Copyright © 1998 Brian Harmer
It is that time of year when tempers are prone to be short, patience is fragile, and many of us just want the year to be done with. Perhaps next year will be better, perhaps life will go more smoothly, perhaps the world will be a kinder place.
A few days with weather such as we are currently enjoying would help enormously, after the wettest most miserable November I can remember.
Twice a year, Victoria University has a group of graduation ceremonies. On Friday the main bulk of our four faculties gathered at the Law School (Old Government Buildings) and at midday, staff and graduands processed in full academic regalia through the streets of Wellington behind a pipe band. A couple of thousand staff and students makes a colourful, if slow moving spectacle. Bus and taxi drivers seemed relaxed, though the odd courier driver seemed less pleased. Police officers on motorbikes seemed to enjoy themselves holding up traffic on side streets and then once the tail of the procession was past, zooming up the column to the next one.
The graduation ceremonies themselves were as I have described before, solemn, long, and here and there touched by moments of individual tragedy or triumph ... the posthumously awarded degree on the one hand, or on the other, the daughter of a staff member who was allowed to receive her diploma from her delighted father.
On with the news:
All news items (except where noted otherwise) are reproduced by kind permission of copyright owner, IRN Ltd whose current news listing can be found at http://www.xtramsn.co.nz/news/
All material in parentheses, and concluded with the initials "BH" is the personal opinion of Brian Harmer as editor of this newsletter, or occasionally "HH" will indicate an opinion from Helen.
Winston Peters will be biting his fingernails, as the special votes are counted up tomorrow, according to our political editor. Barry Soper says the Greens will be on tenterhooks over the Coromandel seat. But he says because they have gained little so far, they have less to lose than Mr Peters. He says Mr Peters is hanging on to his Tauranga seat by a thread with 323 votes, with more than three thousand special votes to be counted in the Tauranga electorate. Barry Soper says if Mr Peters majority is wiped out by National's Katherine O'Regan, then the five New Zealand First MPs will disappear from the political map.
(He squeaked in by 62 votes. Katherine O'Regan and the National party are seeking a judicial recount, though ironically, the greatest benefit would accrue to Labour if she wins. - BH)
The parties have today formally signed the coalition agreement which will provide for a management committee to deal with differences of opinion over policy. However Ms Clark says the essence of policy in most instances is similar, and the point of difference is how soon those policies will be implemented. But the caretaker Minister of State Services, Simon Upton, says Labour has sacrificed an important constitutional principle in order to allow its new coalition partner to grandstand. Until now all ministers have been required to publicly support cabinet decisions. However the coalition agreement signed between Labour and the Alliance today allows either party to try to override cabinet decisions which don not agree with their party policies - by drafting private members' bills. Mr Upton says that will lead to government disunity - especially if the Alliance begins to slip in the polls.
All Black Carl Hoeft is putting his weight behind a campaign to control asthma. Hoeft has suffered from asthma since he was nine - he says management has been the key to controlling it. The Government drug funding agency Pharmac has launched a campaign aimed at promoting asthma awareness and better management of the condition. 450,000 New Zealanders are diagnosed with asthma.
Outgoing Prime Minister Jenny Shipley was among the mourners at a service for the New Zealand soldier who died in East Timor last week. 37 year old Warrant officer Tony Walser was killed when the truck he was driving crashed down a steep bank. Tony Walser was described today as a soldier's soldier, an adventurer and a devoted family man. A spokesman for the East Timorese community also paid tribute, saying it was thanks to soldiers like him that their country is now free from Indonesian oppression.
(This was a moving service, and though many uniformed service men and women were present, military honours were not rendered at the request of the family. - BH)
The owners of Athletic Park say their plan to turn it into a retirement village will pump millions into the local economy. The Wellington Tenths Trust has announced it is developing the site in partnership with the Summerset Management Group. The $46 million project will feature 340 units, house up to 450 people and provide jobs for 100 staff. Trust chairman Ngatata Love says it will pump at least $7 million a year into the local community.
The owner of budget airline K-2000 says there is absolutely no truth to suggestions that the company has been forced to cancel flights for the week. The rumour surfaced in a major daily newspaper, which quoted two Dunedin passengers who appear to have missed their flight, and a memo from K-2000's agents, Ogdens Aviation. K-2000 owner Jeff Matthews says the memo, which outlined plans to cancel one flight on one day, has been blown out of proportion. Mr Matthews says not a single flight has been affected this week.
