Two a penny

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Trampers who were missing in Rimutaka Forest Park have made it out safely.

Police had been considering a search for the group after they failed to return from an overnight tramp to the Ongaonga River yesterday.

A police patrol met them about 3. No one was injured, according to a police statement.30 pm. “They made the right decision to wait for the river level to go down before crossing it. .”

Earlier, a police spokeswoman said one of the trampers had been in contact with their family.

They had managed to cross the river and were making their way out. The family member had said the party was safe and well.

The group, all aged in their 20s, started on the three-hour tramp on Saturday. A police patrol had been dispatched to meet them and the group were expected home before nightfall.

The group had planned to stay at the Shamrock hut.

Acting Senior Sergeant Steve Braybrook said the conditions were bad last night with heavy rain, which would have prevented the group leaving the valley.

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A Queenstown commercial pilot had to chase his light plane, with passengers on board, after it began speeding towards the runway without a pilot at the controls.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is investigating the incident involving a Cessna 207, owned by Milford Sounds Scenic Flights, getting “out of control” at Queenstown Airport last month.

“During that time the aircraft took off by itself,” Mr Mathews said.

Commission deputy chief investigator Ken Mathews said the pilot got out of the aircraft when the engine wouldn’t start and used his hands to get the propeller moving.

It did not go on to the main runway or disrupt flights.

The pilot managed to get into the aircraft while it was moving and control it before any harm was done, Mr Mathews said.”

The Milford Sounds Scenic Flights aircraft was scheduled to fly to Milford Sound when it began moving without its pilot.

“But there were other aircraft about, so it wasn’t a good thing.

There was a person in the cockpit, but it was unclear what their role or qualifications were, he said. .

Milford Sounds Scenic Flights director Mark Quickfall said the pilot was stood down after the incident and safety procedures improved to ensure aircraft did not set off without their pilots.

The aircraft could carry up to six passengers but it was unclear how many passengers were in the Cessna at the time of the incident, Mr Mathews said. “Our report to the (Civil Aviation Authority) included actions to prevent this happening again.

“It was a serious incident and error of judgment by the pilot,” he said. He declined to comment further on the incident until the investigations had been completed.” The company reported the incident immediately to the Civil Aviation Authority, Mr Quickfall said.

The commission had not provided a completion date for its investigation.

Queenstown Airport chief executive Steve Sanderson said he was aware of the incident but would not comment.

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A Waikato woman has found her Irish husband’s body in a Laos river three days after he went missing in a tragic end to their Asian honeymoon.

Michael O’Sullivan, 39, a publican, got into difficulty after a river “tubing” ride with his wife Ilana James 29, and 18 other holidaymakers.They had planned to renew their vows in the presence of Mrs O’Sullivan’s mother in New Zealand.Mr O’Sullivan and Ms James, from Raglan, had been enjoying a belated honeymoon backpacking around Asia after marrying last November, the Evening Herald in Dublin reported.But the river had swollen dangerously because of the rainy season, and locals had to use ropes and sticks to rescue them.Last Thursday, the pair went on the “tubing adventure” on the Nam Xong river in Vang Vieng, in the north of Laos, described by backpackers’ guide Lonely Planet as “one of the rites of passage of the Indochina backpacking circuit”. He was not wearing a lifejacket. .For three days she hired boats and scoured the river banks looking for her husband and she was among a search party that found his body yesterday.Ms James insisted on being part of the search team that combed the river.The couple met in England.Ms James suffered a further blow when she was mugged on the way back to her hotel during the search.They had already visited India, Malaysia and Thailand after heading off backpacking in June. They were married last year and moved to Ireland.

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Dunedin’s mayor and city MP Pete Hodgson want the controversial Undie 500 rally out of Dunedin for good.

The rally once more descended into chaos last night, with Dunedin police forced to wear riot gear and use pepper spray to disperse student mobs. .The annual Undie 500 event, organised by Canterbury University engineering students, involves a pub crawl from Christchurch to Dunedin, in cars worth under $500.The 70 officers took about two hours to disperse the students.Hodgson, who represents Dunedin North, told Radio New Zealand it’s time to put a stop to the event. This is the third consecutive year the rally has led to disorder.Mayor Peter Chin said the Undie 500 isn’t welcome in Dunedin, and suggested the Canterbury students trash their own city instead, RNZ reported.Last year’s official Undie 500 was cancelled after rioting in the city resulted in 69 arrests the previous year.The event has previously caused headaches for Dunedin police left to control riotous behaviour at the end of the trip.Most of last night’s action centred in the three blocks around Castle Street, with mobs setting furniture and piles of rubbish on fire in Castle and Leith streets, Dunedin Area Commander Inspector Dave Campbell said.However, an unofficial version of the event still ran and 30 arrests were made after another round of disorder.Flying bottles hit two or three other people, who had to be taken away by ambulance for treatment.One officer was hit in the head and knocked down with a hurled bottle, and would have been seriously injured if not for his helmet, he said.Mr Campbell said there would be a boosted police presence this weekend and anyone arrested would gain a criminal record, due to a no-diversion policy.Mr Campbell said there would be a boosted police presence this weekend and anyone arrested would gain a criminal record, due to a no-diversion policy.They faced a variety of charges, ranging from disorderly behaviour and breaching the liquor ban to wilfully setting fire to property.Most of those arrested were Otago University students, Mr Campbell said.”We are happy we have been able to stabilise the crowd without exerting our authority too much,” he told the Otago Daily Times.The officer in charge of the police response, Inspector Alistair Dickie, said they had chosen to take a softer approach this year and were relatively pleased with how things turned out last night. We are pleased at the moment.”We could have sparked something here.”

