Two a penny

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Outdoor workers’ health at risk from sun, study finds

By MARK HOTTON – Thursday, 26 February 2009

Outdoor workers are at risk of eye disease and skin cancer because of overexposure and under-protection in the sun, a University of Otago study has found.
The problem of high UV-radiation exposure was made worse with less than a third of the 77 workers in the study applying sunscreen and only 5 per cent wearing a wide-brim hat.
Unless adequately protected, all of them would have received more UV radiation than the recommended level of 1.
The workers in the study, conducted by postgraduate student Vanessa Hammond, included construction, horticultural and road workers employed at 14 Central Otago workplaces.
An exposure of about 1.08 SED (standard erythemal dose).0 SED could cause sunburn to someone with unprotected fair skin.5 to 3.3 SED between 11am and 4pm. The average daily summer exposure of the workers was 5.
Study co-author Dr Tony Reeder, director of the university's Cancer Society social and behavioural research unit, said employers had an important role in protecting their workers from the sun.
Hammond said any opportunity to work in the shade could make a real difference in reducing the risk of a worker developing skin cancer. .
Outdoor work between 11am and 4pm needed to be undertaken in either natural or constructed shade in summer, he said.
"It all sounds very nice but there'd be a big cost with it.
However, Amalgamated Builders health and safety manager David Baker, of Dunedin, said movable shade structures were impractical given the scale of building sites.
"You can provide but it's up to the guys to use the stuff," Baker said."
The company supplied personal protective equipment such as wide-brim clip-on hat options and sunscreen, but it was up to each employee whether they used it.
"I've just put a lid on [the tractor] for that reason.
Gore farmer Hamish Smith said he had taken steps to address his exposure to the sun. But it can just get too hot. There was always sunscreen in the tractor and that was used too.
Builder Barnaby Lamb, who was wearing a sleeveless top on a Queenstown building site yesterday, said sunscreen was supplied on site and he regularly applied it."
Work was started early to avoid the day's heat and a hat was essential.

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Court martial finds officer guilty on one charge

The Wednesday, 25 February 2009

A senior army officer has been found guilty of indecent assault and not guilty on a charge of behaving in a disgraceful and indecent manner.
A court martial panel of five senior officers delivered its verdict at the end of a three-day military trial at Trentham Army Base today.
The charges date back to March 23, 2007, when the officer went to the room of a female officer who was attending a course on which he was a senior instructor.
The senior officer said she had come on to him and invited him to her room for sex and that they kissed before she turned away and said no.
Both had been drinking in the officers' mess that night and the female officer said he came to her room uninvited and that after she fended him off he exposed himself and committed an indecency. .
He denied exposing himself to the officer, who was engaged to one of his closest friends

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Roll up! It’s Miss Universe Levin

Friday, 20 February 2009

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PROVINCIAL BEAUTY: Miss Horowhenua Priyani Puketapu in Levin, the new home of the glamorous Miss Universe New Zealand contest.

Theglamorous Miss Universe New Zealand final is swapping the bright lights of cosmopolitan Auckland for the provincial charm of heartland Horowhenua.
National director Val Lott said that befitting this year's theme of "small-town charm", Levin would host the final, in April.
In a surprise move, the hotly-contested celebration of feminine beauty is ditching the Sky City Tower, Harbour Bridge and Viaduct Basin, for the delights of Levin's A&P Showgrounds, public bars and tree-lined main street.
Horowhenua has traditionally been a beauty pageant stronghold last year's Miss Horowhenua, Samantha Powell of Paraparaumu, scooped the Miss Universe New Zealand title.
The decision reflected the town's positive community spirit and the fact Horowhenua and Manawatu staged the only regional competitions this year.
After a five-year absence, Miss Universe was relaunched in New Zealand in 2006 and had been staged in glitzy Auckland ever since.
"We are really looking forward to holding it in Horowhenua it is a wonderful opportunity for lots of people to see many beautiful spots in the area I did not even know about," Mrs Lott said.
The competition had not escaped the effects of the recession.
However, in earlier years, the show had toured the country even being held in Levin's once-regal Regent Theatre in the 1960s. Some contestants are finding it hard to find sponsors because their regions did not hold competitions," Mrs Lott said.
"Things have been tough this year. . "We desperately need two or three sponsors.
"This will be huge for the community and hopefully we will have a lot more Wellington and Horowhenua entrants and more local sponsors on board.
The move to Levin was welcomed by reigning Miss Universe New Zealand title holder, Ms Powell.
Kapiti-Horowhenua was also chosen as the launching pad for the comeback of classic Kiwi television game show It's In The Bag, shot in Otaki the previous month."
Mayor Brendan Duffy said it would be great exposure for the district and he would be sending an invitation to Miss Universe's owner, Donald Trump.

