Two a penny

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LATEST:
Deputy Prime Minister Bill English has announced he will not receive any more taxpayer-funding housing allowances.

The finance minister this afternoon confirmed actions he had taken with the aim of putting the “unnecessary distraction” of the row over his housing expenses behind him.

His announcement comes ahead of an informal meeting scheduled with the Auditor-General’s office this evening to discuss an investigation into his housing allowances claim.

* Had not received any housing allowance payments since July 28.

Mr English said he:

* Would no longer receive a housing allowance.

* Had received a legal opinion from Stephen Kos, QC, that changes made to his family trust arrangements did not affect his eligibility for the housing allowance.

* Had repaid all housing allowance payments received since last November’s election to Ministerial Services.

“What I’m announcing today reflects a set of personal decisions I have made about my own situation,” Mr English said.

“At all times my decisions have been driven by my desire to keep my family together and provide them with as much stability as possible.

“It is in no way setting a precedent for others although I make the point here that I believe Parliament does have to think how it can accommodate the families of long-term politicians.”

A TV One poll showed that voters felt the issue was denting Mr English’s credibility. It’s now clear that the system has struggled to deal with my circumstances.

The Deputy Prime Minister considers the Southland town of Dipton, in his electorate, to be his primary residence under parliamentary rules, but his family has lived in, and owned, a house in Wellington for years.

Asked if the issue had damaged his credibility, 62 percent said yes and 27 percent no; asked if Mr English has acted with integrity, 54 percent said no and 30 percent yes.

He came under fire when it was revealed he was now claiming a much higher allowance to stay in the Wellington house than when he lived there as an opposition MP.

He came under fire when it was revealed he was now claiming a much higher allowance to stay in the Wellington house than when he lived there as an opposition MP.

Today, a spokesman for Mr English said the Auditor-General’s office wrote to the minister after receiving the complaint.

Auditor-General Lyn Provost has asked for more information before deciding whether to investigate a complaint by Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton into the matter.

He will meet with a team from the office tonight for informal talks which will not form part of the inquiry, the spokesman said.

They said “feel free” to get in touch and Mr English has done that. .

Mr English will be informed about what the Auditor-General’s office is doing

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An energy drinks company has denied organising a publicity stunt that resulted in three New Zealand soldiers being sent home in disgrace from Afghanistan.

They were photographed posing with a large bomb carrying an advert for Demon energy drinks and were sent home for breaching operational security.

One photo showed a Demon energy drink sticker with the slogan “no limits, no laws” attached to the bomb suspended from a plane, with the soldiers standing around it.

The men took the photos and sent them to the drink company.

A decision was made to send the soldiers home immediately after the incident, which went against clear guidance given to all military personnel on operations, Joint Forces commander Air Vice Marshal Peter Stockwell said yesterday.

Another showed a handwritten message, “dear Taliban enjoy this demon”, on the side of the bomb. .

Demon Drinks company said today that the soldiers were not involved in any kind of commercial sponsorship agreement.”

The soldiers were not directly asked to take part in any kind of promotion.

“Demon Drinks has no understanding of army procedures, so did not know this would cause an issue.

“Often we ask for photos of people drinking the product in return.

The company said it donated products and did sampling all over the country every day.”

The company regretted what had happened to the soldiers, and had expressed that to them personally several weeks ago. In no way was this a publicity stunt.

“Demon Drinks was acting in good faith to help NZ troops and we wanted to show our support for them.

“If we had realised that this was going to be the outcome we would never have provided free drinks.”

AVM Stockwell said two of the soldiers had been found to have contravened the Armed Forces Discipline Act and were formally reprimanded. It is very unfortunate the way this has panned out for the soldiers and we will do everything we can to help these soldiers if their careers are in jeopardy.

Green Party MP Keith Locke, who previously criticised the soldiers’ actions, said sending them home was an appropriate punishment.

“Irrespective of the investigation into whether the acts contravened military law, the NZDF sets and expects very high levels of professionalism and behaviour from its people – this is especially the case in an operational theatre where the protection of information is vital to the overall security of New Zealand interests and activities,” he said.

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A Christchurch City Council proposal to buy the ‘house of horrors’ where two bodies were found last Friday has been welcomed by the owner of the adjoining house, who says the offer has ‘lifted a huge weight’ off him.

The Christchurch house may be bought by the city council because no-one would want to live there, Mayor Bob Parker says.

“Nobody can go back and live there or, in the short term, would even want to consider being in that place,” he said.

In an announcement that surprised some councillors, Parker said that after watching the removal of one of the bodies on TV on Monday night, he believed the “only resolution” was for the council to buy the Aranui house and the adjoining home on the property.

Jason Hall said today Mr Parker’s proposal was a huge weight off his mind.

