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**** CKPT FOR TUE 26 FEB 2008
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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A new gas field has been discovered in Waikato. It could be as large as Taranaki's offshore Kupe field and meet the country's gas requirements for at least two years. Solid Energy unveiled the news at a conference in Auckland today. Reporter Eric Frykberg was there. LIVE
The deportation of an Australian newspaper publisher from Fiji has been described as "disturbing" by the New Zealand prime minister. CUT
Fiji's interim government says Russell Hunter, the publisher of the Fiji Sun, was a security threat and declared a prohibited immigrant. But Mr Hunter says the reason was his paper's articles about the alleged tax evasion of the finance minister Mahendra Chaudhry. Russell Hunter's wife, Martha Waradin was at home with her husband and their 13 year-old daughter last night when immigration officers arrived. PRE REC
Joining us now is correspondent, Lucinda Carter who was at Sydney Airport when Russell Hunter arrived this afternoon. LIVE Q&A
Beleaguered cricketer Jesse Ryder has made a public apology for the spate of bad behaviour which has put him in trouble with New Zealand Cricket. It has officially put Ryder on notice saying this will be the last mistake he will make. Christchurch reporter Monique Devereux has been to the media conference where Ryder fronted up, and she joins me now. LIVE Q&A
National says staff shortages in the health sector are being swept under the carpet by the government. In a report today, the Health and Disability Commissioner says severe workforce shortages led Whanganui District health board to take shortcuts in employing a Czech-trained surgeon who went on to carry out a series of botched sterilisations. The report went on to say that other DHBs around the country are suffering similar shortages. David Reid PRE REC
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BUSINESS NEWS
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A German tourist who was caught tagging the Franz Josef Glacier has been forced to make amends for his actions by cleaning up his handiwork. Twenty eight year old, Jan Philip Scharbert was caught on camera by an English tourist as he spraypainted the rocks and ice last week. The photographs were then handed to the Department of Conservation who contacted the police. Constable Paul Gurney from Whataroa police. PRE REC
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17.30 HEADLINES
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The Hawke's Bay District Health Board is taking legal action over a controversial Ministry of Health report which is expected to be critical of the board. In July last year Pete Hodgson ordered a review into allegations of a possible conflict of interest by a Government appointed board member Peter Hausmann. Today the DHB filed an injunction with the High Court in Wellington. Our reporter in Hawke's Bay Heugh Chappell joins us now. LIVE Q&A
Eden Park has had a ten million dollar funding boost from the Auckland Regional Council but its developers had asked for nearly twice that amount. And while the Council acknowledges the park will benefit the region, it says there are others who can better afford to pay for it. Rowan Quinn reports. PRE REC
The Government may be left with the bill to clean up the charred remains of Patea's old freezing works, after claims the Crown owns the site. The mayor of South Taranaki says the derelict meatworks became Crown land after the company that formerly owned it went broke. But the Government says that's far from clear. Craig Ashworth reports. PRE REC
Police have admitted they botched an emergency 111 call by not sending police officers to a Bay of Plenty shop where people were being threatened by two men - one with a knife. The call from a customer at the Omokoroa Beach Store was picked up by an inexperienced operator at the police Northern Communications Centre in Auckland. Senior officers have now visited the store and apologised. Steve FItzgerald is the Police Communications Centre General Manager. He's listened to the four minute long emergency call. PRE REC
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WAATEA NEWS
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Dairy farmers are rejecting suggestions they are not doing enough to reverse the decline in the country's water quality. The Government has released its fourth progress report on the Dairying and Clean Streams Accord. The Environment Minister says while farmers are making progress, they need to do even more. Penny Smith reports. PRE REC
In the United States a new row has erupted between supporters of the two Democratic party candidates for the presidential election, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, sparked by a photo of Senator Obama wearing traditional African clothes. The image has been sent to a website prompting his supporters to complain of dirty tricks by Ms. Clinton's campaign. From Washington the ABC's Kim Landers reports. PRE REC
A vault carved into the permafrost of the Arctic is to hold samples of every kind of seed from around the world - four and a half billion batches of seed. The Global Seed Vault, on the island of Spitzbergen, is a joint venture between the Norwegian government and the United Nations. The BBC's Sarah Mukajee filed this report. PRE REC