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All-you-can-tan offers have critics seeing red

By KEITH LYNCH and KIM THOMAS – Monday, 16 February 2009

Salons offering all-you-can-tan sunbed promotions have been branded as irresponsible by doctors, who say such promotions highlight the need for stricter controls over solarium operators.
Dr Judith Galtry, a skin cancer adviser with the Cancer Society, said offering people the opportunity to tan many times in a month was potentially unsafe. Those who used the beds at any age were 15 per cent more likely to develop skin cancer.
"Research from an international agency on cancer found people who used sunbeds before they were aged 18 were 75 per cent more likely to develop melanoma.
Manager Kerry Middleton said the salon strictly monitored its all-you-can-tan customers."
Christchurch salon Skin Deep Solariums is offering an all-you-can-tan promotion for $60 a month.
"In the vertical [tanning bed], it's a max of nine minutes; in the lay-down [tanning beds], it's a maximum of 25 minutes.
"All-you-can-tan is a one-month offer that is strictly within the health boundaries."
Some customers did flout the guidelines, and tanned every day, but the all-you-can-tan system was closely monitored, Middleton said. And we recommend people tan at most every second day, as the skin needs time to recover. We are looking after their skin.
"Our customers are in a controlled environment where we can check exactly how much time they go in for."
Parental consent was required for customers under the age of 18, but sunbeds were off limits to people under 16, Middleton said. .
Galtry said the Cancer Society would carry out "stings" on sunbed operators this year to gauge how many were flouting the guidelines.
This year, Standards NZ and Australia published new guidelines for the tanning industry, including advising against the use of tanning machines by people under 18.
"Good salons should offer people the benefits of tanning without the risk of burning," she said.
Gabrielle Brown, of the Indoor Tanning Association, advised people to tan moderately.
"We've tried to get together with a couple of our critics to talk to them about educating people on how to moderate their tanning behaviour and how to avoid sunburn.
"But our critics' position is they see no benefit to tanning and would like to see the industry completely disappear."

. But they've said, `we can't work with you'

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Helen Clark’s UN job interview

By ANTHONY HUBBARD – Sunday, 08 February 2009

Former Primeminister Helen Clark is in the running for a top United Nations job, and the National government is supporting her bid.
Clark is a candidate for the post of administrator of the UN Development Programme, third behind UN secretary-general and deputy secretary-general.
It was too early yet to predict whether she would be successful, Key told the Sunday Star-Times.
Prime Minister John Key confirmed yesterday that Clark was a candidate, "and she has all the support of the New Zealand government".
If Clark was successful her appointment would be comparable with former Labour leader Mike Moore's job as director-general of the World Trade Organisation or former National foreign affairs minister Don McKinnon's post as secretary-general of the Commonwealth.
Auckland University foreign policy expert Steve Hoadley said the UNDP post was one of "major international importance".
The present administrator, former Turkish economic affairs minister Kemal Dervis, is due to retire at the end of his four-year term in August this year.
The UNDP had the largest budget of any UN agency, Hoadley said, and was a major presence throughout the world. A government source said she would be "a very strong candidate".
It has long been expected that Clark, a foreign affairs specialist all her adult life and with a wide international network, would try for an international post. It's a very senior position and will be hotly contested by a number of candidates.
Clark said: "This position came up at short notice. Hoadley said the government would have to lobby General Assembly members for the job. .
The UNDC is the UN's global development network, overseeing a budget of $US5 billion. It would be interesting to see how much it was prepared to spend in supporting the Clark candidacy in a time of financial stringency.
The Clark-led government in its final term increased its aid budget to $400 million, about 0. Its head office is in New York, and it has 140 offices around the world.

.3 percentof gross national income

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BOP businessman accused of drugging, raping woman

Friday, 06 February 2009

A Bay of Plenty businessman has been accused of raping a woman after allegedly stupefying her with the party drug ketamine.
The Tauranga man, in his early 40s, who was granted interim suppression of his name and that of his business, faced two charges in Tauranga District Court yesterday of sexual violation by rape.
The man was granted bail by Judge Thomas Ingram despite strong objections from police, the Bay of Plenty Times reported.
He also faced a further charge of trying to intimidate the complainant the day prior to his arrest on February 4, after she was allegedly threatened by a woman known to the accused.
He said without more substantiative evidence to support the allegation, he was prepared to grant bail on the basis that the accused observed a 24-hour curfew to live outside the Bay of Plenty.
The judge said he had real concerns over any allegation involving intimidation of a witness but at this stage there was no evidence linking the defendant to the alleged threat.
Police allege that last weekend the accused and the his alleged victim met at a Tauranga address where she was plied with alcoholic drinks and stupefied with ketamine – a prescription-only sedative – then raped.
The man is also also barred from having any contact with his alleged victim and other police witnesses.
During a search of the man's address police allegedly found a small amount of ketamine. .
Judge Ingram said the issue of bail and the suppression order would be revisited on February 11 when the man is due back in court.
But the accused's lawyer told Judge Ingram the allegations were absolutely denied.
Judge Ingram said on that day he wanted to see a sworn statement by the complainant to substantiate her claim of intimidation, plus an affidavit from the accused setting out the grounds why suppression should continue.

