Two a penny

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The Government is giving people the chance to “kick the tyres” of the MMP electoral system although it is working well, Prime Minister John Key says.

Justice Minister Simon Power announced today there would be a referendum at the same time as the 2011 general election, asking voters whether they want to retain MMP.

If they don’t, they can tick one of several alternative voting systems that will be set out on the same paper.

It will be a run off between MMP and the alternative that was given the most votes in the first referendum.

A second referendum will be held at the same time as the 2014 general election if a majority want a change.

“But we promised New Zealanders on the campaign trail they would have an opportunity to kick the tyres.

“I think we’ve proved in close toly a year in government that the system is working well,” Mr Key told reporters.”

Mr Key said he didn’t believe voters would be likely to choose to go back to the old first-past-the-post system, which MMP replaced in 1996. .

Mr Power told there was a widespread expectation at the time MMP was introduced that there would be a chance for another say on the system.

If a majority of voters prefer the alternative voting system to MMP, the 2017 general election will be held under the chosen alternative.

Cabinet was yet to make decisions around wording of the questions and the alternate electoral systems to be offered.

It was also cheaper than other options, although holding two referenda would still cost $23 million.

Mr Power said holding a referendum alongside a general election ensured a good turnout, which was important if the referendum was to be legitimate.

Mr Power said the Government was determined to ensure there would be a strong public information campaign explaining the different alternatives.

Mr Power said the Government was determined to ensure there would be a strong public information campaign explaining the different alternatives.

“The Government wants to ensure New Zealanders have time to consider all the issues fully before making their decision.

“If a majority of voters opt for a change from MMP, there will be plenty of time for public discussion on the merits of MMP versus the preferred alternative voting system, before the second referendum,” he said. It would include the wording of questions and the options to be considered.”

Legislation to allow the first referendum would go to Parliament early next year.

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Input would be considered at the select committee stage

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Annah Stretton is no stranger to controversy.

For her winter 2010 collection she transported the audience back to the 1950s in an ode to legendaryKiwi exotic dance star Freda Stark.

Her collection featured lingerie as outerwear, diaphanous tea dresses with a twist and figure hugging pencil skirts.

In the prelude to the show, ushers gave out icecreams to the audience before Stretton sent models with tousled hair and come-to-bed eyes down the catwalk. .

For the finale she sent models down the runway wearing little more than gold body paint,a trademark of Stark in her pomp.

Twenty-seven names took John Lennon and Yoko Ono as the inspiration for their range.

Hogan’s collection was ladylike and demure with a twist.

The Sable and Minx Winter 2010 collection earlier showed a very pretty feminine collection featuring a palette of lilacs, pale blues and sage green.

But the oversized shirts and fitted jackets the label is known for were also still a big part of the range.

Cybele Wiren sent elfin models down the catwalk in fluid, beautifully draped clothes, in a palette of inky blues and nudes.

The first show of New Zealand Fashion Week was always going to be a big draw.

Standout pieces from the collection included skirts and dresses which were panelled and fluted to resemble the petals of a lily.

For Winter 2010, Wiren said she found her inspiration from the formality of the Victorian era and the sculptural qualities of flowers and insects.

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The lily was also strongly evident in prints – a navy silk mini-dress is bound to be a bestseller for the designer

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Simon Cowell has blasted The Beatles, claiming they would have failed auditions on The X Factor.

The music mogul – who once rejected the Spice Girls, the best-selling girl group of all time – says he would have kicked the iconic band off his British TV talent show unless they fired drummer Ringo Starr.’

“With Ringo, I’m afraid, we would have said ‘bad news’.

The 49-year-old star said: “If The Beatles came on the show we would have said, ‘We’ll take those three – Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison – but probably lose the drummer. That’s what excites me.”

Speaking in a US television interview with his Britain’s Got Talent co-star Amanda Holden, Simon also revealed what drives him, saying: “I like winning, Amanda.

Her debut album is due for release in November, and is expected to shoot to the top of the charts in America and Britain.”

Simon is now focusing on the career of Scottish singing sensation Susan Boyle, who will perform on the final of America’s Got Talent next week. .

* Would The Beatles succeed in today’s music world? below

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At least 15 people are dead and thousands were evacuated after a powerful earthquake rattled Indonesia’s main island, according to officials.

The 7.0 magnitude quake, as recorded by the US Geological Survey, shook buildings in the capital Jakarta and flattened homes in villages closer to the epicentre in West Java.

“Many houses are flattened to the ground,” said Edi Sapuan in Margamukti village, not far from Tasikmalaya.

