Two a penny

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All Black reveals heartache over son

By DAVID LONG – Sunday, 22 February 2009

ALL Blacks star Mils Muliaina has spoken of the emotional turmoil he and wife Hayley went through when their son was born with a hole in his heart.
Mils had stayed in Auckland for the birth of his first child, Max, in November when the rest of the national rugby team left for a four-test tour of the UK and Ireland plus a Bledisloe Cup match in Hong Kong.
But medical staff planning corrective surgery on Max's heart told Mils he would have time to take part in the tests before the operation.
The 68-test hero a vital member of the touring side immediately put plans to join his teammates on hold when he was told of the youngster's condition.
"If he needed to go in for an emergency operation they would need to get him stable for two to five days beforehand, so that would have given me plenty of time to come back from playing for the All Blacks.
"We had a talk with the doctors and the biggest thing was that he wasn't going to deteriorate overnight," Mils told . The All Blacks jersey is so precious and you don't ever want let it down or miss out on going on a tour.
"It's a pretty hard thing. .
"The defining moment was the doctor saying he wasn't going to deteriorate overnight and rather than me waiting and worrying about him I should go over (to Europe)."
Max had open-heart surgery at Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital over the Christmas holidays. She thought it was best that I go over and play for the All Blacks and then come back and we'll have the operation.
Mils and Hayley were recently given the all-clear over Max's health and the star fullback can now relax enough to reflect on the last few months. Doctors placed a piece of felt over the hole, which his heart will eventually grow over. I came back from the tour and we were in the ward at Starship over Christmas and he had his operation," Mils said.
"It was pretty tough. I look back now and I just can't believe how close it was back then how I felt and how hard it was.
"We were very fortunate. He had a check-up a couple of weeks ago and he's humming.
"Now he's a bubbly little kid and everything's so rosy.
"It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make to go on that tour. He's done really well and we're pretty stoked about that."
Mils says becoming a dad has been a life-changing experience for him. We came away with the Grand Slam again and hopefully, when Max is older, he'll look back at that tour and have something to be proud of his dad for going on. It's great for me," he said, beaming. It's great for me," he said, beaming.
"I really get excited about going home, seeing the little fella there. It puts a different perspective on life and makes you grow up a lot quicker."

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All Black reveals heartache over son

By DAVID LONG – Sunday, 22 February 2009

ALL Blacks star Mils Muliaina has spoken of the emotional turmoil he and wife Hayley went through when their son was born with a hole in his heart.
Mils had stayed in Auckland for the birth of his first child, Max, in November when the rest of the national rugby team left for a four-test tour of the UK and Ireland plus a Bledisloe Cup match in Hong Kong.
But medical staff planning corrective surgery on Max's heart told Mils he would have time to take part in the tests before the operation.
The 68-test hero a vital member of the touring side immediately put plans to join his teammates on hold when he was told of the youngster's condition.
"If he needed to go in for an emergency operation they would need to get him stable for two to five days beforehand, so that would have given me plenty of time to come back from playing for the All Blacks.
"We had a talk with the doctors and the biggest thing was that he wasn't going to deteriorate overnight," Mils told . The All Blacks jersey is so precious and you don't ever want let it down or miss out on going on a tour.
"It's a pretty hard thing. .
"The defining moment was the doctor saying he wasn't going to deteriorate overnight and rather than me waiting and worrying about him I should go over (to Europe)."
Max had open-heart surgery at Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital over the Christmas holidays. She thought it was best that I go over and play for the All Blacks and then come back and we'll have the operation.
Mils and Hayley were recently given the all-clear over Max's health and the star fullback can now relax enough to reflect on the last few months. Doctors placed a piece of felt over the hole, which his heart will eventually grow over. I came back from the tour and we were in the ward at Starship over Christmas and he had his operation," Mils said.
"It was pretty tough. I look back now and I just can't believe how close it was back then how I felt and how hard it was.
"We were very fortunate. He had a check-up a couple of weeks ago and he's humming.
"Now he's a bubbly little kid and everything's so rosy.
"It was the hardest decision I've ever had to make to go on that tour. He's done really well and we're pretty stoked about that."
Mils says becoming a dad has been a life-changing experience for him. We came away with the Grand Slam again and hopefully, when Max is older, he'll look back at that tour and have something to be proud of his dad for going on. It's great for me," he said, beaming. It's great for me," he said, beaming.
"I really get excited about going home, seeing the little fella there. It puts a different perspective on life and makes you grow up a lot quicker."

