait for the river level to go down before crossing it. .”
Earlier, a police spokeswoman said one of the trampers had been in contact with their family.
They had managed to cross the river and were making their way out. The family member had said the party was safe and well.
The group, all aged in their 20s, started on the three-hour tramp on Saturday. A police patrol had been dispatched to meet them and the group were expected home before nightfall.
The group had planned to stay at the Shamrock hut.
Acting Senior Sergeant Steve Braybrook said the conditions were bad last night with heavy rain, which would have prevented the group leaving the valley.
– with
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A Queenstown commercial pilot had to chase his light plane, with passengers on board, after it began speeding towards the runway without a pilot at the controls.
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is investigating the incident involving a Cessna 207, owned by Milford Sounds Scenic Flights, getting “out of control” at Queenstown Airport last month.
“During that time the aircraft took off by itself,” Mr Mathews said.
Commission deputy chief investigator Ken Mathews said the pilot got out of the aircraft when the engine wouldn’t start and used his hands to get the propeller moving.
It did not go on to the main runway or disrupt flights.
The pilot managed to get into the aircraft while it was moving and control it before any harm was done, Mr Mathews said.”
The Milford Sounds Scenic Flights aircraft was scheduled to fly to Milford Sound when it began moving without its pilot.
“But there were other aircraft about, so it wasn’t a good thing.
There was a person in the cockpit, but it was unclear what their role or qualifications were, he said. .
Milford Sounds Scenic Flights director Mark Quickfall said the pilot was stood down after the incident and safety procedures improved to ensure aircraft did not set off without their pilots.
The aircraft could carry up to six passengers but it was unclear how many passengers were in the Cessna at the time of the incident, Mr Mathews said. “Our report to the (Civil Aviation Authority) included actions to prevent this happening again.
“It was a serious incident and error of judgment by the pilot,” he said. He declined to comment further on the incident until the investigations had been completed.” The company reported the incident immediately to the Civil Aviation Authority, Mr Quickfall said.
The commission had not provided a completion date for its investigation.
Queenstown Airport chief executive Steve Sanderson said he was aware of the incident but would not comment.
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Dunedin’s mayor and city MP Pete Hodgson want the controversial Undie 500 rally out of Dunedin for good.
The rally once more descended into chaos last night, with Dunedin police forced to wear riot gear and use pepper spray to disperse student mobs. .The annual Undie 500 event, organised by Canterbury University engineering students, involves a pub crawl from Christchurch to Dunedin, in cars worth under $500.The 70 officers took about two hours to disperse the students.Hodgson, who represents Dunedin North, told Radio New Zealand it’s time to put a stop to the event. This is the third consecutive year the rally has led to disorder.Mayor Peter Chin said the Undie 500 isn’t welcome in Dunedin, and suggested the Canterbury students trash their own city instead, RNZ reported.Last year’s official Undie 500 was cancelled after rioting in the city resulted in 69 arrests the previous year.The event has previously caused headaches for Dunedin police left to control riotous behaviour at the end of the trip.Most of last night’s action centred in the three blocks around Castle Street, with mobs setting furniture and piles of rubbish on fire in Castle and Leith streets, Dunedin Area Commander Inspector Dave Campbell said.However, an unofficial version of the event still ran and 30 arrests were made after another round of disorder.Flying bottles hit two or three other people, who had to be taken away by ambulance for treatment.One officer was hit in the head and knocked down with a hurled bottle, and would have been seriously injured if not for his helmet, he said.Mr Campbell said there would be a boosted police presence this weekend and anyone arrested would gain a criminal record, due to a no-diversion policy.Mr Campbell said there would be a boosted police presence this weekend and anyone arrested would gain a criminal record, due to a no-diversion policy.They faced a variety of charges, ranging from disorderly behaviour and breaching the liquor ban to wilfully setting fire to property.Most of those arrested were Otago University students, Mr Campbell said.”We are happy we have been able to stabilise the crowd without exerting our authority too much,” he told the Otago Daily Times.The officer in charge of the police response, Inspector Alistair Dickie, said they had chosen to take a softer approach this year and were relatively pleased with how things turned out last night. We are pleased at the moment.”We could have sparked something here.”
. Hopefully, I don’t eat my words
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The Government does not appear to be concerned about the reopening of an inquiry into one of its MPs.
The inquiry, involving list MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi over immigration allegations, is back on after police were provided with fresh information.
There have also been allegations swirling around about attempts to silence witnesses.
Mr Bakshi has denied allegations he accepted money for false job offers to bolster Indian immigrant applications.
