Two a penny

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A massive police blitz in Auckland over the past four days concluded last night with 129 people facing drink-driving charges.

Road policing manager Inspector Gavin Macdonald said about 40,000 drivers were breath tested during Operation Safer Roads, where checkpoints were set up around the region, catching some suburban residents by surprise. The legal limit is 400mcg.

Police impounded 17 vehicles and suspended 34 people’s driving licences after they returned readings of more than 650 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.

Mr Macdonald said 13 people were also arrested for offences including receiving stolen property, unlawfully taking vehicles, driving while disqualified and breaching bail conditions.

Court bailiffs were also involved in the operation, seizing an additional 12 vehicles and collecting $3000 in cash for outstanding fines.

“One offender actually complained after being stopped that the police had changed the location of a checkpoint whilst he had been drinking at the pub. .

Mr Macdonald said drink-driving was no joke and that police and the community had had enough of irresponsible behaviour by intoxicated drivers.”

The man admitted to having received a text message from a friend telling him which way to travel home to avoid being detected.

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A man who stabbed an Auckland father as he supervised his daughter’s 16th birthday party has been found guilty of attempted murder.

A jury of nine woman and three men found Raymond Tonumaalii, 32, guilty of the charge at the High Court in Auckland this afternoon. .

“I wanted to know why he had stabbed me, I wanted him to look me in the eye and know what reason he had to kill me.

On Monday Mr Matamata told the court he learnt why Tonumaalii attacked him after sitting next to him at an earlier depositions hearing at Waitakere District Court.”

Mr Matamata said Tonumaalii said he had mistaken Mr Matamata for the man that had beaten him up at the party earlier.

“My children could have lost their father that day.

“I said, no mate, I was one of the guys that saved ya.

Crown prosecutor Warren Cathcart said Mr Matamata had been at home “minding his own business” about 2am on April 6 last year when he was attacked with a knife.”

Tonumaalii then apologised to him, Mr Matamata told the court.

Mr Matamata said he could remember little of the struggle.

The stabbing was seen by several teenagers, including Mr Matamata’s children, Mr Cathcart said.”

Tonumaalii suffered minor injuries in the scuffle.

“He had a knife, I was unarmed, I was just doing the best I could to stay alive.

The court was told he confessed to the stabbing when interviewed by a police officer in hospital the next day.

The court was told he confessed to the stabbing when interviewed by a police officer in hospital the next day. I was calm and collected and ready to take his life,” Tonumaalii said to the officer.

“I walked up to him and he laughed at me so I stabbed him in the chest.

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Tonumaalii had later denied he stabbed Mr Matamata

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At least 156 people have been killed in rioting in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, with the government blaming exiled separatists for the traditionally Muslim area’s worst case of unrest in years.

Hundreds of people have been arrested, the official Xinhua news agency said, after protesters from the Uighur minority took to the streets of the regional capital on Sunday, burning and smashing vehicles and shops, and clashing with anti-riot police. .

“In terms of China’s domestic economy, it is in a remote place and it does not have a big impact on things generally unless there is some evidence, of which there is none, that the government is in some meaningful way losing control,” said Arthur Kroeber, Managing Director of Dragonomics, a research and advisory firm in Beijing.

No figures have been given on the ethnic identity of the dead but a senior security official said that many of the bodies he saw were Han Chinese, suggesting an explosion of pent-up anger against the economically dominant group.

But minorities have long complained that Han Chinese have reaped most of the benefits from official subsidies, while making locals feel like outsiders in their own homes.

By late Monday order was restored.

“It was like a war zone here, with many bodies of ethnic Han people lying on the road,” Xinhua quoted Huang Yabo, deputy director of the Urumqi Public Security Bureau saying.

But if the violence triggers scrutiny of Beijing’s policies in Xinjiang or if officials launch a harsh crackdown, China’s standing as a global power may take a hit, analysts say. Anti-riot police patrolled clean, quiet streets, a reminder of the strength of the Chinese state in an area which has long had a heavy security presence. Coercion alone will not solve the problem.

“This will bring a negative impact on China’s image as a responsible power.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, when asked about the rioting on Monday, urged governments to respect their people’s right to protest. If you use coercion alone it will worsen the problem,” said Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore.

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“All the differences of opinion, whether domestic or international, must be resolved peacefully through dialogue,” Ban told a news conference in Geneva

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Tax cuts that come in on Wednesday will deliver a billion dollar a year boost to the economy while changes to the business tax regime will help companies get through the recession, ministers said today.

