Checkpoint. 2001-11-14

HEADLINES & NEWS
More New Zealand troops could be sent to Afghansitan, following the fall of the country's capital Kabul. Anti-Taliban forces captured the city yesterday and are now making other gains in Taliban-held territory. But as the fighting continues, urgent talks are being held at the United Nations on putting a multinational force into the the country so that an attempt can be made to create a broad based government in Afghanistan. New Zealand has already said it's prepared to take part in such a force - I'll be talking to the Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff at the UN shortly.
But first, we go to Kabul, where the Northern Alliance's arrival is being greeted with jubilation and music. CUT
[illegible] years, the Taleban has enforced strict social rules on Kabul residents, expecially women. Many women are hoping their conditions will now improve. CUT Another Kabul resident says he's very happy the Northern Alliance is now in the city and describes what he saw. CUT
However, the BBC's Kate Clark who's in Kabul says there are some mixed feelings about the Northern Alliance take-over. CUT
Another BBC correspondent David Loin is in the province of Hazarajat, a Shiite Muslim part of the country where Taliban rule was particularly harsh. He says the Taleban have destroyed the capital, Bameyan, before fleeing. CUT
The Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff says New Zealand may well become part of a multinational security force for Afghanistan. Mr Goff is in New York, attending a UN Security Council meeting and being briefed by Lakhdar Brahimi. He says the Taleban remains capable of a prolonged geurilla war, making it impossible to establish a stable government. But Mr Goff told me that so far, nobody has defined what the multinational force will be. PREREC
The [illegible] Minister Margaret Wilson says there is no evidence to justify removing Employment Relations Authority member Susan Bathgate from the job, despite an investigation showing she was overpaid because she was working elsewhere. The limited audit office investigation shows Ms Bathgate was overpaid by more than 16 thousand dollars for some 40 days that she was not available for the employment authority. Opposition MPs have accused Ms Bathgate of triple dipping and ACT MP Rodncy Hide has called for a formal investigation and the removal of her warrant. But while Ms Wilson wont remove Ms Bathgate, she has called for an independent legal report to further investigate her being paid as a full time authority member while also holding up to four other paid government jobs. Shortly we'll be talking to Margaret Wilson but first we're joined by Rodney Hide. LIVE
Joining us now is Labour Minister Margaret Wilson. LIVE
BUSINESS NEWS WITH JOHN DRAPER
5.30 NEWS HEADLINES
SPORT with ANDREW GREENWOOD
Mortgage holders are celebrating the Reserve Bank's decision to cut its official interest rate by half a percent to four point seven five percent. That's prompted most banks to cut floating interest rates to six point seven percent, as our economics correspondent Brent Edwards reports. PKGE
Returning now to our lead story, and as the Northern Alliance consolidates its position in the Afghan capital Kabul, the UN is holding urgent talks on putting a multinational force into Afghanistan so a transitional government can be established. New Zealand says it is prepared to contribute troops to such a force. Meanwhile, aid agencies are hoping that the Northern Alliance takeover will make it easier to distribute food, medical supplies and other relief in the country. Stephanie Bunker is the UN spokesperson in neighbouring Pakistan and she says she heard from the UN's Kabul staff yesterday afternoon. PREREC
Parliament's health select committee has been told that New Zealand needs better controls on dietary supplements. Officials from the Ministry of Health briefed the committee on moves to develop a joint Australia-New Zealand [illegible] to regulating dietary supplements and prescription medicines. But committee members sought reassurance that this would not mean wholesale adoption of Australia's laws. Consumer reporter, Michele Hollis, was there and filed this report. PKGE
To the world trade talks in Qatar - and despite five days of arduous bargaining, there is still no result from efforts to reach agreement on a new round of global trade talks.
The World Trade Organisation's Director-General Mike Moore has been chairing an all-night session of talks involving about 25 countries in an effort to bridge the gaps on remaining contentious issues, including European farming subsidies. But so far there has been no news on whether they have been succesful. The president of the Federated Farmers, Alistair Polson, is in Qatar and joins me now. LIVE
Tuvalu is the latest in a string of pacific islands to be approached by Australia to take asylum seekers. So far Nauru and Papua New Guinea are processing asylum seekers and the Australian government is also in negotiation with Kiribati, Fiji and Palau. The secretary to the Tuvalu Government Panapasi [illegible] says it's an interesting request given that his government recently asked if it could re-settle Tuvalu nationals in Australia because the tiny islands are threatened by rising seas as a result of global warming. PREREC
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