Two a penny

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Air New Zealand today announced a normalised profit after tax of $118 million down 19 per cent on last year.

The airline said it had been hit by a rugged first half of the financial year but the second half had seen dramatic improvement.6 billion, down $58 million or 1.

Operating revenue for the year was $4.6 per cent decrease in demand.2 per cent on the same period last year, with passenger revenue down $74 million on a 7.

“Air New Zealand’s profitability against the backdrop of a global economic meltdown was underpinned by management’s decision to move rapidly ahead of competitors to reduce capacity at the first signs of waning demand and an ability to continue to invest and innovate with confidence.

“This result positions Air New Zealand as one of the top airline performers globally but it falls short of delivering shareholders an appropriate commercial return,” chairman John Palmer said.5 cents per share.”

The Board has declared a fully imputed dividend of 3.

“We will continue to invest in new products, technology and customer service, while keeping a strong focus on reducing costs and becoming even more efficient.

Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe said that while some certainty is provided by hedge positions relating to foreign exchange and fuel price, demand remains difficult to predict.”

“Although there are some early indicators that the slump in travel demand may be showing signs of having bottomed out, it would be naive to think that there won’t be bumps on the road to economic recovery. .

Normalised profit after tax of $118 million
Operating revenue down 1.”

Demand for air travel was stabilising, yields remain under significant pressure, fuel prices have resumed an upward trend and we are unlikely to achieve the same level of net hedging gains, Mr Fyfe said.6 billion
Passenger demand down 7.2pc to $4.6 billion, up 22pc
Final dividend of 3.6pc Net cash position $1.5 cents

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Former MP Taito Phillip Field will have to wait until next week to find out if he is guilty of criminal charges.

The jury considering Field’s guilt on 35 charges retired for the night at 4.

Justice Rodney Hansen reminded the six women and four men of the jury it was critically important not to speak to anybody else about the case over the weekend. .35pm yesterday and have been considering the case for about 11 hours.

Jurors began deliberations about 12.

He also faces 23 charges of wilfully attempting to obstruct or pervert the course of justice, alleging he tried to derail investigations into his dealings with the Thai tradesmen.

Field faces 12 charges of bribery and corruption as an MP, alleging he accepted work on his homes from Thai tradesmen in return for giving them immigration help.

Earlier in the day a group of Maori protestors occupied a foyer in the Auckland High Court where people were waiting for the verdict in the trial.

The trial before Justice Rodney Hansen is into its 15th week.

As well as protesting, they had been filming their own activities earlier today.

The 30-strong group, calling themselves the Mauri Nation State Hapu, had returned to the court earlier today after six members yesterday halted the trial briefly to protest at the ‘syntax’ of the charges laid against Field.

Police had earlier told the group they must leave the building after they ignored demands not to film and racially abused a court official. Use of cameras in the High Court is banned without permission.

The protestors are led by Tass Davis – an uncle of Maori Party MP Hone Harawira – who in June announced a planned campaign of civil disobedience targeting the homes of high-profile judges and occupying courtrooms to draw attention to the group’s bid for a Maori sovereign nation.

However it seems the group has now been allowed to stay.

By , , with

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The 75-year-old former Auckland police constable said at the time that he expected between 300 and 400 Maori would be involved in the non-violent campaign

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The Auckland actor shot by police in suburban Auckland lured officers to the scene with false claims of domestic violence before advancing on attending officers with a meat cleaver and two knives.

Rob Mokaraka, 36, was shot by a police officer in Smale Street, Pt Chevalier on Monday afternoon.

Detective Superintendent Rod Drew said police telephone records had revealed the man enticed police to his home after making false reports of a violent domestic incident involving a man armed with a concealed gun.

“After some verbal interaction with police he advanced into the street and threatened police who had responded to the 111 calls, with what appeared to be a firearm wrapped in a towel.

“It is now apparent that, having given a distinctive description of the ‘angry man’ he said was armed with a concealed firearm, the man dressed himself to fit the description and waited for police to arrive,” Mr Drew said. . When he refused to stop, an officer fired one shot and the man was disarmed. He is in a stable condition and is expected to remain in hospital for a week or more.

The officer who fired the shot is expected to complete a formal interview today, as are the other officers involved with the incident. A decision regarding charges will be made in the next day or so. He has not been stood down from duty. The officer is off work while he completes the full medical and psychological de-briefing required by the Police Trauma Policy.

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The investigation continues

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A standoff between police and a man allegedly wielding a gun in the north Waikato town of Huntly appears to be over.

Early this afternoon,Armed Offenders Squad members -backed up by a police helicopter -converged onthe Bailey St property and cordoned off the area.

