Two a penny

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Police are calling on motorists to dob in bad drivers after a horror weekend on the roads propelled the toll to its highest level in two years.

Five people were killed in a smash north of Taupo on Friday and six others died in separate accidents during the weekend, prompting police to describe the roads as “killing fields”.

By last night, 143 people had died on the roads this year 12 more than at the same time last year and 20 more than in 2007. .

Transport Ministry figures show there has been a significant increase in road deaths in the 40-plus age group in particular.

“It has been an absolutely tragic weekend and it is fair to say speed has been a factor.

Police say road-safety messages about speed are still not getting through to drivers and unless that changes more families will lose loved ones. We are begging people to slow down and make it home safely,” Inspector Peter McKay said.

The van burst into flames and four occupants were killed.

On Friday evening, five people died when a Toyota van and Chrysler car collided on the SH1 north of Taupo. The passengers were Lottie Purukamu Taitapanui, 45, of Hastings; Anna-Marie Kemp, 22, of Auckland; and Ratapu Taitapanui, 3, of Hastings.

The driver of the van was Wellis Lauano, 23, of Auckland.

Police say it appeared the car had shunted a BMW before losing control, crossing the centre-line and colliding head-on with the van.

The driver of the Chrysler, Peter Pie, 42, a Corrections officer of Turangi, was also killed.

They described it as one of New Zealand’s worst crashes in recent years.

They described it as one of New Zealand’s worst crashes in recent years.

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“We will take action if we get any reports because one phone call can prevent a death.

“We get a lot of people who say they don’t want to bother us, but we encourage any people to contact us if they see dangerous driving.”

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Crash driver’s wife says sorry

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. I can’t stress that enough

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New Zealand participation in the US Masters golf tournament came to a disappointing end today with both teenage US amateur champion Danny Lee and former US Open champion Michael Campbell missing the cut.

A horror second round back nine of 11 over par, including a five over par nine on the 10th hole, saw the 18-year-old Lee crash out with an 81 to follow his first round 74.
The tournament is being lead by Americans Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry at nine under par with Argentina’s Angel Cabrera, who has yet to finish his round, one shot back.
Campbell who struggled with an eight over par 80 in the first round improved today with a three over 75 to finish at 11 over par tied provisionally in 90th place with Lee. .
Tiger Woods is seven shots off the pace at two under par in a tie for 14th place.
– and

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Kim, who also recorded two bogeys and a double-bogey at the par-four 10th, eclipsed the 10 birdies posted by Zimbabwe’s Nick Price en route to a 63 in the third round in 1986

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A helicopter has airlifted nine trampers to safety after they were trapped by bad weather in Mount Aspiring National park.

One party of six trampers, believed to be from the North Island, set off an emergency locator beacon in the upper reaches of the Dart River last night.

A Queenstown police spokeswoman said the six had been joined by three other trampers, and it was decided to fly all nine out.

Bad weather and poor visibility prevented a helicopter getting to them last night, but a helicopter reached them earlier today.

She was unable to give any more details of who was in the tramping parties, other than that they were cold and wet, but otherwise well.

Rivers were high in the area and more bad weather was forecast.

His whereabouts were unknown and investigations would continue today.

Another tramper, understood to be Dutchman Philip De Lange, 43, was also unaccounted for on the Rees-Dart Track and had not been heard from since last Tuesday, Senior Sergeant John Fookes said.

More than 170 trampers were transported by helicopter across flood-prone parts of the Milford Track after river levels rose 3.

WEATHER CHAOS

Torrential rain caused havoc for trampers in the Fiordland National Park yesterday.

Conservation Department Fiordland tracks ranger Ken Bradley said yesterday afternoon 235mm of rain had fallen at Dumpling Hut since 4 o’clock that morning.8m during a deluge of rain.8m above normal by mid-afternoon, forcing DOC to call in three helicopters to airlift stranded guided and freedom trampers across the most flood-prone sections of the track.

The Arthur River had risen 3.

