Two a penny

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The Maori Party plans to have 18 seats in Parliament
by 2017, which will include all the Maori seats, its president told
a group of Maori Party supporters today.

About 200 leaders and supporters attended the Maori Party’s annual general meeting in Auckland today.

Maori Party president Professor Whatarangi Winata said the party had been active in Parliament to date and had delivered 180 speeches since the beginning of the term.

Leaders, members and MPs discussed the party’s role in Parliament to date and its future plans. .

The party wanted to increase its membership to have more influence in legislation, but co-leader Tariana Turia said for this to be done, more people needed to “cough up” more funds, particually those who were “well heeled”.

“We do have a respectful relationship (but) we don’t have to agree with one another,” she said.

She said she expected the party to be able to see out its term with National and had a good relationship with Prime Minister John Key and his party.”

The leaders discussed the climate change and the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS), and while Mrs Turia said she was personally opposed to the ETS, because it would effect forestry, fishing and farming, three areas essential to the Maori economy, the Maori Party supported the bill because that was what their supporters wanted.

“The most important thing is the Maori Party is sitting at the same table as whoever is in Government.

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Two men have been charged with murdering 17-year-old Kaine Lewis in the Bay of Plenty town Murupara earlier this month.

A 17-year-old and an 18-year-old were due to appear in Rotorua District Court later today, acting area commander Inspector Greg Sparrow said.They had both been previously charged with participating in a criminal group activity.”Obviously we are pleased that we have been able to reach a point where we can charge two people with murder. .”This was a serious incident which has had a significant impact on the Murupara community. We are continuing to speak with a number of other people who may have been involved.”Mr Lewis was beaten and dumped on a driveway of a Murupara house, where he was found dying on October 3.”There was a vehicle involved but we don’t believe it was serious enough to cause those injuries,” Mr Sparrow said.He had extensive head injuries but Mr Sparrow would not say whether a weapon was involved. In January Jordan Herewini, 16, was run down by a vehicle allegedly driven by a gang member now facing a murder charge.Mr Lewis was the second teenager to die in Murupara gang violence in nine months.

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Auckland bus drivers will decide earlier today whether to accept recommendations made by an employment facilitator to end a bitter pay dispute that has seen 80,000 commuters stranded over the last week. .The company and the coalition of four unions that make up the Auckland Combined Unions have been in facilitation with the Employment Relations Authority since the lockout to try and resolve the five month dispute.”We will take the recommendations from facilitation .Union negotiators will meet their members at 11am to discuss developments… to a meeting and will vote on whether to accept,” union spokesperson Karl Andersen said.”This is on the proviso that by 1.NZ Bus operations manager Zane Fulljames said that as a gesture of goodwill the company would lift the lock-out notice and resume all normal services, with effect from 4am on Thursday..30pm.the unions also lift their strike notice and agree to work with the facilitator to reach a ratified settlement..”We have confidence in the facilitation process, and trust that the unions will join with us to get our buses back on the roads,” Mr Fulljames said.”We have confidence in the facilitation process, and trust that the unions will join with us to get our buses back on the roads,” Mr Fulljames said.

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US President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation. . Obama’s name had been mentioned in speculation before the award but many Nobel watchers believed it was too early to award the president. “His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.

“Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future,” the committee said.

“Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics.”

The committee said it attached special importance to Obama’s vision of, and work for, a world without nuclear weapons. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play,” the committee said. Former President Jimmy Carter won the award in 2002, while former Vice President Al Gore shared the 2007 prize with the UN panel on climate change.

Theodore Roosevelt won the award in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won in 1919.

In his 1895 will, Alfred Nobel stipulated that the peace prize should go “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses.

The Nobel committee received a record 205 nominations for this year’s prize. Sweden and Norway were united under the same crown at the time of Nobel’s death.”

Unlike the other Nobel Prizes, which are awarded by Swedish institutions, he said the peace prize should be given out by a five-member committee elected by the Norwegian Parliament.

The committee has taken a wide interpretation of Nobel’s guidelines, expanding the prize beyond peace mediation to include efforts to combat poverty, disease and climate change.

The committee has taken a wide interpretation of Nobel’s guidelines, expanding the prize beyond peace mediation to include efforts to combat poverty, disease and climate change

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Controversial American cyclist Floyd Landis, stripped of the 2006 Tour de France title after failing a doping test, is a confirmed starter the Tour of Southland next month.

