Get other Patricia Cornwell here Get other Patricia Cornwell here Dr. Kay Scarpetta freelancing with the National Forensic Academy in Florida takes charge of a case that stretches from steamy Florida to snowbound Boston. The teasing psychological clues lead Scarpetta and her team to suspect that they are hunting someone with a cunning and malevolent mind.
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A survey has found New Zealanders are suffering “green fatigue” through constant warnings of an approaching environmental armageddon.
Researchers questioned 1000 people and in their findings noted: “We know global warming is a problem.”
While 97 percent said they were doing their bit for the planet, only 3 percent claimed to be “totally committed”. But incessantly remind us that we’ll ruin a perfectly good planet if we don’t half-flush, ride to work, or recycle and – guess what – there’s a real danger we’ll just zone out.
More than two thirds said they resented having to sort rubbish for recycling and only 24 percent felt bad about using the wrong bins.
The vast majority used plastic bags (with 23 percent getting a rebellious thrill from the practice), took long showers and drove gas guzzling cars when they could have walked or taken a bus or a train.
While men appeared to be less concerned about the environment, one woman’s comment summed up the mood of many respondents.
Readers Digest, which commissioned the survey, spoke with an advertising executive who said “Green” was a “damaged brand” and media saturation had led to “green fatigue”.”
Green Party MP Catherine Delahunty agreed people could easily become “burnt out with a sense of catastrophe and powerlessness”.
“I’d like not to be made to feel guilty for making my life easier.
“If people feel blamed they go into denial and if we can get out of denial and start realising that people have power it can be a very positive and rewarding thing.
“I think inspiration rather than blame is what encourages people to feel they can make a difference and care for the planet,” she told .
“I think it’s really hard sometimes to make the connection between ‘the arctic’s melting’ and ‘my shower heads need to be different’.”
She said the scale of the problem, combined with the environmental disasters depicted in the media could make the issue hard for the average person to relate to.”
Ms Delahunty’s interview with was cut short when the connection was lost after the train she was travelling on entered a tunnel.
“But we need to make changes easy for people.
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Police have identified a man, believed to have been dead at least 17 years, 21 months after his body was found in West Auckland bush.
He was Lino Leger, formerly of Mt Roskill, Detective Sergeant Roger Small of Waitakere police said tonight.Four pig hunters in the Waitakere ranges discovered Mr Leger’s body a few hundred metres into bush from Scenic Drive and less than 1km from the Arataki visitor’s centre in February last year.”Our inquiries reveal no suspicious circumstances surrounding the man’s death.Police believed his body had been at the site since 1987-1992, Mr Small said.”A facial reconstruction by Dr Jonathan Christiansen played a major role in identifying Mr Leger, Mr Small said.”Our appeal to the public for help in identifying the body coupled with forensic evidence recovered has enabled police to return Mr Leger to his family, and bring closure to a 22-year mystery.After extensive media coverage of the images , a flurry of friends and family contacted police to say they recognised Mr Leger immediately, he said.”I’m immensely satisfied that this missing persons file has achieved final closure. .”
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Christchurch police are hunting for a woman’s husband after another man was killed and she was left with serious injuries.
A woman was taken from her home in Burrows Place, Avonhead to Christchurch hospital last night with serious injuries and is in a stable condition.
Police were called to the Burrows Place house two weeks ago to break up an argument between the former couple, Radio New Zealand reported.
Detective Inspector Greg Williams says the woman and her two children, all of Kenyan descent, moved to the address four weeks ago after she separated from her husband.
The dead man was a friend of the woman, who has severe head injuries.
They were again called to the address after there were concerns from friends who had not heard from her or her husband.
Inquiries have been made to find her husband and it appears he left New Zealand on Sunday morning and travelled to Kenya.
Police said they knew who the dead man was, but he was yet to be officially identified. .
Police said they are working with Interpol, but New Zealand has no extradition treaty with Kenya.”
The woman’s two sons, aged 13 and 9, were dropped at a friend’s house on Saturday afternoon by their father.
“There are indications that the husband may be involved.
The body is still at the house and the post mortem is expected to be carried out either later today or tomorrow.
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Market vendors and a pet food abattoir in Auckland are under investigation by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority after a television news investigation alleged horse meat was being sold illegally for human consumption.