The Hall family, who lived in the other side of the semi-detached house have stayed in alternate accommodation, paid for by police, since the discovery of the bodies and have said they would never return to their home. .

“It felt like someone had lifted a car off of my back, the relief.” he told Radio New Zealand. .”

Parker said there was a “significant danger” the building would be attacked.

“There’s still all the horror of what’s actually happened there and that’s not gonna go away in a hurry at all.

One was an occupant of the house and the other is believed to be that of a neighbour, Tisha Lowry, who disappeared a year ago.

The bodies of two women were found buried under the floor of the two-storey Wainoni Rd home last Friday.

Police say he is likely to face a second murder charge when he reappears in the Christchurch District Court on Friday.

A 33-year-old man, who is listed with his wife as the home’s owners, has been charged with his wife’s murder.

“We need to cross that bridge when we get to it.

Parker was not aware the accused man co-owned the property and could not say whether that would stop a possible purchase.

“If it works out and we have a willing seller, then I think the council will be a willing buyer. The property itself is currently the scene of an investigation and we don’t know how long that will last,” he said.

“For the community to be able to climb back up from the shock of this event, there has to be a role for them in creating a positive outcome on that site,” he said.”

The community would decide the future of the site, Parker said, with options including a memorial park or a community support facility. For the city as a whole, we need to move on.

“There are lots of good people who are deeply hurt in the area at the moment and there needs to be a way that we can heal this for the sake of that community.

“We don’t want someone resolving this by themselves and potentially destroying the house in some way because that puts others in the community at risk.

“We don’t want someone resolving this by themselves and potentially destroying the house in some way because that puts others in the community at risk. .

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LATEST:
A man has been arrested after allegedly chasing a car with a replica pistol in the Wellington suburb of Island Bay.

Acting Senior Sergeant Corey Watts said the man, who gave himself up last night after police set up a cordon around his house, had been charged with presenting a firearm.

Police were called to Island Bay after 10pm yesterday after receiving calls that a man was seen running down a road after a car armed with a pistol.50pm.

Mr Watts said police then cordoned off a property in Eden St around 10.

Mr Watts said police had determined the firearm was an air pistol, and that it had been used to fire plastic BB pellets in the early stages of the incident. .

Though the Armed Offenders Squad was initially called out, officers were not deployed. We treated it very seriously,” Mr Watts said.

“It’s pretty provocative running down the street with one of those in your hand.

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It was a reunion of reunions.

Twelve Apollo astronauts reminisced, traded stories and poked fun at each other Friday night as the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing and moonwalk approached.

The crowd of hundreds at the National Museum of the United States Air Force erupted in cheers when a video chronicling the space program replayed Armstrong’s famous first words after stepping on the moon July 20, 1969: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

The astronauts, including first moonmen Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, attended the ceremony in which the National Aviation Hall of Fame presented the Apollo crews with the “Spirit of Flight” award for their courage and dedication. “Any time you go to a place where everything you see is different than anything you’ve ever seen before in your life, it’s unique and it’s memorable.”

“It was spectacular,” Armstrong recalled of gazing at the moon’s surface as he took those first steps.”

However, Armstrong said he and Aldrin had little time to savor the experience. And that certainly was.

Armstrong said he had been a backup on Apollo 8 and that when he wasn’t needed was asked if he wanted to be on the third mission down the line — what turned out to be the fateful Apollo 11 mission.

“We didn’t rest hardly five seconds when we got a message from Mission Control, saying get on with the next item,” Armstrong said.

“We knew we had a chance at landing, but it was by no means certain,” he said. He said it was difficult to predict the exact mission of succeeding flights.

Astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, also flew in the flight preceding Armstrong’s.

As they sat together on the stage, the astronauts joked and bantered with each other.

“Everyone knew Neil could land on the moon, but we didn’t have a lot of confidence Neil could find it,” Cernan quipped. He joked that his job was to paint a white line to the moon that Apollo 11 could follow.

But the first lunar landing was a serious matter for the astronauts and those in mission control.

“I’ve been listening to that for 40 years, and this is not the time to change my position,” Armstrong shot back, drawing laughs from the crowd.

“I can’t say it was panic, but it was a lot of attention to detail in mission control,” said Charles Duke, who was at mission control at the time. When the designated landing zone proved to be too rocky, Armstrong had to burn fuel from a diminishing supply to find a suitable place to touch down.” When there were only 30 seconds of fuel left, “it got dead silent. .”

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It was a reunion of reunions.

Twelve Apollo astronauts reminisced, traded stories and poked fun at each other Friday night as the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing and moonwalk approached.

