Two a penny

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Southland celebrated a “once in a lifetime” Ranfurly Shield win in style in Invercargill on Tuesday with thousands turning out for the traditional tickertape parade.

The Stags players were rapturously received as fans crowded both sides of the main street.

A weekend of partying flowed into the formalities as the heroes were feted in the deep south.

Southland won the famous Log o’ Wood for the first time in 50 years last Thursday night when they upset holders Canterbury 9-3 in Christchurch. There are a lot of people here, it’s great for the community,” Southland co-coach Dave Henderson told Radio Sport from the back of one of the floats involved in the parade.

“She’s pretty exciting. Once you do these sorts of things .

“There are 50 years of players that have gone through before us – 30 or 40 challenges have come up with nothing…. this might only happen once in a lifetime . you have to celebrate them in a bit of style which we are doing today..Then to see them turn up at the airport the next day and now to see thousands here cheering us on, it’s quite emotional for some of the guys.

“It was such a thrill to see the faces of the fans at the game with the support we got up there in Christchurch.

The challenge for Southland now is to stay on track in the Air New Zealand Cup where last week’s win had taken them into the semfinals.”

Henderson admitted it had been a long weekend full of partying.

Henderson said the team had trained well on Monday and would face a big hitout on Wednesday. . We have focused on celebrating the Ranfurly Shield but we have also focused on the next Saturday in Wellington because we want to go the next step,” said Henderson.

“I don’t think some of the boys remember arriving back at the airport.

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Relief looks in sight for motorists whose cars remain stuck on the snow-covered Napier – Taupo Road, with police saying it should re-open by 3pm this afternoon.

Around 100 cars remained stuck on the snow-covered Napier – Taupo Road and several hundred people have spent a second night in makeshift accommodation after a heavy snowfall cut off State Highway 5.

Police said they expected the Naiper – taupo Road to re-open at 3pm.

A further 30 centimetres of snow was expected to fall in parts of the central North Island last night and today.

State Highway 1 was closed last night between Turangi and Taihape because of the bad weather, however authorities have re-opened a section of the road south of Waiouru this morning.

MetService had issued warnings of heavy snow down to 600 metres in Tongariro National Park and on the Napier – Taupo Road as early as Saturday morning.

But the road closures came too late for more than 600 motorists who took to the roads only to become stuck in the snow.

Taupo Mayor Rick Cooper, who drove a bus to ferry motorists back to Taupo, said roads should have been closed a lot earlier, preventing the mass strandings of vehicles.

“People were very scared and frightened, many, including the elderly, had a horrific night.

“Rescuing 600 people on a horrendous night in blizzard conditions should not have had to have happened,” he said.

“It was a freak occurrence which was significantly worse than we anticipated for this time of year,” he said.”

New Zealand Transport Agency national state highways manager David Bates said road crews had been aware of the forecast but were caught out by the large amount of snow which fell in a short time.

“We are very sorry many motorists became trapped.

“We had the equipment and crews to keep the road open as long as we could but a massive temperature drop around 2pm swamped our trucks and equipment. It would have been a scary experience for all. . The forecast is for more snow, which could delay the road being opened.

The road may not be fully cleared till late today.

Emergency services sprang into action when a civil defence emergency was issued late on Sunday after 668 motorists became stranded.

About 130 cars remained on the Napier – Taupo Road overnight.

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A further 56 people were rescued on the Desert Road by the army and taken to Waiouru

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Seven years after starting work as a furniture mover for a US bedding company, Gary Nisbet was joined by a new colleague, Randy Joubert, who looked so much like him that customers asked if they were brothers.

“We thought they were just trying to razz us,” Joubert said. They really are brothers – and the attention they got after finding each other has alsoturned up a sister. .

“This kid could have been anywhere in the world, and here I am riding in a Dow furniture truck with him,” Joubert said.

The two men were given up for adoption as babies about 35 years ago, then attended rival high schools and even lived in neighbouring towns on the Maine coast before working together at Dow’s Sleep Centre in tiny Waldoboro and uncovering their relationship. She said he knew from a young age he was adopted and she wasn’t surprised he would try to find his biological siblings when he grew up.

Joubert’s adoptive mother, Jacqueline, said she and her late husband raised him with four sisters.

“But when he said he was driving a furniture truck with him, that really surprised me,” she said.