Landis would compete as part of the Cyclingnz.Cyclingnz.com/Biosport team, Tour of Southland race director Bruce Ross said today.”Although we asked a number of local riders to ride for our team, close toly all of them had already committed to other teams for the tour,” Hudson said.com team manager Wayne Hudson said the decision to approach Landis came about two weeks ago, when one of their original lineup for the Southland tour switched to another team.”We thought, ‘why not?’ All we can do is ask and if we don’t ask, we’ll never know whether or not he might have said yes.He admitted it had been a long shot to ask Landis.”Floyd had just finished his competitive season, so was in pretty good form and Scott was confident Floyd would rise to the occasion.”Hudson said the deal was struck after they were put in contact with Landis’ agent, Scott Thompson.”He said sponsors had reacted positively to help offset the cost of flying Landis in.”Floyd is the kind of guy who will give his best and turn up every day to ride as hard as he can.”Landis will be supported by Auckland riders Nico de Jong, Nick Lovegrove, Jeremy Meech and Southland triathlete Jamie Whyte, all of whom will be racing their second Southland tour.”We got an almost instant response of ‘we’re in’ from two of them.He launched an impressive all out attack on that stage to win by almost six minutes and got the boost he needed to go on take the overall tour title.Landis was trailing leader Tour de France leader Oscar Pereiro by more than eight minutes going into the 17th stage in the 2006 Tour de France.Landis, who has strongly maintained his innocence, was banned for two years and made his comeback this year with the Maxxis team.Then he failed the doping test which showed elevated levels of synthetic testosterone, a performance-enhancing substance.”To my mind, he has served his time, been cleared to ride again and he will be treated the same as any other bike rider will be treated. .

.”Landis helped Lance Armstrong to three Tour de France victories in the US Postal team between 2002-2004 before becoming the headline rider with the Phonak team from 2005

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A nine-year-old boy begged his older sister to let him move in with her to escape his mother’s beatings, a court has been told.

The sister was giving evidence at Dunedin District Court where her mother was facing assault charges.Jurors wept during the first day of the trial on Monday as the boy described how he was abused by her.The charges include assault with a weapon including a wooden spoon, jug cord, fibreglass tent pole, sandals or a belt.The 41-year-old Invercargill woman is facing 14 counts of assault against her three children, aged three, nine and 12, that allegedly took place between April 2006 and March 2008.The adult sister told the jury and Judge Stephen O’Driscoll she saw her mother “viciously” laying into two of her younger brothers with a belt. .”They (the children) were annoying each other, poking each other, jumping around.”She used to tell (one of the boys) that she hated him and that she was going to crack them. (They were) just being kids.”Earlier yesterday, the nine-year-old child told the court, via closed circuit television, how he would “run away screaming because it hurts” when he was hit, and that he and his brothers would hide when the jug cord came out. You don’t tell a three-year-old that.

.The trial is expected to finish tomorrow

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Fonterra has emerged from dairying’s toughest year in living memory in a buoyant mood.

The cooperative was yesterday praising its management of a year in which commodity prices plummeted as farmers produced more milk.20 a kg of milksolids, well down on the $7.

It confirmed the payout to farmers for the year to July 31 would be $5.

But it also pointed to a stronger balance sheet, reduced stockpiles and improved performance in adding value to its basic products.90 record high of the year before.10, the company’s leadership was upbeat.

With a recovery in commodity prices now underway and a lift in the payout forecast for this year to $5.

He said the company had weathered business challenges and market volatility that were probably unique in the lifetimes of anyone involved in dairying.

Chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden said Fonterra’s strategy of “combining a broad business footprint, a powerful sales network, strong customer relationships and valued brands” was delivering more profit to farmers.

On top of this, the market turmoil occurred as many farmers were emerging from the worst drought in more than a century.

Commodity prices fell from record highs, the exchange rate was a roller coaster, much of the world plunged into a deep recession and the global financial meltdown rewrote the rules about how companies obtained finance. This had come momentarily early this year when exchange rates took a brief favourable turn.

However, the company had decided to hold onto stocks and wait for a lift in the market.5 per cent in January to 52. Now inventories were down and the debt ratio had fallen from a high of 61.

Chief executive Andrew Ferrier said a solid performance in both the consumer brands and ingredients businesses had driven a strong growth in profits and had lifted the value-added proportion of the payout, from 31c to 49c.7 per cent at July 31. Overall, more than $6.

This had added $603 million to the distributable profit, compared with $364m the previous year.

The company increased sales of infant formula to global customers, held margins above falling commodity prices for ingredients products in the large developed markets, and achieved some early success with the commercialisation of products developed by Fonterra researchers.3 billion would be distributed to farmers. .

