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Service for Air New Zealand crash victims
Dobbyn ‘honoured’ to sing
– Tuesday, 20 January 2009
Air New Zealand
UNDER THEIR WING: The remains of four of the five Air New Zealand crew killed in the Perpignan air crash sit beneath the Boeing 747 which transported them back to New Zealand.
IN MOURNING: Family and friends at the service.
Air New Zealand
HOME SOIL: Maori performance made up part of the service.
Air New Zealand
LEADING FROM THE FRONT: Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe speaks.
‘WELCOME HOME’: Dave Dobbyn said it was an honour and a privilege to perform as part of the service.
A scheduled Air New Zealand flight from London touched at 11pm carrying the remains.
Photo 5 of 5
Air NZ crash victims coming home
A service was held to mark the return home of the remains of four New Zealanders killed in the Air New Zealand crash at Auckland International Airport today.
After ordinary passengers disembarked at the international terminal, the Boeing 747 was towed, with family and the remains onboard, to the airline's engineering base for a formal ceremony.
Airport security kept reporters and photographers away from the area as the jet was parked in a hanger and the doors closed. .
Seven people were killed in the crash off the south of France coast last November, five New Zealanders and two Germans.
In a statement the Airline said veteran singer Dave Dobbyn was to sing "Welcome home".
The bodies were accompanied by their families and airline chief executive Rob Fyfe.
One New Zealand body has yet to be recovered.
Dobbyn said it was an honour to sing there.
Dobbyn said it was an honour to sing there."
Mr Fyfe was to then pay tribute to the four men and missing colleague Murray White and pass on condolences from Prime Minister John Key and the Civil Aviation Authority before members of the Air New Zealand kapa haka group paid a special tribute on behalf of the airline.
"Our hearts go out to them and everyone at Air New Zealand also for what is indeed a sad time.
Mr Fyfe says the arrival would be an extremely emotional time for the families and friends of thedeceased men and Air New Zealanders around the world.
Families would then carry their loved ones to hearses for their journeys to their last resting place.
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"Arriving home in New Zealand will mark the end of another chapter as we all come to terms with the tragedy that occurred in France when we lost our men and A320 operated by XL Airways of Germany," Mr Fyfe said
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Fire rips the heart out of Dargaville
By ROBYN DOWNEY and ROSE STIRLING – Dargaville News Tuesday, 06 January 2009
SOMETHING’S BURNING: Firefighters take a load off whild battling the blaze in downtown Dargaville.
A Dargaville business owner looked on helplessly as his Victoria St west shop and several neighbouring buildings were destroyed by fire.
Ken Foster, owner of Foster's Home Decorating was visibly upset as he watched his furniture shop going up in flames at around 7.
He says the business he and his wife Elain had worked hard to build up over many years and now run with the couple's two sons, was just a blazing inferno with an estimated stock loss of $500,000 and the building containing it, believed to be around $1.30pm on Monday, January 5.
"My whole life's in there mate and we'd just about done 26 years," he told the Dargaville and Districts News.5 million. Mr Foster says the couple bought the building in 1994, having moved in from premises across the road. He says he would be discussing with his family the possibility of starting again.
They then built it up to an up-market furniture store and Resene colour shop.
Mr Foster says the building was insured for replacement value.
"We will have to see if we can rebuild it, we'll see what happens" he says.
"Due to the verocity and size of the fire it was unable to be contained and more fire trucks and crews were needed from several centres around Kaipara and from as far away as Whangarei and Maungaturoto, turning the incident into a fifth alarm, with a 1000 square metre area engulfed in flames," he said.
Police and fire safety officials held a media conference at the Dargaville Police Station later, where Dargaville Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Mitch King said the brigade received multiple calls saying that there was a building on fire between Victoria and Normanby Sts and on arrival fire fighters found an interiors store well ablaze where the fire is believed to have started.
Around 100 fire personel, plus Kaipara District Council and St John Ambulance staff, with police containing the surrounding area, keeping the public at bay.