The health ministry said it was sending medical teams to Tasikmalaya near the epicentre of the quake in West Java. Many villagers are injured, covered in blood. “Only the wooden houses remain standing.”

“We ran as soon as the quake hit.

The quake was felt as far away as Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, about 500 kilometres northeast of Tasikmalaya, and on the resort island of Bali, about 700km to the east. .

Hundreds of people sheltered in a military base in Tasikmalaya, fearing that the initial powerful quake would be followed by aftershocks, an official at the disaster management agency said.

At least 27 people were injured in Jakarta, a health ministry official said.

Local tsunami warnings were issued for coastal areas within several hundred kilometres of the epicentre soon after it struck, but were withdrawn about half an hour later.

Indonesia’s main power, oil and gas, steel, and mining companies with operations in West and Central Java island closest to the quake’s epicentre said they had not been affected and suffered no damage.

Indonesia’s seismology agency put the magnitude at 7.

Indonesia’s seismology agency put the magnitude at 7.

Residents in Jakarta reported buildings shaking, and thousands of people streamed onto the streets of the capital from office and apartment blocks. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a widespread tsunami. “It lasted quite long.

“The chandelier started moving and it started shaking really strong,” said Jakarta resident Victor Chan, who lives in a 34th floor apartment.”

“Everything was shaking and my neighbour shouted ‘quake, quake’,” said Nur Syara, from the 31st floor of the same building. I was really scared and rushed downstairs. I lay down on the floor. “You could hear the walls creaking.”

A witness in Tasikmalaya said several houses collapsed, including the mayor’s office, and a mosque was damaged. I was scared things would collapse.

“We were all studying and the building we were in started shaking for a few minutes and the ceiling fell,” said a man identifying himself as Evan.

“We were all studying and the building we were in started shaking for a few minutes and the ceiling fell,” said a man identifying himself as Evan.

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The four men accused of brutally attacking two young couples during a violent rampage in Auckland’s North Shore have pleaded guilty this afternoon.

Harlem Haynui Kirton, 19, Piri Valli Kirton, 18, Ruamoko Taiapa, 21, and Jono Wilson this afternoon entered guilty pleas on all charges on the second day of their trial at the Auckland District Court.

The four had been accused of aggravated robbery, intent to cause grievous bodily harm, wounding with intent and assault with intent to rob, the NZ Herald reported.

The mother of one of the accused, Kiriana Taiapa, also entered a guilty plea today to being an accessory after the fact.

The charges were related to events that occurred on the North Shore on January 15 last year when two couples were violently attacked. .

She had been accused of trying to dispose of 3 metal bars which were used during the attack.

Ms Taiapa was released on bail.

Ms Mandeno said their first victims were a young Russian couple, Dennis Khotchenko and Valeriya Nesterova, who were parked in a red Mercedes on the roadside near Milford Beach enjoying a beer.

As the trial opened in Auckland District Court yesterday, Crown prosecutor Sarah Mandeno said Harlem Kirton took his girlfriend to see the film American Gangster then met up with his brother and friends and went “cruising the streets of the North Shore, examining for trouble”. He then asked Mr Khotchenko if he had “ever met a real gangster”.

She said Wilson walked up to them, struck up a conversation and asked for a beer. “From there the nightmare unfolded,” Ms Mandeno said. Wilson then hit Mr Khotchenko around the head with a metal bar. The frenzied attack left Mr Khotchenko “dizzy and bloodied”. The frenzied attack left Mr Khotchenko “dizzy and bloodied”. On reaching the shore, she sought help from a resident. She eventually managed to escape by running into the water and swimming across an inlet. This time they attacked Oskar Carroll and Ericka Rancourt as they walked home after a night out.

Ms Mandeno said that two hours later the four men struck again.

. Both were badly hurt and could remember little from the attack, Ms Mandeno said

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LATEST:
Nine people, including five Italian tourists, have been killed after a small plane hit a helicopter over New York and both crashed into the Hudson River, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

He said there were five Italian tourists and a pilot aboard the helicopter and three people on the plane including the pilot and a child. Two bodies had been recovered but there was no hope of finding survivors. “There’s not going to be a happy ending.

“This has changed from a rescue to a recovery mission,” Bloomberg said. Police divers started looking for survivors and wreckage.”

Search and rescue craft had rushed to the area in the vicinity of West 14th Street in Lower Manhattan immediately after the midair collision at noon (0400 NZT). The weather was clear and mild. Police had found one piece of wreckage in murky waters and the search for bodies and debris would probably continue for a few days.

