Two a penny

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Air and sea searches this evening failed to turn up any sign of eight people reportedly seen in heavy seas on a dinghy and kayaks off the Otago coast.

An eyewitness had seen the group of four kayaks and four people in a rubber dinghy head out about midday today at Kaka Point, 23km southeast of Balclutha, Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand spokesman Lindsay Sturt said.Conditions were poor with strong winds and a heavy swell. .Mr Sturt said no one had been reported missing and if the eight were caught out at sea it was likely aircraft would have located them. We just haven’t heard anything at all.”We’re just looking for information from anyone that might be able to tell us that these people are missing.”Anyone who was aware of the group in question was urged to contact police, who had been involved in the search.

.Searchers would consider overnight how to approach the situation in the morning

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The shaking in Southland has not let up, with four major aftershocks felt since the main quake last night.

Did you feel the quake? Click here to send us your photos and videos

The first, a 6.41pm, Wednesday.1-magnitude quake, struck at 9.9 shake at 1. It has been followed today bya magnitude 5.3at 12.50am,a magnitude 5.5 at 12.24pm and amagnitude 5.

They follow the main7.44pm.22pm, Wednesday,centred 100km northwest of Tuatapere with a focal depth of 12km.8-magnitude quake, which struck at 9.

GNS technician Matthew Stevens said all four aftershocks were shallow at only 5km deep. .

Geonet spokesman Kevin Fenaughty said there had been hundreds of minor shakes, butonlymajor aftershocks -the ones people would have felt – were being recorded on the agency’s website. “They would have been felt quite strongly at the surface,” he said.

Meanwhile, Despite the close to-record magnitude of last night’s earthquake in Fiordland, the Insurance Council says few claims have been lodged.

There had been about 200 reports from people who had felt the main earthquake last night, and those reports would be used to paint a picture of its overall reach and effect,Mr Fenaughtysaid.

The nature of the earthquake that hit, which has been described as a rolling motion, instead of sharp jolts, meant minimal damage might be reported, he said.

Insurance Council of New Zealand chief executive Chris Ryan saidhe was not expecting a lot to come.”

CHECK-UP OPERATION

The earthquake caused a small number of slips on steep Fiordland mountainsides.

“From our point of view we’d be strongly encouraging people to check their properties, especially their chimneys.

Civil Defence officers and ConservationDepartmentstaff started checks early this morning for possible damage in Southland and Fiordland following the earthquake.

Civil Defence officers and ConservationDepartmentstaff started checks early this morning for possible damage in Southland and Fiordland following the earthquake.

The Department of Conservation is continuing to check its huts and tracks, and the Southland District Council and the Transport Agency have been assessing roads and bridges for possible damage, but there are no reported problems.

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Reality TV star Jade Goody’s widower Jack Tweed has been jailed for 12 weeks at a British Magistrates’ Court for assaulting a taxi driver.

Tweed, 21, of Buckhurst Hill, Essex, was sentenced after being found guilty of attacking Stephen Wilkins in Epping last May, the Press Association reported.
Tweed attacked Wilkins after a night out. . He also threatened to stab him after he asked for the fare in advance, according to testimony at his trial. She and Tweed married after doctors told her the cancer had spread and was terminal.
A mother-of-two and a contestant on the Big Brother television show, Goody died earlier this month after a high profile fight against cancer.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw had to intervene to amend Tweed’s bail conditions to allow the couple to spend their wedding night together.1 and $294.
Tweed also was ordered to pay prosecution costs of $670.
It was the second time in six months that Tweed has been found guilty of an assault.55 to Wilkins.
He was released from prison in January and ordered to wear a monitoring tag and observe a curfew.
In September, he was given an 18-month jail sentence for hitting a 16-year-old boy with a golf club.

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A rare show by comedy duo Flight of the Conchords raised an estimated $60,000 for Masterton’s Makoura College, the former high school of band member Jemaine Clement, at a fundraiser last night.

