Top Scoop Stories 5th March, 2009 News Summary

Friday, 6 March 2009, 5:11 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

LEAD STORY

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Foreign Affairs: Clark Responds To Commonwealth Fiji Statement
Rt Hon Helen Clark, Labour Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, today welcomed the support of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) for the position on Fiji taken by Pacific Islands Forum Leaders in Port Moresby in January. Helen Clark said that the Forum and CMAG are in agreement that Fiji must nominate an election date by 1 May and hold the election by 31 December this year. (Scoop image of Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama by Selwyn Manning.) More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00093.htm

ALSO:

Fiji: Full Suspension If No Progress By Sept 2009 [2]

McCully axes $1.95m Pacific aid programme [3]

McCully asked to explain NZAID plans [4]

Time for greater focus on the Pacific - McCully [5]

McCully’s comments about NZAID cavalier at best [6]

NGOs ask what Murray McCully is trying to fix [7]

Careful Consideration Of Aid Programme Required [8]

Manning on NZAID Cuts + Climate Change Myths! [9]

Fiji On A Roadmap To Somewhere [10]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00068.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00087.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00023.htm [4]

[5] - http://scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0902/S00325.htm [5]

[6] - http://scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0903/S00053.htm [6]

[7] - http://scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0903/S00030.htm [7]

[8] - http://scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0903/S00028.htm [8]

[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0903/S00078.htm [9]

[10] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0805/S00012.htm [10]

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NZ POLITICS

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ALSO:

Question and Answers - 5 March 2009 [2]

Question and Answers - 4 March 2009 [3]

Question and Answers - 3 March 2009 [4]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00094.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00075.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00051.htm [4]

Electoral Commission Releases 08 Party Election Expenses
More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0903/S00091.htm

Media: New Political Show With Espiner, Holmes & Arseneau
TV ONE’s new Sunday morning political show, Q & A will be presented by TVNZ’s political editor, Guyon Espiner; political analyst, Therese Arseneau and the country’s most popular broadcaster, Paul Holmes. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0903/S00050.htm

ALSO:

Goodnight to Kiwi Broadcasting Jobs [2]

TVNZ jobs more important than dividend [3]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00096.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00101.htm [3]

Gordon Campbell: Did The Finance Guarantee Scheme Need A Mascot?
If a firm stopped taking deposits last September, and was heavily exposed in the current economic climate to a major loan to a Queenstown property developer, you’d think that might be ringing a few warning bells, wouldn’t you? Yet on 13 January Mascot Finance got Treasury’s nod for entry into the retail deposit guarantee scheme whereby it gets all its failed investments paid out by the taxpayer. More »[1]

[1] - http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2009/03/05/campbell-treasury-put-us-on-the-hook-to-banks/

ALSO:

Mascot Finance covered by deposit guarantee Scheme [2]

Receivers appointed to Mascot Finance [3]

Reserve Bank, Treasury comments on Mascot Finance [4]

First graduation for high risk offender treatment [5]

Cartoon: Love behind bars [6]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0903/S00019.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0903/S00018.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0903/S00143.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0903/S00046.htm [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0903/S00095.htm [6]

Public Service: Slashing Of Tertiary Education Commission Jobs
News that more than 70 jobs are to be cut from the Tertiary Education Commission makes a mockery of the government’s promise to cap, not reduce job numbers in the public service,” said Maryan Street, Labour’s Tertiary Education spokesperson. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00072.htm

ALSO:

National slashing frontline services [2]

We need job opportunities not job cuts [3]

Minister Releases Pacific Division Review [4]

Release of Pacific Division Review Report [5]

Coleman plays petty politics [6]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00090.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0903/S00019.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00083.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0903/S00047.htm [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00091.htm [6]

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BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH

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Coporate Citizenship: Fonterra Moves To Lift Effluent Compliance
Fonterra plans to re-direct staff resource to help in providing advice to the minority of farmers who have been identified as needing support. The company is also introducing a milk payout deduction system for those who receive an infringement notice or prosecution for an effluent offence from a Regional Council. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0903/S00129.htm

ALSO:

Fonterra insults environment, and farmers [2]

Fonterra’s Effluent Compliance Targets Too Little [3]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00100.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0903/S00096.htm [3]

Another Day...: Restructuring At Nelson Pine Industries
Nelson Pine Industries Ltd today announced a restructuring of its production operations in response to difficult market conditions resulting from the worldwide financial crisis... The company regrets that this change will result in approximately 60 staff positions becoming surplus to production requirements. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0903/S00115.htm

