Two a penny

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Labour MP Rick Barker said he never intended to deceive when he told pollsters they could give false names and say they worked for a company which no longer existed.

The poll Mr Barker ran used volunteers aligned with Labour to ask questions about what issues were important to voters.

He was unaware then that Data Research was no longer operating.

It emerged that pollsters were using fake names and saying they were calling from Data Research

Labour leader Phil Goff said earlier today people should not have used false names.

Mr Barker told reporters this afternoon Data Research had been used by Labour pollsters in the past and he thought that would have been okay had the company not been deregistered.

“Given the controversy around it”, the polling was unlikely to continue in the same form and in the future the party was likely to continue with its traditional practice of using professional polling companies, he said.”

While it was a mistake to say people could use false names, he could not see a problem with using a company name, because if pollsters said they were from Labour people may not answer honestly.

However, he said: “You don’t actually have to have a registered company to undertake polling.

“I haven’t done anything intentionally wrong.

National people did not say they were party supporters when they did their own polling, Mr Barker said.

“The intention was never to deceive.”

Asked if the party would continue to use Data Research’s name, Mr Barker initially said the party needed to sort out registration but under further questioning said the name would be shelved. . .”

None of the volunteers who did the polling was paid and worked in their free time. the intention was to get data on how people felt about issues in various areas which is a very legitimate thing to do in politics. . Phone calls were paid with taxpayer funds out of the party leader’s budget.

“Labour are usually lecturing other people about being up front, so I think in this case they need to explain what they are doing,” he said.

Acting Prime Minister Bill English earlier today said party polling needed to be done openly.

Speaking from Asia at the weekend, Prime Minister John Key said it was wrong to use false names and taxpayer money for political polling.

Mr English said the National Party had transparency around who paid for polls and who conducted them.

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New Zealand’s provincial rugby players have been itching to get behind a good cause, and it’s fair to say they’ve found one and it’s growing on them.

Beards are back – well they are on the Air NZ Cup scene anyway as the nation’s footy players go hirsute in the name of a cause they believe is worth a little discomfort for.

In case you’ve been wondering why there are so many bearded rugby players running round in the Air NZ Cup these days, well it’s all about raising awareness for the NZ Blood Service and the NZ Leukaemia and Blood Foundation.

McPhee had decided to go a bit old school and grow a beard for the season, and Stevenson suggested they should get a good cause behind it.

It started with an impromptu discussion between pioneer whiskers-grower Jack McPhee of North Harbour and Sky Television’s popular rugby colour man Scotty ‘Sumo’ Stevenson, and soon developed into a fully grown “Beards for Blood” campaign.

“The support’s been fantastic,” said Stevenson. With Harbour already having an association with the Blood Service, it was decided to get a bit of a national theme going to raise awareness in the area of blood donation and also to provide some support for the Leukaemia and Blood Foundation which deals with serious blood-related illnesses. “Just about all the teams in the competition have now got at least a player or two with a full beard on supporting the cause.

“What is impressive is how many boys have said ‘yep, we’re in’.”

The idea is that around the last week of the regular season the beards will get the chop, and hopefully some money, and awareness, will have been raised for the cause.

Northland and Manawatu have adopted the concept team-wide, but Stevenson said selected players from Harbour, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago had also got behind the concept. It shows how community minded they are, and how tuned in they are for something as important as this,” added Stevenson. .

Stevenson said the drive was about raising both awareness and money. That saves lives. That saves lives. Honourable mention also went to Cory Jane’s “pretty boy” effort at Wellington, while Stevenson felt the less said the better about what Northland’s Karl Haitana had come up with.”

Stevenson felt early contenders for most impressive beards in the competition included McPhee’s Ned Kelly-inspired look, some fairly lush growth from Doug Tietjens of Manawatu and a typically solid effort from Canterbury’s Corey Flynn.

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A dramatic sonar image of the sunken Tongan ferry Princess Ashika has been released by the Royal New Zealand Navy.

The ferry sank a week ago north of Nuku’alofa and is believed to have at least 93 bodies aboard.

The image was captured by a Navy sonar system.

“The large balls in the picture are very large rock spheres.

“Note the similarity to the surface picture including bow section with ramp, bridge area and passenger compartment,” the navy says. .”

It sits on the sea bed 110 metres below the surface.

At least 149 people were on board when the ferry capsized 86km northeast of the Tongan capital of Nuku’alofa last Wednesday.

The New Zealand Navy was confident sonar images had pinpointed the vessel yesterday, sitting upright and intact in 110m of water, too deep to dive on. Two bodies and 54 survivors have been found, while 93 people were presumed drowned after being trapped in the vessel.