Western Waikato acting area commander Senior Sergeant Dave Simes said the AOS responsefollowed anincident at a motorcycle shop in Kihikihi, close to Te Awamutu, earliertoday. Police then identified a vehicle, which they believed had been involved, which lead them to the property.

Officers had been called to reports of motorcycles being taken from the Kihikihi shop.

An earlier statement from police referred to the Kihikihi incident as an aggravated robbery, but said no one had been injured.

“Because of the possible threat of firearms members of the Waikato Armed Offenders Squad have been called to the incident as police work towards bringing the situation to a successful conclusion,” Mr Simes said at the time.

A photographer at the scenesaid that, by 4pm, the cordon had been removed and police staff were leaving.

A Bailey St resident, who only wanted to be known as Sharon, said she was told by police notto go home.

Huntly man Lally Sandhuhad heard that “the action” had been around a man whowas seenbrandishing a weapon outside a home on the street.”

Police were not available for comment about whether any arrests had been made. .

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A young student’s search for a job ended with a blunt email: “Sorry we don’t hire blacks, no offence meant”.

The racist reply stunned Albany student Julia Eru, 20, who says words can’t explain how horrible the email was.

“I thought that kind of stuff was in the past.

“It’s so offensive in so many ways,” she says.”

Ms Eru had applied online for a retail job but got a surprise response. The person needs to know it’s not right. Lots of love Andria.

She sent a second email using her sister’s English name and the response was entirely different: “Hi honey, positions are now closed. She studies hospitality management at the North Shore International Academy and is examining for part-time work.”

Ms Eru is part Maori and English.

Ms Eru says she is still waiting for a reply to her complaint to the Gumtree website that ran the job ad, which remained online until it was taken down after the contacted them. .

One email said a junior receptionist had acted inappropriately and had been fired.

The received a strange series of responses to questions put to the emailer.”

But another email read: “In the mean time kindly f*** off. “All apologies to those concerned and God Bless. The computer hacker. Cheers Li Wu. It was registered until June 23 this year.”

One email referred the to a website for Penrose-based importer and wholesaler Jin Bill International Ltd but the Companies Office website lists the company as having been struck off.

The company did not respond to phone messages and there is no listing for the director.

Despite that a company director’s name, Fanmao Zeng, appears on emails sent to the from the bright startltd2002 address.

Gumtree says it did not receive a complaint from Ms Eru and removed the job listing when it was reported.

When the paper visited the Penrose address we were told the company hadn’t been operating for at least a year.

Gumtree says the advert did not breach its policies but the subsequent abuse was “unacceptable”.

Gumtree says the advert did not breach its policies but the subsequent abuse was “unacceptable”.

– LIZ WILLIS/

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Fears that parents could face prosecution for minor smacks under the controversial anti-smacking law are not borne out by a police review.

The enactment of the Crimes (section 59) Amendment Act 2007, banning smacking for correctional purposes, has had little impact on police workloads since its enactment two years ago, police said today.

The issue is back on centre-stage after criticism on both sides of the political divide over the wording of a $9 million citizens-initiated referendum, asking: “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?”

Both the Prime Minister John Key and leader of the Opposition Phil Goff have said they would not revisit the legislation on the back of a “No” result in the referendum, and both have said they are comfortable with the law as it stands.

Police deputy commissioner Rob Pope said the review allowed police to monitor the impact of the anti-smacking law on police workloads.

Police today released the results from their fourth review of police activity as a result of the new law. .

“I am confident in saying that this latest review again shows the amendment has had minimal impact on police activity, he said.

Of these events, 39 involved “minor acts of physical discipline”, of which four resulted in prosecutions, and eight involved smacking.

No prosecutions were brought for smacking.

One of those cases was thrown out while the other three cases are yet to be heard.

“It continues to be business as usual for us and police continue to use their discretion and common sense in their decision making around child assault events,” Mr Pope said.

During the last review period, police attended 258 child assault events of which 49 were “minor acts of physical discipline” and nine involved smacking.

The conviction this year of Christchurch musician Jimmy Mason for assaulting his young son in 2007 – held up as a landmark ruling and test case for the anti-smacking law – fell outside of the review period.

Police are now analysing the fifth and final review.

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A man was beaten so badly he received two tears to his bowel after he commented that a relative of someone he boarded with in Richmond was chubby, a court has heard.

A trial for Vietnamese nationals Quang Van Nguyen, 50, and Binh Van Tran, 47, opened in the Nelson District Court yesterday.

Nguyen is also charged with assaulting the complainant.

Nguyen and Tran are jointly charged with resulting in grievous bodily harm with intent to another Vietnamese man, Thanh Van Nguyen, 39, on May 27 last year.

After dinner on the evening of May 27, the complainant made a call to Vietnam and spoke with his family in his bedroom.

