Copyright © 1998 Brian Harmer
APEC is now behind us, and so is the game of looking at New Zealand through the eyes of others. One of the little signs of insecurity was the amount of "meta-news" ... the amount of time our media spent not on reporting the APEC events, but on reporting what the international (American) media was saying about the New Zealand context for the conference. Well, it's all over. Jenny had her hour in the sun, Bill suffered from an outrageous dose of helioproctosis* and since then, the sun has continued to rise and fall. Our rivers, lakes, beaches, mountains and landscapes continue to be as beautiful as the were before this weird game began.
I chose to stay late on Friday evening for a collegial drink with colleagues and friends in the staff club. On my way home, I noted that the evenings were getting lighter (only three more weeks to daylight saving ... whoopee!) and there was a residual blue light in the Eastern landscape. To the North East as I came over the top of Salamanca Road by the Met Service, the Tararuas presented the faintest blue grey image against the quickly darkening sky. Nearer, the Orongorongos were already in black profile against the bright lights of the Hutt and Eastbourne. The harbour was a deep indigo, still and dark. It was a pleasant backdrop to the journey home.
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, AH for "Ants" Harmer).
Auckland police have been investigating possible links between Scott Watson and the mysterious disappearance of a woman on Great Barrier Island. 48-year-old American Nancy Frey went missing from her island home two years ago this month - her body was never found. Police won't confirm they have spoken with the detectives who investigated the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope but admit they have checked out where the man convicted of their killings was at the time. Inspector Dennis Woods says Watson was in Whangarei when Nancy Frey went missing, but the yachtie is likely to have stopped at the nearby island in the following days. Inspector Woods says there will be no further attempts to link Watson to Nancy Frey's disappearance.
Canterbury Health says it supports all the recommendations and findings of the Health and Disability Commissioner's report into the endoscopy scare at Christchurch Hospital. More than 1300 patients were exposed to possible contamination after it was discovered the hospital's endoscopes weren't being cleaned properly. The Health and Disability Commissioner's report made 13 recommendations - Canterbury health has implemented most of those. Chief Executive Richard Webb says they are most pleased the commissioner found there was no cover-up by the hospital.
Security surrounding APEC leaders meeting at the museum in Auckland this morning may be the most stringent at any event ever staged in New Zealand. Sixteen hundred army personnel are guarding the perimeter of the Auckland Domain. Police also have a large security presence, and say marksmen have taken a number of positions around the Domain. Senior Sergeant Dave Pearson says he is certain that someone would have a hard job to break through all the layers of security. He says the motorway system should be clear of leaders' motorcades soon after 9am, but the heat will come back on the motorways at around five o'clock this afternoon.
Trees lining State Highway One through Tokoroa may be for the chop. Local property developer, Walter Pelikan, has suggested the council get rid of a line of large trees obscuring the town from passing motorists. He says businesses in the town suffer from the lack of main road shop frontage. Deputy Mayor, Bev Sturgeon, says the idea has been well received by the council, which will now consider it. Walter Pelikan also wants an alternative entrance to the town developed.
(As an ex-resident of Tokoroa, I have mixed feelings about the wisdom of this. The road is SH1 ... with an enormous amount of heavy traffic associated with the regional timber trade as well as trucks transporting commodities along the countries main backbone. The trees beautify the road and do a valuable service deadening the road noise for the residents. In addition, despite a certain fondness for the town as I once knew it, the houses built by NZ Forest Products to house many of its 3,500 workers in the 50s and 60s are ugly little things. - BH)
The North Island ski fields are laughing all the way to the bank - and it is all thanks to APEC. Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton says Aucklanders have flooded to the ski fields over the weekend rather than battle traffic chaos. He says the ski fields desperately needed a boost following a snow drought in previous years.
Road rage was alive and well in Auckland over the weekend with police facing a tirade of abuse from motorists caught in APEC traffic jams. Hundreds of people were trapped in queues, some for as long as half an hour, while police waited for motorcades to pass through the central city. Senior Sergeant Keith Campbell says most of those on point duty are staff from the South Island who were stunned by drivers' reactions. He says some staff have told him it was the worst abuse they have encountered in up to 14 years of service in the police force. Senior Sergeant Campbell is warning people to avoid the central city again today.
