Two a penny

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Stay out of the water

Harbour sewage alert after deluge

and PAUL EASTON Saturday, 21 February 2009

A massivedownpour that brought a month's worth of rain in just a few hours has sparked health warnings after raw sewage poured into Wellington Harbour and Lyall Bay.
The downpour overwhelmed the city's drainage system yesterday morning sending untreated sewage into a street near Courtenay Place, a day before the entertainment zone holds the Cuba St Carnival parade.
The city copped 69 millimetres of rain yesterday, well over the expected entire February average of 62mm.
The overflow also sparked warnings about swimming at several beaches.
Wellington City Council spokesperson Richard MacLean confirmed last night that warning signs had been erected at Lyall Bay beach.
The lashing caused surface flooding and slowed traffic to a crawl, sparking a slew of accidents, and slips that blocked Rimutaka Hill Rd.
There were further discharges near the international passenger terminal and Kaiwharawhara stream which also discharges into the harbour.
Similar advisories were in place for Wellington Harbour after sewage diluted by stormwater was discharged at the long outfall at Moa Point.
"But it is very diluted sewage.
"People should probably stay out of the water," Mr MacLean said. The council would review results before lifting the warnings." Water quality testing would be carried out by council officials and Regional Public Health during the weekend. An "absolutely nauseating" smell had enveloped her property towards the bay's western end.
A Lyall Bay resident said the sewage had been leaking into the area for the past week."
The council spent $4 million on a stormwater upgrade in 2004 after a similar incident with sewage in Bond St in 2004. .
"Large amounts of fat are not supposed to get into the sewerage system so we'll be doing a check of grease traps in the area to make sure they're operating and being maintained properly.
Mr MacLean said the sewer blockage that resulted in untreated sewage spew near the intersection of Courtenay Place and Tory St was caused by a combination of the heavy rain and a buildup of congealed fat in the sewer.30am to complain."
StarMart manager Priyank Jain said he was first alerted to the spillage after customers came in to the store about 8.
The low was anchored off Westland yesterday.
Yesterday's onslaught came as a deep low brought warm moist air from the subtropics, MetService duty forecaster Oliver Druce said.
Mr Druce said the rain was forecast to ease in the North Island. An associated front sent heavy rain up the North Island.

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Power lines fall on 20 Auckland homes

Friday, 13 February 2009

All residents have been safely evacuated from their homesafter power lines fell onto around 20 suburban Auckland houses this morning.
Some residents had been trapped for hours.
Transpower spokeswoman Adele Fitzpatrick said the cause of this morning's line plunge was still under investigation.
Inspectors from Transpower are currently at the scene attempting to clear away the broken 200,000v line which lies sprawled across homes, gardens and road. .
She said the Otahuhu to Whakamaru conducter had "detached and fallen" on homes around 10.
"Our second priority is to restore the conductor," he said.
Transpower's general manager of systems operations Kieran Devine said Transpower's first priority had been to ensure the safety of members of the public.
It is understood representatives from Transpower are spending the afternoon talking with affected residents and have pledged to make full financial restoration to any damaged properties.
Transpower said they expected to fully repair the conductor over the weekend.
"I heard a huge explosion and I looked around the corner and there was a huge puff of smoke and then a smaller explosion.
Resident Malina Paoo was hanging washing on the line outside her house when the cable fell metres away from her Belinda Avenue home.
Emergency services cordoned off Te irirangi Drive between Dawson and Orimiston roads."
It wasn't until the smoke cleared that she saw the fallen cable blocking two lanes of startled motorists.

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Bridgecorp boss assault charge

By – Sunday, 08 February 2009

Aformer Bridgecorp director is facing further legal woe after appearing in court for assaulting a woman. .
The case has been remanded to later this month.
The collapse is one of the largest in New Zealand history.
It adds to several Securities Commission charges the businessman faces relating to Bridgecorp's collapse in 2007, which left close toly 14,500 investors out of pocket by almost $460 million.
Former board chairman Bruce Davidson and non-executive directors Gary Urwin and Peter Steigrad will also answer criminal charges brought by the commission.
Roest and director Rod Petricevic are alleged to have signed false certificates confirming the company had not missed any payments to investors. Civil proceedings have been issued against all five.

