Two a penny

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A South Australian coroner has again called for a change of furnishings at the Adelaide Remand Centre after a New Zealand man hung himself from a bunk bed with a sheet in his cell.

Delivering his findings on Friday into the death of Marceilo Marstroianni Sciascia, State Coroner Mark Johns reviewed the circumstances that led to the 29-year-old taking his own life, including the screening of the provocative New Zealand film Once Were Warriors the day before his death.

“After all, they were both of Maori descent, they both had problems in abusing alcohol, and they both were physically violent towards their female partners,” Mr Johns said.

Mr Johns said there was some indirect evidence that Mr Sciascia appeared to identify himself with the main character of the film.”

Mr Johns noted that Mr Sciascia, who moved to Australia from Hastings in Hawke’s Bay, had been distressed at being separated from his three children.

“However, it is not possible to draw any conclusion about whether the screening of the film, the day prior to Mr Sciascia’s death by his own hand, had some significant influence upon his decision to take his own life.”

The film, which is rated MA, has a scene in which a young girl hangs herself.

“He may have proceeded to kill himself whether the film had been shown or not.

The court was told Mr Sciascia had been admitted to the Adelaide Remand Centre on April 2, 2007 in relation to domestic violence offences and property damage and was found dead by prison officers on April 29 that year with a sheet wrapped around his neck that was tied to a bunk bed in his cell.

Despite the screening of any film with a rating of MA or above being prohibited in the Adelaide Remand Centre, Mr Johns said he made no criticism of the officer responsible for the “oversight”.

The coroner’s court was told corrections officers had screened Mr Sciascia on his admittance and determined he was not at risk of harming himself despite his having given two affirmative answers.

It was Mr Sciascia’s first time in prison.

“I am empowered to make recommendations that in the opinion of the court might prevent, or reduce the likelihood of, a recurrence of a (similar) event,” he said in his findings.

Mr Johns recommended that the Department for Correctional Services revise the prison stress screening form.”

– AAP

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The swine flu death toll has officially reached six with a seventh likely.

A Northern Regional Health Co-ordination Centre spokeswoman said two people died at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital yesterday.

A woman was confirmed as having had the swine flu A (H1N1) virus.

The second was a suspected case and staff were awaiting lab results. .

The number of confirmed cases of swine flu was 1431, up from 1272 yesterday.

The spokeswoman was unable to say if the second person suffered from any other medical conditions.

Ministry of Health spokesperson Sandy Dawson said the most recent deaths showed how quickly complications could arise.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has announced the eligibility for a free seasonal influenza vaccine has been extended to all New Zealanders, not just those with underlying health problems.

Anyone with existing medical problems who developed flu-like symptoms should be monitored closely, he said.

“The free vaccine is expected to increase community uptake of the influenza vaccine, which is already showing increased uptake on previous years,” the ministry said in a statement.

The free vaccine is available from general practices from now until the end of September.

“The vaccine protects against the strains of influenza expected to prevail this winter.

“While the vaccine will not protect individuals from pandemic (swine) influenza, it is expected to ease the numbers of people who will be seeking treatment for seasonal ills this year as well as reducing the numbers of hospital admissions.”

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Double-murderer John Barlow has been denied parole.

Barlow, who is serving a 14-year jail term for the 1994 murders of father and son businessmen Eugene and Gene Thomas in their central Wellington office, was convicted in a rare third trial.
The November hearing was adjourned to allow for further psychological testing, which the board said indicated he would still pose a risk to the community.
He appeared before the Parole Board on March 31, after first appearing for consideration last November.
However, the board said it did support reintegrative leave for Barlow, saying he was clearly in the reintegrative phase of his sentence.
”We are not prepared to take the risk of releasing him at this time,” the board’s decision read.”
Meanwhile, Barlow is waiting to hear the decision of the Privy Council in London after he lodged an appeal against his conviction in February.
”Release to work and graduated home leaves will be appropriate in a safe planned way at this time.
–

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More New Zealand firefighters head for Victoria