These included specialised proteins for sports bars, beverages and medical nutrition, special yoghurt texturisers, and unique processed cheeses for the foodservices sector

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The recession ended in the June quarter, with the economy growing by the barest of margins, up just 0.1 per cent, according to official figures.

Most economists and the Reserve Bank expected a slight fall in the June quarter, but that growth would return in the September quarter.

Economist said yesterday that a better than expected result for the economy could see the kiwi dollar continue to rise against the US dollar. The recession began at the start of 2008.06c, its highest level since August 4, 2008 after the release of the GDP data.

The New Zealand dollar rose as high as US73.

Economic activity, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP), was up less than 0.

This growth in economic activity follows five quarters of contraction in the New Zealand economy.1 per cent in the June 2009 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said.5 per cent in the June 2009 quarter, mainly driven by forestry and logging (up 8.

Activity in the primary industries was up 1.

The increase in forestry and logging production was related to an increase in exports of logs to the People’s Republic of China.0 per cent).

Activity in the goods-producing industries contracted 0.

Activity in the goods-producing industries contracted 0.3 per cent) and construction (down 1.

The manufacturing (down 1. A 5.9 per cent) industries both declined.

Activity in the services industries was flat this quarter.9 per cent increase in electricity, gas and water partly offset these declines.5 per cent) and communications (up 1. Service industries that increased were real estate and business services (up 1.

Offsetting these increases were declines in wholesale trade (down 2.7 per cent).3 per cent), and government administration and defence (down 0.3 per cent), and government administration and defence (down 0.4 per cent).

The expenditure measure of GDP, released concurrently with the production measure, was up 0.4 percent in the June 2009 quarter.

Household consumption expenditure, which measures the volume of spending by New Zealand households, was up 0.4 per cent.

This increase in household spending was driven by non-durables (mainly motor fuel) and services. Household spending on durable items fell.

Export volumes were up 4.7 per cent in the June 2009 quarter, with exports of dairy and wood products the main contributors.

Import volumes decreased 3.8 percent in the same period, with the largest declines in intermediate goods, and machinery and plant equipment.

The combination of higher exports, lower imports, and a decline in manufacturing led to a large, $1. .

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Police have launched an investigation into allegations of sabotage and assault at a Waikato cheese factory where a pay and contracts dispute between workers and management is turning increasingly dirty.

Open Country factory union members have been barred from returning to the Waharoa plant by management while an inquiry into alleged sabotage of factory equipment by a worker is investigated.The Dairy Workers Union members have been trying to return to work this week at the end of an eight-day strike but the company is refusing allow them on the premises. .It was too risky to allow the striking employees back to work until a police investigation had sorted out who was guilty for the alleged sabotage, he said.Factory chairman Laurie Margrain claimed that just before the industrial action started, somebody had loosened fittings, turned off valves and altered pressure gauges.”They’re presenting themselves for work and we’re paying them,” he said.But workers who did turn up for their shift were being sent home on full pay, he said.Mr Margrain said a disgruntled employee was behind the dumping.Police are also investigating an allegation of sludge dumping from the factory into close toby the Waitoa River.But Dairy Workers Union national secretary James Ritchie said untrained workers hired by the company during the strike had released the sludge into the Waitoa river, causing environmental damage.

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Annah Stretton is no stranger to controversy.

For her winter 2010 collection she transported the audience back to the 1950s in an ode to legendaryKiwi exotic dance star Freda Stark.

Her collection featured lingerie as outerwear, diaphanous tea dresses with a twist and figure hugging pencil skirts.

In the prelude to the show, ushers gave out icecreams to the audience before Stretton sent models with tousled hair and come-to-bed eyes down the catwalk. .

For the finale she sent models down the runway wearing little more than gold body paint,a trademark of Stark in her pomp.

Twenty-seven names took John Lennon and Yoko Ono as the inspiration for their range.

Hogan’s collection was ladylike and demure with a twist.

The Sable and Minx Winter 2010 collection earlier showed a very pretty feminine collection featuring a palette of lilacs, pale blues and sage green.

But the oversized shirts and fitted jackets the label is known for were also still a big part of the range.

Cybele Wiren sent elfin models down the catwalk in fluid, beautifully draped clothes, in a palette of inky blues and nudes.

The first show of New Zealand Fashion Week was always going to be a big draw.

Standout pieces from the collection included skirts and dresses which were panelled and fluted to resemble the petals of a lily.

For Winter 2010, Wiren said she found her inspiration from the formality of the Victorian era and the sculptural qualities of flowers and insects.

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The lily was also strongly evident in prints – a navy silk mini-dress is bound to be a bestseller for the designer