Around 100 fire personel, plus Kaipara District Council and St John Ambulance staff, with police containing the surrounding area, keeping the public at bay. Mr King says if the buildings had had heat sensors and sprinklers installed this would have made a "huge difference to the outcome".
He says a significant structural collapse occurred with the second level facade falling onto the street of Fosters Home Decorating shop. Business owners' decisions not to have them was often a cost factor.
He says the lack of these fire safety devices was not just an issue in Dargaville but all over the country.
There were no injuries and one person living in a flat above one of the shops, was escorted to safety.
Fire officials say it took fire fighters a good two and a half hours to get the blaze under control and fire crews would continue to dampen down hot spots overnight.
Two men in their teens were arrested during the emergency, one for climbing onto the roof of the close toby Northern Wairoa Hotel and the other for obstructing police. Victoria St west is expected to be blocked off to vehicular and foot traffic between Edward St and Hokianga Rd while the fire is under investigation.
"They were idiots, because the reality is, it was a great big dirty fire and they could have been killed and if they want to kill themselves that's fine but they don't need to endanger anyone else," he says.
Constable Ewen Cumming of the Dargaville police says one of the men was "rubbernecking" on the hotel roof and had unnecessarily compromised the safety of police staff, while the other man was obstructing police who were trying to deal with public safety.
They said hotel staff went from door to door of the hotel accommodation area to ensure hotel visitors vacated the building in case the fire spread further.
They said hotel staff went from door to door of the hotel accommodation area to ensure hotel visitors vacated the building in case the fire spread further.
Elleigh Jackson, an assistant at the close toby Blockbuster video store told the Dargaville and Districts News that she smelt smoke just before police arrived and told her to vacate the store.
"As I was leaving the store I saw the front windows of Foster's store cracking and yellow smoke billowing up inside," she says.
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Teachers to get impairment help
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Teachers battling personal problems such as drug and alcohol abuse, mental illness or stress, which could put pupils and colleagues in danger, could soon face new "impairment" procedures.
The Teachers Council is consulting on rules that it hopes to introduce next year alongside existing disciplinary procedures for teachers accused of serious misconduct.
Any teacher referred to the council who is suspected of suffering impairment problems that could affect their ability to teach and put themselves or pupils at risk would be referred to an impairment committee.
The Post Primary Teachers Association says it supports moves to make classrooms safer but is wary of "spurious and vexatious" complaints by aggrieved parents, which could be unsettling for pupils and difficult for teachers to defend.
If they refused voluntarily to have drug and alcohol treatment programmes or counselling, they could be referred to the council's disciplinary tribunal for possible deregistration. It could also disclose highly personal information if necessary to protect the life or safety of the teacher, their colleagues or pupils.
The committee would have the power to order impaired teachers to undergo a health assessment.
The committee would decide whether a teacher had an impairment, its potential impact on their professional duties and what precautionary measures were needed to enable them to continue teaching safely.
The primary teachers union, the Educational Institute, said the new rules would help to identify and assist at-risk teachers struggling with problems such as stress or alcohol addiction but who were yet to commit any misconduct.
If approved, the new process would be legislated under the Education Act and come into force for the country's 90,000 registered teachers early next year. "It's about identifying people who are at risk and therefore could put other people at risk, including the kids that they teach.
"There's an opportunity for people's careers not to be completely destroyed," union president Frances Nelson said. It would deal with cases where teachers' conduct or competency issues related to medical problems, mental illness, drug abuse or alcoholism."
Teachers Council director Peter Lind said an impairment process had been earmarked since 2004.
"Most schools should have policies around dealing with situations where somebody becomes either mentally unwell through depression or work stress.
"Most schools should have policies around dealing with situations where somebody becomes either mentally unwell through depression or work stress."
. Anything that impairs somebody's ability to conduct their professional duties in an appropriate way
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National ditches light bulb phase-out
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
The Government has dropped plans to phase out incandescent light bulbs and is moving to axe other measures, including a ban on thermal power plants and laws forcing a move toward biofuels.