She said she always thought he had a brother because a social worker at the time of his adoption had mentioned it.”

Dow’s hired Randy Joubert on July 7, and soon afterward co-workers began commenting on how similar he and Nisbet looked. “I think it’s great. Their goatees and curled-brim baseball caps add to the effect. Both are light-haired, wear glasses and have stocky builds. He started taking the comments more seriously when people also took notice while he and Nisbet, 35, were out making deliveries.

Joubert, 36, laughed off the commentary but admits he noticed the similarities himself, even mentioning them to his fiancee. “Then my brain started heading that way.

“Customers would ask if we were brothers more often than not,” he said.

With further help from statistics officials, he also learned that he had a brother – and his brother’s original name.”

Joubert had already taken advantage of a new state law allowing adoptees to see their original birth certificates and found out the names of his biological parents, who had died by then.

FAMILY CONNECTION

Well-armed with details, Joubert posed a few questions to Nisbet while the two were making deliveries about three weeks ago. Joubert and Nisbet had been removed from their birth parents’ home because the couple could not properly care for them.

Nisbet gave him a strange look and answered, yes, he was adopted.

“I said, ‘Gary, I’m going to ask you a strange question: Are you adopted?”‘ Joubert recalled.

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Air New Zealand is dismissing accusations its deputy CEO was involved in a global air-freight scandal with allegations of fix rates with key rival Emirates.

The airline issued a memo to staff earlier today when a story broke in Australian The Age and on that Air New Zealand’s deputy chief executive, Norm Thompson, has become one of the highest-ranking airline executives to be embroiled in the cartel investigation.

Letters, emails and telephone conversations between Air NZ managers and their counterparts at Emirates will be used as evidence in a case brought against the Middle Eastern carrier in the Federal Court by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

In the memo to staff CEO Rob Fyfe said no proceedings alleging any wrongdoing by Air New Zealand or Norm Thompson have been filed by the ACCC.

Mr Thompson is a 31-year veteran of Air NZ and also the chair of the Tourism Industry Association.”

Mr Thompson and an Emirates cargo executive, Ram Menen, allegedly first talked in October 2003 about prices they intended to charge for freight flown between Australia and New Zealand.

“In fact, our own thorough review of the documents shows that Air New Zealand acted appropriately in all our discussions and communications. Air NZ, Qantas and Emirates carry the lion’s share of air cargo across the Tasman. .

Mr Menen gave Mr Thompson, then Air NZ’s sales and marketing chief, assurances that Emirates would not undercut Air NZ’s or Qantas’ freight prices, court documents show. ”Similar activity is also occurring in the Auckland, Sydney and Melbourne markets.

”After your comments on Emirate SkyCargo’s selling approach, I was interested to hear from our cargo sales people that we lost some of our consolidation cargo from the Brisbane to Auckland service last weekend to Emirates, at, what we are told, rates far more attractive than Air NZ’s,” he wrote.”

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After he had stabbed and disfigured Sophie Elliott in a bedroom attack, Clayton Weatherston told a police officer: “I killed her” in a calm, normal tone, a court has been told.

“It appeared that he was in normal control … he was just standing with his hands either side of himself,” Constable John Cunningham has told the Christchurch High Court.

Weatherston is on trial for Elliott’s murder at Dunedin on January 9 last year.

Cunningham was the first person at Elliott’s Ravensbourne home the day she was killed. The defence says he was provoked to kill her.”

Cunningham said he went upstairs to Elliott’s bedroom.

He described talking to Elliott’s mother, Lesley Elliott, on the driveway who told him “that her daughter was dead.

“I tried the door handle but it was locked.

“I then heard the door being unlocked so I opened the door and walked in to a small bedroom.

I voice appealed to open the door or I would kick it in,” he said.

“I was confronted by a body, lying face up.

I saw in front of me on the floor a young female caucasian … I then saw a male standing a the end of the bed.

He asked Weatherston to lie prone on the floor, which he complied with, straight away.”

Cunningham said he asked the man, who was Weatherston, what he had done and he said: “I killed her” in a calm, normal tone. He said his name was “Clayt”. He said his name was “Clayt”.

“I then asked him, why did you kill her.

“I asked him if he understood these rights and he replied that he did,” Cunningham said.”

He asked what he had killed her with, and Weatherston said a knife. He replied, the emotional pain she has caused me over the past year.” Cunningham also asked him about a pair of scissors he found between Elliott’s legs. .