Wellington Monday, 02 March 2009

A second contingent of New Zealand firefighters will fly to Australia on Wednesday to help contain the bushfires in Victoria.
Internal Affairs Minister Richard Worth said the team of 57 firefighters, crew leaders and incident management team members would leave from Whenuapai on an air force Hercules.
They will be deployed until the end of March.
The returning firefighters will come back on a Hercules on Thursday. In the meantime, 16 of the 53 firefighters from the first contingent will stay on for another week. .
National Rural Fire Officer Murray Dudfield said arrangements for the second contingent had been made after a second request for assistance from Australia.
"They will be required to walk into the remote wildfires in forested lands which will involve dry firefighting with hand tools and machinery, along with backburning tasks."
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Witnesses tell of how mum was run down

By JIM KAYES Tuesday, 03 February 2009

Ina courtroom a stone's throw from where Joanne Wang was run over while trying to recover her handbag and the $4000 in it, seven men charged with various roles in her death listened to evidence against them.
Mrs Wang was run over on June 16 last year, after shopping with her son, aged 8.
She died in hospital the next day from her injuries.
The court was told that Christopher Jacob Junior Shadrock had taken Mrs Wang's handbag from her car and tried to reverse out of the car park.
Two witnesses were questioned at a depositions hearing at Manukau District Court yesterday about exactly where they were when Mrs Wang, 39, was run over, how they were positioned in the Manukau Shopping Centre car park, and whether Mrs Wang was in front of the car that ran her down, or to the side.
Two days later, four other men are said to have moved the car Shadrock had been driving and set it alight.
When his path was blocked by a car driven by sales assistant Janice Brown, he accelerated forward, running over Mrs Wang. .
She then described how she saw Mrs Wang run over by the car.
Mrs Brown said she saw Mrs Wang chasing a car through the car park, yelling at the driver as she ran with her hands on the front of the car's bonnet.
Another witness, Fusi Sio, said he had been eating lunch with his father in their van when he heard Mrs Wang's screams. She went to Mrs Wang's aid and described how she saw "blood coming from her ears and the back of her head".
Under cross-examination he later admitted that "he wasn't too sure" whether he had seen the rear wheel go over Mrs Wang.
He also described watching the car hit Mrs Wang and said two wheels drove over her.
Shadrock, 22, is charged with the murder of the 39-year-old mother and South Auckland businesswoman, along with the theft of her handbag and money, and stealing a car.
Shadrock, 22, is charged with the murder of the 39-year-old mother and South Auckland businesswoman, along with the theft of her handbag and money, and stealing a car.
The depositions hearing, before justices of the peace Mark Sinclair and Earle Mead, is expected to finish on Thursday.
Dalton Harris, 22, was charged with theft of the handbag and money, and two unrelated burglaries.

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Women refuse refuge as a result of nearby mosque

By ESTHER HARWARD – Sunday, 01 February 2009

Muslim women are staying away from a domesitc violence crisis centre since a mosque opened next door.
The Auckland Shakti Asian Women's Centre in Onehunga helps women escape violent domestic situations but women are too scared to go because they may be recognised by their husbands or relatives attending the mosque.
Meanwhile, Housing New Zealand Corporation is paying $310 a week $4030 so far for security guards to keep vandals away from the empty building that the women could move into.
The centre has an alternative premises but cannot move in because Auckland City Council has held back planning permission for more than a year.
Women who visited the centre usually did so without telling their husbands, she said.
Centre spokesperson Shila Nair said victims were "really afraid" to go to the centre in Church St, Onehunga in case they were recognised by men worshipping at the Onehunga Islamic Mosque, which is over a boundary fence. We have had instances of women who visited our Women's Centre later accessing our refuge. "If their husbands, in-laws or any other family members or friends were to know that they have visited Shakti, life for them would be even more difficult. Staff tell them what their rights are under New Zealand law."
Most were from Middle Eastern, Africa and Asian countries that don't legislate against domestic violence. Of the calls, half of the women were recommended to visit for counselling, legal advice or training.
The crisis centre took 4800 phone calls last year on a 24 hour nationwide helpline of which 90% were about family violence. .
The housing corporation renovated another building for the women to move to after the mosque bought a building next door from the Jehovah's Witness church. It was not known when the issues would be resolved. Council resource consents team leader Ian Smallburn said the consent was "on hold" as a result of concerns about the impact of parking on neighbours, trees and stormwater.