. Hopefully, I don’t eat my words

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The Government does not appear to be concerned about the reopening of an inquiry into one of its MPs.

The inquiry, involving list MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi over immigration allegations, is back on after police were provided with fresh information.

There have also been allegations swirling around about attempts to silence witnesses.

Mr Bakshi has denied allegations he accepted money for false job offers to bolster Indian immigrant applications.

“There have been allegations around for a while, it’s my understanding that the Department of Immigration has been looking into those and they should follow the proper processes.

“As far as I understand, he’s quite clear he hasn’t done anything he shouldn’t have done,” Acting Prime Minister Bill English told reporters today.

It has now provided police with further information on the allegations after interviewing a new informant, The New Zealand Herald reported.”

Immigration New Zealand started an inquiry last year but closed it in March as a result of a lack of evidence.

Police said they were looking at the role of former immigration consultant Darshan Singh Bains, who took job offers from Mr Bakshi and gave them to Indians to use as part of their applications to migrate to New Zealand.

The service also provided police with a sworn statement, obtained by Labour MP Pete Hodgson from another new informant, which said complainants were encouraged by people in India to drop the matter; “because he was going to be the first Sikh MP in New Zealand”. .

“Police are currently assessing that Immigration NZ information to determine criminal liability,” police said.

In Parliament today Mr Hodgson read an affidavit sworn by Darshan Singh Saran, a resident of the Punjab and a friend of Kuldip Singh, the man who says he paid for a job offer for his wife.

Mr Bakshi has been away from work after a heart bypass operation but is expected back soon.

It recorded how “influential people” urged Kuldip Singh not to speak out against the MP.

The affidavit said the money was paid to Darshan Singh Bains, and Kuldip Singh’s attempts to recover it failed because the immigration consultant had disappeared.

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Executives at Air New Zealand are to act as cabin crew for the airline’s subsidiary, Zeal 320 Ltd, during next week’s planned strike action on trans-Tasman and Pacific routes.

Talks between the airline and the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) are continuing.
But the EPMU said it did not believe the airline had staff available to replace striking cabin crew.
Air New Zealand told Radio New Zealand it had 100 fully qualified staff, including top executives who have volunteered to keep planes flying over the Easter period.
Air New Zealand’s group general manager of short-haul airlines, Bruce Parton, said senior staff, including Glen Sowry, who is heading the negotiations, will act as crew on the Zeal 320 flights. .
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Mr Parton said the airline may consider sacking and replacing the 250 Zeal cabin crew if the industrial action is drawn out

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Moa poo shows birds ate tiny herbs

Thursday, 15 January 2009

A study of fossilised moa droppings has found the giant birds had a surprising appetite for tiny herbs.
The findings, from preserved poop which lay in caves and rock shelters for thousands of years, have overturned notions that moa browsed only on trees and bushes.
"It shows they were grazers as well," said Otago University graduate Jamie Wood."
Another surprising discovery was that a currently threatened native herb, ceratocephala pungens,was once common.
"Some of these herbs were just two or three centimetres high, but you have these giant birds eating them. It's made us wonder if maybe the plant becoming endangered has something to do with the birds that were spreading its seeds becoming extinct.
"We found its seeds all over the place."
Wood, who next week starts work for Landcare Research, is studying moa droppings with Alan Cooper, director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA. .
They examined leaf fragments, plant seeds, and DNA from more than 1500 faecal fossils known as coprolites.

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Axe bandit hits Wgtn service stations

By CLIO FRANCIS – Wednesday, 14 January 2009

Supplied
BRAZEN ROBBERY: Wellington Police said the early morning robberies at a Shell station in Newtown and a Caltex station in Miramar, left staff traumatised and the offender with less than $300 cash.

