Two a penny

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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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LATEST:
Police say they believe the death of toddler Aisling Symes, whose body was found last night in a drain on a West Auckland property, is a case of misadventure.

The two year old’s body was discovered in the drain last night and finally removed at 1.

Inquiry head Inspector Gary Davey earlier today confirmed the body found was that of Aisling.30am today.5m underground.

She was found 36 metres away from a manhole into the drain and 1.

The decision to re-check the drain, made at the weekend, was as a result of “other areas of the inquiry going nowhere”, he said. Concrete cutters and a digger were required to open the drain up and retrieve the body.”

However police would still keep an open mindto thepossibility of foul play.

Mr Davey said: “I believe it is more likely than not she was there from the start and it is a case of misadventure.

Mr Davey said a manhole into the drain was seen to be 8 to 10 centimetres ajar on the night Aisling disappeared.

Mr Davey said part of the police inquiry would be to establish how Aisling got into the drain.”

He said it had been raining that night with water sluicing down the drain.

However he said: “I’m sure we would not have been able to save her on the night.”

Police put their heart and soul into the hunt for the toddler, Mr Davey said.

“It would have been impossible for her to turn around if she was crawling.”

The family are distraught.

“I’m personally deeply saddened with the discovery of Aisling’s body, I truly hoped we would be able to find her alive and bring her home for the family. I know it is going to be a tough few days,” Mr Davey said. .

DRAINPIPE SEARCHES

The drainpipe where the body was found was searched up to five times before her body was discovered.

The small solace was that theywere able to grieve with the body of Aisling. The officer estimated he could see five metres either direction, Mr Davey said.

A police officer searched it twice on the night, including climbing two metres down into the drain and shining a torch up and down the drain, calling Aisling’s name with no response.

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The 80,000 Auckland bus passengers who have been finding other ways to get to work were joined by more than 9000 school pupils today, threatening to turn the roads into crowded chaos.

The wage row between the 900 drivers and their employer NZ Bus has kept most Auckland buses off the road since last Thursday.

Travellers had coped by switching to trains, buses provided by other companies, car pooled or brought their own cars.

The union issued a work-to-rule notice but the company said that was strike action and locked the drivers out of their depots.

An offer by the drivers to drive pupils for no pay was rejected by the company as “at best misguided and is at worst mischievous”.

But today with pupils returning after the school holidays, many of the buses used for public services last week were switched back to school routes.

Frustrated passengers have been told to go to the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) website maxx.

Pay talks at the weekend failed to resolve the claim by drivers.nz for alternatives.co.

She said the daily subsidy of $160,000 paid to NZ Bus had been suspended while the buses were not running.

ARTA spokeswoman Sharon Hunter said it had scraped together a skeleton bus service and the trains into the city were packed.

Most of the alternative services were insisting on cash rather than pre-paid tickets.

NZ Bus provides the bulk of public transport into and out of Auckland and around the city during the day but other operators, including Ritchies, Howick and Eastern, were expected to operate as normal.

Bus passengers should be patient, Ms Hunter said.

Some passengers said last week the alternative services offered a better ride on more comfortable buses, with music and a friendly atmosphere.

Union spokesperson Karl Andersen said they could not understand why NZ Bus turned down a “bona fide offer” to drive the students at no charge.

The industrial row has been going for five months but reached a head last week. That was caused by the company lockout of its staff.

He said the work-to-rule notice would have meant minimum, disruption and would not have stopped buses taking children to school.

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An international student who stabbed his teacher in the back during class has been jailed for 18 months and ordered to pay $10,000 to his victim.

Tae Won Chung, 18, knifed his Japanese teacher, David Warren, as he wrote on a whiteboard at Auckland’s Avondale College on March 3. Warren was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.

At Auckland District Court today, Judge Roderick Joyce said Chung’s attack on his teacher had been “gravely reckless and could have proved lethal.

The Korean student pleaded guilty to one charge of injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in May this year.

He spoke of “deep knife wounds to my back which caused damage to my spine.”

A packed courtroom heard a dramatic account of the incident from Mr Warren who said he suffered to this day.”

