Two a penny

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Some ACC programmes, including one targeted at preventing very elderly people suffering falls, were cut because they were not cost effective, ACC Minister Nick Smith says.

The decision to cut funding for the Otago Exercise Programme targeted at 80-year-olds and over was made earlier this month.

Under the programme, physiotherapists or trained nurses visited 80-year-olds and over (or 65-year-old and older if Maori or Polynesian) in their homes six times during a year, teaching leg strengthening and balance retraining exercises.

Otago Medical School’s Professor John Campbell at the time said the programme’s benefits were just beginning to be felt, but the number of ACC claims for falls in the area had already dropped.

The programme was targeted at those most likely to have a fall. Phone contact was maintained in between visits.

The programmes that were cut were those that were not cost efficient, he said. .

“Playing bowls, getting active, all those sorts of things.

“I think there are all sorts of things that older New Zealanders should be doing,” Dr Smith said. But I think it’s a long stretch for an organisation that’s in financial trouble to be funding some of those programmes, especially when their cost effectiveness is being questioned by the board.”

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A defiant Maori Television Service (MTS) says it won’t withdraw its bid for free-to-air Rugby World Cup broadcast rights despite the Government backing a rival bid by TVNZ.

In a bizarre twist, the taxpayer-funded networks are competing for the local broadcast rights to 16 world cup games.The MTS bid is backed by Te Puni Kokiri, the Ministry of Maori Development, which has put up $3 million.TVNZ followed at the last minute with a consortium bid involving privately-owned TV3, backed by the Government.Maori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples supports it and didn’t tell his Cabinet colleagues before the bid went in.Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman said TVNZ asked for a level playing field.Cabinet will have to sign off funds, likely to be $3m-$4m, if the TVNZ bid succeeds.”You can do the sums – you can see it’s going to be a reasonable amount of money.”It was a reaction by some iwi to say to us ‘you’ve been done and we should help you’,” he told reporters.”Dr Sharples, clearly angry about the way the situation developed, said iwi were offering money to boost the MTS bid.He said he was “extremely concerned” about allegations that the TVNZ bid was developed with access to confidential information about the MTS bid, which indicated the tender process had been compromised.MTS chief executive Jim Mather said last night the Government’s decision amounted to an attempt to defeat MTS and was “extremely disappointing”.”What is the rationale for this, and why is funding for TVNZ now deemed to be appropriate use of government funds?”Mr Mather said MTS had addressed Government concerns that its signal did not reach 10 percent of the population by modifying its bid to allow for the sub-licensing of some games.”The TPK support has been labelled inappropriate use of government funding, yet now the Government is providing more funds to beat the Maori Television bid,” he said.”It is our understanding that Prime Minister John Key was happy with this arrangement.”It is our understanding that Prime Minister John Key was happy with this arrangement.

FREE TO AIR GAMES

Sixteen Rugby World Cup games will be live free-to-air no matter whether the TVNZ-TV3 or Maori Television (MTS) wins the right to screen them.Broadcasting spokesperson Brendon Burns said the Government’s belated intervention would simply line the pockets of the International Rugby Board as it played off two state-funded bids.TVNZ and TV3 would screen six games each, and MTS could screen all 16.Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman yesterday spelled out what would be available if the TVNZ’s consortium bid won.TVNZ and TV3′s games would include two All Blacks’ pool games each.All three would be able to screen the final, semis and third and fourth playoff.If MTS won the bid it has agreed to subcontract to the other broadcasters. .

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A review of pathology services in Auckland will be carried out to see what can be learned from problems during a change over in providers, Health Minister Tony Ryall says.

But first the problems need to be fixed.

Ten per cent of the services will be handed back to Diagnostic Medlab (DML), the provider that lost the multi-million dollar contract to rival Labtests, it was announced today.

The arrangement would last four years and comes after much criticism over Labtests’ performance.

DML will start before the end of the month.

It should take pressure off Labtests, he said.

Mr Ryall said the arrangement would help fix the problem but it would still be “some time before things were fully remedied”.

The problems with services were unacceptable and not “what we were promised in Auckland”. .

Aucklanders were promised a quality laboratory service which has not been delivered, he said.

“Right now, I don’t want people looking in the rear-vision mirror I want them focused on the urgent issue of fixing this.

The main focus now was “putting every effort in making sure this gets fixed” and the review would follow that, Mr Ryall said.

Labtests is owned by Australian company Healthscope.

“There will be a focused review at the end of this to uncover the learnings for the health sector so something like this can never be repeated,” Mr Ryall told reporters.

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The mother of murdered schoolgirl Marie Davis will ‘always feel anger, hatred and bitterness towards’ her killer Dean Cameron who has been sentenced to a minimum of 19 years in prison.