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee said yesterday the plan to phase out traditional light bulbs in favour of energy efficient bulbs had been abandoned.
But National campaigned against the plan and said it would overturn the phase-out if elected.
Incandescent light bulbs were due to be phased out from the end of next year under energy efficiency standards introduced by Labour, in line with moves overseas, including Australia.
The move comes as National proposes to overturn other measures introduced by the last government, including a ban on thermal power plants and moves to increase the use of biofuels.
Mr Brownlee said yesterday it was up to householders to decide which light bulb they used.
Mr Brownlee said the last government passed laws requiring biofuels to make up 2.
Parliament is debating both measures under urgency this week.
The new Government did not believe in making their use mandatory.5 per cent of all petrol and diesel sales by by 2012.
There were several exciting biofuel developments taking place in New Zealand, Mr Brownlee said. Instead, it would move toward using tax incentives to encourage their use."
But there were concerns about the sustainability of some biofuels and the costs they would load on to consumers.
"So-called second generation biofuels, from things like wood waste and algae, are able to be produced sustainably and will increase the security of our fuel supply whilst reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
The Government was also investigating other ways to encourage biofuel use, including exempting ethanol and biodiesel from excise and road user charges. .
"The ban would only put additional strain on the sector and last winter demonstrated the critical importance of gas-fired generation.
Its decision to repeal a 10-year ban on building thermal stations, including gas and coal-fired plants, was aimed at easing strains on the energy sector.
Under existing law, new thermal generation plants are banned, although the law made provision for exemptions where it was necessary to ensure continuity of power supply. At the time, electricity from thermal sources was generating over 50 per cent of our electricity needs," Mr Brownlee said.
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Recyclers hit hard by world price slump
Thursday, 11 December 2008
A worldwide slump in commodity prices is hitting recyclers hard as smaller councils worry about the long-term survival of kerbside recycling.
Nelson City Council had started stockpiling cans and plastics till world prices recovered and has begun dumping newspapers in a landfill, after prices for paper and cardboard fell 90 per cent. .
"When you've seen a price .
Aluminium had taken five years to reach its peak in July of US$3200 a tonne and just five months to slump below US$1500 a tonne, Mr Tuffley said… halve in 12 months that's pretty dramatic.
"For a lot of people having to make decisions at the moment this would have to be one of the most uncertain times we've faced for decades."
Stockpiling was one way to cope but there was no guarantee prices would rise till the world economy recovered, which could take years rather than months, he said.
Invercargill City Council solid waste manager Tom Greenwood said the financial situation of their contractors could eventually threaten the service if it continued."
Prices for aluminium cans have dropped from $1000 a tonne to $100, steel from $700 to $100 and copper from $8000 to $4000.
"People have got the expectations that now it's in place that it will carry on.
The price per tonne for clear plastics had gone from several hundred dollars to about $30, he said. Everybody's bought into it and the last thing we want is for it to fall over at this stage. Everybody's bought into it and the last thing we want is for it to fall over at this stage. We're doing a lot more sorting. "We certainly aren't dumping in landfill."
Mr Hay expected prices to pick up next year as people's stocks ran down. We're able to produce quite big volumes and that's helped us as well.77 a head of population to help with waste reduction and recycling programmes, funded by a landfill levy.
Environment Ministry spokesman Jeff Seadon said next year councils would get about $3.
In Wellington, Transpacific All Brite had long-term supply deals signed with overseas buyers, council CitiOperations manager, Mike Mendonca, said: "While things are tough we're largely confident that we'll be sheltered from the worst of the effects. Higher prices at landfills, due to the levy, would also encourage people to dispose of less, he said."
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One dead after collision with bus in Auckland
By CLIO FRANCIS and CARALISE MOORE – Monday, 08 December 2008
Suburban News
FATAL CRASH: The scene on the intersection of Silverdale Street and the Hibiscus Coast Highway where a car and a bus collided. One person died in the crash.
The male driver of the car was killed in the crash, which happened at about 6.
A collision between a car and an articulatedbus has killed one person in Auckland earlier today.