Mr Warren, who walks with a visible limp, said he spent six weeks in hospital after the attack and still had much pain.”

The student’s father, Ki Chang Chung, said he had difficulty finding words to apologise for what his son did.

He told the court of the lasting image of Chung “standing straddled across me in the class with his bloody knife. .

“When I sent my son to New Zealand I was full of dreams but I stand here today as a result of his unacceptable, extreme behaviour.

“As a parent I am really depressed and sad because his future is unsafe”.”

He asked Judge Joyce for leniency considering his son’s young age.

Chung’s lawyers said they would be appealing the sentence.

Chung’s lawyers said they would be appealing the sentence.

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Jonah Lomu is turning heads again.

The rugby great, kidney transplant patient and father of one was buying tanning oil yesterday for one of the most unlikely sporting comebacks – the Wellington body building championships. On Saturday night, at the 330-seat Memorial Hall at Victoria University, he hopes to be 114kg.

Two years ago, Lomu tipped the scales at 142 kilograms.

Lomu never dreamed of entering a bodybuilding competition, but after two years of lifestyle conditioning by six-time Mr New Zealand Joe Ulberg, one thing has led to another.

The man nicknamed the Black Bus during his 63-test career now has 50-centimetre biceps and will compete against three others in the over-90kg novice section. “I want my son to see me as a 50-year-old with a six pack, not a beer gut.

“I’ve got a seven-month-old boy now [Brayley] and I want him to see me examining healthy and being healthy,” Lomu said.

In November he heads to France for another shot at rugby with second-division Marseille.”

Lomu’s health-driven retirement has not been a comfortable fit for the 34-year-old who debuted for the All Blacks as a 19-year-old in 1994 weighing 112kg. I’ve always loved lifting weights, just ask the All Blacks, so it’s been a lot of fun .

“I just started out wanting to get back in shape and it’s just gone from there…”

In recent weeks, Lomu has found himself doing the things bodybuilders do like examining in the mirror lots and shopping for that tanning oil. . I’m seeing myself in a different shape. “You do look in the mirror at your body and it’s amazing how critical you become.”

Lomu does concede that being coated in oil on Saturday night will be a new experience. It’s been hard work but anybody can be a bodybuilder, it’s all about discipline.”

Lomu added that competing on Saturday was a nice touch because the man who gave him a second chance at life with a kidney donation radio broadcaster Grant Kereama was passionate about bodybuilding and held two Wellington open titles. “I’ve got the year-round tan but they reckon I need this. But he worked around Lomu’s kidney condition by using the right supplements and strictly monitoring his food intake and hydration levels.

Ulberg would not divulge the training programme he put Lomu on because that was giving away “trade secrets”. “He’s a great guy, I’ve trained him like he’s my brother, not a client. “He’s a great guy, I’ve trained him like he’s my brother, not a client.

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The Green Party says Rambo-style antics by Defence Force personnel in Afghanistan reflect badly on New Zealand and questions need to be answered about their duties.

The Defence Force has started an investigation after three soldiers were photographed posing with a large bomb carrying an advert for a New Zealand made energy drink. .A Demon energy drink sticker with the slogan “no limits, no laws” is shown attached to the bomb suspended from a plane, with the soldiers standing around it.One photo shows a hand-written message “dear Taliban enjoy this demon” on the side of the bomb next to the sticker.The Defence Force launched its investigation after being alerted to the photos by Radio Live.The Defence Force said the photos appeared to be genuine and were “disappointing”.Another shows one of the soldiers holding two machine guns with Demon advertising and bottles in the background.”We have been led to believe that the NZDF unit at Bagram was purely to facilitate the delivery of supplies through to our Provincial Reconstruction Team in Bamien province,” he said.Green Party MP Keith Locke said today the Defence Force should explain exactly what role the soldiers had been performing at Bagram airbase where the photos were taken.”Can the Defence Force assure us that they are not helping with preparations for bombing missions out of Bagram, like the one last week which killed 90 people, mainly civilians, in Kunduz province?”

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Outrageous Fortune star Tammy Davis – who plays Munter in the hit TV3 show – has been found guilty of drink driving.

