*** Checkpoint FOR MON 12 OCT 2009
****************************
1700 to 1707 NEWS
****************************
The head of the Auckland Regional Council has delivered an ultimatum to the bus company which has locked out its drivers - get the buses back on the road or we'll find someone else to run the service.Mike Lee says NZ Bus is in breach of its 58 million dollar contract and the lock out in response to the drivers work to rule is an over-reaction and cannot be tolerated.An estimated 80-thousand people are having to find other ways of getting to work and school - talks between the company and the unions have not yet resolved the pay dispute.The contract with NZ Bus is managed by the council's subsidiary the Auckland Regional Transport Authority or ARTA.Mike Lee wants the company issued with a five day warning notice. PRE-REC
The Chairman of the Auckland Regional Transport Authority is Brian Roche - He is not speaking to the media but with us now is ARTA spokesperson Sharon Hunter. LIVE
The New Zealand Insitutute of Economic Research is warning that if low levels of house building continue, there could be a serious shortage of homes in two to three years. This is because the population has kept growing, while construction has slowed. Eric Frykberg reports. PKG
Christchurch Hospital is running out of space for patients and the problem has got so bad it had considered allowing the emergency department to take over the hospital's chapel.The Canterbury District Health Board says a 14 per cent increase in patient numbers has put facilities under extreme pressure and in the next couple of weeks it'll be finalising decisions to re-arrange some of the wards - including intensive care and neurology.
New hospital buildings won't be ready until 2016 and the board's chief executive David Meates (pron: Mates) says there's got to be some changes before then to avoid compromising patient safety. PRE-REC
***********************
1720 TRAILS AND BUSINESS WITH
************************
The British Lord who helped secure the return of stolen war medals is now offering 50 thousand dollars reward in the Aisling Symes case.The two year old vanished from a house in Henderson a week ago today.Lord Ashcroft is in New Zealand today to launch a new crimes tipoff line.He joins us now. LIVE
Today is a special day set aside to celebrate the children in Samoa.Young people dressed in all white outfits have recited verses, performed dramas and sung songs as part of their White Sunday celebrations.But for those in the devastated areas of Samoa today is just another reminder of the many children that were lost in the deadly tsunami.Our reporter Leilani Momoisea has been on Samoa's south coast and joins us now. LIVE
***********************
17.30 HEADLINES
***********************
The Prime Minister John Key says he wants to avoid hikes of 30 to 50 percent in accident compensation levies - but won't yet reveal how big the increases will be.The Government will introduce legislation on Wednesday extending the deadline to fully fund historic ACC claims, a move it says will reduce pressure on levy increases next year.Our political reporter Clare Pasley has been at the Prime Minister's weekly post-cabinet news conference. LIVE
A Hastings police officer is in hospital with serious head injuries after being assaulted while trying to break up a fight early on Sunday morning.The off-duty officer was driving along Totara street just after midnight when he saw people fighting on the side of the road.Here's Detective Senior Sergeant Dave De Lange. PRE-REC
A hearing to determine if a controversial irrigation scheme will get the go ahead in Canterbury has resumed today, with the company behind the project outlining its revised scheme.The Central Plains Water Enhancement Scheme would irrigate 60 thousand hectares of arid Canterbury farmland using water from the Rakaia and Waimakariri rivers, and in doing so boost the region's agricultural production.Monique Devereux has been at the hearing ..... she joins us now: LIVE
In the US, tens of thousands of people have marched through Washington, demanding greater rights for gays and lesbians. President Obama gave a gay rights speech on Saturday, but many protesters expressed disappointment that he did not give a timetable for his planned repeal of the ban on openly gay people serving in the US military. Among those addressing the rally was Dan Choi a young Iraq war veteran and a gay soldier in the American military : CLIP Activist Phil Siegel from Equality Across America says he hopes the thousands of demonstrators will keep up the pressure on the White House PRE-REC
***************
17.45 TRAILS
****************
WAATEA
****************
Kiwis have topped the list of preferred English speakers outside of the UK.New Zealand's 'fush and chups' accent came seven places ahead of its Australian equivalent and nine ahead of the American brogue in terms of attractiveness.The dulcet tones of the Scots and Irish topped the list of preferred British accents.
It follows a BBC survey rating the prestige and social attractiveness of 34 different English accents.
Professor Allan Bell, Director of AUT's Institute of Culture, Discourse and Communication joins us now: LIVE
The spate of deadly earthquakes in the past fortnight is prompting some seismologists to challenge the conventional wisdom that it's merely a coincidence when earthquakes occur in quick succession but far apart.
Geoscience Australia now says the cluster of quakes in the Pacific and thousands of kilometres away in Indonesia could be related .The ABC's Simon Lauder reports :PKG