The tree on One-Tree Hill has now been ring-barked at its base after an attack with a chain saw earlier today - according to officials they removed covers put in place after vandalism in 1994. Police say four members of a Northland family, including two teenagers, have been arrested. Christine Fletcher, who has been at One Tree Hill, says the vandals could have died, because had the tree come down, it would have spun around in its enclosure crushing those below. An Auckland City Council spokesman says the tree's eight to 10 year remaining life span has certainly been shortened.
Chinese Premier Jiang Zemin has been officially welcomed to Government House in Wellington this morning. The President took in his stride a fearsome Maori challenge and haka by 900 Wellington school students. The Premier had a brief morning tea with Governor General Sir Michael Hardie-Boys ahead of talks with Prime Minister Jenny Shipley and a state luncheon.
Auckland city retailers say they are hurting after three days of people conscientiously avoiding the central city during APEC. Auckland regional manager of the Retail Merchants Association, Russell Sinclair, says indications are that people stayed away from the city with traffic counts down as much as 80 per cent. He says that downturn hit independent retailers hard as for many of them the single outlet is their lifeblood. Mr Sinclair says they are hoping things will get back to normal again today. Meanwhile most city roads have now re-opened - the only closures still in place involve the block around the Stamford Plaza.
A decision by Tauranga airport not to allow airline K-2000 to operate there won't dampen the company's enthusiasm. Tauranga airport board chairman and local mayor Noel Pope, grounded the company saying it wouldn't make economic sense to upgrade the airport for just 16 flights. Airline Director Jeff Mathews says Tauranga has missed a great opportunity to open up the heartland of New Zealand to international travellers. However he says it will be business as usual out of Hamilton and possibly Auckland.
TV3 says it will appeal a decision and fine from the Broadcasting Standards Authority, regarding a story which ran on the documentary programme 20/20. The story, called "Sex, Lies and Videotape", concerning the Anglican Church, screened in June last year. TV3 head Mark Jennings says the fine imposed by the BSA was excessive, and inconsistent with previous rulings made by the authority. He says they have serious concerns about the application and interpretation of the broadcasting code in this instance. Mr Jennings says they will be taking the decision to the High Court in an effort to have it overturned.
Queenstown is braced for its first visit from a US president, with Bill Clinton spending the day in and around the town. The President and daughter Chelsea will stay at Millbrook, where Bill Clinton is to play a round of golf. Chelsea may go skiing. Hundreds of police and army personnel are in the resort in what has been its largest ever security operation. It is a more formal agenda for Chinese president Jiang Zemin, who has travelled to Wellington following APEC. There is an official welcome for President Jiang at Government House, followed by morning tea with the Governor General. President Jiang then has an informal meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley.
The Prime Minister's office says Jenny Shipley did not give the order to have a group of Free Tibet protestors dispersed in Christchurch last night. The group was moved following a noisy demonstration outside where a state dinner for Chinese President Jiang Zemin was being held. IRN's reporter at the scene says President Jiang turned up 90 minutes late as soon as the protest was dispersed. And while Mrs Shipley didn't take a direct role, a spokesman says her staff were in discussion with police and the president's staff, in an effort to sort out the impasse. He says it is up to police to clarify where the order came from.
(Someone should get their wrist slapped in my opinion ... this was a disgraceful example of the triumph of pragmatism over principle. The protesters were breaking no law, were on the far side of the street, and were exercising their legitimate rights. - BH)
The Hawkes Bay wine trail is growing with seven new wineries to open in time for this year's release. Next month Kim Crawford Wines is to offer tasting facilities at Te Awanga and Silena on Maraekakaho Road is to open two restaurants. At the end of the year, tasting facilities will be available at Wishard Winery at Eskdale, Askerne Winery outside Havelock North and Beach House Wines near Haumoana. Lucknow Wines and Matariki Wines outside Havelock North plan to open to the public by March. Craggy Range plans to have a restaurant overlooking the Tukituki River by the year 2002. In 1990 there were just 12 wineries in the Bay - next year there will be close to 40.