It appears the Greens are to return to Parliament. According to One Network News tonight, Green co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons has won the seat of Coromandel with a majority of 240. The result means a reallocation of seats in Parliament, with the Labour /Alliance coalition now holding 60 seats: one short of a majority. The Greens will have six MPs in Parliament: sitting MPs Fitzsimons and Rod Donald, Auckland Central candidate Nandor Tanczos, Ian Ewen Street, Sue Bradford and Wellington anti GE campaigner Sue Kedgley.
(The Greens have pledged to support Labour and Alliance on matters of confidence and supply ... and at the end of the week it emerges that when all votes were counted they did pass the magic 5% margin to get another member in the house - BH)
A missing vote scandal in the knife-edge seat of Rangitikei has been revealed by the Chief Electoral Office. Police have been called in over about a hundred ballot papers cast at the Himatangi Beach Community Hall on election day which have vanished. National's Simon Power leads Labour's Craig Walsham by just 74 votes before the counting of specials. Chief electoral officer Phil Whelan says immediate action was taken to try to find out where the ballot papers had got to - but the inquiry has now been handed over to police. The missing votes could see both candidates left hanging for days if the result is still close after specials.
(Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity! I listened to some statements by police spokesmen today, and I am seriously concerned that we are not employing these people to solve the riddle of the Mars Lander. "The votes were counted," one said, "and then they went missing after that." !!! Well they are scarcely likely to have counted them after they went missing, now, are they? - BH)
Hastings police are to review their security after three men on remand escaped from a police van. The trio were being taken from Hastings District Court to Hawkes Bay Prison when they forced the doors open and fled on Monday. A 19-year-old was re-captured shortly after, but two men are still at large. Sergeant Bob Gordan says the constables involved probably did not know anything was happening because of the engine noise and the fact prisoners normally make a lot of noise themselves. However he says they will investigate and will try to ensure it does not happen again.
Northpower customers in Northland are furious over the treatment they have been given by power retailer Meridian Energy. Meridian has increased power prices in Whangarei by around 13 per cent for residential customers, and 6 per cent for businesses. Northpower Electric Power Trust chairman Erc Angel says the price hikes will hit both homes and businesses hard, and are proof the recent electricity reforms are not working. Mr Angelo says the Trust has stuck up for Meridian in the past, but this time there will be a fight.
(The most common comment I have heard in respect to this disgrace is "Thanks Max!" ... yeah right! The electricity reforms will save us all money according to ousted minister, Max Bradford - BH)
The new liquor laws may allow 18-year-olds to drink in pubs but they have had an annoying side effect on 'oldies'. Hamilton drinkers in their late 20s are being refused entry into pubs due to stricter identification laws. Bars are demanding ALL patrons show approved identification, which is limited to passports, photo drivers licences and Hospitality Association 18-plus cards. One irritated 27-year-old woman was turned away from several Hamilton bars. She told security staff she had not applied for her new licence yet, and did not have a passport. The woman was told that even if she was 60, she had still have to show the correct ID.
(Bars with that attitude deserve to lose all their customers. _ BH)
The union representing Bendon staff is demanding answers following the release of the company's latest financial status. By the end of the month 400 people will lose their jobs from Bendon factories. Ceramco Corporation, which owns Bendon, has just released figures showing the company's revenue for the six months to the end of September was more than $35 million. National Distribution Union spokeswoman Judy Attenberger says it is appalling that the company can claim it is not making enough money when clearly it is.
Mystery surrounds the disappearance of an Auckland service station attendant. Twenty-eight-year-old Shaun Douglas Hulme disappeared from the Williamson Ave Shell Station in Grey Lynn in the early hours of Wednesday morning. His disappearance was noted after a person delivering newspapers found the station unattended. There is shattered glass on the forecourt from an upstairs office window, and police say there are signs of a disturbance in the room. However police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty says it appears no money has been taken from the till. She says police are yet to view security camera footage from the station, and there are indications the video camera has been tampered with.