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Massive quake at Kermadecs

– Thursday, 19 February 2009

A powerful 7. .53am at a depth of 36km, the USGS said on its website.
The quake, located 304km northeast of Raoul Island in the Kermadec Island chain, struck at 10.
Conservation Department spokeswoman Louise Skelton said it had five workers and four volunteers on the island.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said the quake posed no destructive tsunami threat, but cautioned that earthquakes of this size sometimes generate destructive waves within 100 km of the epicentre.
Further updates on their situation were expected this afternoon.
Communications with the island were patchy, but it was believed the workers had managed to get a message through this morning and all were "fine", she said.
Ms Skelton said the chances of another eruption were slim, as they were not normally linked to seismic activity.
Conservation worker Mark Kearney, 33, was killed in a volcanic eruption on the island in 2006, while collecting lake level and temperature data for volcanic monitoring following an increase in seismic activity.
– with

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$18,500 chance ‘to care and give’

Monday, 09 February 2009

CAST-OFF: The Wellington businessman who spent $18,500.10
on Prime Minister John Key’s cast from his broken arm is happy with
the purchase. .
The Trade Me auction raised funds for The Fred Hollows Foundation.
Cherian, who part-owns a headstone business in Lower Hutt, is the proud new owner of the cast worn by Key after his New Year tumble at a Chinese restaurant. "It's an opportunity to care and give, we actually are an extremely wealthy country.
"Part of this is saying we have what we need and there are other people out there in the world who don't even have the basics, such as eyesight," he said."
Cherian said he was considering either on-selling the cast or renting it out to raise more money for the foundation.10 bid, placed late on Saturday night, was enough to win. He was "shocked" his $18,500.
The cast bears the signatures of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and several other Pacific leaders.
Money raised from the auction will go to the foundation, which operates blindness prevention programmes across the Pacific, including Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, the two countries Key visited after he broke his arm the previous month.
Doctors on two similar trips last year performed close toly 100 sight-restoring surgeries.
The proceeds would go towards funding two eye surgery outreach visits in the Solomon Islands later this year, the foundation said.
Cherian said he was more interested in supporting a worthy cause than in having a piece of memorabilia to show off.
Cherian said he was more interested in supporting a worthy cause than in having a piece of memorabilia to show off."
He was unsure when the cast would be handed over or when his morning tea with the Prime Minister would take place. I see this as a wonderful opportunity to give on such a level.

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And was he worried the cast would be a bit pongy after close toly six weeks on Key's arm? "I suspect they'll encase it," he said hopefully

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Stab-proof vest proves worth

‘I hated it to start with, but I’ve sort of had to eat my words’

The Tuesday, 03 February 2009

Ten One
METAL JACKET: A passing German tourist, who is a paramedic, tends to police officer Grant Freeman after he hit a fallen tree on the West Coast. He says his stab-proof vest saved him from more serious injury.

Apolice officer believes the stab-proof vest he hated wearing saved his life in a motorbike crash.
He ploughed head-on into the tree and was thrown 12 metres before he landed on the road.
Senior Constable Grant Freeman was travelling north of Punakaiki on the West Coast in November when a large tree toppled over in front of his police motorbike..
"I saw the tip of [the tree] falling .. If I had swerved I would have gone over the cliff. There was nothing I could do. . I just went straight into it. I could have broken my neck or bled to death. "I could have been under the tree."
Mr Freeman, a Christchurch father of two, said at first he was no fan of the vests mandatory for frontline staff and stopped wearing one on the police BMW motorbikes during summer because of the intense engine heat, made worse in the hot conditions."
Mr Freeman, a Christchurch father of two, said at first he was no fan of the vests mandatory for frontline staff and stopped wearing one on the police BMW motorbikes during summer because of the intense engine heat, made worse in the hot conditions.
"I was conscious when I flew through the air, but I don't recall landing .
"I hated it to start with, but I've sort of had to eat my words…"
He had no bruising, cuts or scrapes on the parts of his torso protected by the vest, but had a big cut on his leg after part of the motorbike's handlebar snapped and became impaled in his left thigh. I didn't feel a thing.
Doctors told him that, without the vest, which has been likened to a crash helmet for the body, he could have been paralysed by spinal injuries.
He has permanent nerve damage and no feeling to 30 per cent of his lower leg.
Mr Freeman has spent the last eight weeks recovering after surgery and yesterday had an MRI scan to check his knee.
He was also lucky that a German tourist, whose girlfriend took photographs of the crash, was a paramedic and was able to give him first aid while a helicopter flew to the crash scene. "It will be some months because I've lost a lot of strength in that leg, but it hasn't put me off. "It will be some months because I've lost a lot of strength in that leg, but it hasn't put me off."