The abattoir was approved to process horse meat as pet food only, but TVNZ’s Close Up found its products were being sold by some Otahuhu and Mangere market vendors, who were apparently telling people it was okay to eat. One product on sale was loi hoosi, a Tongan dish which features horse meat.
However, the footage from TVNZ revealed the market vendors had been telling customers that the horse meat was actually fit to be eaten by humans – which Mr Allen said was misrepresentation, and breaking the law.
The markets had come under investigation two months ago and it was found the horse meat was correctly labelled as being unfit for human consumption, NZFSA director of compliance and investigation Geoff Allen said. .
“What we couldn’t really do was listen in on the conversations, what the people that were selling this stuff were saying to the customers.”
Mr Allen said the meat sold by the abattoir was acceptable to be used for pet food, but humans consuming it would be same as putting 95 octane petrol into an aeroplane.”
The NZFSA expected to receive the footage from TVNZ today before the beginning the investigation.
“They’re both petrol, but the aviation gas is produced to a much greater, more exacting set of standards.
“Because we hold the view that there are food safety issues here and people could be hurt or damaged or made sick by this, we would classify this as one of our priorities.
Mr Allen said while it was not yet known how long the investigation would take, it would be a matter of some urgency.”
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Kelvin Meredith thought he’d be “looking at dead people” when he saw two cars that had been bombarded by rocks in a landslip near Rotorua today.
Instead he found three people very much alive and played a key role in their rescue.30am on State Highway 36 between Tauranga and Rotorua, about 20km northeast of Rotorua.The slip happened about 8.Mr Meredith told Campbell Live he and a colleague dragged the woman from the car which had gone off the road out through a window.Large rocks and boulders buried one car and forced another off the road and down a bank towards a river. .”Then we went back up the top and tried to make the other people as comfortable as possible,” he said. The car was pretty squashed.”We just thought they had no hope.”The driver of the vehicle forced off the road suffered minor injuries, while the passenger and driver of the other vehicle also suffered minor injuries.”We pretty much thought they were toast but I smashed the window and they were pretty good, really.They were all taken to Rotorua Hospital for checks before being released. -
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The Labour Party intends to lay a complaint with the privacy commissioner against Social Development Minister Paula Bennett for releasing income details of two beneficiaries.
Ms Bennett released the income details of solo mothers Jennifer Johnston and Natasha Fuller after they publicly criticised the Government’s decision to scrap the training incentive allowance (TIA).Justifying the unusual action – government ministers seldom comment on individual cases – Ms Bennett said she did it to round up a one-sided story. Ms Fuller received $715 net a week and Ms Johnston $554, Ms Bennett’s office said.”I think most New Zealanders will see that actually they’ve been given a real fair go. She felt the women were misleading the public by releasing “selective information”.
”I think it was a very rude thing for her to do,” Ms Johnston said.”
But one of the woman, Jennifer Johnston, said Ms Bennett was trying to intimidate her by releasing details of the welfare she receives.”
Ms Johnston said she was very grateful for the $553.
”She’s targeted me in this way and insinuated in her statements to the press that I have misled and withheld information for my own ends.
”I think the whole point of this was to intimidate us out of exercising our democratic right to protest the Government’s decision,” she said on Radio New Zealand.95 a week she received but it was not enough to live on and fund a tertiary education as well. By all means make it recoverable, make it a loan, let us pay it back or increase the amount that we can apply to StudyLink for.
”I’m not asking for a hand out.
She was also upset by the minister’s actions.”
Natasha Fuller said she had been ”doing really well” and had intended becoming a teacher before her training allowance was cut. I thought we had privacy laws in New Zealand,” she said on One News.
”I couldn’t believe someone could actually do that.Ms Bennett based her decision on guidelines on the Privacy Commission website but in Parliament she revealed she not sought legal or officials’ advice.