Northbound traffic on the Hibiscus Coast Highway was diverted through Silverdale township with the crash scene across two lanes just north of the township intersection sealed off by police.45am today. . One of two southbound lanes was closed, with traffic able to file through. The driver was uninjured.
The bendy bus was not carrying passengers as it was on the way to pick up students from a school.
The police serious crash unit was investigating the incident.
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Divers to begin search for Saxton’s body
By JOANNE CARROLL in Wanaka – Tuesday, 04 November 2008
ID 132713/JOANNE CARROLL
PREPARING TO SEARCH: Gear being unloaded from an RNZAF Hercules after a navy dive squad flew in to Wanaka Airport last night.
Navy divers will begin searching Lake Wanaka for missing helicopter pilot Morgan Saxton this morning after they flew in by air force Hercules last night.
Police searching for Mr Saxton said there was little chance of finding him alive.
The Robinson R22 helicoptor Mr Saxton was flying went down in Lake Wanaka on Saturday evening.
Sergeant Aaron Nicholson, of Wanaka, said he hoped Mr Saxton's body would be found in the helicopter so it could be returned to his family. Realistically, we have had to tell the Saxton family there is now essentially little chance of finding Morgan alive.
"Everything above the water in the search area has now been thoroughly combed. Our sympathies and condolences go out to them," Mr Nicholson said. Yesterday's search was hampered by strong winds and choppy water, Mr Nicholson said.
The specialist dive squad had the ability to work at night but a southerly front could have an impact on the search area.
"He passed over me on the barge moments before it happened but, no, I didn't see it happen," he said.
Saxton family spokesman Jonathan Wallace said he was possibly the last person to see Mr Saxton alive.
Mr Saxton died "doing what he did best".
Mr Wallace said he was a good friend of Mr Saxton.
Mr Wallace said Mr Saxton's father David had flown to Wanaka earlier on Saturday and not just ahead of Mr Saxton as reported.
Mr Wallace said Mr Saxton's father David had flown to Wanaka earlier on Saturday and not just ahead of Mr Saxton as reported. The focus has shifted from finding Morgan alive to hoping we can extract Morgan and the wreck," he said. The family is being realistic.
He said the decision to call out the dive squad was made late on Sunday night but the team did not arrive until late yesterday evening.
Mr Nicholson said the underwater search, using specialist sonar and other equipment, would continue to centre on the oil slick found off the shore of Mou Waho (Pigeon Island) about 15km from Wanaka either last night or today.
The lake reaches depths of up to 300m and the area where the oil slick was found was 80m deep. "It has taken a while but we are not looking at saving a life so the urgency diminishes a bit," he said. A helmet, flight jacket and gear bag were found floating on the water on Saturday night.
Thirteen boats, four helicopters and up to 70 volunteers had been searching the area since Mr Saxton was reported overdue on Saturday evening on a flight from Haast. Mr Saxton, 31, is an experienced commercial helicopter pilot based at Haast. A seat back and first aid kit were found washed up on the eastern shore of the lake.
Mr Nicholson said David Saxton was "too cut up" to talk to police yesterday.
Mr Nicholson said David Saxton was "too cut up" to talk to police yesterday. Police had spoken to family and friends about the last sightings of Mr Saxton. He was last seen flying midway over the lake.
Three Civil Aviation Authority investigators were in Wanaka to investigate possible causes.
The helicopter had a radio and a distress beacon but neither was used before the crash. "It must have happened quite quickly," he said.
The death would be referred to the coroner.
Lloyd Matheson, of Southern Lakes Helicoptor, said he was involved in the seach for Mr Saxton on Saturday night. His team found a helmet and a satchel containing aircraft documents in the lake using night-vision technology.
"We confirmed he had gone into the lake," he said.
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Hospital ‘forgot’ about cancer patient
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
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Anita McCall, who died during cancer surgery after referrals were lost in a hospital system for more than a year.
Awoman who died during cancer surgery after being forgotten about for more than a year in a hospital system could have beaten the disease if the blunder was not made, an inquest has found.
