Checkpoint FOR THURSDAY 8 MARCH 2012
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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The radar on board the container ship Rena picked up the Astrolabe reef off the coast of Tauranga but the captain still sped straight onto it. But the Transport Accident Investigation Commission interim report out today says there is no evidence to support theories of drinking on board the ship. Our Bay of Plenty reporter, Lorna Perry, has more. pkg
The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is refusing to be interviewed at this stage. John Riding is the senior partner at the consultancy Marico Marine, which tracked the Rena on its fateful voyage and gave that data to the TAIC to use in its interim report. Marico through its UK wing has also helped set up safer shipping routes in coastal waters around Britain. I asked John Riding how it is possible to hit a reef when it's plainly marked on a chart. pre rec
The lawyer for the man who murdered a baby he had nicknamed Zombie Boy says his client, who's been jailed today for 17 years, was expecting the lengthy sentence. James Hemana was found guilty of killing his girlfriends six month old baby, Cezar Taylor late last year. Hemana killed the boy by shaking and dropping him, and called him Zombie Boy as he became unresponsive in his dying days. Defence lawyer Steve Bonnar attempted to argue for a shorter sentence. pre rec
The Defence Force admits it made a mistake when it paid out redundancy to two navy officers and then was forced to re-hire them when it couldn't fill their old positions. As the Vice Chief of Defence Rear Admiral Jack Steer explains one of the officers was in charge of ship safety at sea. pre rec Vice Chief of Defence Rear Admiral Jack Steer. He says staff attrition rate is now up to 19 percent when it would normally be in the mid-teens. Defence is recruiting in the UK but Jack Steer says that happens every year.
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH
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The Government's plan to partially sell four state-owned energy companies is now one step closer to reality. The Mixed Ownership Model Bill has just passed its first reading in Parliament by 61 votes to 60, with the support of the National, United Future and ACT Parties. Here's our political reporter, Chris Bramwell. pkg
Stargazers don't hold your breath - tonight's aurora lights may in fact be outshone by a full moon. A huge solar flare heading for earth will produce auroras at both poles, and the display of red, orange and green lights should be seen in the South Island in two hours (7.30) - if it's dark enough. Joining us now is an astronomer at Mt John Observatory in the Mackenzie Country, Alan Gilmore. live
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17.30 HEADLINES
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The Governor of the Reserve Bank has hit out at the high value of the New Zealand dollar, suggesting the Official Cash Rate could be cut if it continues to undermine some parts of the economy. Alan Bollard announced today he's keeping the cash rate at its record low of 2-point-5 per cent. The currency a short time ago was buying 81-point-7 cents US, after trading as low as 81-point-3 cents following Dr Bollard's comments. He says the dollar is over-valued but won't say by how much. pre rec
The chief negotiator for Tuhoe says it was no secret that training camps were being held in Te Urewera National Park. Tamati Kruger has spent most of the day giving evidence in support of Tame Iti and three others accused of participating in a criminal group and illegally possessing firearms. Olivia Wix has been at the trial at the High Court in Auckland.pkg
Some of the country's top diplomats have spoken out in opposition to plans to restructure the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But the Labour Party's foreign affairs spokesperson Phil Goff says they have been muzzled in their attempts to make their complaints directly to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Murray McCully. Here's our political editor Brent Edwards. pkg
The Forbes magazine says there's now a record 12-hundred-and-26 billionaires on its annual rich list, compared with 140 when it was launched 25 years ago. For the third year in a row, the Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim tops the list with an estimated fortune of sixty-nine-billion dollars. He's followed by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. The BBC's Tom Esslemont reports. pkg Tom Esslemont with that report. Three New Zealanders have made the list this year, Graeme Hart with a net worth of 5.7 billion dollars and the brothers Richard and Christopher Chandler.
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17.45 MANU KORIHI
Tēnā koutou katoa, good evening,
An Auckland trust which was set up to look after land known as the Fort Takapuna Historic Reserve, is suing the Attorney General on behalf of the Crown.
The Tāmaki Reserve Protection Trust's filed papers in the High Court in Auckland, in relation to wording in the Ngāti Whātua o Orākei Claims Settlement Bill, which is set down for its first reading in Parliament tonight.
Heugh Chappell reports:
TAMAKI TRUST VCR
IN......LAST NOVEMBER
OUT..IS HEUGH CHAPPELL.
DUR...50"
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The Ministry of Māori Development, Te Puni Kōkiri, says drug and alcohol courts won't work if there isn't a Māori focus in the programme.
The Ministry of Justice will launch two pilot courts in Auckland by the end of the year.
The Courts will work on getting drug and alcohol dependent offenders over their addiction, rather than sending them straight to jail.
Māori make up about 50-per cent of the prison population - and those wanting the drug courts to succeed say Māori must not be ignored.
A policy manager at Te Puni Kōkiri - Harry Tam - told a conference that the needs of Māori have to be known - before the pilot programme starts.
DRUG-TEPUNI-TP
IN:.......MAORI IS A VERY...
OUT:...NOT MEET THE TARGET.
DUR:...23"
Harry Tam, Te Puni Kōkiri policy manager.
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A Te Arawa sub-tribe's plan to set up an advisory body - after a sacred site was mistakenly destroyed - is on hold.
A sacred mangeao tree called, Te Pou ā Taranui, was cut down in April last year by a contractor on the side of State Highway 33 near Ōkere Falls.
Ngāti Hinerangi, a sub-tribe of Ngāti Pikiao wanted to establish a body so further mistakes don't happen.
The chair of the hapū, Piki Thomas, says that plan's been put aside for now.
He says it's considering whether it should come under the tribe's body, the Ngāti Pikiao Environmental Society or whether it should create its own group.
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The manager of a Blenheim marae says a major renovation project later this month, is giving iwi members the confidence to keep the marae running - just as their kaumātua did before them.
Ōmaka marae was built in 1987 and was a modern design at the time, but now it's due to undergo a face lift as part of the Marae DIY series on Māori Television.
Kiley Nepia says one thing that inspired the Marae DIY producers to select his marae was because unlike other marae, Ōmaka hardly has any tribal elders to lead the community in cultural activities, and so the younger generation are being called on to fill their places.
That's Te Manu Korihi news, I'll have a further bulletin in an hour.
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For the first time, the United States is considering offering help to the rebels in Syria. As Syrian tanks converge on the town of Idlib, the Obama administration says it is looking at delivering low level support in the form of radios and other non-lethal assistance. And US military chiefs told a senate hearing that President Obama has asked them for military options on Syria. The ABC's Stephanie Kennedy reports from Washington. pkg Stephanie Kennedy in Washington. Also today, Syria's deputy oil minister has announced he was standing down via a video on You Tube - if it's authenticity is confirmed, he'll be the highest ranking civilian to abandon President Bashar al-Assad's regime since the uprising began.
An investment banker has admitted chaining a fake collar bomb to a Sydney teenager's neck in a bizarre extortion attempt. Paul Peters, who was grabbed by FBI agents in the United States where he'd fled last year, appeared in a Sydney court today. Michelle Taverniti (taver- neetee) of Sydney radio station 2UE was there and she joins us now. live