(See later report - BH)
Student Job Search is becoming concerned over the increasing amount of prejudice from people wanting to employ students over the holiday period. Some employers are requesting they don not want students from ethnic minorities to be considered for positions. Student Job Search spokeswoman Kerry Davis says the requests are becoming a daily occurrence. Ms Davis says it is a real concern for the organisation, which just wants to match students with the right skills to the job. She says the problem has worsened as the number of Asian students has increased.
Transit New Zealand says the decision to close the Auckland Harbour Bridge on New Year's Eve for 20 minutes has not been taken lightly. The bridge will be closed to traffic from five minutes to midnight until 15 minutes past, to allow smoke from the millennium fireworks display to disperse. Transit regional traffic manager, Derrick Hitchins says they did consider closing just one lane, but because of the density of the smoke from the fireworks, total closure was considered the safest option.
An incident involving a logging truck is delaying traffic at the southern end of the Manawatu Gorge, continuing a bad few hours on North Island highways. The logging truck has lost its load and while the highway is only partially blocked, police are warning motorists to expect hold-ups. There were two fatal crashes last night, one near Pukerua Bay north of Wellington and another at Waitara with one person being killed in each smash. And a truck carrying pre-mixed whisky crashed near Huntly last night, blocking State Highway One in the Waikato for a time.
(I can't say I knew him well, but the man killed near Pukerua Bay was Lower Hutt pharmacist, Max Gardiner. He was a very nice man, intimately involved in Te Omanga hospice. I spoke to him on Saturday and suddenly he is gone. Life is indeed unpredictable. - BH)
The Manukau Asbestos Action Group will be meeting on Friday to discuss whether it will commission its own investigator to check asbestos levels on their properties. The Manukau City Council has released a report by an independent asbestos expert who found no serious health risk in the Flatbush region. Action Group spokeswoman Rosemary Godwin says they are pleased the risks are low, but their property prices look set to stay the same way. She says they will continue their legal action against the council as low levels or not, they should have been informed of the asbestos dump before they bought their properties.
(The residents argue with some justification, that if the risk is as low as the council says, the flashing red indicators on the Land Information computers could be removed so that the properties might revert to their prior value and be saleable again - BH)
New research has found the majority of Kiwis love what is commonly termed "junk mail." Research by AC Nielsen shows 94 per cent of people aged 15 or over read circulars that turn up in their letterboxes. And one third of New Zealand adults look forward to, and actively use the brochures. The study's authors say unaddressed letterbox advertising is as effective as TV or print as an advertising medium.
(I DON'T BELIEVE A WORD OF THIS! Junk mail is rubbish whether it comes electronically or through my letter box. - BH)
Deliveries of the long-awaited Cyclopaedia of Otago and Southland began Wednesday after a container load of 3,500 books arrived in Dunedin. The City Council has hired about a dozen students to package up the cyclopaedias ready to be couriered to subscribers. Project manager Barbara Larson says the Hong Kong printers have done a great job of the two-volume set, with clear printing and first class binding. She says the books weigh more than five kilograms each and should be all delivered within a week.
A man is due to appear in court on Thursday charged in relation to the police search for an Auckland service station attendant. The attendant disappeared from the Shell service station in Grey Lynn in the early hours of Wednesday morning - causing concern for his safety. Signs of an apparent disturbance at the garage further heightened police fears. However, he was found some time later asleep under a nearby house. Auckland police say they have now charged a 28-year-old man with wasting police time, wilful damage and possession of Class B drugs. He is expected to appear in the Auckland District Court on Thursday.
Forest and Bird says the death a Northland kiwi reiterates the need for ferrets to be banned as pets. Three-year-old Gregory was raised by DOC as part of Operation Nest and was nesting an egg due to hatch in one month when he was killed by a ferret. The egg was missing from the Kiwi's nest and is also presumed taken by the ferret. Society Conservation Director Kevin Smith says the ferret is nothing more than a killing machine and the incoming Government must address the issue before they eliminate our national icon.
Dunedin is planning the first forestry enterprise park of its kind in the country in a move aimed at providing further processing for the huge increase in timber from the region. The City Council unveiled plans for the park, south of Allanton, to city leaders and the media yesterday. The council will next year seek a district plan change to pave the way for the zone. It will also ask residents if they support investing more than $4 million in the project.