April 1 is the date for personal tax cuts that will increase the income of a worker on the average wage of $48,500 by $18 a week.

“These changes form a central part of the Government’s Jobs and Growth plan and will provide a shot in the arm for our economy at a vital time,” Finance Minister Bill English said.

A range of changes making it simpler and less expensive for small and medium-sized business, passed by Parliament last week, also take effect on that date.”

Revenue Minister Peter Dunne said the income tax cuts took New Zealand one step closer to a 30/30/30 per cent alignment of the top personal, company and trustee tax rates.

“The tax cuts we have delivered will stimulate the economy in the short term by putting cash people’s pockets, and in the longer term by encouraging people to invest in their own skills to earn and keep more money.

“In regard to small and medium-sized businesses, the tax assistance initiatives will make it easier for them to manage their cash flows and meet their tax obligations during tough economic times.

“That is something I have long advocated and I’m pleased it is now a medium-term government priority,” he said.

The ministers said close toly every business would benefit in some way from the changes, which allow companies to keep their money longer, reduce the interest they pay on underpaid tax and cut compliance costs.”

For earners, the changes mean tax rate cuts and threshold changes, as well as a new Independent Earner Tax Credit which will give an extra $10 a week to those earning between $24,000 and $44,000 a year who do not receive a benefit, Working for Families tax credits or national superannuation. The minimum level of contributions will drop from 4 per cent of a worker’s pay to 2 per cent.

There are also changes to KiwiSaver from April 1.

WHAT YOU’LL GET

Weekly tax cuts for workers who do not receive the Independent Earner Tax Credit:

Salary.

The employer tax credit and $40-a-year member fee subsidy will also cease. . . … . . . .tax cut

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$25,000… . …0.00

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$45,000. . .. . .$11.54

$50,000. . .. . .$18.46

$55,000. . .. . .$18.46

$60,000. . .. . .$18.46

$65,000. . .. . .$18.46

$70,000. . .. . .$18.46

$75,000. . .. . .$19.42

$80,000. . .. . .$20.38

$85,000. . .. . .$21.35

$90,000. . .. . .$22.31

$95,000. . .. . .$23.27

$100,000. . …$24.23

Annual tax cuts for workers who receive the Independent Earner Tax Credit:

Salary. . .. . .. . .tax cut

$25,000. . .. . .$520

$30,000. . .. . .$520

$35,000. . .. . .$520

$40,000. . .. . .$520

$45,000. . .. . .$990

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Woman subjected to txt abuse after radio prank

By CLIO FRANCIS – Monday, 23 February 2009

The Edge radio station has been ordered to pay $1500 to a woman who received abusive text messages after her mobile phone number was broadcast live against her wishes.
A complaint about the incident was made to The Broadcasting Standards Authority, which today announced the complaint had been upheld. The BSA's report says:"After hearing certain comments on The Edge, the complainant wrote to the studio to ask that they stop making such comments. The complainant had asked whether she was on the radio. The hosts then telephoned her and she expressed concern that the hosts were making inappropriate remarks about people from other countries, such as India and America. However, the conversation was in fact being broadcast. They told her that she was not."Later when the conversation had ended, one of the hosts said:"If you would like to learn to be a better person, 021… He was interrupted by the other host who told him not to give out her phone number, however he continued to read out the last three digits. .RadioWorks, who owns the station, said they had upheld a subsequent complaint by the female listener, who said the broadcast of her telephone number breached standards of fairness and privacy.The woman said she received around 60 text messages after the public broadcast of her phone number- some of which were "highly offensive".They told the Authority that; a manger had reprimanded the radio host involved, the station had formally apologised and also offered to pay any costs incurred.They told the Authority that; a manger had reprimanded the radio host involved, the station had formally apologised and also offered to pay any costs incurred.

.However the BSA said the breach of privacy was serious enough to justify compensation and ordered RadioWorks to pay $1500 to the woman

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Coal firm pays for emissions report