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The Sunday Star-Times could not reach Roest for comment

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Mum jailed for abuse in murder case

The Friday, 06 February 2009

The Dominon Post
‘DISGRACEFUL EXHIBITION’: Victoria Stevens, mother of murder-accused Hulio Ataria, is taken from Hastings District Court after her arrest for contempt of court. Inset: supporters of Mark McCutcheon, who died after being stabbed when he went to the aid of a woman allegedly being asaulted.

The mother of the man accused of murdering Mark McCutcheon has been jailed for contempt of court after barking like a dog, wrestling with police and swearing in front of his widow.
Mr McCutcheon's widow, Paula, and about 40 supporters some wearing T-shirts with his image and the message "enough is enough" crowded into the packed courthouse, some having to kneel, others standing.
Victoria Stevens, an invalid beneficiary, was among a small group in Hastings District Court to support her son Hulio Ataria, 22, who is accused of murdering Mr McCutcheon on January 23.
As Ataria was led away, Stevens yelled, "Love you" and barked like a dog, a sign of Mongrel Mob support.
Stevens, 43, and four supporters sat on the other side of the courtroom. When Judge Richard Watson ordered her arrest she yelled obscenities at him.
Mrs McCutcheon stared calmly at Ataria throughout his brief appearance, while he avoided examining her way.
Four police officers held Stevens, who resisted arrest and kicked open the doors as she was taken from the court. Her lawyer, Rebecca Guthrie, said she was sorry for her behaviour and wanted to apologise to the court and all present.
Stevens pleaded guilty to a charge of contempt of court later in the day. "It was a disgraceful exhibition .
Judge Watson said it was the worst behaviour he had experienced in court…
"It was unseemly, it was unwarranted and it was particularly unfair on the McCutcheon supporters who didn't expect to be confronted with that type of behaviour," he said. The language was appalling, your actions were worse."
Judge Watson said Ataria should have people supporting him at future appearances but warned he would not stand for any similar behaviour. "I simply am not prepared to tolerate that sort of behaviour in my court, ever.
Ataria, a gang associate, is accused of stabbing Mr McCutcheon outside Sandford Arms Hotel at Ongaonga, in Hawke's Bay. He sentenced Stevens to seven days' jail. Mr McCutcheon, 34, is understood to have gone to help the woman.
It followed an incident in which a patched gang member allegedly assaulted a woman outside the hotel.
A 26-year-old man, whose name is suppressed, pleaded guilty to a charge of male assaults female yesterday but did not enter a plea on a charge of being party to an assault with intent to injure Mr McCutcheon. He was found dead in his car in a paddock on State Highway 50 the next morning.
Nick Hume, a McCutcheon family friend, said Mrs McCutcheon would take her three young children away "for a break" this weekend.
Nick Hume, a McCutcheon family friend, said Mrs McCutcheon would take her three young children away "for a break" this weekend. .

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Hung jury in knifepoint rape trial

By GLENN McLEAN – Thursday, 05 February 2009

A jury last night failed to reach a verdict in a New Plymouth rape trial. .
The jury, which had heard six days of evidence in the New Plymouth District Court, was unable to make a decision after 10 hours of deliberation.
The jury last week was told Walden had repeatedly raped a young woman in her home after he armed himself with two knives in February last year.
Walden, 28, faced four charges of rape, two of unlawful sexual connection, two of threatening to kill, kidnapping and possession of an offensive weapon. The defence said the sex was consensual.
The complainant also told the jury Walden threatened to kill both her and her infant son during the attack.