“All this time, the defendant Clay was lying face down in the room.

“He replied, I used them at the end,” Cunningham said.

“I could clearly see the stab wounds to the right side of her throat,” he said.” Cunningham said he put gloves on and checked Elliott’s carotid artery, finding no pulse. … Her legs were spread wide. … Her legs were spread wide. … She had multiple cut and stab wounds to the left side of the throat with a large amount of blood around the throat area.”

Cunningham said he took Weatherston downstairs and told him was under arrest for assault – “he replied he understood.”

Weatherston was on the ground outside the house and continued answering questions. “He was very forthcoming and just answered my questions.”

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The number of confirmed swine flu cases has risen to close toly 100 after 28 cases were confirmed in 24 hours.

The number of confirmed swine flu cases reached 99 tonight with the confirmation of 13 more cases in Canterbury.

It follows a further 15 cases announced earlier today.

The cases, including six pupils from three schools in Christchurch’s eastern suburbs, were all being treated with Tamiflu and all contacts of those affected were being traced.

The Canterbury District Health Board said all cases of the influenza A (H1N1) strain – now totalling 31 – stemmed from a single case who had been in Victoria, Australia in early June.

There were still relatively few cases and only isolated instances of community transmission, health officials said.

Earlier today an Auckland primary school closed as health officials said they remained focused on containment.

“New Zealand is still in the containment phase,” deputy director of public health Fran McGrath said.

“At this time there remains a combination of border management (keep it out) and cluster control (stamp it out).

“This is the reason that New Zealand has relatively few cases.

“What we’re seeing around the world is that there’s a rapid transfer in young people,” he said.”

The number was expected to further rise and the Ministry of Health was going to step up its public information campaign about flu prevention, Health Minister Tony Ryall said at a press conference. We want to delay the major impact of swine flu beyond the normal winter cycle.

“The strategy remains containment.”

Mr Ryall said there were normally about 31,000 hospital admissions a month during winter and health officials thought there could be another 4000.”

Mr Ryall said there were normally about 31,000 hospital admissions a month during winter and health officials thought there could be another 4000.

Police national manager of training Superintendent Mike Wilson said the move was part of the nationwide effort to try to minimise the spread of the virus.

The college yesterday postponed new training courses due to start this week in a bid to minimise the number of people exposed.”

Staff were working with Public Health to identify any other recruits who may have flu-like symptoms or had direct contact with the sick recruits, he said.

“We’ve had instances of whooping cough and norovirus in the past which present similar challenges and my team are very professional in the way they are handling this and providing any ongoing support to our staff who are understandably worried too.

Mr Ryall confirmed yesterday that Capital and Coast District Health Board had set up one of New Zealand’s first swine flu assessment centres at Wellington Hospital.

Approximately 50 people had been placed in isolation.

“It diverts people away who may have flu symptoms from hospital and emergency departments and GP clinics. Other district health boards were likely to follow. Meanwhile, the UK has reported its first death from swine flu. .

The ministry has moved its response to phase six, one of the highest health alert levels, opening the door for radical measures including the declaration of a national state of emergency.

The ministry has moved its response to phase six, one of the highest health alert levels, opening the door for radical measures including the declaration of a national state of emergency. Restrictions could be placed on public gatherings, including sports events. During the Mexican outbreak, big football matches were played in empty stadiums.

There were no plans to cancel Saturday’s second rugby test between the All Blacks and France, Dr Hunt said. However, anyone with flu symptoms should stay away. “It’s a prime opportunity for coughing and sneezing over a lot of people.”

Wellington City Council will outline plans today to deal with the growing number of cases. Mayor Kerry Prendergast said options included closing buildings where large crowds gathered, such as libraries and swimming pools. “We are a long way from that, but you have to have these plans in place.

“Senior council managers have been working out how we will cope if Wellington is greatly affected by swine flu.”

Challenges included keeping essential services such as water supply and sewerage systems going if large numbers of people are off sick or stuck at home.

Mr Ryall said that, although New Zealand’s swine flu cases had been mild and most people recovered at home, there was still potential for it to swamp hospitals and clinics.

“If swine flu takes hold as is expected, that means a whole lot more people have flu, which means a whole lot more people might be turning up at emergency departments and GP clinics. Every day that we can delay it is another day that we might not grind the health system to a halt.”