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David Kirk now half Australian

The Tuesday, 27 January 2009

The man who held the William Webb Ellis Trophy aloft to celebrate New Zealand's only Rugby World Cup win is now half Australian.
David Kirk took up Australian citizenship at a ceremony yesterday Australia Day. He has lived in Australia for 10 years. He would hold dual New Zealand and Australian citizenship.
"It just seemed like the right time," he said. My heart, my emotion, my commitment is of course to New Zealand, particularly in rugby of course.
"I grew up in New Zealand."
Mr Kirk was born in Wellington, raised in Palmerston North, and later trained as a doctor. Muddied and bloodied, he held up the William Webb Ellis trophy in what has become awell knownKiwi image.
In 1987 he captained the All Blacks to their World Cup win. He entered the business world and in 2005 became chief executive at until resigning in December.
After quitting rugby, Mr Kirk became a Rhodes Scholar and adviser to former prime minister Jim Bolger. "There are a lot of similarities between New Zealanders and Australians.
His wife and three sons are Australian citizens. . In many ways I think of myself as an Australasian

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David Kirk now half Australian

The Tuesday, 27 January 2009

The man who held the William Webb Ellis Trophy aloft to celebrate New Zealand's only Rugby World Cup win is now half Australian.
David Kirk took up Australian citizenship at a ceremony yesterday Australia Day. He has lived in Australia for 10 years. He would hold dual New Zealand and Australian citizenship.
"It just seemed like the right time," he said. My heart, my emotion, my commitment is of course to New Zealand, particularly in rugby of course.
"I grew up in New Zealand."
Mr Kirk was born in Wellington, raised in Palmerston North, and later trained as a doctor. Muddied and bloodied, he held up the William Webb Ellis trophy in what has become awell knownKiwi image.
In 1987 he captained the All Blacks to their World Cup win. He entered the business world and in 2005 became chief executive at until resigning in December.
After quitting rugby, Mr Kirk became a Rhodes Scholar and adviser to former prime minister Jim Bolger. "There are a lot of similarities between New Zealanders and Australians.
His wife and three sons are Australian citizens. . In many ways I think of myself as an Australasian

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Plastic chemical study prompts health alert

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Health concerns have been raised by a consumer watchdog after a full re-evaluation was ordered on research into a common plastic found in products such as baby bottles and lunch boxes.
Consumer New Zealand said the United States National Institute of Health's toxicology programme was now re-evaluating all scientific data on exposure to bisphenol A, known as BPA an industrial chemical used in products such as baby bottles, water bottles and food containers.
Although safety authorities overseas have concluded that exposure to BPA does not pose an immediate health risk, the international experts assembled by the institute found that infants and foetuses may be especially vulnerable.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand assessed the risk to infants from exposure to BPA and concluded that the levels of exposure were very low and did not pose a significant health risk.
Concerns focused around the small amounts of BPA that leach out when the product is heated, with possible effects to brain and behaviour, damage to the mammary or prostate glands and an earlier puberty in girls. .
But the New Zealand Food Safety Authority says it will await the outcomes of the research. "It wouldn't surprise me that, when the data is produced, in fact it all comes out OK, but you've got to be prepared for anything.
Action would likely include the banning or withdrawal of certain products."
Reeve said the authority would be highly likely to take immediate action "to protect the population particularly the infants" if any results showed there was a concern. It is used in baby bottles, water bottles, food containers, in the inside coating of some food tins, and beer jugs.
WHAT IS IT? Bisphenol A is an industrial chemical used primarily to make polycarbonate plastic the type that doesn't melt when heated in a microwave or hot water, for example. Further research is still under way.
HOW DOES IT AFFECT YOU? Initial research including some evidence from the US National Institute of Health expressed concern regarding effects on the mammary gland, prostate gland, brain and behaviour effects, and an earlier age for puberty in girls.
HOW CAN YOU AVOID IT? To check if a bottle has polycarbonate in it, look for the plastic identification code "7" or "7 PC" on the bottom.
HOW CAN YOU AVOID IT? To check if a bottle has polycarbonate in it, look for the plastic identification code "7" or "7 PC" on the bottom.