The groups were a mixture of overseas and Kiwi trampers. .

However, with a severe weather warning in place and a southerly front expected to bring snow to the passes by tomorrow, trampers were being advised to check forecasts carefully.

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DOC Queenstown regional visitor centre supervisor Andrew Evans said there were no problems yesterday on the Routeburn or surrounding tracks.

“The rivers are likely to be very high this evening.

He advised trampers to avoid the Rees Dart because of the many river crossings and also the Greenstone Caples tracks with high river levels likely to make access impassable.”

– By SUE FEA and EVAN HARDING, , with

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Executives at Air New Zealand are to act as cabin crew for the airline’s subsidiary, Zeal 320 Ltd, during next week’s planned strike action on trans-Tasman and Pacific routes.

Talks between the airline and the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) are continuing.
But the EPMU said it did not believe the airline had staff available to replace striking cabin crew.
Air New Zealand told Radio New Zealand it had 100 fully qualified staff, including top executives who have volunteered to keep planes flying over the Easter period.
Air New Zealand’s group general manager of short-haul airlines, Bruce Parton, said senior staff, including Glen Sowry, who is heading the negotiations, will act as crew on the Zeal 320 flights. .
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Mr Parton said the airline may consider sacking and replacing the 250 Zeal cabin crew if the industrial action is drawn out

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More new babies taken from mothers

Custody orders have doubled in five years

By REBECCA PALMER Monday, 02 March 2009

Dozens of newborns are being taken from their mothers every year as a result of fears for their safety.
Child, Youth and Family took 66 at-risk babies less than a month old into its care last year and 15 of them were taken the day they were born.
In more than half of the cases, older brothers and sisters were already in care, figures provided to The under the Official Information Act show. In the 2003-04 year, 32 were taken into state care.
The number of custody orders involving newborns has more than doubled in the past five years. CYF obtained custody when it heard she was pregnant.
Those taken last year include the newborn daughter of convicted baby-killer Tania Witika, who gave birth in Christchurch.
The horrific death of Witika's daughter Delcelia, 2, in 1991 was one of the worst child-abuse cases to go before New Zealand courts.
The rise in newborn custody orders coincides with a doubling in care and protection notifications involving babies still in their mothers' wombs. She and her partner at the time were each sentenced to 16 years' jail for Delcelia's torture and death.
Nearly half the alerts came from health professionals. Last year Child, Youth and Family received 215 notifications from people worried about the welfare of unborn children, compared with 96 five years earlier.
Social Development Ministry chief executive Peter Hughes said the agency had been working to create an environment in which abuse and neglect were not tolerated. Police, family members, courts, schools and others also reported concerns. . "In recent years, we have made significant progress in raising awareness of family violence and this is reflected in the increase in the number of notifications. "Removal of children at such a young age is the last resort. They could include history of family violence, mental health problems, addiction, neglect and previous abuse of children. "It's part of a bigger pattern of increasing notifications, particularly off the back of high-profile cases like Nia Glassie."
Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro agreed improved awareness was a big factor behind the increased numbers.
Dr Kiro said the health sector had become more proactive in watching for signs of abuse and reporting them." Nia, 3, died in Auckland's Starship children's hospital in 2007, after repeated abuse that included being tumbled in a clothes drier, spun on a clothesline and kicked in the head. Pregnant women who had been abusing alcohol or drugs were more likely to experience complications.
She suspected most of the health notifications came from hospitals.
Paediatric Society president Rosemary Marks, who works at Starship, said most, if not all, district health boards now had a family violence co-ordinator.
The number of notifications involving unborn children was likely to keep growing, she said."
That meant there was an opportunity to help if a pregnant woman said her partner was abusing her."
That meant there was an opportunity to help if a pregnant woman said her partner was abusing her. "We can intervene earlier and hopefully interrupt the cycle of violence."

