Two a penny

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The Government is giving people the chance to “kick the tyres” of the MMP electoral system although it is working well, Prime Minister John Key says.

Justice Minister Simon Power announced today there would be a referendum at the same time as the 2011 general election, asking voters whether they want to retain MMP.

If they don’t, they can tick one of several alternative voting systems that will be set out on the same paper.

It will be a run off between MMP and the alternative that was given the most votes in the first referendum.

A second referendum will be held at the same time as the 2014 general election if a majority want a change.

“But we promised New Zealanders on the campaign trail they would have an opportunity to kick the tyres.

“I think we’ve proved in close toly a year in government that the system is working well,” Mr Key told reporters.”

Mr Key said he didn’t believe voters would be likely to choose to go back to the old first-past-the-post system, which MMP replaced in 1996. .

Mr Power told there was a widespread expectation at the time MMP was introduced that there would be a chance for another say on the system.

If a majority of voters prefer the alternative voting system to MMP, the 2017 general election will be held under the chosen alternative.

Cabinet was yet to make decisions around wording of the questions and the alternate electoral systems to be offered.

It was also cheaper than other options, although holding two referenda would still cost $23 million.

Mr Power said holding a referendum alongside a general election ensured a good turnout, which was important if the referendum was to be legitimate.

Mr Power said the Government was determined to ensure there would be a strong public information campaign explaining the different alternatives.

Mr Power said the Government was determined to ensure there would be a strong public information campaign explaining the different alternatives.

“The Government wants to ensure New Zealanders have time to consider all the issues fully before making their decision.

“If a majority of voters opt for a change from MMP, there will be plenty of time for public discussion on the merits of MMP versus the preferred alternative voting system, before the second referendum,” he said. It would include the wording of questions and the options to be considered.”

Legislation to allow the first referendum would go to Parliament early next year.

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Input would be considered at the select committee stage

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Serena Williams’ US Open title defence ended in bizarre, ugly fashion, when she was docked a point on match point after yelling and shaking her racket in the direction of an official who called a foot fault.

Williams lost to unseeded, unranked Kim Clijsters 6-4, 7-5 in a taut semifinal that featured plenty of powerful groundstrokes by both women.

With Williams serving at 5-6, 15-30 in the second set, she faulted on her first serve. .

That made the score 15-40, putting Clijsters one point from victory. On the second serve, a line judge called a foot fault, making it a double-fault – a call rarely, if ever, seen at that stage of any match, let alone the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament.

Williams already had been give a code violation warning when she broke her racket after losing the first set.

Instead of stepping to the baseline to serve again, Williams went over and shouted and cursed at the line judge, pointing at her and shaking a ball at her.

“She was called for a foot fault, and a point later, she said something to a line umpire, and it was reported to the chair, and that resulted in a point penalty,” Earley explained. So the chair umpire now awarded a penalty point to Clijsters, ending the match. It was a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct. “And it just happened that point penalty was match point.

“I used to have a real temper, and I’ve gotten a lot better,” Williams said in her postmatch news conference.”

When the ruling was announced, Williams walked around the net to the other end of the court to shake hands with a stunned Clijsters, who did not appear to understand what had happened. Yes, yes, indeed. “So I know you don’t believe me, but I used to be worse.

Clijsters hadn’t competed at the US Open since winning the 2005 championship.”

Lost in the theatrics was Clijsters’ significant accomplishment: In only her third tournament back after 2 1/2 years in retirement, the 26-year-old Belgian became the first mother to reach a Grand Slam final since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon 1980. 9 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who beat Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-3, 6-3 in the other rain-delayed women’s semifinal. Now she will play for her second career major title against No.

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At least 15 people are dead and thousands were evacuated after a powerful earthquake rattled Indonesia’s main island, according to officials.

The 7.0 magnitude quake, as recorded by the US Geological Survey, shook buildings in the capital Jakarta and flattened homes in villages closer to the epicentre in West Java.

“Many houses are flattened to the ground,” said Edi Sapuan in Margamukti village, not far from Tasikmalaya.

The health ministry said it was sending medical teams to Tasikmalaya near the epicentre of the quake in West Java. Many villagers are injured, covered in blood. “Only the wooden houses remain standing.”

“We ran as soon as the quake hit.

The quake was felt as far away as Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, about 500 kilometres northeast of Tasikmalaya, and on the resort island of Bali, about 700km to the east. .

Hundreds of people sheltered in a military base in Tasikmalaya, fearing that the initial powerful quake would be followed by aftershocks, an official at the disaster management agency said.

At least 27 people were injured in Jakarta, a health ministry official said.

Local tsunami warnings were issued for coastal areas within several hundred kilometres of the epicentre soon after it struck, but were withdrawn about half an hour later.

Indonesia’s main power, oil and gas, steel, and mining companies with operations in West and Central Java island closest to the quake’s epicentre said they had not been affected and suffered no damage.

Indonesia’s seismology agency put the magnitude at 7.