(There are some nice wines in the area ... though I have a personal preference for Marlborough or even some of the better Martinborough labels. I am prepared to make exceptions when the price is right. - BH)
Act leader Richard Prebble wants the Health Minister to fire the people who banned a Wanganui woman from entering a work site. The woman was told by the foreman at a building site at a local psychiatric hospital she was contracted to work on, that she couldn't go on to the site because it hadn't had a Maori blessing. Women are considered tapu until a building is blessed. The woman has laid a complaint with the Human Rights Commission. Richard Prebble says the incident is outrageous and he is demanding the government take immediate action. He says government inaction would imply New Zealand has adopted a state religion.
New Zealand's newest banknote will be the first piece of currency in 33 years to not feature an image of the Queen. The Queen's image has been dumped from the Millennium $10 bill - which was unveiled by the Reserve Bank today. She is featured on every other New Zealand coin and banknote - as either a portrait or a watermark - since 1967 when decimal currency was introduced. The Reserve Bank has moved away from its earlier stated intention to feature a significant New Zealander on the limited edition note. Instead the millennium notes feature images of a skier, two parachutists, four kayakers, two children and a surfie. The reverse side shows a Maori waka.
Earlier this week Prime Minister Jenny Shipley said she wasn't willing to send New Zealanders into a situation where their lives might be in danger without allowing all MPs a chance to have their say. That was to have happened in a special session next week. However the United Nations process is moving swiftly - and it is expected to formally endorse an Australian-led peacekeeping force to East Timor within the next few hours.
(In a rare display of unanimity, all parties endorsed the sending of our peacekeeping forces. There was a bit of handwringing over the prior parsimony as to the state of their equipment, though no blame was accepted by anyone. - BH)
The Mayor of Auckland is expecting a report this morning on the chainsaw attack on the pine at the top of One Tree Hill. Four members of a Northland family are due to appear in court today charged in connection with the incident yesterday. Council officials say the city must now decide how to replace the dying tree, which has only a limited life-span. Auckland Mayor Christine Fletcher suggests new security measures might be considered, since it is clear the fence around the tree trunk hasn't worked.
Treasurer Bill English says Labour has adopted an irresponsible approach to solving its political problems on the West Coast. Many Coasters are angry that Labour plans to shut down Timberlands and end all logging of native timber. Labour's finance spokesman Michael Cullen has promised that $70 million worth of exotic forest from Timberlands will be given to a West Coast community trust. But Bill English says that is a dangerous precedent - as other regions might equally try to argue they deserve a gift of taxpayer owned assets. Mr English says it is wrong to give away state assets to solve a political problem.
(Pardon? When did Mr English acquire a reverence for state assets? - BH)
Modern-day highway robbery appears to be alive and well in the South Island. A Leopards Coachline bus was stopped around 9.50 last night by two men wielding a gun, in Hornby near Christchurch. The men, sporting white hooded sweatshirts and masks ransacked the coach eventually making off with an undisclosed amount of cash. The bus driver was unhurt. Police are looking for two Caucasian males, slim and approximately 6 feet tall.
(The rumours of a gibbet being erected in the square are unfounded. - BH)
An advance party of SAS officers will be sent to Darwin where the frigate Te Kaha and the Endeavour already are. All New Zealand defence personnel will be attached to an Australian battalion and will leave from Darwin before going on to East Timor. Chief of Defence, Air Marshall Carey Adamson says it will be dangerous, and every precaution possible is being taken. The Government will brief various political party leaders today about the exact nature of the New Zealand force to go to East Timor, and ACT wants to know how well armed they will be. Leader Richard Prebble says he agrees with the view of the former commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Bosnia, General Michael Rose, that any presence in Timor needs to be well armed. Sir Michael's argument is that substantial firepower is needed despite the UN's role officially being that of a peacekeeper. Mr Prebble says New Zealand troops shouldn't have anything less, going into a situation which he says could still be a "bloodbath."
The man who murdered an ACC worker in her West Auckland office will serve a minimum of 12 years in prison. 35-year-old Johnny Manu, who stabbed Janet Pike to death after being turned down for a payment he believed ACC owed him, was back before the High Court in Auckland today. He is already serving a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment after pleading guilty to murder. Today's hearing was to decide if the crime was exceptional enough for the non- parole period to be extended beyond the minimum 10 years. Judge Judith Potter says Manu's actions were exceptional, saying the stabbing was a brutal, lethal attack.
