Checkpoint FOR MONDAY 17 DECEMBER 2012
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1700 to 1707 NEWS
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The eye of tropical Cyclone Evan has reached the main island of Fiji, with hurricane-force winds of up to 200 kilometres per hour battering towns in the west. The next 10 or so hours are expected to be the worst, though it appears people in the north, and in Suva in the east, have escaped so far without too much damage. Thousands of people have been evacuated, with almost 3-thousand holiday makers transferred off the smaller islands to the main island. So far there are no reports of injuries or deaths, unlike in Samoa where the toll from Cyclone Evan is four dead and seven are missing. A Fijian taxi driver, Daniel Paul, is hunkered down with his wife and son at the back of their house which is being battered by the high winds hitting the town of Lautoka in the west of the main island. CUT The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Murray McCully, says New Zealand is monitoring Cyclone Evan, and as with Samoa, which was hit last week, is standing by with support. CUT
A Fiji government spokesperson Sharon Smith Johns is in Suva. IV
The jury in the trial of two men accused of killing a radio New Zealand journalist has just returned its verdict. Nicho Waipuka, aged 20 and Manuel Robinson, aged 18 were charged with the murder of Phillip Cottrell, who was 43. Waipuka has been found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. Manuel Robinson has been found not guilty of murder or manslaughter. Mr Cottrell died a day after being attacked in Boulcott Street, in central Wellington while heading home from working a night shift. Our reporter Andrew McRae is at the High Court IV
Standing in a packed high school auditorium in a town that has been shattered by the massacre of 20 children, a sombre President Obama pledged to do all he can to prevent further such tragedies. 26 people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday. Today, Mr Obama travelled to Newtown, in the state of Connecticut to speak at a prayer vigil - he told locals the country must protect its children. CUT And he said America is not doing enough to stop gun violence. CUT Our correspondent Stephen Fee is in Newtown. IV
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1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH Sharon Brett-Kelly
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To Samoa now, where in the aftermath of Cyclone Evan the cost is continuing to mount. Thousands of people remain in shelters and are being told not to return home because of disease fears. The chief executive of the prime minister's office Vaosa Epa has been travelling with cabinet ministers assessing the damage - she joins us now. IV
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17. 30 HEADLINES
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Confidence in Novopay has dropped to an all-time low, with 97-percent of principals surveyed predicting the pay roll system will still NOT be up-to-scratch in a year’s time. Around 900 schools respond regularly to the Principals' Federation's review of each payday since Novopay took over in August and its latest results show things are getting worse. The Federation's President, Paul Drummond, says in November 60-percent of schools had at least one staff member paid incorrectly, but in the latest survey that number was 84-percent. Mr Drummond joins us now. IV
The Hobbit may have broken records on opening weekend at the North American box office, but some Hollywood insiders say it should have done much better. The first film in the Sir Peter Jackson-directed trilogy raked in 85 million US dollars setting a new record as the biggest December opening of all time. Cushla Norman reports:
PKG
Returning to our lead story and the tropical cyclone battering Fiji. Seven students and three teachers from Christchurch's Middleton Grange School are camped out in Nadi Airport amid the hurricane-force winds. The school's principal Richard Vanderpyl's daughter, Lucie, is one of the pupils. He joins us now (from Christchurch) IV
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17. 45 MANU KORIHI
Kia ora mai, good evening,
The South Island iwi Ngāi Tahu is to investigate commercial investment opportunities in Dunedin.
The plan was agreed at the first meeting between the iwi rūnanga's leadership and the Dunedin City Council at Ōtukou Marae on the Otago Peninsula this morning.
Ian Telfer reports:
NGAITAHU-DUNEDIN-VCR
IN: THE MEETING AGREED
OUT: ...IN OTAKOU IAN TELFER.
DUR: 46"
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A Ngāti Whātua leader is acknowledging a former politician for supporting her use of the greeting "kia ora" - to be used as a salutation as the telephone exchange operator.
The former postmaster general and tourism minister - Rob Talbot - died peacefully in Wellington on Thursday last week at the age of 89.
In 1984 Naida Glavish was demoted because her supervisor insisted that she use only formal English greetings, instead of saying kia ora - and when she refused, she was punished for using te reo.
Ms Glavish says Rob Talbot had to be careful not to cause a conflict of interest when he appealed to the Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon to get permission to use the Māori greeting.
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The office of the Māori King says Tukoroirangi Morgan has been appointed as the interim head of Waikato-Tainui's parliament - Te Kauhanganui.
The previous chair, Tania Martin, has told Te Manu Korihi that she has walked away from the job.
It follows calls by King Tuheitia for a number of Waikato-Tainui leaders to consider their positions following a history of infighting and arguments over election votes.
Tukoroirangi Morgan says he will seek election to the parliament - Te Kauhanganui - in February.
Mr Morgan is also the King's representative to Te Arataura - the executive arm.
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More than 200 people have cast votes to settle a Bay of Plenty community row over the naming of a school.
Some residents of Murupara have objected to a new area kura being called Te Awatea o Murupara.
The Chairman of the Establishment Board of Trustees - Jacob Te Kurapa - says the ballot boxes closed on Saturday - and they're about to make an announcement.
He says there was a flood votes at the last minute.
Jacob Te Kurapa says the selected name for the school is currently written down in a sealed envelope and held by a justice of the peace.
He says the name will be revealed to the public on Tuesday evening.
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Legislation is due to passed in Parliament next year to resolve the grievances of two Bay of Plenty tribes.
Ngāti Rangiwewehi and Tapuika signed Deed of Settlements over the weekend.
The Government says both iwi suffered greatly during colonial troop attacks in the 1860s.
A co-governance arrangement over the Kaituna River for Tapuika and the return of culturally significant sites such as Hamurana Springs to Ngāti Rangiwewehi will be part of the agreement.
Both tribes will each receive financial redress worth 6-million dollars.
That's Te Manu Korihi news, I'll have a further bulletin in an hour.
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Police are now calling the death of a nine-year-old Raetihi Boy suspicious. Antony Christensen's body was discovered by a relative over a week ago. The police say preliminary test results show prescription medicine in the boy's system. Detective Senior Sergeant Keith Borrell joins us now. IV
Japan's right-wing democratic party is preparing to form a government after a dramatic comeback in yesterdays general election - barely 3 years after it suffered an historic defeat. The LDP's leader, Shinzo Abe (shin-zo ab-bay), promised voters economic recovery after two decades of slump. But the victory could raise tensions with China in a territorial dispute over a small group of islands, which were at the heart of the party's election campaign. Rupert Wingfield Hayes reports from Tokyo : PKG
The Westpac McDermott Miller consumer confidence index is at its highest level in more than a year with those surveyed feeling better about the economy than they did in the same period last year. Conan Young reports. PKG
Preparations are nearly finished for the funeral of Jacintha Saldanha, the nurse who killed herself following a hoax call from a Sydney radio station to a London hospital. Mrs Saldanha will be buried in her hometown in southern India, where her body was taken by her husband and two children. Sanjoy Majumder reports from Mangalore: PKG