Two a penny

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LATEST:
One person has died and another is critically injured following an accident near Waihi as thousands of holidaymakers make the great homeward trek this evening.

Police are also reporting heavy traffic north of Wellington following an accident which has blocked the north bound lane on State Highway 1 near Waikanae.

The Labour Weekend road toll stood at six this evening – two more than for the whole the holiday last year.

The road toll rose to six late this afternoon after a vehicle rolled on State Highway 2 near Woodlands Road in Waihi.

Many of the country’s main highways are busy with returning Labour Weekend holiday traffic, police say.

SH2 is blocked with traffic being diverted southbound onto Woodland Road and northbound onto Old Tauranga Road.

Two of the eight occupants in the vehicle were airlifted to hospital – one has since died and the other is in a critical condition.

Meanwhile the woman who died after she was struck by a bus north of Wellington this morning had missed the bus and was trying to catch up with it, police say.

Porirua police Sergeant Ron Walker said the woman died at the scene after she was hit by the bus full of passengers on Lyttleton Ave in Porirua at about 8.

The death brought the holiday weekend road toll to five so far – at least one greater than Labour Day weekend last year, when four people were killed.

“It appears this woman missed the bus and had run alongside it and tripped and fell,” he said.25am.

A motorcyclist died near Greymouth yesterday after crashing into a bridg e on State Highway 6 at Coal Creek.

Emergency services were at the scene and the road between Walton Leigh Ave and Parumoana St was cordoned off while police investigated. .

The rider was travelling with a group of friends and speed may have been a contributing factor, police said.

A car crossed the centre line on State Highway 1 at Five Mile Bay and collided with a four-wheel-drive vehicle shortly before 3pm.

Two women were killed in a head-on crash near Taupo on Saturday.

The driver escaped with only minor injuries.

The car’s 79-year-old driver died at the scene while the 53-year-old passenger of the four-wheel-drive died shortly after she was taken to Taupo Hospital.

He was 16-year-old Tod Woodman of Richmond.

Meanwhile, police have named the man who was killed when a four-wheel-drive rolled into a river off the Maungatapu Track in Nelson’s Maitai Valley yesterday, injuring two others.40pm by one of the vehicle’s occupants, who ran from the scene to get help.

Emergency services were alerted to the crash at 5.

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BREAKING NEWS:
Two former escort agency owners have been found guilty of raping a teenager who went on to become an underage prostitute in their stable.

A jury in the High Court at Wellington today found Gary John Duffin and Sharyn Lee Hills guilty of rape, but acquitted them on two charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection which alleged oral sex with Hills. .

Duffin, 54, is the biological father of Karla Cardno, a 13-year-old Lower Hutt girl, abducted, raped and murdered in 1989.

Both were remanded in custody for sentencing on November 13, when they will also be sentenced on 10 charges of supplying cannabis to three people under the age of 18, to which they pleaded guilty partway through their trial this week.

As well as the guilty verdict on the rape charge Duffin was found guilty of two indecent assaults on thegirl aged 14 or 15.30pm.

The jury considered itsverdicts for five and a half hours, delivering them at 5.

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User-focused ICT interest groups hailed the government’s broadband announcement today, with one saying it represented a “fundamental” break from the past.

“This ushers in the biggest and most fundamental change to telecommunications in New Zealand since the privatisation of Telecom 20 years ago,” TUANZ CEO Ernie Newman said in reaction to the news.

“The paper builds very constructively on the work done previously,” Newman says. It is an excellent blueprint on which to build. “It takes into account most of the key issues raised in submissions, and sets a timetable with milestones.

“By dealing up front with competition issues related to fibre investment, and incorporating them in the design of the commercial structures, it should be possible to minimise the regulatory intervention that has been an unfortunate but necessary feature of the copper and mobile markets,” Newman says.”

TUANZ says it is especially pleased with the balance between investors’ need for a predictable regulatory regime and user demand for a competitive market.

“It is interesting that New Zealand and Australia are on parallel tracks and are ahead of many western countries, a fact that reflects the added value of connectivity to countries that suffer inherently from geographic isolation,” Newman says.

“This is a world-leading programme that can be expected to deliver the infrastructure New Zealand needs,” spokesperson Jordan Carter says.