The Education Review Office has identified a number of serious issues at a Huntly Maori immersion school dogged by allegations of teacher assaults on students. Investigations into Rakaumanga Kura Kaupapa began earlier this year, after a series of complaints. The ERO report has found the school's board did not fully investigate an incident where a teacher aide assaulted a male student. It also says the board was not elected in accordance with proper education regulations, and its status is legally doubtful. ERO says there is no evidence to support claims that alcohol and tobacco were supplied to students, or that a teacher had used cannabis
A tax expert believes a legal victory over the IRD for two massage parlour owners will encourage people in other industries to take action. Two Christchurch women have successfully argued prostitutes are independent contractors rather than employees, which means the parlours they work at do not have collect GST on their earnings. John Matthews from Price Waterhouse Coopers says a lot of people maintain they are independent contractors and this case may validate that. However he says employees could try to change their status to evade tax.
Police are now certain a Shannon man who was found dead in the bar he managed, was not a victim of foul play. Detectives had been treating the death of 62-year-old Ivan Horn as suspicious, after a post mortem revealed his skull was fractured. Detective Sergeant Murray Drummond says police have completed an investigation into Mr Horn's medical history, which shows he suffered from a medical condition. He says Mr Horn appears to have lost consciousness as the result of his condition, fallen over, fractured his skull and died from his injuries.
Two elderly woman have survived an encounter with a train in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. The incident occurred at the small rural settlement of Awakeri near Whakatane. The ambulance service says the pair were taken to hospital with only minor injuries. It is not yet clear how the collision occurred.
(This is going to get interesting, with the foremost appellant to the Privy Council on behalf of urban "non-iwi" related Maori being his own party colleague, John Tamihere, formerly of the Waipareira Trust - BH)
The Government has decided to seek further legal advice to ensure the logging of beech timber on the West Coast doesn't go ahead - following a meeting with Timberlands executives. The new Forestry Minister Pete Hodgson met with Timberlands board members last night. He is refusing to talk about what went on in the meeting. However, it is predicted the Government would direct Timberlands to cancel a resource consent hearing set down for next week. The hearing is necessary for the logging to go ahead. That has prompted mill operators to threaten to take legal action against the Government - a move they say would cost it dearly.
MP for Mangere, Taito Phillip Field has toned down earlier comments that he is reconsidering his future with Labour after missing out on a cabinet position. Mr Field was overlooked despite being Labour's Pacific Islands spokesman for the past six years. He says there is anger and disappointment amongst the Pacific Island community because of the snub. However Mr Field says he is not reviewing his position with the party and would now rather focus on what needs to be done. Mark Gosche is the new Pacific Islands minister.
(Mr Field is not the only one whose nose is out of joint. Long time Labour transport spokesman, Harry Duynhoven, MP for New Plymouth with the biggest majority in the country was also passed over and he is furious. He too considered quitting, but has also calmed down ... for now ... BH)
U.S. Vice President Al Gore says America's new ambassador to New Zealand is well suited to this country. Carol Mosley-Braun has been sworn in at ceremony in Washington. She departs today for New Zealand... or "paradise" as she calls it. Al Gore, who presided over the swearing-in ceremony, says Ms Mosley-Braun is a wonderful representative for America. He says the former black senator is also a brilliant match for New Zealand, because this country was one of the first nations to grant the vote to everyone, regardless of race or gender.
Date: 9 December 1999 Brian Dooley
Wellington New Zealand
CURRENCIES
The currency codes given below conform to ISO 4217, which
can be found at http://www.xe.net/currency/iso_4217.htm.
The rates given are for telegraphic transfer and are
as given in the Wellington Evening Post today.
To Buy NZD 1.00
USD 0.5130
AUD 0.8019
GBP 0.3151
JPY 52.95
CAD 0.7585
EURO 0.5005
FRF 3.2819
DEM 0.9789
HKD 3.9983
SGD 0.8643
ZAR 3.1620
CHF 0.8013
INTEREST RATES (%)
Call : 5.00
90 Day: 5.54
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
To subscribe to, or unsubscribe from the WYSIWYG News E-mail list visit:
WYSIWYG Subscriptions
To find it on the WWW go to the WYSIWYG Archives
Text Copyright © 1998 Brian Harmer,
Formatting Copyright © 2003 OneSquared
OneSquared bears no responsibility for the contents of this page.