The 2000 tickets were intended to go on sale for Wairarapa residents a day before being opened to the wider public, but sold out in 91 minutes. .

Clement contacted his old teacher Rae McKenzie last year after hearing the struggling school’s falling roll – from 600 to 200 – may force it to close, asking if there was anything he could do to help. I really enjoyed my time at this school,” he told Radio New Zealand.

“I was worried about it.

Clement said he was amazed how big the duo was in Masterton.

He emailed Mrs McKenzie again in mid-March to say he and sidekick Bret McKenzie would be available to play at the school on March 31. I’m wondering if this might have spread as far as Carterton, and possibly even to Featherston.

“We’re huge in Masterton.

Mrs McKenzie told Radio New Zealand a committee would be set up to decide how the money would be spent.”

He said it was an honour to play a venue where, as a child, he was taken to watch the Golden Shears shearing competition. There’s also talk of a scholarship each year, so a certain amount will be invested, and have a scholarship for music students to develop.

“It will probably be used mostly in the performing arts area.

It followed a show earlier in the day just for Makoura College students.”

The concert was one of few in New Zealand in recent years by the duo, who have a huge following and TV show in the US.

Mrs McKenzie had contacted one seller and persuaded them to withdraw the sale, saying it was unfortunate that people were trying to make money off the charity event.

Ticket scalpers who were attempting to sell the $40 tickets for triple their original price received flak on TradeMe, with potential buyers asking if the profit would also be donated to the school. .

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“The price was kept low to make sure locals would be able to go. it wasn’t kept low for some people to make money on,” she told the Wairarapa Times-Age. .

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Flight of the Conchords leave for a two-month tour of the United States on Friday

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New rules for state pay rises

By VERNON SMALL Friday, 20 February 2009

Up to 40,000 public servants face new guidelines on pay rises as the Government calls for them to share the pain of the deepening recession.
State Services Minister Tony Ryall issued the guidelines yesterday for state sector bosses, including scrapping a move to standardise leave and holiday provisions, and ensuring pay rises do not "lead" movements in the private sector. .
Two pay and employment equity investigations will be canned.5 per cent over the next 18 months.
The moves come as the Government looks for creative ways to save jobs in the face of forecasts that unemployment could reach 7.
A spokeswoman for Prime Minister John Key said it would be one of many options on the table at next week's jobs summit.
One option floated by Business NZ chief executive Phil O'Reilly would see the Government pay a "top-up benefit" to workers who accepted shorter paid hours to undertake skills training.
"The new expectations reflect the new Government's priorities, and the worsening economic and fiscal situation," he said.
Mr Ryall said the state sector recognised the private sector was hurting.
Public Service Association secretary Richard Wagstaff said the auditor-general had found Corrections had 10 per cent fewer probation officers than it needed.
The moves drew immediate fire from state sector unionists, who said they would make it difficult to retain and recruit vital staff and that canning employment equity measures was "a slap in the face" for female social workers. To do this, Corrections needs to be able to provide the pay and working conditions that will attract people to do this difficult and demanding work.
"There's an urgent need to recruit and retain more probation officers.
Labour state services spokesperson Grant Robertson said Mr Ryall's call for salaries to be "fiscally sustainable within baselines" amounted to a three-year pay freeze."
The situation would be even worse for Child, Youth and Family, which was struggling with a shortage of social workers." . "Chief executives are being given the message, reduce salaries or cut jobs.
"National should also take a look in the mirror.
Women would take a double hit from the scrapping of investigations into employment equity.
Figures issued last week show National has hired fewer media staff than Labour but has ramped up pay rates. It's asking for public service restraint after spending over $1 million to hire 10 media advisers," Mr Robertson said.
Prime Minister John Key has moved to freeze MPs' pay this year, but rejected a Green Party move to freeze them for the full three-year term.
Under Labour, only eight had been paid more than $100,000 but under National that number has jumped to 18.