Swine flu symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people also have diarrhoea and vomiting.

Seventy-four countries have reported 29,669 cases and 145 deaths. Up to 30 per cent of the population might eventually contract swine flu, Dr Hunt said.

WEEKEND DEVELOPMENTS:

Swine flu cases doubled over the weekend, from 35 on Friday, to 71 yesterday. It is now spreading in the community, and not just among people who have travelled overseas.

In Wellington, 12 new cases were reported, including a recruit at the Police College in Porirua. Other recruits were being treated with Tamiflu and isolated.

The Health Ministry moved its response to phase six, opening the door for radical measures such as declaring a national state of emergency.

Tamiflu given to 50 pupils at Burnside High School, Christchurch, after a 13-year-old confirmed with swine flu.

Year 12s at Auckland’s Westlake Girls’ High School told to stay home after a fellow pupil is diagnosed.

Australia has 1458 cases, with more than 1100 in Victoria.

Health officials are also stressing the need for people who suspect they have flu to seek medical advice over the phone. Call Healthline 0800 611 116.

OFFICIALS HANDLING OUTBREAK WELL – PM

Prime Minister John Key today praised the actions of health officials in dealing with swine flu and emphasised the importance of people staying home if they have symptoms.

Mr Key said earlier today the health ministry had done a “tremendous job” coping with swine flu so far, though it may have to change tack slightly as a result of the community spread.

“The containment has been a lot better in this country than in others,” he told TVNZ.

The messages the department were putting out were the right ones to help contain the spread, he said.

“We don’t have immunity and at one level it’s reasonably easy to spread,” he said.

“. . .If you’re not feeling well stay home, cover your mouth if you cough or sneeze, wash your hands regularly.”

-By , TRACY WATKINS and PAUL EASTON

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A home in times of direst need

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Online dating warning after alleged sex assault

By CLIO FRANCIS – Monday, 02 March 2009

Police have issued a warning over the perils of online dating after an alleged sexual assault in Hamilton over the weekend.
Detective Inspector Greg Nicholls said a 41-year-old man was facing a variety of charges relating to the alleged sexual assault of a woman in her home on Saturday morning.
"The offender and victim had connected via the internet sometime last November and had been in subsequent contact since by phone, text and email but had not previously met in person.
He would appear in Hamilton District Court this afternoon, he said.
He urged people to exercise caution.
"The pair had planned to meet on Friday night, however when that fell through the accused had gone to the victim's house and sexually assaulted her," Mr Nicholls said."
The woman, 36, struck up an online friendship with a man she believed was a 33-year-old PhD student from Dunedin in October.
"Wherever possible when meeting with someone for the first time meet in a public place, such as a cafe or restaurant and inform someone where you are going and who you are meeting.
She went to his house, where chickens lived inside among cartons and rubbish, and there was no electricity.
When she arrived on February 8, she realised the unkempt, unemployed 54-year-old had lied about his identity.
The Armed Offender Squad were called while the pair were in Kaikoura, but she was later rescued by police.
When he refused to let her leave the house on her own or take her passport, she contacted a person she had met on her plane, who called police.
The man would not be prosecuted, police said.

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Anger as woman to be freed after murder

By BARBARA WITHINGTON in Alexandra – Tuesday, 13 January 2009

Marking the first anniversary yesterday of the finding of her murdered brother's body was always going to be a difficult day for 17-year-old Sarah Hutchings.
Hearing the news that a woman convicted of helping dispose of his body is to be released from jail after serving less than one year has made her angry.
Ms Hutchings said the justice system had let her down.
Her brother, Michael Hutchings, was stabbed in Kaitangata and his body thrown into the Clutha River several days before being discovered on January 12, 2008.
"I can't let this go away, it is so incredibly low to have it happen like this," she said. . His killer, Christopher Wayne Patterson, was arrested six days later.
Patterson's former de facto partner, Nichole Field, 30, was sentenced to two years' jail after admitting a lesser charge of being an accessory after the fact.
Name suppression for Patterson and Field lapsed yesterday when rape charges against them were withdrawn by Crown prosecutor Robin Bates in the Dunedin District Court.
She drove the killer and Hutching's body to the Clutha River where it was weighed down and dumped in the water." Ms Hutchings said.
"I said at the time that two years was a ridiculous sentence for what she had done, but to let her out after less than a year; I just don't know what to think. The anniversaries (of his death, the finding of his body, the funeral) were always going to be tough but now I don't know what to do, what to think.
"I thought I would have at least another year to heal, to work things through in my head. Someone should do something to make sure that this does not happen again. Someone should do something to make sure that this does not happen again.
"They went out today and planted another tree at the site where they found Michael's body. Her own family live in Australia.
"I have no idea just when she will be released or what her plans are, she could turn up in Balclutha, or keep contacting me on the cellphone the way she did before it all happened. This has been a blow to them too."
understands Field will be released this week. She walks free and I live with this forever.