InternetNZ also welcomed the plan, saying it is “delighted” with today’s announcement of a regionally-based approach to investment.”

TUANZ is now asking for more focus on the creation of new on-line content to encourage maximum early uptake of high-speed broadband.

“Steven Joyce and the Government have put in place a framework that over time can deliver a widespread fibre rollout across urban New Zealand. .

It says the benefits of investment will come through in health, education, business productivity, telework, government services, security, environmental management “a host of other components of people’s economic and social well-being”

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The big switch from driving on the right-hand side of the road to the left in Samoa appears to have gotten off to a smooth start today.

Yesterday, the island’s wooden beach fales sat empty and battened down. It was silent, except for drumming rain.The streets were deserted, save for a few mangy cats and dogs.

Sleepy Samoa switched from driving on the right to driving on the left earlier today, something not attempted in any country for decades.

It almost appeared that a category 5 cyclone was on the way.

Samoa’s colourful Cuban open-side (left-hand drive) buses have been taken off the road for a month, their drivers protesting that they’re not paid enough to risk the switch. In Samoa, the Switch has been the only topic of conversation, and it has brought life on the two islands to a halt. They’re not the only ones complaining.

They’re also unhappy their doors will now be on the wrong side of the road.

Lobby group PASS (People Against Switching Sides) even took a court case against the government to try to stop the move. There’s been a national outcry.

Resort owners are clearing out their rooms, urging holidaymakers to head to the ferry or risk being stranded and missing their flights home.

Angry villagers on Savaii are planning to block the main road leading to the ferry terminal for the next two days, stranding tourists and stopping the flow of supplies around the island.

In quieter Savaii they’ll hunker down until the worst is over.

Some residents have fled Apia, fearing carnage on the roads today. Four have urgent business in China in coming days.

Escape seems to have been on the minds of several government ministers, too.

From today, liquor outlets are not allowed to sell alcohol for a week.

An example of how seriously Samoans are taking the Switch is the booze ban.

Nightclubs have also been closed, and the next two days have been designated public holidays.

Presumably, to help drivers focus. At 4am today, all radio and television stations were tobegin broadcasting reminders.

An official notice in the newspaper explains what would happen earlier today.30am, the Reverend Oka Fauolo, chairman of the National Council of Churches, would offer a prayer.30am, the Reverend Oka Fauolo, chairman of the National Council of Churches, would offer a prayer.

At 5.50am, all vehicles were to stop and remain idle for 10 minutes.

At 6am, everyonewas to driveto the other side of the road, and wait for a further 10 minutes. At 6.10am, everyone was to drive off. . No-one believes this is going to go smoothly.

“There are going to be crashes, no question,” a taxi driver says, shaking his head. “People are going to die.”

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The opera world is about to lose one of its brightest stars, New Zealand’s Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. .”(Cologne) will be my last,” the 65-year-old told Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper on Wednesday.She plans to perform her operatic swansongs in New York in February and the German city of Cologne in April.”I think certainly our voices change; opera is mainly for young people.”It’s not as if I want to do it on a regular basis now, because it’s exhausting.In New York, she will take on the role of the Duchess of Krakenthorpa in Donizettis La Fille du Regiment at the Metropolitan Opera.”For her final performance in Cologne, Dame Kiri will play the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss.She said while many people had believed she had retired, this was not the case.Dame Kiri, who performed at Prince Charles’ wedding to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, has not sung opera since she sang in Samuel Barbers’ Vanessa at the Los Angeles Opera in 2004.”I have not been singing opera very much but I still sing a lot of concerts.”The press retired me,” she said.”I’m extremely busy with all sorts of things,” she said.”Dame Kiri said she had no plans to give up singing and would continue to tour, with shows planned in Sydney, Beijing, Spain and the United States later this year. – AAP

.Dame Kiri plans to bring three of her students from the Solti Academy and Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation to London to perform alongside her at the Tower of London in September

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Police are waiting for the results of a post-mortem on a man who died following a domestic incident in south Auckland overnight to determine if a crime was committed.

Police and ambulance staff found the 44-year-old man dead when they arrived at a Mangere house just before midnight. .