The crowd of hundreds at the National Museum of the United States Air Force erupted in cheers when a video chronicling the space program replayed Armstrong’s famous first words after stepping on the moon July 20, 1969: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

The astronauts, including first moonmen Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, attended the ceremony in which the National Aviation Hall of Fame presented the Apollo crews with the “Spirit of Flight” award for their courage and dedication. “Any time you go to a place where everything you see is different than anything you’ve ever seen before in your life, it’s unique and it’s memorable.”

“It was spectacular,” Armstrong recalled of gazing at the moon’s surface as he took those first steps.”

However, Armstrong said he and Aldrin had little time to savor the experience. And that certainly was.

Armstrong said he had been a backup on Apollo 8 and that when he wasn’t needed was asked if he wanted to be on the third mission down the line — what turned out to be the fateful Apollo 11 mission.

“We didn’t rest hardly five seconds when we got a message from Mission Control, saying get on with the next item,” Armstrong said.

“We knew we had a chance at landing, but it was by no means certain,” he said. He said it was difficult to predict the exact mission of succeeding flights.

Astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, also flew in the flight preceding Armstrong’s.

As they sat together on the stage, the astronauts joked and bantered with each other.

“Everyone knew Neil could land on the moon, but we didn’t have a lot of confidence Neil could find it,” Cernan quipped. He joked that his job was to paint a white line to the moon that Apollo 11 could follow.

But the first lunar landing was a serious matter for the astronauts and those in mission control.

“I’ve been listening to that for 40 years, and this is not the time to change my position,” Armstrong shot back, drawing laughs from the crowd.

“I can’t say it was panic, but it was a lot of attention to detail in mission control,” said Charles Duke, who was at mission control at the time. When the designated landing zone proved to be too rocky, Armstrong had to burn fuel from a diminishing supply to find a suitable place to touch down.” When there were only 30 seconds of fuel left, “it got dead silent. .”

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Freezing weather moving across the country looks set to continue resulting in major disruption on South Island roads today.

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In Otago, State Highway 8 between Omarama and Tarras, and between Alexandra and Roxburgh, and SH6 between Haast and Makarora were closed due to snow, while in Canterbury, snow had closed State Highway 80 close to Mt Cook.

Also closed due to snow were SH85 from Omakau to Alexandra, SH6 from Cromwell to Queenstown, and the Lindis Pass. Further north, SH65 from SH6 to Springs Junction was also closed.5cm expected over the next day.

The MetService said that snow showers are expected on Arthurs and Porters passes this morning above about 700 metres with around 1.

State Highway 94 had two warnings in place since yesterday morning – between Mossburn and Te Anau as a result of ice on the road, and between Te Anau and Milford due to snow, the Automobile Association said.

Between three and five centimetres of snow are forecast above 500 metres between Lake Gunn and the Homer Tunnel on Milford Rd during the day.

Snow warnings were also in place last night on SH73 between Springfield and Arthur’s Pass and between Arthur’s Pass and Otira.

A snow warning was also in place on Crown Range between Wanaka and Arrow Junction since midday yesterday.

A Queenstown police spokeswoman said it was the first time in years she had heard of snow forcing the closure of the Kawarau Gorge.

The Kawarau Gorge (SH6) between Queenstown and Cromwell had been closed temporarily but re-opened early this morning.

The MetService warned of snowfall on a number of Canterbury and Otago roads.

Motorists were reported to have become stuck in heavy snow in some areas and police were urging others to be aware of closures and warnings. .

The MetService said two to three centimetres of snow could fall to 800 metres on Lewis Pass, and five to eight centimetres on Arthur’s Pass down to 700 metres, between midnight and 6am this morning.

In the North Island the Desert Road is closed, with conditions set to remain treacherous with snow showers forecast to turn to rain this morning before clearing by about midday.

At Lindis Pass, up to eight centimetres of snow had been expected to fall down to 400 metres in the 15 hours from midnight, easing this afternoon.

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SCHOOLS CLOSED

Meanwhile, the treacherous road conditions have led to the closure of several schools in Central Otago today

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Judge puts boot into boot camps