Bloomberg said the plane, a Piper Saratoga, appeared to hit the back of the helicopter, which immediately broke up and fell into the river.

An eyewitness told the NY1 local TV station he saw a wing come off the plane around the time of the collision. . Others reported hearing a loud boom. The helicopter “fell like a stone” into the river, the witness said.

Chunks of debris also fell on the New Jersey side of the river, narrowly missing motorists.

Chunks of debris also fell on the New Jersey side of the river, narrowly missing motorists.

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. All aboard survived

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The Warriors’ NRL playoffs hopes have been finally ended, being outclassed by St George at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium tonight.

Needing to win their final seven matches to have a mathematical chance of making the top eight for the post-season the Warriors were comprehensively beaten 29-4 by a clinical Dragons side that went four points clear at the top of the table with this win.

Having won eight of their last nine matches St George are the form side and are starting to really show the benefits of the tuning from master coach Wayne Bennett.

The Warriors lie 13th in the 16-team championship.

Left wing Brett Morris had a merry time down his touchline, running in two tries to take his season tally to 17 from 16 matches.

They were purring in most departments as they ran in five tries to one, scoring from just their second set of the afternoon and never being in danger.

Nathan Fien, dropped midseason by the Warriors and picked up by St George had a lively time off the bench after Bennett decided against starting him at hooker.

On the other wing veteran crowd pleaser Wendell Sailor had a busy game too while former Kiwi Chase Stanley was always lively with the ball in hand.

To their credit the desperate Warriors continued to give the ball plenty of air but were met by some stern defence from the Dragons. Fien came on at the end of the first quarter and was a menace to his old side around the rucks.

They also couldn’t match the visitors’ off-loading game and the Warriors attack was also guilty of going sideways too often to the frustration of the crowd of 13,500.

The Warriors’ chasing game was disappointing, failing to put enough pressure on St George. Big Manu Vatuvei produced 16 hit-ups but couldn’t break free.

Stacey Jones was in the thick of the action and there was the usual honest game from Michael Luck while Wade McKinnon kept trying to spark things from the back.

But with the Warriors pressing, impressive St George playmaker Jamie Soward hauled in a chip kick and sprinted 95m for a try to reassert their authority.

After leading 18-4 at halftime the Dragons’ standards slipped during a ragged third quarter that was scoreless.

“They did all things very well and they did it for all of the game.

The game petered out from there and the Warriors’ season effectively went with it – a wimpering finish for a side touted as title contenders earlier in the year. . They showed why they are leading the comp,” Warriors captain Steve Price told Sky Sport.

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Job losses are mounting as the Government advised that the country is staring down the barrel of a $50 billion recession.

Inland Revenue staff were told yesterday up to 250 jobs would be axed as government departments are told to tighten their belts and Finance Minister Bill English has issued a stark warning of trade-offs in the May Budget, which will outline a plan to tackle ballooning debt. .

The recession was expected to blow a $50b hole in the economy during the next three years, plunging the Government further into the red as costs climb and tax revenues fall. But tax cuts in 2010 and 2011 would only go ahead if they were affordable, Mr English said.

Labour leader Phil Goff said the Government was softening the public up for a broken promise on tax cuts.

“That’s $50 billion we will not recover as a nation, and $50 billion that cannot be taxed by the Government,” Mr English told a business audience in Auckland.

“I think [Mr English] is making the situation as black as he can in order to justify breaking a promise on tax cuts and slashing services to New Zealanders. The union said the cuts coincided with an increase in workload because of tax changes and KiwiSaver.”

Layoffs at Inland Revenue have alarmed the Public Service Association.

Inland Revenue commissioner Robert Russell said the redundancies among the department’s 6000 staff were voluntary at this stage.

“Our concern is that job cuts in the public service will push workloads to unmanageable levels that will threaten the provision of essential public services like those at Inland Revenue,” national secretary Richard Wagstaff said. Normally it would try to avoid redundancies by applying a sinking lid, but with the economy so uncertain, staff were staying put.

The department, like other businesses, was having to tighten its belt, he said.

“People who used to be very confident about being able to leave a job today and getting a new one tomorrow just don’t have that confidence.

“People who used to be very confident about being able to leave a job today and getting a new one tomorrow just don’t have that confidence.

Ports of Auckland said yesterday that it was cutting 30 jobs. Public service layoffs are expected to accelerate during the next few months as spending is scrutinised by a Cabinet razor gang.

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With no change in policy, debt would reach 70 per cent of gross domestic product by 2023 equivalent to $30,000 for every New Zealander.