(Mr Manu is a paranoid schizophrenic who many health workers argue should have been in forensic care ... I am sure he needs to be in custody, but it ought to be one of the institutions which still exist for the extreme cases of mental ill-health. - BH)
Former Alliance MP Alamein Kopu is expressing sadness that it has taken so long for people to realise what she calls "the truth" about Alliance leader Jim Anderton. In a new book Pam Corkery - who is quitting politics and the Alliance after one term in parliament - describes Mr Anderton as a bully. Ms Corkery says Jim Anderton plays mind games - mocking some people and ignoring others. Alamein Kopu made similar comments two years ago when she quit the Alliance - describing it as an unacceptably hostile environment. But Mrs Kopu says people ignored and mocked her then sending her a box full of hate mail.
(Whether or not Mr Anderton does play mind games, I regard that as nothing beside the moral bankruptcy of a woman who went into parliament with a mandate to represent the proportion of voters who voted for the Alliance and then jumped ship. It is electoral theft on a grand scale. She is not alone, of course. It is time that ALL list MPs who leave their party, also leave the house. - BH)
Reports of steam rising from Mt Ruapehu are being put down to clear, fine weather. Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Volcano Surveillance Co-ordinator, Brad Scott, says any steam is as a result of the crater lake temperature remaining around 55 centigrade, against an air temperature of minus 4. However, he says there have been subtle changes in volcanic tremor levels over the past few weeks which warrant closer investigation. Ruapehu last erupted in 1996.
Keith Quinn appears resigned to the fact his career as a rugby commentator on TVNZ is over. The veteran commentator looks set to be sidelined after Sky and TV3 signed up a controversial deal to give TV3 free-to-air rugby rights. Quinn has been pondering yesterday's developments, and describes his feelings as philosophical. He says the rugby has gone from TVNZ, and in everything in life there has got to be an end to it. TVNZ is not happy with yesterday's announcement from Sky, citing a lack of prior warning and possible breaches of its Sky TV share sale agreement, and says it is taking legal advice.
Mystery and suspense surrounds the unveiling of an Air New Zealand plane later today. Rumours began a month ago about whether the All Blacks would travel to the Rugby World Cup in their own specially painted Boeing 747. Initial suggestions included a plane painted totally black, but concerns were raised about the expense and safety aspects. Invitations to what Air New Zealand describes as an "unveiling" event today say: "Air New Zealand have added some props to their jets, so just make sure you have a front row view of the conversion." And that is all the airline is saying until this afternoon.
(I think the aircraft as unveiled, shows more imagination than I had credited Air New Zealand with. There is a huge ?mural? on the side of the aircraft, picturing the All Black front row ... great stuff. - BH)
The former Alliance MP, denies her attack on former boss, Jim Anderton, is designed to harm his chances in the upcoming election. In her book "Pam's Political Confessions", Ms Corkery calls Jim Anderton a bully, citing mind games like making fun of other people, and ignoring them. But she says the timing of her book is to capture election interest, not to hurt Mr Anderton or the Alliance. Pam Corkery says it would be vainglorious to think she could damage a party's chances. However, she says Jim Anderton is not the only bully in parliament, and other politicians are discussed in the book.
The Ansett pilot lock out is into its second day and the airline is vowing to continue the action indefinitely. 125 pilots have been locked out for refusing to sign the company's new contract which would see 35 of them made redundant. They would also be forced to work longer hours. Ansett Chief Executive Kevin Doddrell says today's situation is the same as yesterday's - the airline will only be operating at 35 per cent of its normal capacity. He says some pilots who ordinarily hold management positions, are now flying. Kevin Doddrell says a handful of pilots who had refused to sign the contract have recently done so, and he hopes most will come to their senses soon.
Date: 16 September 1999 Brian Dooley
Wellington New Zealand
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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 0.5271
AUD 0.8107
GBP 0.3268
JPY 55.17
CAD 0.7778
EURO 0.5081
FRF 3.3324
DEM 0.9937
HKD 4.1034
SGD 0.8923
ZAR 3.2433
CHF 0.8159
INTEREST RATES (%)
Call : 4.50
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