Friday, 27 February 2009

The traditional "boot camp" for young offenders was "arguably the least successful sentence in the Western world", the principal Youth Court judge says.
"It made them healthier, fitter, faster, but they were still burglars, just harder to catch, " Judge Andrew Becroft said.
"It was a spectacular, tragic, flawed, failure," he said.
He said physical programmes backed up by mentoring and family support could work, but New Zealand's corrective training camps, which ran up till 2002, found 92 per cent of young attendees reoffended within a year.
Judge Becroft made it clear he was not commenting on government policy, but said any debate on the merits of a so-called "boot camp" must be clear on what was being discussed. .
Kim Workman, of Reducing Crime and Punishment, said American experience showed that when the military-style "short, sharp, shock" approach was combined with mentoring and after-care, it still made no difference at all.
An outdoor, physically challenging programme run by quality instructors, combined with intense family therapy, drug and alcohol counselling, education and other support could be beneficial.
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett agreed the old boot camps lacked the necessary follow-up support to work.
A physical programme based on a therapeutic model could be beneficial, he said, and there were already a handful of outdoor-based programmes in the country that were working well.
"At no point are we going to throw them in there, get them fit, beat them around a little bit and send them back on the street, that's just not it at all.
But the Government's proposed military-style activity camps would be followed by six to nine months of intensive mentoring, she said.
Ms Bennett agreed the proposal was contentious and welcomed healthy public debate."
Ms Bennett has said the three-month camps for the country's 40 most dangerous young offenders would use army-type facilities and training methods to teach self-discipline, personal responsibility and community values as well as literacy, numeracy and drug and alcohol support.
The policy is a favourite of Prime Minister John Key, who raised it in his state of the nation speech last year, talking about the "1000 ticking time bombs" of youth offenders on the streets. She said she had been congratulated by police and army personnel who strongly support the scheme. He said the Defence Force would need support to deal with the highest-risk youths, and more skilled clinical psychologists and social workers were needed.
Auckland University psychologist Ian Lambie agreed boot camps alone would not work but could be effective with long-term follow-up. "There's no specialist training in child and adolescent psychology in New Zealand and it's a gap.
"At the end of the day, we've got an inadequate workforce," he said."

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editor departs

The Wednesday, 25 February 2009

/The
DEPARTING EDITOR: Tim Pankhurst has been editor of The since 2002. He is leaving to become chief executive of the Newspaper Publishers’ Association.
Mr Pankhurst, 54, has been editor of The since shortly after its founding in 2002.

editor Tim Pankhurst is leaving the newspaper after seven years to become chief executive of the Newspaper Publishers' Association.
His 14-year tenure running those four titles made him New Zealand's longest-serving daily editor.
He previously edited The Evening Post, and the . .
In his new role – which he will take up in mid-April – he will represent the newspaper industry, andmanage the New Zealand Press Association () and the National Advertising Bureau (NAB).
"His work on stories such as the Louise Nicholas investigation and The 's work last year on funding questions around NZ First have had a significant impact on New Zealand society.
"Tim is an exceptional editor and with The in particular has carved out a reputation second to none in New Zealand," she said.
"We did not want Tim to leave his post with Fairfax but we accept his decision to take on this significant role with the industry body and we look forward to working with him in that capacity. They are among the most significant newspaper investigations of the past 20 years and are testament to Tim's skill and courage as an editor.
"Tim will leave a legacy of strong journalism and deep community relationships at The ."
general manager Paul Elenio said the hunt for Mr Pankhurst's successor as editor would begin immediately."

. We are looking for a superb editor to take the paper forward to future success

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Babies stillborn as signs missed

Wednesday, 25 February 2009

Twobabies stillborn in public hospitals had their heart readings misread by midwives – one of whom admitted responsibility and left the profession, the health and disability commissioner has found.
The babies died in separate incidents of complications during induced deliveries in 2007.
Both mothers were overdue and the midwives decided to admit the women to hospital to induce the births.
One woman gave birth to a stillborn baby, while the other mother was sent home, only to return the next day and give birth to a stillborn child. In both cases, the midwives failed to pick up signs of distress from heart-monitoring equipment.
"I am devastated that I observed the .
The midwife in the first case admitted having misread the readings to commissioner Ron Paterson's inquiry.. monitor through the day and failed to identify the seriousness of the readings," she said..
"I felt responsible and accountable for my actions, which I believe contributed to this tragedy.
A midwife with nearly 40 years' experience, she stopped practising after the baby's death. . I cannot begin to express my personal sadness and grief for [the parents] and their family and friends. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the report highlighted confusion over referral procedures when self-employed midwives brought their patients to hospitals. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists said the report highlighted confusion over referral procedures when self-employed midwives brought their patients to hospitals.
"[We will work with] related maternity professional bodies to improve the referral guidelines and communication so women and their families can be assured of teamwork between maternity practitioners to ensure safe care," Dr Gibson said. While midwives could use public hospitals, there were no consistent care standards or guidelines over co-operation with hospital staff, she said.
In his report, Mr Paterson said the ministry review was "a step in the right direction".
The midwives concerned had been referred to the Midwifery Council of New Zealand for possible disciplinary action, New Zealand College of Midwives adviser Norma Campbell said.
"That belief is illusory if there are barriers (including fraught relationships) to [midwives] communicating important information to fellow health professionals who may be called to assist.
"Women in New Zealand believe that a safety net is in place if they choose to deliver their baby in a public hospital."