“He was definitely fighting, but we don’t know how he died, and if the fighting contributed towards his death. However it was not known if the fight was the cause of death.

“We don’t actually know if a crime has been committed. For instance, he might have had a heart attack or some other aliment during the course of the fight,” Mr Lynch said. Everything depends on the results of the post-mortem to determine how the person died.

A post-mortem was expected to be carried out later this afternoon.”

Police were not examining for anyone else in relation to the incident, and the family was co-operating with police, Mr Lynch said.

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Police are waiting for the results of a post-mortem on a man who died following a domestic incident in south Auckland overnight to determine if a crime was committed.

Police and ambulance staff found the 44-year-old man dead when they arrived at a Mangere house just before midnight. .

“He was definitely fighting, but we don’t know how he died, and if the fighting contributed towards his death. However it was not known if the fight was the cause of death.

“We don’t actually know if a crime has been committed. For instance, he might have had a heart attack or some other aliment during the course of the fight,” Mr Lynch said. Everything depends on the results of the post-mortem to determine how the person died.

A post-mortem was expected to be carried out later this afternoon.”

Police were not examining for anyone else in relation to the incident, and the family was co-operating with police, Mr Lynch said.

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From running an art gallery to a champagne-soaked bus tour of Wellington’s finest restaurants, New Zealanders have extravagant dreams if they win tonight’s $35 million Big Wednesday draw.

However, hit the streets of Wellington today and found that many people wouldn’t throw caution to the wind with their windfall.Wellington cafe owner David Fenwick said that, while the chances of winning were slim, he still had his fingers crossed. Instead, they’d prefer to keep their jobs, pay off debts and help out family members hit hard by the recession.. “We all saw Charlie and the Chocolate factory . it’s one of those things where you can let your imagination go..”I’d allocate a certain amount for when I’m old and dottering so no matter what happens to KiwiSaver, I’ll be alright.”He would celebrate with an extravagant restraurant-hopping night with friends and whanau, but would not get too carried away. .”Waikanae administrator Tania Murphy said today that, because the economy was weak, she would use the winnings to pay off debts, donate to charity and help out family.But Mel Upjohn, a Wellington-based assistant manager, said she did not have to queue for long when she bought her ticket last night, and was baffled why anyone would.”With a $5 million prize increase making this the biggest-ever Big Wednesday draw, queues have swollen around the country as thousands scramble for tickets.”It annoys me that it sucks me in.”Why don’t they buy online?”She would hire a financial advisor straight away if she won, but was another punter not getting her hopes up.”Like many Kiwis, she said she would not be watching the draw. The likelihood of winning is very slim, and I know they’re making millions and millions of dollars off us suckers.”I’ve never actually bought a Lotto ticket, but for some reason I felt like getting one for Big Wednesday. But New Zealanders are still excited by the prospect of tonight’s big win, with some like student Josh Evans buying tickets for the first time.”

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New Zealand is about to be shamed by a high-profile international human rights group that says we are not doing enough to turn around our horrific record on domestic violence.

The report from New York’s prestigious Leitner Centre for International Law and Justice will be presented to the government on Tuesday.

The authors, all international human rights experts, have made 27 recommendations, focusing on:

* improving the way we monitor domestic violence

* providing greater support for victims and offenders after violence happens, and

* doing more to protect Maori women in particular. But the Sunday Star-Times can reveal it identifies numerous weaknesses in our domestic violence laws and policies.

The Leitner Centre group picks one human rights issue to scrutinise every year.

“More can and ought to be done,” says lead researcher Jorge Contesse.

Last week Contesse pointed the finger at the New Zealand government, telling the Star-Times: “Under international law the government must do all it can to prevent domestic violence and punish such acts and if they don’t do everything possible to prevent such violence occurring they are in effect responsible. .

However: “Maori women are much more at risk of being assaulted or threatened by a partner.”

Contesse says Maori women should be triply protected by the Treaty of Waitangi, international codes for indigenous peoples’ rights, and more generic international human rights conventions…”

Offending remained “surprisingly high”, despite significant efforts to reduce it in recent years. meaning, the NZ government is particularly failing Maori women in respect to domestic violence. They say family violence affects a third of all women during their lifetime and that 45% of murders in New Zealand are family violence-related.