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The centre opened a decade ago and is the busiest of Shakti's five branches in Auckland, Tauranga and Christchurch, which together they help 6000 women a year escape domestic abuse

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Women refuse refuge as a result of nearby mosque

By ESTHER HARWARD – Sunday, 01 February 2009

Muslim women are staying away from a domesitc violence crisis centre since a mosque opened next door.
The Auckland Shakti Asian Women's Centre in Onehunga helps women escape violent domestic situations but women are too scared to go because they may be recognised by their husbands or relatives attending the mosque.
Meanwhile, Housing New Zealand Corporation is paying $310 a week $4030 so far for security guards to keep vandals away from the empty building that the women could move into.
The centre has an alternative premises but cannot move in because Auckland City Council has held back planning permission for more than a year.
Women who visited the centre usually did so without telling their husbands, she said.
Centre spokesperson Shila Nair said victims were "really afraid" to go to the centre in Church St, Onehunga in case they were recognised by men worshipping at the Onehunga Islamic Mosque, which is over a boundary fence. We have had instances of women who visited our Women's Centre later accessing our refuge. "If their husbands, in-laws or any other family members or friends were to know that they have visited Shakti, life for them would be even more difficult. Staff tell them what their rights are under New Zealand law."
Most were from Middle Eastern, Africa and Asian countries that don't legislate against domestic violence. Of the calls, half of the women were recommended to visit for counselling, legal advice or training.
The crisis centre took 4800 phone calls last year on a 24 hour nationwide helpline of which 90% were about family violence. .
The housing corporation renovated another building for the women to move to after the mosque bought a building next door from the Jehovah's Witness church. It was not known when the issues would be resolved. Council resource consents team leader Ian Smallburn said the consent was "on hold" as a result of concerns about the impact of parking on neighbours, trees and stormwater.

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The centre opened a decade ago and is the busiest of Shakti's five branches in Auckland, Tauranga and Christchurch, which together they help 6000 women a year escape domestic abuse

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Rescue choppers in a spin

Aviation rules ban non-urgent patient transfers

Tuesday, 20 January 2009

Recuehelicopter operators are fighting an industry crackdown that will ban them flying some patients directly to major hospitals.
The operators have warned the move could potentially cost the health service millions of dollars, put added strain on already struggling ambulance services and delay treatment for patients.
But the Civil Aviation Authority says some operators have been flouting the life or death clause, potentially endangering people living close to hospitals.
Single-engined aircraft which covers most of the rescue helicopters landing in Wellington are already officially banned from landing in built-up areas unless it is a life or death emergency.
In Wellington, operators from Palmerston North, Hastings, New Plymouth and Nelson would be unable to land on the hospital's rooftop pad, with Wellington-based Westpac rescue helicopter the only service that flies a twin-engine craft in the area. It has held a meeting with rescue helicopter operators, who have been asked to come up with proof they are operating within the law. While at least half are emergency flights, it is believed a large proportion of the rest are routine transfers. Wellington Hospital gets between 50 and 80 flights a week. "We wouldn't use the helicopter or the aircraft if it wasn't safe, full stop," said Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter Trust pilot Tim Douglas-Clifford.
Operators have labelled the move "ridiculous" and say single-engine helicopters are safe."
It would mean more work for ambulance services, which would be used to pick up patients from airports or approved landing spots. "It doesn't make much difference to the operator but it makes a big difference to the patient. That pricetag would have to be picked up by the health system and donations. The alternative upgrading to twin-engine craft, which can land in congested areas would cost about $2 million for each helicopter. Any life-threatening case is exempt from the rule.
Civil Aviation rules state single-engine helicopters cannot land in a built-up area in case the engine fails and they injure people on the ground. "It will have a huge effect on the industry, there's no doubt about that.
Helilink chief pilot Alan Deal said the industry had to work with the CAA to solve the problem."
CAA's rotary wing unit manager, John Fogden, said operators had been using the life-threatening clause when they should not be to land at hospitals. It will mean that we have to find places to land, like airfields for instance, and that will create a huge ambulance logistics problem. .
The CAA called a meeting at Wellington Hospital before Christmas to inform local operators they would need to prove they were following the rules."
Westpac rescue helicopter spokesman Dave Greenberg said he thought CAA had been very reasonable.
"We'd like them to operate safely because we're underneath them, but we'd also like them to continue saving lives.

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Archaeologists uncover 700-year-old Maori home

By ALEX VAN WEL – Thursday, 15 January 2009

Alex van wel
DIGGING UP PAST: Archaeology masters student Jean Spinks sifts stone flakes on the Wairau Bar.