Ms Bennett said while she had not sought the women’s permission she felt they had taken the matter public by talking to the news media and writing on the internet.Labour Party MP Charles Chauvel said he would lay a complaint.Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff, in response to media queries, said ministers and departments needed to consider the Privacy Act when they released personal information.”When an issue is raised publicly, it will often require the minister to make a careful judgment about how far he or she can go in response,” Ms Shroff said.Ms Shroff did not say whether she believed a breach had occurred, but would consider any complaint made. .Another consideration was whether disclosing the information directly related to the purposes for which the information was obtained.Prime Minister John Key told reporters he was “comfortable” with the women’s information being released and accepted Ms Bennett’s justification.Labour has accused Ms Bennett of using bullying Muldoon-style tactics to silence welfare policy critics.Labour deputy leader Annette King said beneficiaries had the same rights as others and the women’s concerns about training were unrelated to benefits to help them raise their kids.Facing questioning from Mr Chauvel in Parliament, Ms Bennett said she had not sought any advice other than checking the website.Mr Chauvel said it was disturbing Ms Bennett had not done that before releasing personal information which he said was invasive and unnecessary.”The minister’s decision was clearly not taken in good faith and I believe it breaches several of the Information Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act.”Even the most basic taking of advice from officials or a lawyer would have made this clear to the minister.”Mr Chauvel said Ms Bennett’s actions were “an attempt to intimidate and silence people who are disappointed the minister has allowed access to the Training Incentive Allowance for sole parents – which she herself used – to be severely curtailed”.He questioned her judgement.Mr Chauvel, in Parliament, also suggested Ms Bennett may have got her facts wrong about what benefits the women got, asking her if she checked information provided about payments under the Child Support Act was right.Ms Bennett said she had relied on her ministry.”I can’t present information that I do not have.”Ms Bennett confirmed she had received the TIA when a beneficiary.”I have never made a secret of the fact I have been on and off the benefit and that I did receive the TIA.”What I can tell those people who are looking at tertiary study is that it’s not going to be easy but if they back themselves, and this Government is backing them as well, then they can get off the benefit. They may even end up a cabinet minister.” -
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The Auckland housing market has emerged from its hibernation as sellers are forced to accept lower prices, the city’s leading real estate firm says.
Barfoot and Thompson – which sells around one in three houses in the Auckland market – says it sold 924 homes in March, the most number of houses sold by the firm in 20 months.
Sales are up 65.2 percent from the same period last year. . When this year’s sales are compared to March 2007, sales are down 36 percent.
However, March 2008 was something of an aberration, seeing the fewest sales for that month in more than a decade.
Meanwhile, sellers have had to accept lower prices, with the average sales price in March down 4. Compared to March 2008, prices were down 5.1 percent from February to $491,780.
Barfoot and Thompson managing director Peter Thompson said March’s surge in sales was the combined result of a spike in sales traditionally seen in March, falls in the Official Cash Rate, bank mortgage rates falling to new lows and tax cuts.8 percent, where the average sale price was $522,336.
He said the firm sold close toly 300 more homes in March than in any month in the whole of 2008.
“Buyers may be sensing that market prices are close to the bottom of the cycle and have made the decision to act,” said Thompson.
“At the same time sellers are accepting that a price that is on average only 6 percent below values being achieved 12 months ago is realistic in the current market, and are ready to accept.
“At the same time sellers are accepting that a price that is on average only 6 percent below values being achieved 12 months ago is realistic in the current market, and are ready to accept.
He said while it was too early to call a bottom, and sales levels were still historically low, this month’s data from Barfoot shows the first encouraging signs of traction from lower interest rates.2 percent year-on-year surge in sales in March is the highest since November 2007. Still, falling average prices suggests softer prices and lower interest rates are combining forces to bring buyers and sellers together,” said Eaqub.
“This is a positive sign that lower interest rates are beginning to work, enticing buyers back into the market.
Thompson noted the increased level of interest in auctions, with 65 to 70 percent of all sales in March attributed to auctions.
However, he warned there remained considerable uncertainty around the durability of a property market uplift, as job losses had yet to hit the economy and local and global economic conditions remained challenging.
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March’s surge in sales, along with a 1398 new listings, have trimmed the company’s existing stock of unsold houses down to 6416 listings, the lowest number in 13 months
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Violent crime in New Zealand continues to rise, largely driven by increasing family violence.
According to the crime figures for 2008, released by New Zealand Police today, violent crime rose by 5.2 percent last year compared with a 12.