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However poor weather has stalled efforts to send a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) down to the boat

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A New Zealander has set a new land speed record in Utah this morning.

Dean Veale, 44, from Kaukapakapa, north of Auckland, set the new land speed record – for the 1650cc A-G class of motorcycles – at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

With the existing record for the class standing at 191. He was riding “White Elephant”, his special construction Hayabusa engine motorcycle.5mph (311.593mph (305kph), Veale confirmed his initial record breaking run yesterday with a backup run this morning (local time) that set the new record at 194.

This morning’s conditions were apparently near perfect for the record setting run.2kph). .

A statement released this morning said Veale had been concerned something might force him to have to repeat his runs.

Only at that point did Veale relax, and revealed the purpose of a pipe which ran along the bottom left-hand side of White Elephant/

“Releasing the retaining clip and removing the custom made aluminium cap, Veale pulled a Bunnings umbrella from the pipe: ‘I’d been told it got hot here and didn’t want to sit in the sun and cook, so I packed some shade’,” the statement said. Extending his hand toward Veale the inspector offered his congratulations as he confirmed the record with the words ‘Welcome to the record books’.

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Business is booming for comedians as New Zealanders seek light relief from the constant recessionary diet of doom and gloom.

Invercargill mayor and funny man Tim Shadbolt says he has never seen demand for comedy shows so high.

“As a part-time comedian I’m flat down to the boards at the moment.

“I just can’t keep up with all the appointments. I used to do shows one weekend a month, but now it’s suddenly gone to three weekends a month, and it could easily be more.

Despite the recession, Auckland’s season saw attendance rise 38%, from 53,172 to 73,559, while Wellington’s attendance figures rose 66%, from 18,939 to 31,399.”

Shadbolt’s experience is borne out by figures recently released by the organisers of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, which show this year’s festival broke all previous records by attracting a crowd of more than 118,000 people between May 1 and 24 – up 50% on last year.

“Humour is the best anecdote to the doom and gloom pervading our country at the moment . . . People can’t afford to buy a new car or a new fridge, but they can afford to pay $25 for a comedy show so they can laugh for two hours,” says Shadbolt. A lot of people are taking this remedy.

Telephone counselling service Lifeline is experiencing an increase in calls about financial issues and there has been a considerable rise in the uptake of youth depression support services.

And, judging by the growing number of calls being fielded by 0800 helplines, some laughter in people’s lives is sorely needed.

Lifeline Aotearoa general manager Anil Thapliyal says: “Right now more people are worried about money matters and are experiencing distress brought about by demise of their financial security and even contemplating suicide.

Lifeline Aotearoa general manager Anil Thapliyal says: “Right now more people are worried about money matters and are experiencing distress brought about by demise of their financial security and even contemplating suicide. Callers can discuss their situation with a trained counsellor who can offer information and advice on what to do and about the services available in their localities.”

* The Depression Helpline (0800 111-757) provides support from 8am until midnight.depression. Or they can log on to www.nz. .

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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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. I can’t stress that enough

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Refugee parties after deportation scare

– Monday, 22 December 2008

DEAN KOZANIC/
HAPPY RETURN: friends welcome Cambodian Sokhom Pich back home after his last-minute reprieve from deportation.

A Cambodian refugee has escaped deportation after an 11th-hour government reprieve.
Friends of Sokhom Pich celebrated his return to Christchurch with a party on Saturday night.
Members of Christchurch's Cambodian community had appealed to the then Labour government to allow Pich to stay in the country after police arrested him as an overstayer in September.
Former associate immigration minister Shane Jones decided to release Pich and allow him to apply for permanent residency just one hour before he was to be deported on November 4.
Just an hour before boarding a plane in Auckland, he received the news that he could stay.
After living in New Zealand for 11 years, the 47-year-old had exhausted every legal avenue in his bid to remain in the country as a political refugee despite fears he would be imprisoned and possibly killed if he was sent back to Cambodia. .
"I was surprised because in Auckland I was feeling everything was over. I was just jumping and it was just amazing," he said."
Pich said he was a member of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party in his home country which criticised the government for corruption and cracking down on political dissent. For 20 seconds I couldn't say anything.
Pich said a number of his fellow party members had disappeared or been killed and he feared a similar fate.
"If the government is not good, people live without houses and food and that's not good for the people," he said. "I felt scared and quite nervous about being sent home, but after it came closer and closer I wasn't scared, I wasn't anything. "I felt scared and quite nervous about being sent home, but after it came closer and closer I wasn't scared, I wasn't anything. He's an idealist and like all idealists they sometimes clash with the authorities.
"He's a very fine man."