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Fine weather and holiday create traffic congestion

Friday, 06 February 2009

Motorists have been reminded about other options for travelling between Auckland and Northland after heavy congestion was reported on State Highway 1.
At midday, the New Zealand Transport Agency said a 17km queue of slow-moving traffic had developed from Warkworth south to Puhoi and the tunnels of the new Northern Gateway electronic toll road.
The agency had warned drivers earlier in the week about the expected high traffic volumes between 10am and 3pm today, Waitangi Day.
Transport Agency regional director Wayne McDonald said the delays south of Warkworth were caused simply by the volume of holiday traffic, and not by any problem with the toll road.
The main alternative route is SH16, which rejoins SH1 north of Warkworth and through which traffic today was reported to be flowing freely. .
He said people were taking the advantage of the fact that Waitangi Day fell on a Friday this year, creating a long weekend.
"It's not the system. The electronic component is working well and very few people are popping in to do manual payments. The new tollway is working magnificently."

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Emotional funeral for teen shot by police

Pregnant mother to be taken to hospital after burial

Friday, 30 January 2009

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TRAGIC LOSS: Halatau’s little sister Lupe Teputepu at the casket before the funeral.

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FAREWELL: A local South Auckland police officer bends over the casket of 17-year-old Halatau Naitoko as thousands of mourners, police representatives and local dignataries amongst them, paid their respects to the slain teenager at his home in Mangere.

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GRIEVING: Halatau’s sister Sekola Naitoko with her daughter Jurnee Brown, aged five months.

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A MOTHER’S TEARS: Ivoni Naitoko, centre, sitting, with family members ahead of the funeral service for her son.

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SAYING GOODBYE: Mourners pay their respects to Halatau Naitoko at the start of his funeral.
"A week ago the blood of an innocent boy was shed," one of five ministers officiating at the service told mourners.

Photo 5 of 5

Funeral for shot teenager

Halatau Naitoko, the teenager accidentally shot dead by police last week, was farewelled by more than 1000 mourners at his funeral today.
"He's dead but he is still speaking to us today."
The words were met by applause at the makeshift chapel where the service was held at the back of the family home in the suburb of Mangere East.
"Let that be a message to the government officials, and dignitaries, minister of police and police officers, even to the beloved policeman who fired that fatal shot.
The 17-year-old courier driver died last Friday when he was caught in police crossfire during the motorway chase by police of an armed man.
Mourners were told Halatau worked hard to help feed his brothers and sisters.
At the traditional Tonga funeral more than 1000 mourners, including police minister Judith Collins, police commissioner Howard Broad and numerous politicians, were told he was a hard-working, loyal, faithful, truthful, respectful and a loving child.
He was a loving and devoted father to his two-year-old daughter, mourners heard.
He was killed in the line of duty as his life was just starting to unfold, an aunt said.
He was killed in the line of duty as his life was just starting to unfold, an aunt said.
The traditional Tonga funeral in Tongan and in English began several hours after the first mourners arrived and after an early morning prayer session over his open casket. He had a loving heart and much compassion and hope for the future, she said.
Shewas to be taken to hospital to give birth immediately after her son's burial today.
It was a day of almost unbearable emotion as Mr Naitoko's mother Ivonifarewelled him, just hours before she was due to give birth to his baby brother.
The high emotion of her decision to name her new baby – her 10th child – Halatau after his dead brother, was not lost on mourners.
Family spokesperson Peter Sykes said the visit was a check-up but it Mrs Naitoko believed she would give birth.
Hundreds gathered around the silver hearse as the large, white casket topped with white flowers departed for Halatau's final resting place.
She cried out as she walked down the family's driveway as 13 pallbearers, including one member of New Zealand Police, carried her son'scoffinto the hearse.
For Paea Fangu Fangu, the 16-year-old brother of Halatau, it was a day of sadness.
The hundreds of floral wreaths left by mourners were packed into Kiwi Express courier van, the compnay both Halatau and his parents worked for. I just want to speak to the person that killed my brother and asked him why he took my brother away from us," he said as traditional hymns of farewell were sung at the family home. I just want to speak to the person that killed my brother and asked him why he took my brother away from us," he said as traditional hymns of farewell were sung at the family home.
Mr Naitoko's body, dressed in white, has been at the family home since Sunday night, accompanied around the clock by family members, relatives and friends.
Many mourners wore traditional ta'ovala, a woven Tongan flax dress, and black T-shirts. . May he rest in peace."
On the back was a picture of him with the words: "May he rest in Paradise, 1991-2009."
West Auckland man Stephen McDonald, 50, was arrested after the shootout. He faces 29 charges relating to events leading up to Mr Naitoko's shooting.
His alleged accomplice, Margaret Mann, 19, faces three charges. They will both reappear in court next week.
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Mother plans to stalk rapist