Assistant police commissioner Grant Nicholls said the overall increase was driven by recorded family violence, which increased by 12.3 percent increase in 2007. .4 percent in the year.5 percent increase in recorded family violence in 2007 after the roll-out of mandatory training for all frontline police staff in family violence investigation and risk assessment.5 percent), Waikato (11.
The greatest increases were Eastern (14.7 percent).8 percent), Southern (10 percent) and Canterbury (9.
Across the region there were 1,200 less crimes in total recorded.
But in the Auckland region, which accounts for a third of all crime in the country, the streets are marginally safer. That means every day last year three less people were affected by crime than in 2007. That means every day last year three less people were affected by crime than in 2007. Amidst the welter of statistics released by the police, one way of looking at the figures is how many crimes occur for every 10,000 people.
However, that’s an improvement on last year.7 per cent improvement) with only Waitemata doing worse than last year with a 1.
There were decreases in Auckland city (down by five per cent) and Counties Manukau (a 1.
In other words in Waitemata, which covers Waitakere and North Shore, your chance of becoming a victim of crime is less than one in 10.1 per cent increase, but it is still the safest of the three Auckland police districts with just 760 people in every 10,000 being hit by crime.
Waitemata saw a drop in violent offences by 1.
Among the serious end of crime, violent offences including homicides, grievous assaults and robbery, Auckland is also faring better than the national average.
Even in where violence increased, it was below the national average of 5.1 per cent. In Auckland the rise in violence was 0. In Auckland the rise in violence was 0.4 per cent or just 19 more crimes, and Counties Manukau saw a rise of 4.1 per cent of 361 crimes – just shy of one extra violent crime a day in 2008.
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There were 109 homicides last year, compared with 88 in 2007, and 13 recorded family violence murders in 2008 compared with 15 in 2007, 16 in 2006, and a peak of 29 in 2005.
The homicide category includes attempted murder, illegal abortions, infanticide, accessory after the fact, aiding suicide and manslaughter.
“Any violent death is one too many as far as police are concerned,” Mr Nicholls said.
Total recorded crime rose 1.2 percent last year, in line with New Zealand’s population growth over the same period.
There were 431,381 offences committed in 2008, compared with 426,380 in 2007.
Six districts recorded increases in crime, while six experienced a fall.
Auckland City recorded the biggest decrease, with 4 percent fewer offences last year.
Police were pleased that the national rate for solving crime was the best it has been in a decade, at 46.7 percent.
Resolution rates for violence continued to rise, with 81.8 percent offences resolved.
Sexual offending rose by 3.3 percent last year and continued to make up less than 1 percent of recorded crime.
However, issues of under-reporting of sex crimes remained, Mr Nicholls said.
Drugs and anti-social offences increased 4.2 percent, mostly on the back of a rise in recorded cannabis offences.
Offences for drugs involving amphetamines, ecstasy and fantasy-type substances continued to decline, down 4.6 percent in 2008.
House burglaries were up 4.3 percent, with only Waikato and Northland districts recording decreases.
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About 35 police and fisheries officers busted a black market fishing ring worth tens of thousands of dollars
in Southland.
The operation involved two commercial fishermen allegedly supplying blue cod, rock lobster and oysters to associates, who then on-sold the seafood illegally to the wider community.
The men had been under serious surveillance for the last six months before earlier today’s raids of about eight Southland houses, whose occupants had allegedly received stolen fish, Ministry of Fisheries district compliance manager Reece Murphy told .
“We’re talking high value species.
He could not put a dollar value on the scam but said it would have been in the tens of thousands of dollars. .”
The investigation was in its early stages and a decision about what charges the men would face would be made over the next week, Mr Murphy said.
They could also have to forfeit their fishing gear, including boats.
“Unfortunately there continues to be those amongst the general public who are willing to buy cheap but illegal fish.
Mr Murphy said continued black market activity could place the sustainability of fish stocks in jeopardy.
“If you’re offered cheap fish and it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
“It is these buyers that create the market for illegal fish sellers to operate.
“Anyone who now on reflection believes that they may have unwittingly bought suspect rock lobster, blue cod or oysters recently is encouraged to contact the Ministry of Fisheries Invercargill office before fishery officers have to contact them.”
Fishery officers would be contacting a number of people who had been buying the illegal fish, he said.”
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