“There have been allegations around for a while, it’s my understanding that the Department of Immigration has been looking into those and they should follow the proper processes.
“As far as I understand, he’s quite clear he hasn’t done anything he shouldn’t have done,” Acting Prime Minister Bill English told reporters today.
It has now provided police with further information on the allegations after interviewing a new informant, The New Zealand Herald reported.”
Immigration New Zealand started an inquiry last year but closed it in March as a result of a lack of evidence.
Police said they were looking at the role of former immigration consultant Darshan Singh Bains, who took job offers from Mr Bakshi and gave them to Indians to use as part of their applications to migrate to New Zealand.
The service also provided police with a sworn statement, obtained by Labour MP Pete Hodgson from another new informant, which said complainants were encouraged by people in India to drop the matter; “because he was going to be the first Sikh MP in New Zealand”. .
“Police are currently assessing that Immigration NZ information to determine criminal liability,” police said.
In Parliament today Mr Hodgson read an affidavit sworn by Darshan Singh Saran, a resident of the Punjab and a friend of Kuldip Singh, the man who says he paid for a job offer for his wife.
Mr Bakshi has been away from work after a heart bypass operation but is expected back soon.
It recorded how “influential people” urged Kuldip Singh not to speak out against the MP.
The affidavit said the money was paid to Darshan Singh Bains, and Kuldip Singh’s attempts to recover it failed because the immigration consultant had disappeared.
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Home loan customers probably missed the “bargain of a lifetime” on long-term mortgage rates, after a multibillion-dollar borrowing frenzy in the past few weeks, some economists say.
But floating mortgage rates are likely to fall further and stay down, possibly till the end of next year.
Other economists say lending rates may go lower, given a weak world economy, and there is no need to lock in rates now.
In the past week or so, five-year fixed lending rates jumped from about 6.
In a highly unusual move, Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard said yesterday that long-term interest rates were too high.5 per cent as people suddenly switched to longer-term loans, to lock in much-lower-than-average rates.5 per cent to 7. The frenzied demand pushed rates up. .
But the rise in the past fortnight was “unwarranted” and, if rates stayed up, it could put unnecessary pressure on companies and home owners borrowing from banks, Dr Bollard said.
BNZ advised a fortnight ago to “fix now”.
Bank of New Zealand chief economist Tony Alexander says the Reserve Bank is just showing its impotence to haul down longer-term fixed rates, even though wholesale interest rates dipped almost a third of 1 per cent on Dr Bollard’s announcement.
Westpac economist Donna Purdue said the Reserve Bank was expected to cut official interest rates 50 points at the end of the month, which would bring floating rates down sharply. People had now missed that “wonderful opportunity” to lock in cheap rates, Mr Alexander said, although three-year rates remained much lower.
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Moa poo shows birds ate tiny herbs
Thursday, 15 January 2009
A study of fossilised moa droppings has found the giant birds had a surprising appetite for tiny herbs.
The findings, from preserved poop which lay in caves and rock shelters for thousands of years, have overturned notions that moa browsed only on trees and bushes.
"It shows they were grazers as well," said Otago University graduate Jamie Wood."
Another surprising discovery was that a currently threatened native herb, ceratocephala pungens,was once common.
"Some of these herbs were just two or three centimetres high, but you have these giant birds eating them. It's made us wonder if maybe the plant becoming endangered has something to do with the birds that were spreading its seeds becoming extinct.
"We found its seeds all over the place."
Wood, who next week starts work for Landcare Research, is studying moa droppings with Alan Cooper, director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA. .
They examined leaf fragments, plant seeds, and DNA from more than 1500 faecal fossils known as coprolites.
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Axe bandit hits Wgtn service stations
By CLIO FRANCIS – Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Supplied
BRAZEN ROBBERY: Wellington Police said the early morning robberies at a Shell station in Newtown and a Caltex station in Miramar, left staff traumatised and the offender with less than $300 cash.
A brazen robber with a tomahawk axe strapped to his waist struck two service stations in Wellington today.
Acting Detective sergeant Andrew Compton said in both cases the lone robber lifted up his shirt to expose what the victims thought was a tomahawk axe placed across his waist.
Wellington Police said the early morning robberies at a Shell station in Newtown and a Caltex station in Miramar, left staff traumatised and the offender with less than $300 cash.
The first robbery occurred around 5.
He said police were sure images taken from security cameras at the petrol stations would help find the person responsible.
Later, at 8.20 this morning at a Shell station on Constable Road, Newtown, he said.
He said that at both petrol stations the man demanded the contents of the till, and left with small sums of cash.45am, the man walked into the Caltex Station in Broadway, close to Wellington Airport. The victims said he wore a black beanie over his face with a black cap on top.