In his opening address, Crown prosecutor Craig Stevenson said that in April last year, Thanh Van Nguyen was boarding at a Richmond house where the two defendants lived along with the wife of one of the defendants.

Mr Stevenson said the three men were the only ones at home and the complainant was talking with the two accused about family photos of Tran’s when Thanh Van Nguyen made a comment about Tran or a relative looking “somewhat chubby”.

After ending the call, he returned to the lounge area, where both the accused were sitting.

Mr Stevenson said that after that comment was made, Nguyen hit the complainant around his nose and eye with sufficient force to make him feel dizzy. . He was then repeatedly punched and ended up lying on the floor, where he felt a severe blow to his stomach, which he thought had come from someone’s foot.

Thanh Van Nguyen tried to get up and leave the lounge to go to his bedroom but was held back by one of the men.

He did not know who had hit him.

He also received several blows to his shoulder, back and thigh.

The following morning he was still in pain and asked Tran to arrange for him to go to hospital.

Mr Stevenson said Thanh Van Nguyen fainted and, after regaining consciousness, returned to his room in pain.

Mr Stevenson said Tran gave him something to rub on his stomach. He was told he wouldn’t get a doctor’s appointment.

At the hospital, surgeon Graeme Skeggs discovered the complainant had two tears to his bowel consistent with blunt trauma to his stomach. About 3pm or 4pm that day, an ambulance was called and the complainant was taken to Nelson Hospital.

Thanh Van Nguyen spent two weeks in hospital recovering after surgery.

Mr Skeggs also noticed a degree of bruising around the man’s head.

Thanh Van Nguyen said he had commented to Tran that a relative in one of his photos was “as big and fat as you are” and Tran had laughed.

Giving evidence, the complainant told Mr Stevenson that before the assault, they had been having a good time…. I said your skin doesn’t look too healthy.”

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Setting a trial date for a man charged with murdering Grant “Granite” Adams has been postponed for two months as he is dying.

The case for Tauranga man Brett Michael Ashby, 50, was called in the High Court at Rotorua before Justice Judith Potter yesterday when his lawyer explained he was terminally ill.
“He is terminally ill.
Lawyer Elizabeth Hall said her client was under hospice care at home and it was likely he would not survive to stand trial and asked for a two-month stand down. . . . it is a critical situation with his declining health getting worse. If he is alive [in two months] it would be something of a surprise,” she said. .
It is believed Mr Adams was a methamphetamine user with gang connections
Mr Adams’ remains were found in June 2007 in a grave dug with a digger.
Police allege Ashby, a company director, shot Mr Adams in the upper back and head with a semi-automatic pistol before dumping his body at Wairakei, close to Taupo, in December 2005.
Another Tauranga man, Craig Cullen, 44, was sentenced to 12 months’ home detention on April 23, last year, on a charge of being an accessory after the fact of murder.
Justice Potter adjourned the case to be recalled in the High Court at Rotorua on June 4, for a trial date to be set if Ashby was still alive.
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A former ESR scientist says he found blood which could have come only from Laniet or Stephen Bain on David Bain’s socks.

Peter Cropp, now an independent forensic scientist, told the High Court in Christchurch hearing murder charges against David Bain, he had tested socks taken from David Bain on June 20, 1994, the day of the murder of the Bain family.Each had blood staining on the soles and sock one had two stains visible on the sole’s edge. He had received the socks on August 4, 1994 and labelled them sock one and sock two. Blood grouping tests showed the blood was either from Laniet or Stephen Bain. The droplets had quite clear edges and the stains had soaked right through the material suggesting the blood was more likely to have dropped onto the socks than to have adhered to the sock by stepping into blood. He gave evidence yesterday of testing he carried out in 1994 of items taken from David Bain or from the Bain house.Cropp also told the court he could find no animal blood on the rifle used to shoot the Bain family.DNA tests showed all the blood spots tested on trackpants worn by Robin Bain were his own blood, the High Court was also told.The defence case is that David Bain fingerprints alleged to have been found on the rifle were placed there before the murders by a hand with animal blood on it.Two of the spots had a mix of DNA, one of which could have had a minor contribution from another Bain family member and the other had a minor contribution from someone outside the Bain family.Dr Stephen Gutowski, from the Victorian Forensic Services Centre (VFSC), said he tested the samples taken from the trackpants in 1997 and found all the samples contained Robin Bain’s DNA. His conviction was quashed by the Privy Council in 2007.Gutowski did his testing two years after David Bain’s first trial. Bain’s counsel Michael Reed has previously told the court that if blood from other members ofthe Bain family was found on Robin it would help to exonerate his client.The defence argues David Bain’s father Robin killed his wife and three children before turning his rifle on himself. He found human blood only on one part of the rifle, the sight.Nigel Hall, another scientist from the VFSC said he tested in 1997 samples taken from 13 areas of the rifle used in the killing.