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Aggrieved drivers not ‘fighting over scraps’

The Friday, 13 February 2009

Three disgruntled cab drivers who thought they were missing out on "honey-pot" jobs to Wellington airport, have not proved they are due any of the $345,000 they claim, a lawyer says.
In the High Court at Wellington yesterday, the lawyer for Hutt and City Taxis, Paul Chisnall, said the three drivers trawled through millions of job records to bring a case to court, without first trying to solve the dispute within the company structure. That made the court case an abuse of process, Mr Chisnall said.
When they asked for a review of job allocations the company obliged but then they refused to co-operate with it because they did not approve the membership of the review committee.
The drivers – Nelson Manak, Chandra Naidu, and Kamleshwar Singh – each paid at least $20,000 to become shareholders of Hutt and City Taxis. .
They say high paying jobs, especially trips from Hutt Valley to the airport which are usually worth about $75, are being "fed" to 12 favoured drivers. As well as their money claims they want a manager appointed to the company to see its computer-based job assignment system operates fairly for the more than 120 shareholding drivers.
"They are there because it's a honey-pot," he said. The company disputed the "feeding" allegation or that the airport jobs were more lucrative, particularly if drivers did not have a return fare, but Justice Warwick Gendall said he had seen the dozens of taxis waiting for work at the airport.
Mr Chisnall said Mr Manak received the highest number of computer-assigned airport jobs-although Mr Manak saidhe worked hard to position himself to getthem.
The judge reserved his decision today. None were "fighting over the scraps", as they alleged, Mr Chisnall said. Mr Naidu and Mr Singh both had high paying work with New Zealand Post.
Mr Laurenson said "feeding" existed and led to one dispatcher being dismissed in 2006 for giving jobs to the then chairman of the company's board.
They had failed to prove the favouritism they claimed occurred, or any sound basis for the damages they wanted, he said. Dispatchers should have maintained a strict neutrality in the service they gave to all drivers, Mr Laurenson said. A previous chairman had also been favoured with jobs.

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Crackdown nets $25m in property tax

Saturday, 07 February 2009

A clampdown on property tax dodgers has netted an extra $25 million in unpaid taxes.
A 40-strong Inland Revenue investigation team identified $10 million in unpaid taxes for the first two quarters of this financial year, after a government directive to target tax evaders.
While New Zealand does not have a capital gains tax, property sales are taxable if one of the intentions when buying a house or vacant land is to sell it for a profit.
This comes on top of $15 million identified by the investigation team for the year ended June 2008. .
Routine property tax audits netted a further $111 million in unpaid taxes in 2008 and $43 million so far this financial year.
But Inland Revenue assurance manager Richard Philp said "a range of third parties" were also being used to help identify those buying and selling properties whose profits "may not have been returned as income".
More than 230 property investors have come forward and made voluntary disclosures.
The figures follow renewed calls for a capital gains tax, as an international housing affordability survey put New Zealand just behind Australia as the least affordable country in which to buy a home.
Real estate agents are understood to have been asked to hand over sales transactions in some instances.
Manufacturers and Exporters Association chief executive John Walley said: "It is clear that the tax rules favour [property] assets over activity.
Some business lobbyists and community housing groups called for the tax, saying too many investors were using property to make money because it was "tax free", pushing house prices sky high.
Mr Dunne said existing property tax laws were sufficient "so long as they are applied as vigorously as the [Inland Revenue] commissioner is following the law at the moment."
But Housing Minister Phil Heatley and Revenue Minister Peter Dunne both ruled out a capital gains tax, saying it was flawed and would hit small investors hardest."

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"I'm certainly not in favour of penalising the domestic property owner or the person who has a holiday bach that they let out to people from time to time

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Renovators find today’s news, 60 years ago

By KATHERINE NEWTON Wednesday, 04 February 2009

/The
TIME CAPSULE: Jackson, 6, with his father Murray Dick. Jackson found a 60 year old copy of The Evening Post in the wall cavity dated February 4 exactly 60 years ago today.