Cameron, 39, was found guilty of raping and murdering the 15-year-old Papanui High School pupil on April 6 last year. In the days following Marie’s disappearance, people – including Cameron – put up missing posters around Christchurch, while police launched an investigation. He was also sentenced earlier today to serve a minimum of 10 years for rape.

“I cannot understand why it had to happen.

Marie’s mother, Janet Davis, said in a victim impact statement that she read out in court earlier today that Cameron had “destroyed her family for no good reason”. I will always feel anger, hatred and bitterness towards Dean Cameron. It’s just an utter waste of her life.

Justice Lester Chisholm said Cameron’s apparent lack of remorse for Marie or Marie’s family was “despicable”.”

Davis’s life was “empty” without her daughter, she told the court.

“This current offence occurred only nine months after you had been released from prison in relation to the sexual violation of your former partner.

Aggravating features of the case included previous convictions, including a sexual violation against his former partner.

“It doesn’t take me to say that offending of this type against a young victim strikes at the very heart of our community.”

The community, along with Marie’s family, had “agonised” from Marie’s initial disappearance, then shared “unbridled anger” at her murder.”

On April 14, eight days after Marie’s disappearance, two young dirt-bikers found bedding snagged on a log on the northern banks of the Waimakariri River. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare. .After an extensive land and water search, her body was found three days later on a braided section of the river, 5 kilometres downstream from where the bedding was found.The court was told Cameron, who had practised martial arts since childhood, knew how to use the hold. The Crown said Marie was most likely killed by a neck compression hold, known as the carotid hold or sleeper hold.

. On June 11 2009 a High Court jury in Christchurch found Cameron guilty of rape and murder

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Smoke alarm alerts Avonside family

Tuesday, 28 October 2008

KIRK HARGREAVES/
THANKFUL: Matthew, left, nine, Kristee, 11, and Hannah, nine, amid ruined ruined household items. A smoke alarm alerted their household to a fire in the roof of their Avonside home in the early hours of yesterday.

A new smoke-alarm battery fitted at the weekend has helped save the lives of seven people in a Christchurch house.
The seven people in the house, including four children, were woken about 4.
An Avonside mother said she had the alarm to thank for protecting her four children after an electrical fault caused a fire in their ceiling early yesterday.
A new battery had been put in the alarm on Saturday.30am by the alarm in the hallway and rushed out of the house. .
"It's a good lesson for people who think it can't happen to them," he said."
Fire Service station officer Paul Rodwell said the fire demonstrated the necessity for smoke alarms."
Father Stuart said the priority was to get the children out of the house. "It (the fire) was caused by an electrical fault in the roof of the house, so by the time they woke up the whole roof was ablaze. "Once they were out of the house we could start worrying about everything else. "It was just a case of grabbing the kids out of bed," he said."
Ally said she grabbed their nine-month-old baby while Stuart woke the others."
Ally said she grabbed their nine-month-old baby while Stuart woke the others. "You're stupid not to, you really are.
The family agreed smoke alarms were essential. "It easily could have been a hundred times worse. The cost of a house and a life against a smoke alarm is really nothing," Stuart said.

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The fire caused extensive damage, but most of the family's possessions were saved

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Parliament will sit again on Sept 23 – Clark

Monday, 08 September 2008

Parliament is set to have a final session beginning on September 23, Prime Minister Helen Clark said today.
There has been some speculation that this week's sitting of Parliament could be the last before the election, but Miss Clark said today that was not her plan. .
"It is our intention to be back on the 23rd (of September). we are certainly not intending this to be our last week," Miss Clark said. .
Confirmation Parliament would convene for a last scheduled session all but ruled out an election being held on October 18, unless Miss Clark wanted to have a short formal election campaign of less than four weeks
This Parliament will expire on October 6 and an election must be held by November 15.
She would not say how long the final session of Parliament would last and Miss Clark said she had "no news" to share when asked about the election date.
Most people are picking November 8 as election day.
Dissolving this Parliament before that time and setting the election date is entirely the choice of Miss Clark.
This still has to complete its committee stage and it is expected to be given its third reading on Wednesday.
This week the Government is planning to pass the centrepiece of its climate change policy – the emission trading scheme bill (ETS).
Miss Clark has given few hints on her thinking about election dates and how long Parliament will sit for.
Miss Clark also confirmed today that the Government would be adopting the Greens' Waste Minimisation Bill to ensure it passed before Parliament wound up.
Some have speculated that the political storm surrounding New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters might destabilise the Government.
Miss Clark was most likely to prefer a longer formal election campaign in the hope she can trip up National leader John Key and eat into his party's lead in political popularity.

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Miss Clark was relying on NZ First and the Greens to pass the ETS, and so far there has been no sign of Mr Peters threatening to withdraw support, or Miss Clark passing her judgment on his position