A brazen robber with a tomahawk axe strapped to his waist struck two service stations in Wellington today.
Acting Detective sergeant Andrew Compton said in both cases the lone robber lifted up his shirt to expose what the victims thought was a tomahawk axe placed across his waist.
Wellington Police said the early morning robberies at a Shell station in Newtown and a Caltex station in Miramar, left staff traumatised and the offender with less than $300 cash.
The first robbery occurred around 5.
He said police were sure images taken from security cameras at the petrol stations would help find the person responsible.
Later, at 8.20 this morning at a Shell station on Constable Road, Newtown, he said.
He said that at both petrol stations the man demanded the contents of the till, and left with small sums of cash.45am, the man walked into the Caltex Station in Broadway, close to Wellington Airport. The victims said he wore a black beanie over his face with a black cap on top.
The robber is described as being dark skinned, possibly Fijian, in his mid 20's. .
He was dressed in a red t-shirt with a long sleeved grey jacket and was wearing baggy jeans.

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Cradle to early grave

Tuesday, 06 January 2009

More than350 children and young people whose safety or welfare had been brought to Child, Youth and Family's attention have died since 2000.
Children's commissioner Cindy Kiro says many of the deaths were preventable.
Some died from suicide, abuse, assaults by parents or caregivers, neglect and shootings.
Last year, Dr Kiro carried out a review of the deathsand she criticised CYF social workers for not focusing enough on at-risk children. Most died from natural causes, medical complications or accidents, including vehicle crashes, fires, falls and drownings.
Dr Kiro said she was frustrated by the significant number of preventable child deaths through violence, neglect, injury or suicide.The review found "gaps" in information provided to her office and triggered a new focus on neglect by parents and caregivers.
Though CYF had dealt with some issues identified in her review, it needed to do more to protect high-risk children it was notified about.. "I want to see more impetus and focus . because that's where I think we can save the lives of a lot more children.."
Figures in Dr Kiro's 2008 annual report show her office was notified by CYF of 86 deaths last financial year alone a large increase on the previous year.
"It's immensely frustrating and it makes me feel sometimes angry that we can't and don't do more.
A further 271 deaths were reported between 2000 and 2007.
A further 271 deaths were reported between 2000 and 2007.
"We know about them, but it might just be a phone call that's made about a kid who's driving fast down the road," a spokesman said. .
About 50 children have died since 2000 while in CYF care, four from violence or abuse.
Numerous children referred to its care had pre-existing medical conditions. She would work with Dr Kiro on child advocacy issues.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett refused to comment on the numbers, saying only that any child's death was tragic.
She said children notified to CYF were dying from the same causes as other children but were a higher-risk group.
Dr Kiro's review last year criticised CYF social-worker practices, and found "significant issues around supervision and chronic neglect" by some parents and caregivers, especially in cot death cases."
Generally when childrendied through deliberate violence or neglect, most were aged under five, not known to CYF officials and from families with intergenerational abuse. "So there's going to be an increased proportion of them who will die from physical assault, injury or other violence categories.
The number of reported cases of potential child abuse jumped from 40,939 notifications in 2004 to 89,461 last year.
The number of reported cases of potential child abuse jumped from 40,939 notifications in 2004 to 89,461 last year.
CYF said it was "symptomatic of an increase of public awareness and a growing intolerance of child abuse in society".

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Key unveils redundancy package

Around $160-a-week for families, redundancies could hit 70,000

Monday, 15 December 2008

A $50 million package to ease the burden on families affected by redundancy has been unveiled by the Government as it steels itself for as many as 70,000 people to lose their jobs as the effects of a global economic down turn bite.
Prime Minister John Key confirmed today the Government's re-start package would be backdated to November 8, the date of the election, and would provide short-term help for up to 16 weeks to low and moderate income families with children, and to people with high housing costs, who lost their jobs through redundancy.
* Up to $100-a-week extra for those who qualify for the maximum accommodation supplement after redundancy.
The package includes:
* A payment for families with children and who are no longer eligible for the In-Work Tax Credit, of $60-a-week for families with up to three children and $15-a-week for each extra child.
People made redundant between November 8 and today would have until January 15 to apply for assistance.
* Employment and job services.
Payments would start January 1. Those made redundant after today would have 20 working days to apply from the date they are laid off.
The government was committed to supporting "hard working New Zealanders who are unfortunate enough to be made redundant and need help meeting their commitments while they look for another job", he said.
Mr Key said the package fulfilled National's promise during the election campaign to help ease the country through an economic downturn.
Their costings are based on as many as 70,000 people needing assistance in those circumstances – but officials stressed that those figures were an extreme and "worst case" scenario and they were not expecting any where that number of people to be affected by redundancy.
Officials say the package provides assistance only for those affected by redundancy – workers who lose their jobs in other circumstances are not eligible.