During cross-examination Reed told Hentschel, who examined many items from the Bain house in 1994, that defence experts would say his lack of notes and diagrams of the examinations he carried out would be attacked as inadequate.

Retired ESR scientist Peter Hentschel today also gave evidence in the High Court trial of Bain.

Hentschel said he had relied on police officers in charge of each section of the Bain house to take notes and his recordings were of a standard used by ESR in 1994.

They would say, Reed said, that the shortcomings meant insufficient material was available for them to do proper reviews of the examinations.

Reed concentrated much of his cross-examination today on the murder weapon, a .

It would be different now, he said.

Hentschel examined the rifle in the week of the murders and said he had not made a diagram of where he saw four fingerprints because he relied on the fingerprint expert to do that.

Hentschel examined the rifle in the week of the murders and said he had not made a diagram of where he saw four fingerprints because he relied on the fingerprint expert to do that.

The Crown alleges the fingerprints were made by David Bain while the defence says the fingerprints were made by fingers covered in animal blood.

Nor had he made notes or made a diagram of where he saw smearing on the rifle which did not extend to the fingerprints, the retired scientist said.

Hentschel maintains the smearing over the rifle was “shielded” by the fingerprints.

He could not explain how tests done in 1997 found blood smearing between the fingerprints but the rifle must have been handled many times in the intervening three years, he said.

Hentschel agreed he had not made a diagram showing where he took a sample of blood from the firearm where the fingerprints were.

The sample was taken from smearing 5mm to 10mm from the fingerprints.

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Hentschel said he had not told the jury in David Bain’s trial he had taken the sample from the fingerprints themselves. .

When re-examined by Kieran Raftery for the Crown he said he found extensive smearing of blood on the butt of the rifle and its forearm.

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Fifty-five people exposed to a Wellington health carer infected with tuberculosis have tested positive for the germs that cause the potentially deadly disease.

The carer, understood to be originally from Zimbabwe, worked at Wellington and Kenepuru hospitals and four rest homes between December and March this year. Now they are working to track down about 20 plane passengers who sat near the woman on two international flights and will also need to be screened.

Health authorities identified 263 people, including hospital staff and rest-home residents, who had contact with her.

Of those, 55 had tested positive for latent tuberculosis infection.

The medical officer of health for the Wellington region, Annette Nesdale, said yesterday that 183 of the original 263 contacts had so far had initial screening for the disease.

They would now be offered further screening to assess their risk of developing tuberculosis. None had shown symptoms, which meant they were not infectious.

Dr Nesdale said the test results did not show whether someone had been exposed to the disease recently. They would be assessed by a doctor, have chest X-rays and blood tests and could be treated with antibiotics depending on their age, medical history and other factors.

She said the number was not surprising given the number of elderly people and health workers involved. It was possible they had been exposed before coming into contact with the health worker. “We’re being very cautious to make sure we identify any potential risk.

Meanwhile, those who had tested negative would have a second round of tests, to take place about three months after their last contact with the health worker.

Dr Nesdale said Wellington Regional Public Health was working with airlines to try to trace people who sat in the same row as, or rows near to, the woman on two flights.”

Screening had also been extended to “one or two” people who had spent an extended period of time with a family member in one of the affected rest homes.”

But addresses listed on passengers’ arrival cards were not necessarily permanent ones. “That’s more difficult.

Dr Nesdale said the infected carer was “doing well”.

The agency would work with public health authorities overseas if some of the passengers had left New Zealand.

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The health board said its contracts required agencies to ensure staff did not have TB.

After the woman was diagnosed with active tuberculosis in March, Capital and Coast District Health Board suspended its contract with the agency that provided her. The epidemic spread from a 13-year-old Korean boy who had moved to New Zealand with his family four years earlier.

In 2006, more than 1800 pupils and adults had to be tested after a TB scare at Palmerston North Boys High School. About 235 people were found to have inactive TB. About 235 people were found to have inactive TB. .

-It is still a major global cause of death, particularly in poor countries of Africa and Asia.

-People with latent TB infection have TB germs in their bodies, but the germs are not active so they are not sick. They may be prescribed treatment to prevent them from developing the disease.

-People with TB are sick from active TB germs. They can spread the disease to others. Treatment is usually a course of several antibiotics for up to a year.

-TB usually affects the lungs but can also affect the brain, kidneys and spine. Symptoms include illness and weakness, weight loss, fever and night sweats. It can cause coughing up blood.

-307 cases of TB were notified in New Zealand last year a rate of 7 per 100,000 people.