The Auckland District Court heard this afternoon that Davis was pulled up by police on the onramp of the North Western Motorway, near Newton Rd, in March and found to be almost twice the legal limit.

Judge John Hole said while Davis had been cooperative with police, he had returned a high alcohol reading.

Police took a reading of798mg of alcohol per litre of breath, when the legal limit is400mg.

“You pleaded not guilty, yet you did not have a defence available to you”.

Judge Hole declined his request, saying it went against the basic principle of open justice.

At today’s defended hearing, Davis’ lawyer, Steven Mitchell, requested name suppression for his client saying he was a well-known actor and it would be “acutely embarrassing for him for his identity to be made public”. “The public are entitled to know what goes on in court and who the offenders are. The judge in that case said identifying the entertainer could have”considerable impact on his future and future prospects”. .”

Davis was convicted, fined $1600 and ordered to pay court costs of $130.

Outside court, Davis said: “I deeply regret my actions and am embarrassed and disappointed by my behaviour.

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. He was also forbidden from driving for one year and one day

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The Government has announced 40 places in controversial military-style boot camps will be available to deal with serious young offenders.

The camps, to cost $5.

The Fresh Start Offenders Package will cost a total of $59.3 million over four years, were one of a range of initiatives announced by Prime Minister John Key in Wellington today.

The military-style camps will provide up to three months of residential training followed by up to nine months of support and mentoring.1m over four years and will create almost 3000 places for youth in mentoring, community and residential programmes.

“Yes, they’ll involve some marching exercises.

Mr Key acknowledged criticism of the camps received during the select committee process but said he made no apologies for supporting them. I personally support that. Yes, they’ll involve military facilities.

“I’ve always believed that boot camps in isolation won’t work.”

The camps would also involve drug and alcohol rehabilitation and education, Mr Key said.

In addition, an extra 50 places will be available in supervision with activity orders programmes which will run for six months and include some military-style training. .5m over four years.

The six month programme will be followed up by six months of supervision and will cost $15.

Each camp will have a maximum of eight young men attending.

The programme will begin with a week-long wilderness camp followed by assessment of each youth’s needs and a daily programme to help with transition back into the community.

Court-supervised intensive adventure camps of up to ten days will be aimed at steering youth away from crime at early stages and will cost $5.

The Government will also fund 1000 places in a community youth programme to get low-level offenders involved in activity programmes run by experts, 1232 mentoring, parenting and drug and alcohol orders and 30 places for electronic monitoring of offenders under intensive supervision orders.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said some camps were already running and involved “10 days in the bush finding yourself”.4m over four years for 200 places.

“What was the best thing? Doing 7 kilometres with a pack on your back.

“I was speaking to a group of young people not that long ago and I said `what’s the best thing about being out in the bush?’ They said well the hardest thing was doing 7 kilometres with a pack on your back.6m to programmes led by organisations with a proven track record.6m to programmes led by organisations with a proven track record.

Mr Key said the initiatives should “deal to some of the unexploded time-bombs currently sifting through the Youth Court”.

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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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It was meant to be their special day when she stood in a church marrying “the best man in the world”. Instead, she was there yesterday to bid him goodbye.

American Danielle Granahan put on her bravest face as she and 500 others farewelled her fiance, Kiwi pilot Jeremy Clarke, 32, who died when the helicopter he was flying was involved in a mid-air crash above New York’s Hudson River on August 9.

At a funeral service on Auckland’s North Shore yesterday, Granahan, 29, insisted now was not the time to discuss “who was to blame”. He and eight others died when the sightseeing craft was struck from behind by a Piper PA-32 plane.

As the hearse of the former Rosmini College head boy was driven off she stood alone, not letting her eyes move from the coffin as she mouthed the words: “I love you. It was a time to remember the man she met three years ago and planned to marry next year in America.”

Shortly after, and speaking for the first time, she told of the gap Clarke would leave in her life. He was truly special,” she said. .”

As the funeral ended, three North Shore Aero Club helicopters hovered as mourners released yellow balloons.

“If I was to say one thing about him it is that from the day he died he has been honoured.