Indonesia’s seismology agency put the magnitude at 7.

Residents in Jakarta reported buildings shaking, and thousands of people streamed onto the streets of the capital from office and apartment blocks. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a widespread tsunami. “It lasted quite long.

“The chandelier started moving and it started shaking really strong,” said Jakarta resident Victor Chan, who lives in a 34th floor apartment.”

“Everything was shaking and my neighbour shouted ‘quake, quake’,” said Nur Syara, from the 31st floor of the same building. I was really scared and rushed downstairs. I lay down on the floor. “You could hear the walls creaking.”

A witness in Tasikmalaya said several houses collapsed, including the mayor’s office, and a mosque was damaged. I was scared things would collapse.

“We were all studying and the building we were in started shaking for a few minutes and the ceiling fell,” said a man identifying himself as Evan.

“We were all studying and the building we were in started shaking for a few minutes and the ceiling fell,” said a man identifying himself as Evan.

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The four men accused of brutally attacking two young couples during a violent rampage in Auckland’s North Shore have pleaded guilty this afternoon.

Harlem Haynui Kirton, 19, Piri Valli Kirton, 18, Ruamoko Taiapa, 21, and Jono Wilson this afternoon entered guilty pleas on all charges on the second day of their trial at the Auckland District Court.

The four had been accused of aggravated robbery, intent to cause grievous bodily harm, wounding with intent and assault with intent to rob, the NZ Herald reported.

The mother of one of the accused, Kiriana Taiapa, also entered a guilty plea today to being an accessory after the fact.

The charges were related to events that occurred on the North Shore on January 15 last year when two couples were violently attacked. .

She had been accused of trying to dispose of 3 metal bars which were used during the attack.

Ms Taiapa was released on bail.

Ms Mandeno said their first victims were a young Russian couple, Dennis Khotchenko and Valeriya Nesterova, who were parked in a red Mercedes on the roadside near Milford Beach enjoying a beer.

As the trial opened in Auckland District Court yesterday, Crown prosecutor Sarah Mandeno said Harlem Kirton took his girlfriend to see the film American Gangster then met up with his brother and friends and went “cruising the streets of the North Shore, examining for trouble”. He then asked Mr Khotchenko if he had “ever met a real gangster”.

She said Wilson walked up to them, struck up a conversation and asked for a beer. “From there the nightmare unfolded,” Ms Mandeno said. Wilson then hit Mr Khotchenko around the head with a metal bar. The frenzied attack left Mr Khotchenko “dizzy and bloodied”. The frenzied attack left Mr Khotchenko “dizzy and bloodied”. On reaching the shore, she sought help from a resident. She eventually managed to escape by running into the water and swimming across an inlet. This time they attacked Oskar Carroll and Ericka Rancourt as they walked home after a night out.

Ms Mandeno said that two hours later the four men struck again.

. Both were badly hurt and could remember little from the attack, Ms Mandeno said

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Police bust Hamilton ‘pot’ street

By BELINDA FEEK – Tuesday, 16 September 2008

A raid on a quiet Hillcrest cul-de-sac has shocked police who discovered cannabis cultivation in every house on the street.
Although there are only three homes on the Hamilton street, all were busted for cannabis and two of them were linked. The occupants of that house, three men and one woman, now face cultivating cannabis and possession-for-supply charges.
Acting Detective Sergeant Graham Pitkethley, of the Waikato Crime Control Unit, said "a sophisticated indoor hydroponics operation" was found in the first property, growing more than 40 cannabis plants.
Cannabis seedlings were found growing outside the third property.
One of the men is also connected to the neighbouring property and faces additional charges for 10 cannabis plants found there.
Mr Pitkethley said the cultivation operations in the first two properties were believed to be linked while the third house was operating separately from its neighbours. A woman now faces several charges, including possession of cannabis for supply. "We don't come across that too often .
The crime control unit or drug squad were not easily shocked, but Friday's bust surprised them…"
All five people were expected to appear in Hamilton District Court this week. It is unusual that you get something at every house, so it was a surprise.
A World Health Organisation report this year put New Zealand second only to the US in a survey of illegal cannabis use in 17 countries. Although Hillcrest was a high-student area, Mr Pitkethley confirmed those arrested were not students, but people "that should know better".
"From a policing point of view the increased use of hydroponics-growing operations means cannabis is no longer a seasonal threat," Mr Pitkethley said.
Meanwhile, the availability and strength of cannabis being found by police is causing concern."
The maximum penalty for possession of marijuana (Class C) is three months in prison and/or a $500 fine.
"It is now a drug available year round and there's significant information out there to suggest it is used as a stepping stone to other drug use.
Twelve ounces of cannabis, LSD and ecstasy were allegedly found in the possession of a 25-year-old man earlier this month. The maximum penalty for importing, cultivating and/or supplying cannabis is eight years in jail. Three people appeared in court on Friday on drug charges.
The cannabis was found in his car while a search of a house near Waikato University revealed the LSD and ecstasy and more cannabis.