The robber is described as being dark skinned, possibly Fijian, in his mid 20's. .
He was dressed in a red t-shirt with a long sleeved grey jacket and was wearing baggy jeans.
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Taranaki farmer electrocuted
By MATT RILKOFF – Saturday, 01 November 2008
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Family members comfort each other after the tragedy.
A Tarata farmer has been electrocuted and another man narrowly escaped the same fate in a tragic back-country accident yesterday afternoon.
It appears the dead man was running an electric fence line up a hill on his farm when the line came into contact with overhead powerlines.
Details of what happened at the Motukawa Rd farm to the east of Inglewood are still unclear.
The understands it was thought at first that he had suffered a heart attack so the dangerous nature of the accident scene was not realised.
An Inglewood doctor was called to the scene but was unable to revive the man, who is understood to be 43-44 years old and to have three school age children.
Senior Constable Alistair Balsom, of Inglewood, said the doctor used a polar fleece jacket and flicked the live wire away.
While the doctor was still in attendance to the dead man, an acquaintance of the victim took it upon himself to connect the fence and received an electric shock. If it wasn't for him the second guy would be dead," he said.
"Thank God for Dr Finnigan.
The Taranaki Rescue helicopter received notice of the first incident at about 3.
Last night the second man was in a comfortable condition at Taranaki Base Hospital. Just before landing at the accident site they were informed the man was dead.45pm and took off to attend the scene at 4pm.35pm.
The rescue crew talked briefly with medical personnel already there before flying back to base, arriving at 4.
When they arrived eight minutes later, the man was conscious and able to talk.
Just 25 minutes later they received another call that a second man had been shocked at the same location and they returned to the scene.
"It seemed he was running out an electric fence and we are unsure of what specifically happened but the man received an electric shock. . Soon after another man thought he would do the right thing, picked up the fence to connect it and did exactly the same thing. He collapsed and he couldn't be revived.
The body of the deceased man was removed from the scene by police at approximately 7."
He said the first call police received of the accident was from medical personnel and for a time they thought two people had been killed. A number of visibly upset family members and friends were at the location. A number of visibly upset family members and friends were at the location.
A spokesperson for the Department of Labour said they would be unable to comment on the accident until their investigation was complete.
The man's identity will not be released until family members overseas have been informed.
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Auckland: here comes the super-city
By ESTHER HARWARD – Sunday, 07 September 2008
Aucklandis likely to become a single super-city under the biggest shake-up of local government in two decades.
A decision on the future of the region's seven city and district councils and one regional council is due on December 1, but is widely expected to be delayed until April or May.
The country's longest-serving mayor, Sir Barry Curtis, is believed to be in line for a job as a temporary commissioner during 2010 and 2011 to oversee the transition.
Top-level sources within local government say the most likely outcome of the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance is a single unitary authority with 20 community councils, as a way of ending rivalries within the region.
Alternative suggestions have included reducing the number of councils and retaining the status quo, but with region-wide organisations having more responsibility for building and running infrastructure.
Auckland Regional Council and Auckland City Council are the only local authorities in favour of a super-city.
National says it is waiting for the commission's findings before making a decision, although the Star-Times understands that opinion is split within the party.
North Shore mayor Andrew Williams is vehemently opposed to a single council and has lobbied National MPs to keep his city separate from the rest of Auckland.
"At this stage we will wait for the commission to hand down their decision later this year.
Auckland's mayoral forum chairman Bob Harvey said the possible role of Curtis as commissioner was "briefly discussed at the last forum meeting, but we decided not to deal with rumours". "I've never, never had any approach from any person or party regarding that position ."
Curtis told the Star-Times it was the first he'd heard of it…"
He said he was "always interested in taking on a new challenge . I've given no thought to any position now or into the future because that opportunity has never been given me, certainly not at this time…
Before he ended his 24-year stint at Manukau City Council, Curtis supported the option of a single Auckland authority with 20 community councils. Governance is certainly an issue that I continue to take an interest in".
He has also indicated he is keen on the job of high commissioner to the Cook Islands after Brian Donnelly quit two weeks ago due to extreme ill health. A former mayoral forum chairman, he is noted for uniting Auckland to support the Waikato pipeline and pulling the region together to host the 1990 Commonwealth Games.
Curtis, who has honorary residency in the Cook Islands, wanted the post before former foreign affairs minister Winston Peters gave it to Donnelly in February. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade will advise the government within two months on Donnelly's replacement. "I've got to get through this . "I've got to get through this … it shatters your life and it'll take me a little while to get over it."