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Thousands of Canterbury homes leak

– Thursday, 15 January 2009

Thousands of Christchurch homeowners are living in houses rotting from the outside in.
A retired Christchurch couple have now lost their leaky home in a landmark case that a veteran campaigner hopes will spur South Islanders into action before they suffer the same fate.
The Avonhead house, owned by Kathleen Bennett, 67, and husband Graham Hollobon, 70, will be demolished next month.
The couple bought the house for $325,000 in 1993. It is believed to be the first South Island home to be torn down as a result of leaks.
John Gray, who exposed the leaky-homes issue, hoped the Christchurch case would finally reveal the thousands of Canterbury homes rotting from the outside in. They fall outside criteria for leaky-home payments and insurance.
"A lot of people I deal with say, `Oh, it's an Auckland problem, ha, ha'," he said. .
"Well, actually, no; the biggest problems I see are in driving around Christchurch.
He said the focus must now move to the South Island, where it took longer for leaky buildings to be exposed. He has earned plaudits for his efforts on behalf of thousands of homeowners.
"You've got thousands of homes in all of those new subdivisions around Avonhead and going through towards Sumner and Halswell and up in Kaiapoi.
"The sad thing is people do not realise at this point that their houses are insidiously rotting from the outside in and that the problems have yet to manifest themselves," Gray said. I drive up there and I shudder because I can see them from 20 paces. I drive up there and I shudder because I can see them from 20 paces.
"What people don't realise is when you've got a leaky building it doesn't always show on the outside or the inside, and sometimes it's by fluke that something happens that ."
Roger Crichton, contracts manager for Reconstruct, an Auckland company that specialises in repairing leaky homes, said leaks could hide themselves "very well for many, many years"…
Auckland "got a head start" in beating the leaky-homes problem, which was less understood further down the country. you find something soft and you start to investigate," Crichton said.
Hobanz plans to launch a public awareness campaign in the South Island so homeowners do not miss out on assistance via the Weathertight Homes Tribunal.
"Throughout the whole of New Zealand there is a large amount of people that haven't figured it out," Crichton said.
Experts concede the 10-year time limit on claims for leaky homes may be inappropriate for Canterbury's colder, drier climate compared with Auckland.
Many home owners, like Bennett and Hollobon, would get no help or recompense from builders, councils or the Government because their slowly rotting homes were built more than 10 years ago.
"There are quite a large number of leaky-building cases, as I recall, in the South Island," Cosgrove said.
"There are quite a large number of leaky-building cases, as I recall, in the South Island," Cosgrove said.
"But because the climatic conditions were such, there are fewer cases or there were then that were discovered than there were in the north."
The Weathertight Homes Tribunal has issued rulings under the 2006 act on 19 cases. Six occurred in the South Island. A further 176 cases nationwide have been resolved by mediation.
Master Builders South Canterbury regional service manager Ian Gould said leaks would take longer to show in the south.
"The reason the leaks show up quicker in the upper North Island is the humidity rather than the more frequent rain showers," Gould said.
"Yes, it does show up quicker up there, no doubt about that, especially around Auckland and further north, but basically there is not a lot of difference in the rest of the country."
He did not support a change to the nationwide 10-year limit because it was "more than ample", even in the south.

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Ice collapse witnesses speak to police

Parents revisit scene

Friday, 09 January 2009

, DOC, Facebook
SCENE SHOTS: Akshay Miranda, 22, and his 24-year-old brother Ashish, and the spot at the Fox Glacier where they died after the ice shelf collapsed. Bottom left shows file pictures of tourist watching ice crash into the Fox River and, bottom, tourists looking at the river after advancing past warning signs.

Supplied
AFTERMATH: Blocks of ice the size of large vehicles were among the debris that fell when the face of Fox Glacier collapsed burying toruists Ashish Miranda and Akshay Miranda.