Mr English warned that with the economy now in what was likely to be its sixth quarter of recession, and government gross debt set to double in the next three years, the Government had no choice but to bring debt under control or leave the country “especially vulnerable”.

“We will not let that happen.

If left to rise to those levels, it would eventually require “radical steps to bring it under control”.”

– TRACY WATKINS and VERNON SMALL,

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Plastic fantastic, but price tag a drag

By CHARLIE GATES – Thursday, 26 February 2009

KIRK HARGREAVES/
COMFORT STOP: the newly designed lounge for bus passengers at the Christchurch bus exchange.

A $1 million Christchurch bus exchange makeover, including a space-age waiting room, has delighted commuters but some are shocked at the price tag. .
The $1m budget includes the new waiting area, complete with colourful moulded plastic seats, as well as revamping the Colombo St bus stops removing bus shelters and installing new railings and bins.
"I reckon it is really awesome.
Commuter Reremoamarua Diaz, 14, praised the new waiting room, but was amazed at the cost. That is a lot of money though. It is really nice to have more space, because the bus exchange is really full.
Diaz also liked the workbench and stools, presumably installed to allow waiting students to make a start on homework. I reckon it is a bit too much to spend," she said.
"I think it is probably not worth it.
Bethana Hercock, 17, liked the new waiting room, but was surprised at the price. They should spend it on something more worthwhile as most people don't wait here too long," she said. $1 million is a lot of money.
"It seems a crazy thing to spend money on, especially during a recession," she said.
Tasha Bylenok, 18, said it was too much to spend in a time of economic uncertainty.
Real-time bus information is displayed on screens in the new lounge so commuters can wait in comfort rather than on the street.
The new lounge was built in an empty shop and was designed by council architect Crispin Schurr.
However, he said he preferred that to the "absorbent" seating in the old bus exchange.
John Irving, 24, said the glossy seats looked "a bit sterile and wipe down".

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$80m paid out on medical accidents

Tuesday, 03 February 2009

Patients want more protection

Compensation to patients who suffered surgical errors, missed diagnoses and other "treatment injuries" may have topped $80 million last year.
Figures given to The under the Official Information Act show the biggest individual payout of more than $550,000 went to a patient blinded as a result of a treatment injury. Figures were unavailable for the last three months of 2008.
Between January and September, the ACC paid more than $63 million in new and continuing claims an average of $7 million a month.
ACC's director of clinical services, Kevin Morris, said the increasing number of claims did not mean hospital staff, dentists, pharmacists and other health workers were making more mistakes rather, it reflected greater openness. The cost of treatment injuries and medical misadventure has risen more than 250 per cent since 2001, from $26 million for 2643 claims to $69 million for 7235 claims in 2007. "In cases of medical error, there was a tendency for lawyers to get involved, which strung out the process considerably.
In July 2005, ACC replaced "medical misadventure" with the treatment injury category, meaning claimants no longer had to prove an error had been made. "As a result, there are more claims, but we see that as positive."
The average time to settle a claim had dropped from five months to 20 days."
Dr Morris said ACC data was fed back to health providers and professional groups, who now had a clearer picture of where errors occurred and could better prevent them. It's possible that some events were not being disclosed previously but now health professionals are happy to co-operate.
Health and Disability Commissioner Ron Paterson agreed the "no fault" approach was fairer for patients.
Wound infections were the most common injury, followed by allergic reactions, bruising, nerve damage, skin infections, damaged teeth, skin tears, pressure sores and incisional hernias blowouts in the abdominal wall which formed when surgical cuts failed to heal properly."
However, he suspected health workers still hestitated to report incidents that could trigger disciplinary action. "It's not that health professionals wanted to stand in the way of patients getting compensation, but they would fight the claim because they didn't want a black mark beside their name.
"Doctors understand they have to be open and transparent. ."
Wellington lawyer and ACC specialist John Miller said the new system was fairer, but some inequities remained. We're all human and mistakes will always happen, but the only time that the medical profession gets into trouble is when it is less than open.

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BIGGEST PAYOUTS
Biggest individual payouts in 2008
– Blindness $552,435
– Osteomyelitis (bone infection) $483,359
– Adverse drug reaction $452,246
– Paralysis after spinal cord injury $295,485
– Ovarian cancer spread due to delayed diagnosis $206,644
– Stroke $190,910
– Lymphoma spread (delayed diagnosis) $188,215
– Brain haemorrhage $182,026
– Blindness $166,219
Payouts include ongoing medical and rehabilitation costs, as well as compensation paid directly to victim