Police statistics show a 15% increase in the number of family violence incidents and offences in 2007-08, with more than 86,000 reports made. The report, by a newly-formed local group called the Roundtable of Violence Against Women, says certain types of violence and victims are being overlooked.

Meanwhile, a second report calling for an overhaul of systems to keep women and girls safe is being presented alongside the New York findings.

It also highlights the “serial abuse” of many immigrant women, saying both Women’s Refuge and the Shakti Community Council have evidence that men are using women’s residency status to exploit them and keep them in abusive relationships. This includes prostitutes who come from countries known for trafficking, such as Korea, Thailand, Eastern Europe and the Philippines. She hopes the Leitner report and her group’s demands will “flush the government out to make a stand on what they’re going to do about it.

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Domestic violence researcher and spokesperson for the Roundtable, Ruth Herbert, says we need to do much more than run a few television campaigns to keep women safe… This is not something we can keep hidden the world is watching. This is not something we can keep hidden the world is watching.”

A spokesperson for Justice Minister Simon Power said he wouldn’t comment until after he had seen the report but added that the issue of domestic violence was a priority for the new government and one of the first bills the government sent to select committee was legislation to enable police to issue on-the-spot protection orders.

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The grieving mother of police officer Derek Wootton believes her son’s killer got away with murder.

Andrew Popo, 33, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the High Court at Wellington yesterday, following a defence offer to resolve the case.

Mr Wootton’s mother, Cath, was not in court to hear the guilty plea, but reacted angrily to the deal reached by prosecutors and Popo’s lawyers.

Popo was driving a Honda Prelude that hit the 52-year-old Porirua police sergeant early on July 11, killing him instantly. I don’t care what anybody says, it was murder,” she said.

“What happened to Derek was murder.

“I will go for what is right, and in the circumstances, this is right,” Porirua Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Oxnam said.

However, the lead investigator in the case said the result was “the appropriate outcome”.”

Mr Wootton was struck by the car while laying road spikes in Dimock St, Titahi Bay. “The correct decision has been made.

Popo also pleaded guilty to injuring a man and unlawfully taking his car in Tawa, and driving while disqualified.

The Crown alleged that the car, taken by Popo from another man the night before, had been travelling at up to 150kmh during the police chase that led to the tragedy.

Crown prosecutor Grant Burston said Popo’s lawyer, Christopher Stevenson, had proposed a resolution of all but the kidnapping charge and that had been accepted. He still faces a charge of kidnapping a teenager.

Mr Wootton’s fiancee, Bronwyn Hewitt, was told of the plea deal on Monday.

Justice Alan MacKenzie agreed to the murder charge being reduced to manslaughter under a Crimes Act provision to allow changes “conducive to the ends of justice”. “Nothing is going to change. She said Popo’s manslaughter plea was “a bit of a shock” but was relieved she did not have to sit through a trial. In the back of my mind I knew it was going to be hard to prove [murder] and had been told that. It’s still not going to bring Derek back. . I just left it up to the experts.”

Mrs Wootton said the case had left her feeling cynical. “I was hoping that not only for the rest of the police, that do their job every day, I was hoping that we might have set a precedent. “We have had more than our share of sadness. “We have had more than our share of sadness.”

Popo will be back in court on April 20 for a sentencing date to be set.

FAMILY SAYS POPO DIDN”T MEAN TO KILL

The family of Andrew Popo say he never meant to kill anyone and they will support him in prison.

Popo’s uncle, Popo Su’a, said yesterday that his nephew should not have been charged with murder for killing Porirua police sergeant Derek Wootton.

Popo’s plea of guilty to manslaughter was “best for him”, Mr Su’a said. “It wasn’t something he did on purpose. It wasn’t murder.”

Mr Su’a, a minister of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa, said: “What happened saddens me, not only for him but also for the police officer’s family. But I believe it wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t his fault, in a way.”

Several members of Popo’s family were in court yesterday, and Mr Su’a said the family would stand by him.

“We are all working to help him and support him during his life in prison. We will be working towards trying to get him some counselling, to make him see what he has done.

“I hope for a change of his life. He’s got a lot in front of him. We all love him.”