Checkpoint FOR MONDAY 29 AUGUST 2011
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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2000 people gathered today at Linton Military Camp for the funeral of the SAS soldier who was killed in action in Afghanistan earlier this month. Corporal Doug Grant was farewell with full military honours. Tim Graham reports. PKG
There'll be tough questions about the search and rescue effort at the Pike River coal mine disaster in the next phase of the Royal Commission Inquiry. The Commission is to question 26 witnesses including former workers and managers when the hearing resumes next week. Our reporter covering the inquiry, Geoff Moffett, joins us now. Q&A
The sister of a woman killed in February's earthquake has questioned the safety of the building she was in when she was killed in the disaster. This has been raised at an inquest into the deaths of the CTV and Kings Education staff today in Christchurch. Also today Detective Inspector Paul Kench has told the inquest that the death toll from February's earthquake could rise. Bridget Mills was there and filed this report. PKG
A senior journalist with with CNN has tracked down the Libyan man convicted of the Lockerbie Pan-Am plane bombing, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi. More than two-hundred-and-seventy people were killed when the American plane was brought down over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988. Two years ago Megrahi was released by authorities in Scotland because he was said to be terminally ill and only had months to live. Nic Robertson filed this CNN report from Tripoli: PKG
The debt beleaguered Wellington businessman Terry Serepisos is moving to break up and sell off his entire property empire. If his creditors agree, he'll put more than 230 million dollars worth of residential and commercial buildings in the capital on the block. But he wants to do it slowly so the markets not flooded. In the High Court today, bankruptcy proceedings against the Phoenix football club owner were adjourned so he can organise the sell-down. Colin Williscroft, a reporter for the National Business Review was in court today, and joins us now. LIVE
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH
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Police are hunting for the armed man who shot a gun into the crowd after a rugby game in Wairoa at the weekend. They've found the ute they say an armed Mongrel Mob member fired from on Saturday, and are talking to its occupants and the owner. The game was between a Raupunga team that has Black Power connections and Tapuae (tapuwai) which is aligned with the Mongrel Mob. The police in Wairoa say it was a miracle no-one was hurt. We're still trying to get through to the Wairoa police chief. The MP for Napier Chris Tremain has campaigned for a ban on gang patches in Wairoa. He joins us now. LIVE
The first team to arrive in New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup has been greeted by a crowd of hundreds. Fiji's rugby team landed at Auckland airport just before four o'clock this afternoon. Our reporter, Georgina Ball, is at the airport. Q&A
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17.30 HEADLINES
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Libyan rebel forces are converging on Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, hoping to deliver the coup de grace of their revolution. NATO war planes have also continued their strikes on the Mediterranean coastal town. However, it's not at all certain if the one time strongman is holed up there. Martin Fletcher, the associate editor of the Times of London, is in Tripoli and joins us now. LIVE
The family of an Australian schoolboy who's been missing for eight years say they feel numb now he's finally been confirmed dead. Daniel Morcombe, who was 13, disappeared while waiting for a bus on the Sunshine Coast in 2003, sparking the largest missing persons case in Queensland's history. The police yesterday confirmed that three bones found in bushland on the Sunshine Coast match the teenagers DNA. A 41-year old has been charged with murder. The editor and chief of the Sunshine Coast Daily, Mark Furler, was at a media conference this afternoon where Daniel's parents spoke publicly for the first time since the news. PREREC
The Government is expanding its campaign to recover millions of dollars in overdue student debt from people living overseas. It says a pilot scheme targeting one-thousand loan holders in Australia has netted almost two-million dollars from about 420 people. The scheme is now being extended to cover another 50-thousand people in both Australia and the UK. They will be contacted directly and legal action will be taken against those who deliberately choose not to repay their loan. The IRD's Richard Owen joins us now live. LIVE
The worst of the storm has passed, but Hurricane Irene has left a trail of destruction in its wake along the US east coast. The storm's taken the lives of at least eighteen people, shutdown the country's biggest city and left millions of residents along the east coast without power. President Obama has warned that the effects of Irene aren't over and relief work will be needed across the region for some time. The BBC's Steve Kingstone reports. PKG
Senior doctors at Dunedin hospital say longstanding problems there will remain unsolved without extra money and support from the Government. A National Health Board report this month highlighted serious leadership failures and a split between managers and clinical staff. When the report was released, the Minister of Health, Tony Ryall, said the main problem was the hospital's culture in which doctors and other clinicians were disempowered. A letter written by 26 of the hospital's senior medical staff says financial pressures have been at least as destructive. The group's chair, David Perez, joins us now. LIVE
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17.45 MANU KORIHI
Tēnā koutou katoa, good evening,
A 30-year development blueprint for Auckland aims to fulfil tangata whenua aspirations to increase Māori village settlements.
The regional draft plan hopes to build relations with Māori and support their links to the area as part of its obligation to the Treaty of Waitangi.
Rosemary Rangitauira reports:
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A First Nation leader from Canada says Māori need to make their own money and have financial strength in today's world.
Chief Clarence Louie, from the Osoyoos (OH-SOY-OOHS) Indian Band, is one of the keynote speakers at a Māori industries conference in Rotorua this week.
The conference is looking at the future of the Māori economy in key industries such as fisheries, dairy, tourism and property development.
Chief Clarence Louie told the conference, he doesn't believe in administering welfare programs but rather creating jobs to make money.
He says over the last century, the majority of money from the Canadian Government has gone towards indigenous social programs rather than economic development.
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Chief Clarence Louie from the Osoyoos Indian Band in British Columbia.
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An eastern Bay of Plenty kaumatua who made a significant contribution to Māori radio has been laid to rest today.
Wiremu Bully Pryor past away on Friday at the age of 82.
Mr Pryor managed the Whakatane based iwi radio station Te Manuka Tutahi from 1999, until a month before his death.
A tangi was held for him, at Tuteao marae in Te Teko southwest of Whakatane.
A funeral service was conducted this morning before he was buried at Omatereiua cemetery.
His son, Hohepa Edwin Pryor, says his passing is a huge loss for the family and the iwi.
That's Te Manu Korihi news, I'll have a further bulletin in an hour.
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Health researchers have found the number of times young children are admitted to hospital is up by thousands. More evidence of child poverty and its impact on health have been spelt out in The Children's Social Health Monitor Report out today. Our political editor Brent Edwards been looking at the willingness of politicians to help. Q&A