DOC/Supplied
ICE FALL: Two tourists lost their lives when they were buried by falling ice at the face of Fox Glacier.

FOX GLACIER

Photo 5 of 5

LATEST: The parents of the two Melbourne men crushed at Fox Glacier yesterday witnessed the ice collapsing but didnotknow their only sons were underneath it.

BROTHERS: Ashish Miranda, 24, and Akshay Miranda, 22, of Melbourne, at World Youth Day in Sydney last year.20pm yesterday when a section of ice collapsed.
Brothers Ashish Miranda, 24, and Akshay Miranda, 22, of Melbourne, crossed safety barriers at the terminal face to take photos around 4. The brothers were reportedly standing directly under the ice shelf when it collapsed.
Their parents, Ronnie and Winnie Miranda, who they wereon holiday with,were at the sceneat the time.
Constable Tony LeSueur, of Hokitika police, said the Mirandafamily had visited the site of the tragedy and were extremely distraught.
The body of Ashish Miranda, an aerospace engineer for Boeing, was recovered last night while the body of his brother Askhay – presumed dead – is thought to be right at the bottom of the ice shelf, an area believed to be extremely dangerous.
Police have postponed the recovery of Askhay Miranda's bodydue to safety fears.They would remain in the areauntil Sunday- assisted by the Australian High Commission -before returning to Australia.
"The results of this rainfall can not be predicted and at this time the police can not say when or if another active search will take place.
"At this time, heavy rain is falling in Fox Glacier and this may have a significant impact on the dynamics of the glacier," Mr LeSueur said."
More than 100 tonnes of ice was believed to have fallen on the men. These options will be continually reassessed as conditions change.
Constable Paul Gurney, of Franz Josef police station,saidseveral other tourists had witnessed the brothers being crushed and they had been interviewed by police to help them get a clearer picture of what had happened. Some of the ice blocks in the rubble were the size of large vehicles.
Conservation Department staff are monitoring the site, and will do until at least Monday.
They had taken before and after shots but had no footage of the ice collapsing.
The brothers attended World Youth Day in Sydney in last year, with the younger brother Akshay describing it as "the most kick ass week ever'' on his Facebook profile.
TRAGEDY ON FAMILY HOLIDAY
Thetwo men were the only children of their parents, who they lived with in Melbourne.
He was an engineering student at Monash University, due to finish his studies this year.
He was an engineering student at Monash University, due to finish his studies this year.
Ashish, an aerospace engineer for Boeing, had studied at RMIT where he was part of a team that won an international award for helicopter design.
According to Indian website Daijiworld Media Network, the family had migrated to Melbourne from the Indian city Mangalore.
The boys' parents, Ronnie and Winnie Miranda, were original from Mumbai, it said.
Tributes to Ashish were already being posted on his Facebook page.
"Rest in peace, Akshay,'' wrote Elise Aycardo. "You'll be forever missed, forever loved, and always, forever, in our hearts. I'm sorry .. . And my thoughts and prayers are with your family.''
John Oddo wrote: "You were such a great man and such a valuable friend. I will really really miss you and I know you're making fun of me right now from up there but I love you and thanks for putting up with me.''
An aunt of the brothers told Daijiworld the family was still praying Akshay, whose body has not been recovered, would be found alive.
On Sunday, Akshay proudly boasted on Facebook that he had completed a 134-metre bungee jump.
GLACIER RISKS
Conservation Minister Tim Groser said it was a "tragedy of almost unimaginable proportions (for the parents) to lose both sons in one tragedy".
Mr Groser was at Fox Glacier but was staying out of the way of the operational staff conducting the search.
"There are extensive safety procedures in place, these are reviewed annually, there's also been independent assessment of these procedures.
"We're dealing with a situation that is a highly dangerous and dynamic natural environment involving rock, ice and rivers."
The procedures were last reviewed in August last year.
He said the facts of the latest incident would be reviewed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), police and probably the coroner.
There will always be risk, but also "some responsibility on the part of these individuals who go into these areas".
In 2007, DOC said almost a third of the 600,000 visitors to the West Coast glaciers ignored warning signs and entered danger zones.
In February that year, a tourist standing beside an ice cave at the terminal face of the Franz Josef Glacier was injured when the roof collapsed.
He had walked past signs warning of the danger of falling ice.
– With Michael Fox, , Arjun Ramachandran