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Checkpoint FOR THURSDAY 7 JUNE 2012
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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The Government has backed down completely over changing class sizes in schools, dumping the policy in the face of a mounting public backlash. The U-turn was announced by the Education Minister Hekia Parata this afternoon - as recently as Tuesday she said there would be no back down. But she told a news conference the trade-off she wanted to make, of saving money in teacher numbers to reinvest in improving teacher quality, has been rejected and the buck stops with her. CUT Despite her U-turn, not even the Opposition Labour Party is calling for Ms Parata to quit, and her office rejected any suggestion she might. This morning the Prime Minister John Key, who is in Europe, told Morning Report that some parents were being alarmed by untrue statistics, and the Government had to win the argument about the trade-off. But he also hinted there might be another way to improve teacher quality. Ms Parata says Mr Key had a hand in today's decision. CUT Hekia Parata declined to be interviewed by Checkpoint - her office said she was too busy. Her about-face scotches a planned 174 million dollars in savings over four years and results in a 114 million dollar Budget shortfall for that period. The Government says it will go looking elsewhere in Education to make savings.
Mathew Manninen is a Wellington father of three who has demonstrated against bigger classes. PREREC
Teacher unions had claimed more than 2 thousand schools might have to cut teachers' jobs, with Intermediate schools the hardest hit. The President of the Association of Intermediate and Middle Schooling Gary Sweeney joins us now. LIVE
Our education correspondent John Gerritsen was at this afternoon's news conference. LIVE
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Anusha Bradley
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Activists in Syria say more than 80 people have been killed in a massacre in the province of Hama. The mass killing comes on the eve of high profile meetings at the UN and in Turkey - as well as little more than a week after another massacre in Houla. With the latest we're joined now by our correspondent Natalie Carney in neighbouring Turkey. LIVE
The sister of Scott Guy, who was shot dead in the gateway of his farm, has told a Court of the shock she felt when her brother-in-law was arrested for the murder. Nikki Guy was giving evidence at the trial of Ewen Macdonald, who's accused of murdering the Fielding farmer in July 2010. She told the Court she was getting ready to go to work when her mother told her what had happened to Scott. CUT Our Court reporter, Ann Marie May is following the trial. LIVE
The hospitals at both Queenstown and Clyde near Alexandra are to get new medical CT scanners after the Southern district health board backed off from plans to choose between them. The decision was made after a year of at times heated debate and lobbying between the two communities. But with the DHB 10 million dollars in the red, the plan relies on the communities buying the machines themselves. Here's our Otago reporter, Ian Telfer. PKG
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17.30 HEADLINES
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The Government has dumped its policy to change class sizes in schools, after a fortnight of mounting backlash. The Education Minister Hekia Parata this afternoon announced that ratios will stay the same next year, saying the trade-off of changing them to save money to put into upping teacher quality was clearly unacceptable to parents and teachers. Kobus Van Schalkwyk (kor-bus Vun Skulk vake) is the head of technology and a design technology teacher at Papatoetoe Intermediate, where up to six tech teachers would have been cut in three years. He heard news of the U-turn just as he'd finished class. CUT
Hekia Parata told a news conference the buck stops with her over the climb down. The Labour Party leader David Shearer joins us now from New Plymouth. LIVE
New Zealand's longest-serving prisoner could be out of jail within months. Alfred Vincent, who is 74, has spent 45 years in jail for what the Parole Board describes as an enormous history of sexual offending. He has 13 convictions to his name, but has admitted abusing more than 100 children in the past. But the chances of Vincent being released are now looking rosier. Our justice reporter, Tim Graham, is with us. LIVE
Some people in Christchurch who spent last night in freezing earthquake damaged homes with no power, are backing a call from the community group Cancern for emergency shelters to be set up when the next winter storm hits. Rachel Graham reports. PKG
To Australia, where a former prostitute now says she never had sex with the suspended Labour MP Craig Thomson. Mr Thomson is facing accusations he used union money to pay for prostitutes, but last night the woman at centre of the story recanted her statement on television, saying it was a case of mistaken identity. CUT With the latest, the ABC's political correspondent Louise Yaxley is on the line from Canberra. LIVE
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17.45 MANU KORIHI
Tēnā koutou katoa, good evening,
Plans to return fourteen Auckland maunga, or mountains, to thirteen iwi and hapu picked up pace today, with all but one of the Tamaki Collective initialling a Deed of Settlement with the Crown.
Under the agreement, the public will still have unfettered access to the maunga.
The next step is for the Crown and iwi to sign the settlement.
Before the deal becomes law, the proposed legislation will be scrutinised by MPs.
But one Hauraki iwi, which is not part of the Tamaki Collective, says the Crown's shut it out of negotiations over the maunga.
Ngāti Hako says it has ancestral links to Mount Wellington, Mount Eden and One Tree Hill.
A spokesperson, John Linstead, says the tribe wants to be acknowledged in the Deed.
MAUNGA-OBJECT-TP
IN WE WERE WANTING...
OUT...MAKAURU IWI GROUPINGS
DUR 19
John Linstead.
In response, the Crown says it was not satisfied on the evidence presented by Ngāti Haku that the iwi had cause for the redress over the maunga.
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The government's being accused of being out of touch with communities by proposing legislation to ban an abusive parent from living or working with children.
The Social Development Minster, Paula Bennett, says the proposal is being discussed as part of the Government's white paper on vulnerable children that is still being developed.
An independent Auckland-based welfare support group, which works with troubled families to improve whānau dynamics is appalled by the idea.
The kaiwhakahaere or strategic development manager at Tū Wāhine, Ngāroimata Reid, says Paula Bennett's approach is not in line with what the community is doing - by offering support to people who need it the most.
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The Chairman of the commercial arm of a Rangitikei iwi, Ngāti Apa, says his tribe feels they have made a safe bet by buying shares in bricks and mortar types of investments initially - before launching into more risky ones.
Last year the tribe received 15-million dollars in cash along with forestry blocks in their Treaty settlement with the Crown.
Recently the iwi brought 2-million dollars in shares in the Trafalgar Square shopping complex in Whanganui.
Toko Kapea says Ngāti Apa decided to take a very simple and passive approach first, but he says his tribe won't rule out looking at more risky investments in the future - once they are in a better financial situation.
KAPEA-PASSIVE-TP
IN:.......WE WILL BECOME...
OUT:...THE BIGGER RETURNS.
DUR:..25"
Toko Kapea of Ngāti Apa.
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The Māori Language Commission is targeting intermediate level learners of Te Reo with two reo Māori booklets been made available a major supermarket chain during Māori language week.
Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori has released two new phrase booklets to help promote the theme of Arohatia te Reo or Cherish the language, for this year's Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori taking place from the 23rd to the 29th of July.
Typically they just produce one booklet for the promotional week aimed at beginners, but this year they wanted to appeal to more advanced learners.
That's Te Manu Korihi news I'll have a further bulletin in an hour.
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The social networking site, LinkedIn, has been scrambling today to assure its 150 million members of their security, and limit the damage from its password database being hacked. Security analysts claim that that six million encrypted passwords have been published on a Russian hackers' website. The ABC's Simon Santo reports. PKG
The Government's plan to partially sell four state-owned energy companies is another step closer tonight. The Finance and Expenditure Select Committee has signed off its report, which will now head back to Parliament. Here's our political reporter, Chris Bramwell. PKG
Investors in Facebook who lost money because of technical problems when the company was floated are now being offered forty million dollars in compensation by the Nasdaq stock exchange. Here's the BBC's Steve Kingstone. PKG