Two a penny

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Christchurch police are hunting for a woman’s husband after another man was killed and she was left with serious injuries.

A woman was taken from her home in Burrows Place, Avonhead to Christchurch hospital last night with serious injuries and is in a stable condition.

Police were called to the Burrows Place house two weeks ago to break up an argument between the former couple, Radio New Zealand reported.

Detective Inspector Greg Williams says the woman and her two children, all of Kenyan descent, moved to the address four weeks ago after she separated from her husband.

The dead man was a friend of the woman, who has severe head injuries.

They were again called to the address after there were concerns from friends who had not heard from her or her husband.

Inquiries have been made to find her husband and it appears he left New Zealand on Sunday morning and travelled to Kenya.

Police said they knew who the dead man was, but he was yet to be officially identified. .

Police said they are working with Interpol, but New Zealand has no extradition treaty with Kenya.”

The woman’s two sons, aged 13 and 9, were dropped at a friend’s house on Saturday afternoon by their father.

“There are indications that the husband may be involved.

The body is still at the house and the post mortem is expected to be carried out either later today or tomorrow.

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Kelvin Meredith thought he’d be “looking at dead people” when he saw two cars that had been bombarded by rocks in a landslip near Rotorua today.

Instead he found three people very much alive and played a key role in their rescue.30am on State Highway 36 between Tauranga and Rotorua, about 20km northeast of Rotorua.The slip happened about 8.Mr Meredith told Campbell Live he and a colleague dragged the woman from the car which had gone off the road out through a window.Large rocks and boulders buried one car and forced another off the road and down a bank towards a river. .”Then we went back up the top and tried to make the other people as comfortable as possible,” he said. The car was pretty squashed.”We just thought they had no hope.”The driver of the vehicle forced off the road suffered minor injuries, while the passenger and driver of the other vehicle also suffered minor injuries.”We pretty much thought they were toast but I smashed the window and they were pretty good, really.They were all taken to Rotorua Hospital for checks before being released. -

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An appeal against conviction for the attempted
rape of an Australian backpacker has backfired on a teenager, who
has had his jail term increased from four to six years.

Maia Rongonui was sentenced last November after being convicted on charges of assault with intent to commit rape, and sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection.

The Australian victim was approached by Rongonui as she walked through Christchurch in 2007, when he was 17 years-old. .

The court was told he offered to walk her home but turned on her when she rebuffed his advances, hitting her and sexually assaulting her.

The act was “impulsive and out of character” and she hoped the Parole Board would quickly consider his release to the community and his family.

Rongonui was “not a bad boy at all”, she said.

The Appeal Court didn’t show the same compassion toward Rongonui, who had racked up 16 convictions before his sentencing, rejecting his appeal against conviction.

In a decision released today, the Appeal Court judges agreed with the Crown’s suggestion that the sentence was in fact “manifestly inadequate”.

It agreed with an appeal by the Solicitor-General against the leniency of the sentence and increased it from four years to six.

Her comments about Rongonui’s character were irreconcilable and, furthermore, there was no guilty plea and no remorse shown.

Judge Farish had given too much weight to testimonial material and not enough to Rongonui’s criminal history.

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Rongonui’s appeal against conviction was based on Judge Farish allegedly giving confusing direction to the jury and criticising defence counsel when summing up, but that was dismissed

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About 35 police and fisheries officers busted a black market fishing ring worth tens of thousands of dollars
in Southland.

The operation involved two commercial fishermen allegedly supplying blue cod, rock lobster and oysters to associates, who then on-sold the seafood illegally to the wider community.
The men had been under serious surveillance for the last six months before earlier today’s raids of about eight Southland houses, whose occupants had allegedly received stolen fish, Ministry of Fisheries district compliance manager Reece Murphy told .
“We’re talking high value species.
He could not put a dollar value on the scam but said it would have been in the tens of thousands of dollars. .”
The investigation was in its early stages and a decision about what charges the men would face would be made over the next week, Mr Murphy said.
They could also have to forfeit their fishing gear, including boats.
“Unfortunately there continues to be those amongst the general public who are willing to buy cheap but illegal fish.
Mr Murphy said continued black market activity could place the sustainability of fish stocks in jeopardy.
“If you’re offered cheap fish and it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
“It is these buyers that create the market for illegal fish sellers to operate.
“Anyone who now on reflection believes that they may have unwittingly bought suspect rock lobster, blue cod or oysters recently is encouraged to contact the Ministry of Fisheries Invercargill office before fishery officers have to contact them.”
Fishery officers would be contacting a number of people who had been buying the illegal fish, he said.”
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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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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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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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Animals go missing

By SUSANA TALAGI – Tuesday, 20 January 2009

SUSANA TALAGI/
LOST: Bonny Tawharu wonders where all the pets in her neighbourhood are disappearing to.

Animal lover lover Bonny Tawharu says something sinister is going on in her neighbourhood.
The Ranui resident’s cat went missing last month and is presumed dead.
She says numerous cats have vanished in the area in the same period.
But Ms Tawharu isn’t the only resident to lose a pet in recent weeks.
Three dogs, three rabbits, 17 chickens and numerous ducks are either missing or dead.
But that’s not all.
The problem came to Ms Tawharu’s attention after her eight-year-old cat Havok didn’t return home to Elvira Place on December 20.
"I only got up in the morning to feed him.
"I got him after a separation, he kept me alive," she says.
"I would do anything to get him back, but I think someone’s done him in, that’s the honest truth. Without him I wouldn’t be here now.
"I thought that’s weird," she says."
Ms Tawharu went doorknocking and learned two neighbours had the same problem.
"Then I went around the corner and another woman said she had lost her cat.
"Then I went around the corner and another woman said she had lost her cat.
She had a "phenomenal response"."
Ms Tawharu delivered 470 leaflets seeking information about her cat and urging people to contact her if they were in a similar predicament. .
"How come all these animals are disappearing and dying?" she says.
"They were murdered," she says.
The chickens were savaged, presumably by a dog, and she believes her dog was poisoned."
Animal Welfare Centre officer Priya Sundar also thinks the situation is strange.
"I’m on my own and have cancer – those creatures were my friends.
"It would suggest something out of the ordinary is going on.
"The number of animals disappearing in the area sounds unusual," she says.
"Ms Tawharu is on the right path.
"Ms Tawharu is on the right path. Making other people aware is good because people might not know to ring us."
If you’ve lost or found a pet call the centre on 836-0400.

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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."