The postwar economy was creaking into action, John Mills and Errol Flynn were starring on the big screen and, decades before taggers hit the headlines, a Wellington newspaper was debating how to rid New Zealand of petty vandalism.
Mr Dick was doing up his bathroom when his son Jackson, 6, found a copy of The 's predecessor wrapped inside a roll of building paper and tucked in the wall.
Khandallah man Murray Dick was enjoying a chuckle yesterday over a 1949 copy of The Evening Post unearthed while he was renovating his house."'
In an odd coincidence, the paper was dated February 4 exactly 60 years ago today. "I missed it [but] he was shouting, 'Dad, look, look, I've found this. Despite its age, the paper was in pristine condition, Mr Dick said."
Parts of the paper were "hard case", he said, including one article musing on whether vandalism was a part of New Zealand's national character, after miscreants damaged new state houses in Waiwhetu. .
Another sports article reported that golfing legend Ben Hogan had been badly injured in a head-on collision with a Greyhound bus in Texas.
The sports section celebrated the addition of double sculls to the Olympic rowing programme, the event that garnered the Evers-Swindell twins back-to-back gold medals in 2004 and 2008.
"I've done the same thing I rolled up last week's paper with a little note.
The find inspired Mr Dick to do likewise before he sealed up the new wall.
"I just said who lived here and good luck to those who read it.
"I just said who lived here and good luck to those who read it.
– Sid Holland led the first National Party government into power in the 1949 election."
A SNAPSHOT OF 1949
– We became New Zealand citizens for the first time as the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948 took effect. He succumbed to lung cancer three years later.
– King George VI's health was reported as "improving".
– Smokers with a shilling to spare could enjoy a pack of 10 Craven `A' cigarettes "made specifically for sore throats".
– Wellingtonians flocked to cinemas to watch John Mills play Pip in Great Expectations, the film that made him a star. At the other end of the pay scale, a senior physician commanded an annual salary of £1200.
– An office junior could expect to earn about £3 5s a week.

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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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Sea rescue charges to be laid

Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Police will lay charges against two Hawke's Bay men rescued after a crayfishing expedition in a badly equipped boat.
The two men, aged 45 and 51, who had been drinking before they went to sea on Saturday night, were rescued from Pania Reef off the coast of Napier on Sunday morning after their flatmate reported them and his boat missing.
The rescue came as police nationwide reported a greater-than-usual number of maritime incidents.
The pair, who had only limited experience in boats, had not told anyone about their venture out to sea.
The broken-down five-metre runabout, in which the cold and miserable men were towed back to shore, had no navigation lights, lifejackets, flares or marine radio. He borrowed another boat and went out to the reef to look for them, before reporting them missing about 9am. Their predicament came to light only when their flatmate realised at 3am on Sunday that the men and his boat were missing.
They were found at the reef an hour later.
Police said yesterday they would lay a charge of dangerous navigation against the men. The boat had broken down and was dragging its anchor. Surf Hawke's Bay was also put on standby for a shoreline search.
Constable Mike Signal of Napier said the search for them had involved the Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter, Hawke's Bay Coastguard, and the coastguard air patrol.
Maritime Safety spokesman Ross Henderson said it was a "classic case of people needing to take responsibility" when they went to sea.
Mr Signal said the incident "again highlights the small number of people that still persist in going out ill-equipped and ill-prepared". "Despite our desperate efforts to educate people, we are still seeing this sort of behaviour. "Despite our desperate efforts to educate people, we are still seeing this sort of behaviour.
Sergeant Dave Houston said there were six callouts during the weekend, including one to the catamaran Serene, which broke up in Cook Strait."
Wellington police's maritime unit has carried out 17 rescues since New Year's Day, including towing sinking or broken-down boats, searching for missing divers, rescuing tired swimmers and kayakers who have tipped out, and even going to the aid of some people in trouble on an inflatable toy raft in strong winds. If the conditions sound bad, they will be bad, Mr Houston said. .

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As well, boaties should always carry a marine radio in case things went wrong