Monday, 12 January 2009

A report highly critical of the Government's climate change policy was partially bankrolled by one of the country's largest coal miners and state-owned companies.
Information issued under the Official Information Act reveals Solid Energy paid hundreds of thousands of dollars towards the report into the impact of the emissions trading scheme (ETS).
As a miner of coal, which produces greenhouse gas, Solid Energy faces higher operating costs and potentially dwindling demand.
To encourage use of more environmentally friendly energy sources, the scheme imposes taxes on anything that emits greenhouse gases.
The final report said the emissions trading scheme would impose a heavy economic cost on the country, costing households about $3000 a year by 2025 and reduce average wages by $90 a week.
Solid Energy gave $240,750, including GST, to the $1 million project by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) on the economic impact of the controversial legislation.
"We pride ourselves on being the best informed we can be," a company spokeswoman said.
Solid Energy has defended the spending, saying it regularly commissioned research to remain fully informed about its business environment and the implications of any regulatory changes."
But Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said the spending was inappropriate, as it was effectively taxpayers' money and the coal industry funding may have "coloured" the report's findings.
"It needs to be remembered SOEs are businesses like any other enterprises. It's effectively taxpayers' money as it would have come back to the Government in its dividend," she said.
"It's not an SOE's job to spend money to try and undermine government policy.
The National Government has refused to wade into the issue.
The mining company incurred the ire of the Labour government in 2007, when it used a paid informant to spy on a group of West Coast anti-mining protesters.
Industries NZIER predicted would be hit by the legislation included agriculture, petroleum refining and mining. .
A review of the institute's report by economic consultants Infometrics found its "conclusions follow logically" and the conclusions were "robust".
"Mining and quarrying is most impacted by reduced demand for coal from the electricity industry," the report said.
The company defended the funding in a briefing note requested by then state-owned enterprises minister Trevor Mallard, saying it was to enable it to understand "optimum climate-change response options". However, it did draw some criticism from Victoria University Climate Change Research Institute director Martin Manning, who said the institute used too narrow a scope with its economic modelling.
Greenpeace NZ executive director Bunny McDiarmid said it was appalling that a coal company funded by the taxpayer could finance a report that potentially could influence the Government's climate change policy.
It also spent a further $27,000 on another institute research project, but has refused to reveal the project's subject matter on the grounds of commercial sensitivity. It's public money that's going into that. "There was a clear conflict."

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Nelson man carried 100m in raging torrent

By HELEN MURDOCH – Wednesday, 26 November 2008

HELEN MURDOCH/
SWAMPED: A car belonging to retired school principal Rod McKenzie lies stuck on the edge of a weir in the Collins River, north of Nelson, yesterday.

Rod McKenzie has covered a 100m section of Nelson's flooded Collins River in record time in his car.
"One minute I was on the road; the next I was in the river," he said.
McKenzie, a retired primary school principal, was driving to Nelson from his Okiwi Bay home in torrential rain on Monday when he aquaplaned over an 8m bank into the normally slow-flowing river.
He estimated he was carried another 100m by the swollen waters.
McKenzie was tossed down the "raging, roaring torrent" for about 100m before he fled his car. The worst part was trying to grab the blackberry bushes and clamber out, the river was moving so fast," he said.
"It was only when I got out that I thought I may be in trouble. .
Picked up by a farmer who took him home for a hot shower and a change of clothes, McKenzie then continued his journey to Nelson to collect his wife and take her to the airport.
"I suspect if I had stayed with it something bad would have happened.
"I've been told it continued down the river and got jammed under a bridge for a while before it popped out," he said.
The heavy rain also trapped three Tasman District Council hydrologists in the Upper Lee Valley on Monday night and caused flooding in Golden Bay and Nelson City."
McKenzie escaped with only scratches but faces an unpleasant aftermath police yesterday told him they were considering charging him with dangerous driving and he has to figure a way to get his car out of the river.
The trio bunked down for the night in a council ute, dined on a few biscuits and watched the Upper Lee River flood over a bridge, said Doyle.
Hydrologist Martin Doyle and two of his colleagues were measuring flood and sediment flows at the proposed Upper Lee Valley dam site when the heavy rain made the ford crossings impassable.
The ranges between Takaka and Collingwood were lashed by 328mm of rain in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday.
The persistent rain was pushed into the hills above Nelson and Golden Bay by strong northerly winds, dumping 136mm above the city and 257mm above Upper Takaka. Some schools closed early, while shops and homes were sandbagged to prevent flooding as water flowed down Takaka's main street.
In Golden Bay, roads were closed, stock were rescued from low-lying areas and the army ferried stranded motorists. "We were lucky to get away without major flooding.
"People haven't seen that sort of water across the road for some time," said Golden Bay Senior Constable Crispin Lee, of the East Takaka area.30pm high tide."
Nelson came within 30 minutes of a major flood when the rain stopped just before Monday's 8.
"We were concerned about the high tide, but the rain stopped about an hour before it came in," he said.
"We were concerned about the high tide, but the rain stopped about an hour before it came in," he said.