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Police boss at shot teen’s coffin

Wednesday, 28 January 2009

/The
OFFERING COMFORT: Police Commissioner Howard Board hugs Stephanie Cook, the partner of Halatau Naitoko, who was killed during a shootout between police and a gunman on an Auckland motorway.

editorial: Editorial: Two lives destroyed

Police Commissioner visits Naitoko’s family

Broad: AOS training may change

Motorway chase accused out of hospital

Drugs could be McDonald’s defence

A woman wailed in grief as Police Commissioner Howard Broad paid his respects at the open coffin of slain courier driver Halatau Naitoko.
Stephen Hohepa McDonald, 50, faces 29 charges, including 10 of using a firearm against police.
The 17-year-old father was killed by a stray police bullet during the arrest of a gunman after an hour-long police chase through Auckland on Friday. He had caught the first available flight home.
A solemn-examining Mr Broad returned from Bougainville, off Papua New Guinea, last night, four days after the shooting.
"The police actually come to work to do good, and that, from what I can see, was the intention of the police at the time.
It was difficult to put into words how he and other police felt about the tragedy, he said."
Mr Broad was yet to be briefed on the details of the incident but said: "There will be a careful process of working through what happened and if there's anything [that] needs to change, it will.
"This is the first opportunity I've had to express my sorrow and profound sadness.
Mr Broad said he was concerned for the police officers involved, whose actions were now being scrutinised. ."
Immediately after leaving the airport, Mr Broad was driven to the family's Mangere home to offer his condolences. "They are New Zealand police officers and we will look after them.
Mr Broad was walked past the white, open coffin.
He was greeted by Mr Naitoko's grieving partner and led past family members to the rear of the house, and into a large, open shed decorated with woven mats and a mass of colourful flowers. "We are very very grateful for the generosity and friendship of people.
Mr Naitoko's uncle, Sosefo Sime, said Mr Broad's visit meant a lot to the family.
"That is something I have indicated to them I will pursue," Mr Broad told Radio New Zealand following his meeting with Mr Naitoko's family."
Mr Broad said he favoured a meeting with the police officer and the family.
"The expressions of humanity that this family is making is really quite an example.
"Obviously I can't force people to go into meetings they don't want to be (at) but having experienced this today my encouragement would be to the officers to take up that opportunity."

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Lotto luck: the big winners and the also-rans

By FINBARR BUNTING – Sunday, 18 January 2009

The luckiestpeople live in Buller – but pity the poor folk in Queenstown.
Last year Buller residents won more playing Lotto per head of population than any other district in the country, new figures from NZ Lotteries show.
Second luckiest are those from central Hawke's Bay, who won $445 per head of population followed by New Plymouth with $293 a total earned partly by a massive $18m first division win last April.
A $6 million Powerball ticket won in Reefton in October helped boost the region's rankings to $731 per person, pushing Buller district way out in front. Owner Vanessa Watson says the "power of positive thinking" helps them keep the golden run that has seen at least two previous first division winners.
Gold Reef Stationers, sellers of the $6m ticket, does a bumper trade in churning out winning tickets.
Rotorua district, average $169, and Papakura district with $160 complete the top five regions for luckiest Kiwis.
The town is known for its mining, so the residents don't mind taking a bit of a risk, she says. Wairoa fared little better at $3 average per person. .. Betty Sinclair of Windsor Take Note Lotto shop in Southland says: "It is a game of chance and prizes can go anywhere."
Sinclair is looking on the bright side though, saying, "We are going very well at the moment and Southlanders are positive.."
NZ Lotteries chief executive Todd McLeay says the results show "that you can win wherever you are, but the West Coast of the South Island was particularly lucky last year. I expect we'll do much better this year."
Unfortunately for the main centres, none of them could crack the top 10.
"We sometimes get comments from our South Island players that Auckland gets all the big prizes, but these results show that lottery winnings are fairly evenly spread throughout New Zealand.