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Haig had hand in murder – QC

By REBECCA PALMER Friday, 20 February 2009

THE PRESS
GETTING SICK OF IT: Rex Haig, right, with lawyer Jonathan Eaton and the report rejecting Mr Haig’s claim for compensation.

RexHaigand his nephew David Hogan jointly beat fishing boat crewman Mark Roderique to death and threw his body overboard, according to "probable facts" outlined in a new investigation report.
The report from Robert Fisher, QC, made public yesterday, describes a new version of the events that led to Mr Roderique's death in 1994.
Mr Haig's lawyer, Jonathan Eaton, said the findings meant Mr Hogan's immunity should now be scrutinised. It implicates Mr Hogan, who was granted immunity from prosecution in 1995."
Mr Haig was "now being denied compensation on the basis he and Hogan together did it".
"For many years now, there's been evidence implicating Hogan that has not been investigated. Denying compensation was disappointing."
The report says that, during the 1994 fishing trip, an argument developed at Jackson Bay between Mr Roderique and Mr Hogan. "It reflects just how difficult it is for someone to prove their innocence.
After Mr Roderique threatened Mr Hogan with a knife, Mr Haig beat him with a length of wood or pipe. Mr Haig intervened, sacked Mr Roderique and told him to get off the boat.
The report says Mr Haig and Mr Hogan were worried he would reveal their involvement in paua poaching to authorities. Mr Hogan later beat him again, tied him up and shut him in the boat's toilet area. . It describes them jointly killing Mr Roderique in the toilet area.
Mr Fisher also summarises evidence from 11 people who alleged Mr Hogan had told them he was either wholly or partly responsible for the murder."
They threw his body over the side of the boat a safe distance from Jackson Bay, the report says.
Mr Haig, now 61 and living in Christchurch, said yesterday he was not very surprised his bid for compensation had failed. He says determining Mr Hogan's guilt or innocence is not the point of the investigation."
He did not believe police would investigate Mr Hogan till the public "put the heat on". " "In the end they have shafted me. He said: "I've been on trial by media for more than 12 years for not one but two murders" referring to Mr Haig's key defence witness, Anton Sherlock, who was bashed to death nine days before a depositions hearing in the case.
In 2006, Mr Hogan told the Sunday Star-Times he was not the killer.
A spokeswoman for Solicitor-General David Collins, QC, said Crown Law was considering Mr Fisher's "extensive report".
Another man, Nigel Johnstone, was convicted of that murder but also proclaimed his innocence.

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Killed driver may have been speeding and drinking

Wednesday, 14 January 2009

A 21-year-old King Country man killed in a crash last night may have been drinking, speeding and not wearing a seatbelt, police say.
Lloyd Nikora Phillips, of Benneydale, was thrown from his car as it rolled several times across a paddock after he lost control on a moderate bend around 8.30pm.
"It's the simple things that are killing people on our roads and it's something everyone has to take responsibility for.
"Indications are that three of the five basic principles of safe driving were ignored with speed, alcohol and use of seatbelts apparent factors in the crash," Waikato road policing manager Inspector Leo Tooman said.

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Police believe no foul play in man’s death

– Saturday, 10 January 2009

RIVER SEARCH: Police officers examine the Heathcote River, where a man’s body was found yesterday.

A man found dead in Christchurch's Heathcote River was not the victim of foul play, police say.40am.
The 44-year-old Christchurch man was found in the river by a woman out walking yesterday about 10.
A large team of detectives worked at the scene yesterday, using a cherry-picker to examine the river.
The body was found jammed against a tree branch in the river alongside Aynsley Terrace in Opawa, southern Christchurch.
"We've had the post-mortem and the results are more indicative of being something other than a criminal act," he said.
Police initially reported "some unexplained circumstances" in the man's death, but Detective Senior Sergeant John Rae last night scotched any suggestion of criminal activity."
The man had at least one teenage child.
"We're not examining for anyone else in connection with it.
There were some small injuries on the man's body that police had accounted for, he said. Rae said police were initially concerned because "there were so many questions and no answers" about the body. .
Rae said it appeared the man had entered the river further upstream.
"It will just be treated more as a sudden death now and I'm quite sure those few queries we have will be answered," Rae said.
More details would emerge earlier today, but they were not expected to be significant.