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Brother, sister talk to police after attempted kidnapping

By JARED MORGAN – Tuesday, 25 November 2008

A brother and sister at the centre of an attempted kidnapping in Invercargill will be spoken to today by police and a psychologist specially trained in interviewing children.
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Bowman, of Invercargill CIB, said the children would be interviewed to gain extra insight into the attempted abduction, which happened in daylight on Sunday.
A man tried to grab the four-year-old girl and an eight-year-old boy as they played at the rugby league grounds on the corner of Ness and Ettrick streets about 3pm.
The man then grabbed the boy, but the pair managed to escape when the man went to open the van door.
He attempted to pull the girl by her arm into a white van but the boy held her other arm.
"It's certainly not something we've had for a long time here and of course one (attempted kidnapping) is too many," he said.
The incident and its timing was of concern to police, Bowman said.
THe officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Fred Shandley, said police planned to interview the boy today while his sister, because of her age, would be spoken to by a psychologist.

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Tourist not guilty over shooting

By FLORENCE KERR – Saturday, 08 November 2008

Supplied
SHOT IN HEAD: Matthew Purchase is still recovering from his injuries and is now wheelchair bound.

Dreams of one day running the family farm in the English county of Dorset have been shattered for 22-year-old Matthew Purchase.
Once an outgoing sporty type, Matthew is now imprisoned in a body that won't work in time with his mind.
Jensen, 48, was charged with careless use of a firearm causing injury after Matthew was shot on the back of a ute during a rabbit hunt at Waotu, close to Putaruru, on December 8 last year .
Bjarne Jensen, the man accused of shooting the English agricultural exchange student in the head and causing injuries that have left him partially paralysed, partially blind and wheelchair-bound, was acquitted at the end of a High Court trial in Rotorua on Thursday.
Matthew's father, Ian, who flew in from England for the trial, was supported by his eldest son, Simon, as the verdict of not guilty was read out.
Jensen would not talk to the as he left the court.
Outside court, Matthew's father, Ian Purchase, said he felt deflated that he could not find closure for Matthew.
Matthew is unable to live with his family.
"Allowing this person to avoid having to accept responsibility for his actions sends out the wrong message to all people who use firearms," Mr Purchase said. Before the shooting Matthew was a keen rower and golfer and had just graduated with a rural resource management degree. Instead he lives in a specialist rehabilitation unit where he has to be assisted in close toly everything.
Almost a year after the shooting, Matthew has made major milestones, and is now able to speak with a slight slur. He chose to do his gap year in New Zealand. "The real victim in this is not the Jensen family, nor is it me, it's Matthew, who will pay the price for the rest of his life," Mr Purchase said. "The real victim in this is not the Jensen family, nor is it me, it's Matthew, who will pay the price for the rest of his life," Mr Purchase said."
We have received no financial aide for Matthew from the Jensens, we have had no communication from him at all .
"From my understanding Bjarne had to pay $100,000 as a bail bond so he could return to Denmark…"
Matthew's rehabilitation costs are expected to run into millions, according to Mr Purchase who may possibly seek a civil action suit. .
"I leave New Zealand with a heavy heart, but I am determined to do all that I can to help Matthew overcome his disability.
"It is a possibility, it's just making that decision – do we chuck our money into a civil action suite or do we put more into Matthew's rehabilitation?" Mr Purchase has vowed never to return. However the message that this verdict has sent out has unfortunately increased the chances of this occuring again." "I just hope that no one else has to go through what Matthew has endured and will continue to endure. "He has remained remarkably positive throughout this whole ordeal, even when we have struggled to do the same. "He has remained remarkably positive throughout this whole ordeal, even when we have struggled to do the same."
Mr Purchase and his son Simon flew home yesterday.

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Man in hospital after Upper Hutt stabbing

Monday, 03 November 2008

A man has suffered a punctured lung in an overnight stabbing in Upper Hutt.
The 31-year-old was found in the city early yesterday morning with life threatening injuries.
“We could have quite easily been investigating a homicide.
Detective Sergeant Tony Heathcote said the stabbing happened on Main St, close to the intersection with Royal St.”
The victim had surgery and is now in a stable condition in Hutt Hospital. The victim has stab wounds to the side of his chest, one of which has punctured his lung.
“We believe there was a large group of people in the area who saw what happened or who have information about the stabbing,” Mr Heathcote said.
Police believe at least three people were involved in an altercation with the victim, and are interested in talking to witnesses. .
A 19-year-old man was arrested at the scene of the stabbing and was charged with possession of a knife in a public place.