. Wellington residents averaged $90 giving them 14th place; Dunedinites won $50 per head handing them 17th place; Aucklanders averaged $41 putting them in at 22nd place, Christchurch came in at 31st with a $28 average and Hamilton, the last of the big cities, at 41st place with $16

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Key undecided on Transmission Gully route

The Friday, 16 January 2009

Prime Minister John Key says an alternative northern route out of Wellington is critical but that questions remain over whether that route would be Transmission Gully.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Mr Key mirrored comments made earlier in the week by Transport Minister Steven Joyce, who said he had a "mixed view" on whether the $1.
Mr Key said Wellington needed an alternative route, but he had not seen enough of the comprehensive work to give an opinion on his favoured option.025 billion Gully project was the right option for improving Wellington's northern transport corridor.
The previous Labour government approved the project last June, with former transport minister Annette King telling the New Zealand Transport Agency to move forward with resource consents for Transmission Gully.
"I don't think there is a debate over the fact that there needs to be an alternative northern route out of Wellington, and the question here is simply, what is the right route?" he said.
However, her government committed just $400 million of the $1.
That effectively ended debate on which route the Gully or improving the coastal highway would go ahead.
They have till the end of this year to do that, with options including a regional fuel tax and tolling.025 billion cost, leaving local councils to fund the rest. .
Mr Joyce's comments this week signalled a step back, something Mr Key agreed with.
"We're just working our way through that programme. It just happened to announce it without announcing the $600 million extra that they needed to fund it."

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‘Oh my god, the Gaza Strip has come to Invercargill’

By EVAN HARDING – Thursday, 15 January 2009

JOHN HAWKINS/
SHOCKED AND HURT: Israeli nationals Natalie Bennie, left, and Tamara Shefa, with Mrs Bennie’s two children Noah, 2, and Ella, 4, were told to leave Mevlana Cafe in Invercargill because they were from Israel. .
Sisters Natalie Bennie and Tamara Shefa were upset after being booted out of the Mevlana Cafe in Esk St by owner Mustafa Tekinkaya.

Two women were shocked after being kicked out of an Invercargill cafe yesterday because they come from Israel.
"He heard us speaking Hebrew and he asked us where we were from.
They chose to eat at Mevlana Cafe because it had a play area for Mrs Bennie's two children, but they were told to leave before they had ordered any food, Mrs Bennie said. It was shocking. I said Israel and he said `get out, I am not serving you'.
"I have decided as a protest not to serve Israelis until the war stops."
Mr Tekinkaya, who is Muslim and from Turkey, said he was making his own protest against Israel because it was killing innocent babies and women in the Gaza Strip.
His stance was supported by neighbouring Turkish Kebabs shop owner Ali Uzun, who said he was also refusing to serve Israelis."
He said he had nothing against Israeli people but if any more came into his shop they would also be told to leave, and he was not concerned if he lost business.
"I just don't think I should be declined service because I am from Israel.
Mrs Bennie said she did not disagree that Israel was committing crimes against children.
"I wouldn't mind having a chat to him."
She had rung the Human Rights Commission and was told the cafe owner's actions were against the law because he was discriminating on the basis of ethnicity.
Ms Shefa is visiting Mrs Bennie at her Makarewa home, on the outskirts of Invercargill, where she lives with her New Zealand husband and two children. Someone has to put him in his place," Mrs Bennie said.
Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt was shocked when told of the incident.
Both women said they had travelled widely, and to places much more hostile than New Zealand, but had never been treated in such a way. Hell's bells.
"Oh my god, the Gaza Strip has come to Invercargill.
"Generally speaking I am against all wars and I suppose people have got a right to protest."
He said he was bewildered. It would have been upsetting for the women and I feel sympathy for them. It would have been upsetting for the women and I feel sympathy for them."

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Neighbour rescues duo from Wellington fire

By MICHAEL FOX – Wednesday, 24 December 2008

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SMOKING: The house which went on fire in Camperdown Road in Miramar, Wellington.

Two people are lucky to be alive after they were dragged from their blazing home in the Wellington suburb of Miramar earlier today.
Wellington Fire Service spokesman Mike Wanoa said the pair were pulled to safety by a neighbour who entered the house before fire engines arrived.
Neighbours reported the fire to the Fire Service around 11am today after seeing smoke coming out of the door, Mr Wanoa said.
One person was admitted to hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation while the condition of the second person is unknown.
Five fire engines were needed to combat the blaze, though it is unclear at this stage how it started.
One neighbour had earlier unsuccessfully tried to alert the occupants by banging on the door.
Mr Wanoa said the house was “well damaged”.

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