Otago University archaeologists have identified what they believe to be the site of a 700-year-old dwelling on the Wairau Bar in Marlborough.
A deal between local iwi Rangitane, the museum and Otago University means scientists have been allowed back for the first time in almost half a decade.
The find comes as part of a re-interment project for Maori bones excavated decades ago by Canterbury Museum.
Team leader Richard Walter believed it might have been the home of a professional adze-maker.
At the dig yesterday, the main focus was a mound of earth known by Rangitane as Mohua, where the remains of a house had been uncovered."
The Wairau Bar is considered one of New Zealand's prime archaeological sites. . Bones and artefacts uncovered at the site in the 1940s and 1950s provided the first direct link with the islands of East Polynesia. A thin slice of land separating a lagoon from the open sea just east of Blenheim, it was settled about AD1300. "What we are finding now is evidence of the structures, the layout; we are beginning to uncover the plans of the village itself.
Walter said the team had already gained a fuller picture of the site's original inhabitants.

Graves from the area were dug up in the 1940s and 1950s and the koiwi (human remains) were taken to Canterbury Museum."
Walter is leading a large group of scientists and researchers who have been at the site since last week.
The archaeological team is on the site to prepare for the reburial of the koiwi and do fresh scientific research. Rangitane had campaigned for the return of the bones of their ancestors' bones, which were expected to be repatriated in April.

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Search resumes for missing Kiwis

By ADRIENNE BOURGEON – Friday, 28 November 2008

Supplied
ON BOARD: Air New Zealand engineer Noel Marsh (left), captain Brian Horrell (centre) and engineer Michael Gyles, all believed to have been killed in the crash.

AFP
RECOVERY: Rescuers recover the body of the one crew member recovered from the sea.

AFP
Rescuers at work in the recovery of the victims of the Airbus A320 crash off the coast of France.

THE AVIATION HERALD
AIRLINER DOWN: The approximate position of the crashed Air New Zealand Airbus A320 jet.

Photo 5 of 5

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Air NZ crash update

Key offers support

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: Air NZ boss takes questions

: Air NZ crash

Eyewitness account

Airbus A320 ‘reliable’

List of New Zealand air crashes

A huge team is now lookingfor the missing crew members of an Air New Zealand airbus that crashed off the coast of France.