– Friday, 23 January 2009

A Christchurch woman has been staking out Rolleston Prison as she prepares to follow the man who raped her daughter.
The woman, who cannot be named as it would identify her daughter, intends to follow Jack Michael Harris, 46, when he is released on Monday.
She also plans to deliver leaflets in the neighbourhood to which he will be released. He was sentenced to six years jail.
Harris was convicted in 2004 for indecent assaults and rapes on the woman's daughter, then aged 12 and 13, over an 18-month period.
The mother said she had three cars of volunteers ready to "stake out" the prison and follow any vehicles leaving.
Rehabilitative experts have condemned the actions, saying this type of "vigilante" action had been shown to have the opposite effects to those sought and increased the rates of reoffending. .
Rather than include his picture, they were thinking of providing the web address of Harris's profile on the trust's sex-offender register.
The mother had been advised by the Sensible Sentencing Trust on how to legally go about alerting the man's new neighbourhood to his presence.
New Zealand Parole Board chairman Judge David Carruthers said Harris would be supported on release.
She had contacted the Parole Board to contest Harris's release but had not made submissions on where he was to be released to.
"In addition, it has imposed conditions to continue for six months beyond his sentence end date.
"In this case, the release is to Salvation Army-supported accommodation, and the board requires the offender to attend an ongoing support programme," he said."
Safe Network chief executive Robert Ford, who works on rehabilitating sex offenders, said leaflet drops were based on the assumption that paedophiles were frequent reoffenders when, in fact, sexual offending had one of the lowest rates of recidivism."
Safe Network chief executive Robert Ford, who works on rehabilitating sex offenders, said leaflet drops were based on the assumption that paedophiles were frequent reoffenders when, in fact, sexual offending had one of the lowest rates of recidivism.
Leaflet drops placed the offender under stress and, under stress, reoffending was more likely, he said.
"A lot of these vigilante concerns are based on a false assumption," Ford said.

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Rally supports Israel’s right to self-defence

Thursday, 15 January 2009

Demonstrators supporting Israel's right to defend itself gathered outside Parliament yesterday, waving Israeli flags and calling on Hamas to end rocket attacks on civilians.
About 100 people gathered to counter the much larger pro-Palestinian rally in Wellington last week when more than 1000 demonstrators marched through the city protesting Israel's military offensive in Gaza. "Israel has a right to self-defence.
"There are two sides to the story of what is happening in Gaza," organisers of yesterday's rally said."
They delivered letters to MPs, including the Green Party's Keith Locke, which stated their case and expressed support for the suffering of Palestinian civilians. Israel seeks peace with Palestinians and an end to the Hamas regime which wants to destroy Israel and targets Jews around the world.
Yesterday's pro-Israeli demonstrators carried placards denouncing Hamas for launching rocket attacks against Israel.
Locke spoke at the pro-Palestinian rally last week, accusing the Government of hypocrisy because it was not speaking against the "terrorist attacks" on the people of Gaza.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully last week called on Israel and Hamas to end their attacks and agree to a ceasefire.
The Government has adopted a neutral stance on the conflict.
"Both sides have obligations to avoid putting civilians in danger.
"It is imperative both sides Israel and Hamas focus on the mounting humanitarian situation for the civilian population of Gaza," McCully said.
"The Rakon parts are supplied to the US which provides the bombs directly to the Israeli military," said Mike Treen, spokesperson for the Global Peace and Justice group, which will march on the company's premises on Saturday."
Meanwhile, protesters critical of Israeli attacks say they will target an Auckland company, Rakon Industries, which is reported to provide crystal oscillators for smart bombs used by the Israeli Air Force.
Rakon -winner of that year's New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) export awards – declined to confirm its technology had been used in the US invasion of Iraq. .