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It doesn’t pay to be female, report shows

– Saturday, 27 December 2008

Women in public-sector jobs continue to lag behind the pay of their male equals by up to 35 per cent, a government report reveals.
The Human Rights Commission says the evidence of workplace gender inequality is now indisputable, and it calls on public organisations to take action.
"We want people to start fixing the problem, not just identifying it," equal employment opportunities commissioner Judy McGregor said.
The taskforce found:
Every organisation found a gender pay gap, ranging from 3% to 35%.
A progress report of the five-year pay and employment equity taskforce shows a gender pay gap persists across all 27 public-sector organisations surveyed.
Gender pay gaps widen after appointment, and men move more rapidly through the pay scale.
Starting pay rates between men and women differed within the same occupation.
All reviews except one found under-representation of women in a range of senior management.
Women were more likely to believe that performance appraisal systems were unfair.
Over half of staff said their organisations were not actively addressing or preventing harassment and bullying. "It seems to be almost unbridgeable for some reason.
McGregor said the gender pay gap had been a problem for some time.
"We still have a long way to go in relation to pay equity."
The average gender pay gap was about 12%. What these results show is that we need to move more quickly on the remedial work that follows," McGregor said. What these results show is that we need to move more quickly on the remedial work that follows," McGregor said.
Women got lower starting salaries in the same jobs in some occupational groups. Among the most common reasons were:
Female-dominated occupations were lower paid. .
Women had fewer promotion opportunities and/or progressed more slowly through pay scales.
Organisations got complacent after reviewing their gender pay gap.
"We want to see proper targets set and whether people regard that as positive discrimination, affirmative action or just redressing a natural balance doesn't matter; it's got to be done," she said.
"People commit to the review and they do the review and they think the job's done, but what we want now is more action around implementing the action plans.
"We have found that the implementation (of changes) is too slow," McGregor said.
The private sector was "pretty resistant to challenges" on how it paid and employed people."
Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said the same issues identified in the public sector were also present in the private sector.
"It is often presumed that the man's job is more important than the woman's, so we give them the bonuses.
"It is often presumed that the man's job is more important than the woman's, so we give them the bonuses."
The report was the third from the taskforce, which is about three years into its five-year term.

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Good samaritans lose $1000 to robber

Monday, 22 December 2008

Two Wellington men who help itinerants have had their good deeds repaid by being robbed at knifepoint.
Phillip Thomas-Sam, 24, and a workmate were closing up the Gourmet Express Pie Cart beside the city's railway station about 2.
As the robber held a knife against the 18-year-old worker's stomach, Mr Thomas-Sam gave him about $1000 from the till, and was then pushed to the ground.10am on Saturday when a man came in and demanded money. .
Mr Thomas-Sam said the intruder told him he had a gun, and would shoot the pair if they called the police or followed him outside. I thought, `You're kidding me, how can you do this?'
"I have a tendency to take in itinerants or people who need help.
"I was completely shocked [when he came in to the pie cart].
"He was wearing a hat and the hood was up but he looked directly into the security camera. How did he think he could get away with it?"
His colleague, Robert Hughes, believed the robber wore a hoodie he had earlier lent him. He's obviously not the brightest. Then he came back on Saturday night wanting to speak with Phillip. "I've met some really awesome people and made good friends."
Mr Thomas-Sam said the "freaky" experience would not put him off helping others."
Police arrested a 23-year-old man in Cambridge Tce about 9. They are mostly travellers with no place to stay, so that's okay.
He will appear in Wellington District Court today.30pm on Saturday and charged him with aggravated robbery. "We sometimes get crimes like this around Christmas when people's finances are stretched. Detective Sergeant Damian Murphy said police were not seeking anyone else in connection with the robbery."