HORROR SMASH: An Air New Zealand A320 – seen here in a file pic – has crashed in Southern France.
An aeroplane and a helicopter will also assist in the search.
More than 150 people are involved in the wider search and rescue group and a minesweeper has been deployed to search the ocean floor for the aircraft's black box.
Unfortunately the weather in France has deteriorated, with the wind gusting 50km/h and a heavy swell off the coast, according to the head of Civil Security at the Prefecture in Perpignan, Jean Dunyach.
Air New Zealand group general manager international Ed Sims said from Auckland tonight that five boats were on the water at daylight local time and as many as 60 divers entered the water.
Rescue staff were feeling very emotional, as it was a serious accident but they were all working together, he said.
The priority was to locate the five remaining bodies and the “black box” trapped in the wrecked aircraft, still submerged 40 meters under water, he told by telephone.
They are: Noel Marsh, a 35-year-old engineer based in Christchurch; Captain Brian Horrell, 52,of Auckland; Murray White,37, engineer, ofAuckland;Michael Gyles,49, engineer,of Christchurch; and Jeremy Cook, a Civil Aviation Authority inspector on the flight.
Earlier today officials released the names of the Kiwis presumed dead after the crash.45am (NZ time) today.
Seven people – including two German pilots – were onboard the Air New Zealand Airbus A320 when it crashed into the Mediterranean, just off Perpignan in southeast France, about 4.
An aviation enthusiast said on a website that the Airbus didn't send out a mayday before the crash, but that a close toby airplane reported the plane crashing as it plunged into the ocean. It had beenon a test flight – involving several manoeuvres – ahead of a return to New Zealand. All seven crew were presumed dead. .
"The CAA will continue to provide Jeremy's wife, family and friends with support now and in the future.
In a statement released this evening,the acting Director of Civil Aviation, Graeme Harris, said allauthority staff members were shocked and saddened by the accident.
"Jeremy is a popular engineer, respected and liked by all in the aviation industry. The CAA extends its deepest sympathy to the family and friends to all those missing in this accident."
Mr Cookjoined the Civil Aviation Authority as an Airworthiness Inspector in April 2005."
Mr Cookjoined the Civil Aviation Authority as an Airworthiness Inspector in April 2005. A Licensed Maintenance Engineer with an extensive background in aircraft maintenance, his career included time with Air Niugini in Papua New Guinea, Ansett New Zealand, and with the Christchurch Engine Centre.
Earlier in the day,a choked up Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfetold a press conference this afternoon thathe had spoken to the partners of each of the missing men.
"This is an unbelievably difficult time for the families of those who are missing. I conveyed to them my deepest sympathies and those of all Air New Zealanders as we await further information on their loved ones.
"I was also able to reassure them that Air New Zealand is receiving the full support of the New Zealand Government and the Search and Rescue authorities in France and we are confident that everything is being done to locate those still missing."
While Air New Zealand still held out hope for survivors, rescuers had told them they had grave concerns for those on board, he said.
"It's very difficult for them as they wait for information on their loved ones. My heart goes out to them. They're dealing with the situation with amazing dignity and strength," Mr Fyfe said.
He said Air New Zealand would spare no expense in supporting the families.
Fyfe, who said today was the toughest of his career,will travel to France later today with the family of at least one of the Kiwi victims. Other families are considering their options.
The deputy chief investigator of the Transport Air Investigation Commission, Ken Mathews, will head to the crash site to support the French investigation. Two officials from the NZ Embassy in Paris are also en route.
The airline has asked the media to respect the families' privacy and a security guard has been placed outside the Gyles' home in the Christchurch hill suburb of Cashmere.
CRASH WITNESS
The plane was seen flying low over the French Mediterranean shortly before the crash. It had taken off from Perpignan Airport and had reportedly carried out a touch-and-go landing beforeheading for Frankfurt, Germany, when it plunged into the sea.
Lydie Benedicte, who works on the information desk at Perpignan Airport, told ABC radio that the plane had dipped down into the sea very quickly.
"The aircraft crashed direct,'' she told the station. "It's not far from the airport. That's why the aircraft was not very high in the sky … that's why a lot of people saw the crash close to the coast of Cannes.''
Better weather is forecast for Friday (French time), and although some searchers were quite shocked by what had happened they were only too happy to lend assistance, Dunyach said.
"There was no explosion, it was flying (at) 300m and suddenly fell down into the sea, but no explosion."
There were many witnesses, and emergency services were quickly at the scene.
Some wreckage was floating on the surface, but the pieces were "very difficult to find as a result of the big waves and the dark".
SOMBRE MOOD
The mood at Air New Zealand and CAA headquarters in Wellington was sombre today, as staff waited for news from France.
The aircraft was owned by Air New Zealand and had been on lease to German charter company XL Airways for the past two years. It was four years old when delivered and had flown for Freedom Air for about a year before being leased.
Fyfe said it was being flown to Frankfurt, where it was due to be handed back for a ferry flight to New Zealand this week.
"Naturally, this is an extremely difficult time for us all and the full resources of the airline are being put into investigating what may have happened and providing support to our people and their families," he said.
Fyfe said Air New Zealand was drawing on the experiences of other airlines that had been in similar situations before.
The Air New Zealand pilot on the flight was a very experienced captain, "which is typically what we want when we are going through one of these acceptance processes. We have our most experienced people ensuring the aircraft is up to Air New Zealand standards".
Several staff were waiting in Frankfurt, Germany, to take over the aircraft on its flight back to New Zealand.
The crash comes 29 years to the day that an Air New Zealand DC10 crashed into Mt Erebus, killing all 257 passengers and crew.
Mr Fyfe said that today was already very poignant for Air New Zealand as a result of the Erebus tragedy, and the anniversary added a new dimension to the tragedy.
AIRBUS
The jet had been undergoing servicing at EAS Industries in Perpignan and flying circuits for 90 minutes before it crashed, an emergency services spokesman said.
Six French aviation accident investigators and two from Germany were being sent to help an inquiry with experts from the French civil aviation authority (DGAC) and Airbus.
Airbus said it delivered the jet in July 2005 and it had carried out 2800 flights with about 7000 hours of use since then. The constructor gave no details of the accident.
There are about 3700 A320 jets in service with almost 3000 more to be delivered. Air New Zealand own two Airbus aircraft, and lease 10.
Their average age is four years, and they seat about 150 passengers.
– With staff reporters, and agencies