She was referred to the hospital by her GP in January 2005, for suspected haemorrhoids, but it was 13 months before she was seen by a specialist.
Anita McCall, 48, died in Hutt Hospital in August 2006 as a result of complications during surgery.
Coroner Garry Evans' findings come a week after the health and disability commissioner revealed details of three other patients who suffered serious health complaints after being "lost in the system". By that stage rectal cancer had started to ravage her body.
Mrs McCall, a mother of three, thought she had haemorrhoids.
In each of those cases – involving Capital and Coast, MidCentral, Counties Manukau, Auckland and Northland district health boards – patients suffered treatment delays caused by ineffective referral systems or poor communication. . She suffered "extreme" pain and "cried herself to sleep" but thought her troubles would be temporary.
"It was a massive shock to us. "We had no inkling it was cancer and if we did we would have got a second opinion. She should still be here with me today. I had to watch her go through all of this and it shouldn't have happened."
Mr Evans said three letters of referral from Mrs McCall's GP got lost in the Hutt Valley health board's administration system and she "became forgotten". The mistake cost my wife her life.
The report by Garry Forgeson says if Mrs McCall had had an initial assessment within the recommended two to four months after referral there was "some possibility of cure".
A report into the incident shows the blunder reduced the chance to control the cancer, affected Mrs McCall's quality of life and contributed to her premature death."
An internal review by the board blamed its "poor systems" at the time.
"There is also a definite probability that the cancer would have been locally manageable.
"It is unnecessary for the court to say that what happened here should never happen again.
Mr Evans said the board had taken all reasonable steps to ensure that what happened in the "very sad" case was unlikely to recur. The evidence before the court shows that the board is striving to ensure this. The board is well aware what the public wants is a high-quality local hospital that they can access.
"I was extremely upset and it took a lot of guts for them to come to my house and say sorry.
"I was extremely upset and it took a lot of guts for them to come to my house and say sorry."
Board chief operating officer Jill Lane had accepted personal responsibility for the incident, but evidence showed fault lay with administrative staff at the hospital's surgical outpatients service.
Ms Lane said that though Mrs McCall's condition was classed as semi-urgent, 95 per cent of all referrals were in this group, and it was impossible to assess patients within the recommended time.
She said that since the mistake a new system that had more categories to class patients had been introduced, which made for better patient management.
A review by the health board showed that the day Mrs McCall was referred to a specialist, 687 patients were waiting to be seen for the first time.
Of these, 248 had been waiting longer than six months and 82 more than a year.
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Black Power lodges Treaty of Waitangi claim
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Black Power has lodged a Treaty of Waitangi claim but a spokesperson says it is not about the money.
The gang claim was one of thousands received in the rush leading up to the September 1 deadline imposed by the government for historic claims.
Gangs existed because of colonisation and what they were wanted was education, he said.
Wellington gang spokesperson Eugene Ryder, understood to be a major driver behind the claim, would not provide specifics about it but said the gang was not seeking money.
"It's the story of our lives really and the way we're treated.
"The object of the claim is education as to why we're in the position we're in," he told the New Zealand Herald.
"The way we've dealt with the different breaches is to get together with other like-minded people. From our perspective there have been multiple Treaty breaches, every article has been broken.
Until it is registered it will not become a public document and the tribunal will not release it."
It could be some months before the tribunal decides whether it has the jurisdiction to hear the claim and therefore register it formally.
Lawyer Moana Jackson said the claim was likely to be large and substantive. Neither will the gang.
But some MPs want the tribunal to boot the claim out of the process. As any Maori individual or group could lay a claim, the fact Black Power did not sign the Treaty was irrelevant to the current process.
Gang members needed to take some responsibility, as belonging to a gang was a choice, Mr Mark said.
New Zealand First law and order spokesperson Ron Mark dismissed the claim as "laughable", saying it sounded like a poor attempt to excuse criminal behaviour."
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"Their claim that they only exist because of disempowerment is rubbish