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Lucky escape for man shot in neck

Tuesday, 06 January 2009

A Central Otago man was extremely lucky not to have been killed after a mystery bullet shot into his neck, police say.
The 28-year-old was unharmed when his backyard barbecue at Clyde was interrupted on Sunday night by a .22-calibre bullet. Senior Constable Mike Colligan, of Alexandra, said the man was very lucky not to have died let alone avoid serious injury.
The bullet did not even pierce the skin, stinging a little before dropping harmlessly into the sausages and onions on the barbie.22.
"It was a spent . If it had been full on it would have killed him," he said."
The victim and his two companions heard several bullets whiz over the roof before one came in low under the veranda.
"Someone's been shooting a rifle and hasn't taken much care.
Despite an extensive police search no suspects were found.
The bullet was likely to have come from rabbit shooters near town and probably ricocheted off rocks before hitting the man in the neck, Colligan said.
"There are so many people up walking in the hills, you have to be bloody careful," Colligan said. Police are not treating the incident as deliberate but the offenders would face charges of recklessly discharging a firearm if they were found.
With rabbit shooting season under way it was extremely important that hunters put safety first, he said. .

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Kiwi on Thai drugs charges

Tuesday, 16 December 2008

MICHAEL TOPFFER
DRUG CHARGES: Kiwi racing driver Peter Scharmach could face 20 years in a Thai prison.

AKiwi racing driver could face up to 20 years in a Thai prison after being arrested for allegedly attempting to sell drugs in a Phuket nightclub.
Peter Scharmach, 44, was arrested early on Saturday after he left a popular nightclub at Patong Beach in his car and was stopped for a routine check at a police checkpoint.
German-born Scharmach, who has New Zealand residency and who is well-known in New Zealand motorsport circles, was charged with possession of drugs with the intent to sell.
Thai police say they discovered a small amount of methamphetamine, ecstasy and cannabis, as well as five small sealable plastic bags, foil-paper and plastic tubes used to inhale or smoke the drugs.
A New Zealand Embassy spokesman in Bangkok confirmed yesterday that a New Zealand resident had been arrested in Phuket. He was freed on bail. He said Scharmach had not approached the embassy for consular support.
His lawyer, Siwa Bol, said Scharmach had asked police to release his passport so he could travel to Germany for business reasons before he returned to Thailand to face court on January 13.
In photos taken just after his arrest, Scharmach was shown seated and flanked by Thai police officials, with money, cellphones and bags of drugs on a table in front of him.
"I told him, 100 per cent, you will not go to jail," Mr Bol said.
Mr Bol said Scharmach had pleaded not guilty to the charges, on the basis that he was a businessman who did not make a living from dealing drugs. He said Scharmach, who could face 20 years in jail, had been in Thailand for six days and local police were still "trying to check his background".
Lieutenant Colonel Sriwiwat of Kamala police in Phuket, said the drugs seized, combined with the equipment, "show that Mr Scharmach had the intention to sell the drugs".
People in the New Zealand motorsport industry who know Scharmach have described him as an "man of mystery"; and as a "very wealthy" person who globetrotted the world taking part in Mini challenge races.
People in the New Zealand motorsport industry who know Scharmach have described him as an "man of mystery"; and as a "very wealthy" person who globetrotted the world taking part in Mini challenge races.
A Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry spokesman said at present there were 62 Kiwis imprisoned overseas for offences that included wilful damage, violence charges and drug offences.
A friend said Scharmach was a New Zealand resident and was married.

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New Zealand embassies also provided advice and help for a further 127 Kiwis arrested overseas in 2006 and 2007