ALSO:

Nelson Pine layoffs a blow to region [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0903/S00117.htm [2]

Animal: Four Legs Good, Says Zebra
Since the passing of Zardi the zebra last year, Wellington Zoo’s remaining zebra Molly has shared her enclosure with two ostriches relocated to her enclosure to keep her company. She good-naturedly accepted the big birds, but now has three new companions more suited to the company of a zebra—three male llama. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0903/S00106.htm

ALSO:

Zoo offers adventurous night in Africa [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0903/S00097.htm [2]

Currency: NZ Dollar Climbs Above 50 US Cents On Chinese Plan
March 5 – The New Zealand dollar rebounded over 50 U.S. cents from a six-year low as global stocks rallied on speculation China will inject more money into its economy. More »[1]

[1] - http://business.scoop.co.nz/2009/03/05/nz-dollar-climbs-above-50-us-cents-on-chinese-plan/

In The Name Of Science: Reasons For Putting Telescope In Vineyard Entirely Technical
Auckland astronomers are involved in a new high technology telescope which has just been installed on a Marlborough vineyard. It will be used to study the birth of the universe and to search for distant planets. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0903/S00004.htm

Manufacturing: "Another Day, Another Closure"
“New Zealanders must join the chorus of opposition from across the Tasman at the decision of Pacific Brands to cease its manufacturing in Australia and New Zealand and move operations to China and other low waged countries,” says Robert Reid, President of the National Distribution Union. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0903/S00087.htm

ALSO:

Aussie Union Tries To Shame Pacific Brands Into Staying [2]

Union Asks Rafter To Give Pacific Brands A Serve [3]

Pacific Brands and Sealord decisions contemptible [4]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00066.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00066.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0903/S00055.htm [4]

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COMMENT

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Ramzy Baroud: Was Hamas The Work Of The Israeli Mossad?
While various Western governments are struggling to define a possible relationship with the Palestinian movement Hamas, some progressive and leftist circles are also uneasy regarding their own perception of the Islamic movement. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0903/S00090.htm

Jason Leopold: Conyers Cuts A Deal With Rove, Miers
The House Judiciary Committee cut a deal with lawyers for George W. Bush that will see his former aides Karl Rove and Harriet Miers testify in Congress' long-running investigation into the firings of nine US Attorneys in December 2006. But their testimony, ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0903/S00087.htm

Patrizia Sigg: Stepping Back In Time On The Main Trunk Line
Travel Feature: Switzerland's Patrizia Sigg writes of her travels while in New Zealand traveling from Wellington to Auckland by rail along the main trunk line. She writes: ''If you ever take the Overlander, you had better make sure you get a window seat.'' More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0903/S00097.htm

Martin LeFevre: Rush Limbaugh In 2012?
The porcine blowhard Rush Limbaugh, dressed and acting like a deranged gangster, gave the keynote address at the Conservative Political Action Conference (C-PAC) on February 28. Rush looked like a latter-day Mussolini, and talked like a man preparing ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0903/S00088.htm

Gordon Campbell: How Treasury Put Us On The Hook To Finance Companies
If a firm stopped taking deposits last September, and was heavily exposed in the current economic climate to a major loan to a Queenstown property developer, you’d think that might... More »[1]

[1] - http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2009/03/05/campbell-treasury-put-us-on-the-hook-to-banks/

Ernest Partridge: Take The Money And Run
If the Obama economic goals are to be met – a repaired physical infrastructure, educational pre-eminence, health care for all, international leadership in science and technology, etc. – we, the public, must retrieve the cash that was effectively ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0903/S00048.htm

Engaging Hamas: Will History Repeat Itself?
The political outcomes of the Gaza war are yet to be entirely decided with any degree of certainty. However, the obvious political repositioning which was reported as soon as Israel declared its unilateral ceasefire promised that Israel’s deadly ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0903/S00006.htm

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LIFESTYLE

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Exploration: Hillary Expedition Grants Announced
A new route on a remote peak in Antarctica and a caving expedition aiming to reach record depths under New Zealand are among the challenges seven groups of adventurous kiwis are tackling in this year’s SPARC Hillary Expeditions. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0903/S00112.htm

Entertainment: Conchords' Clement Co-creator Of New Kiwi Sketch Comedy
A Kiwi comic dream team will come together for a new series on TV3 In The Beginning There Was . . . Nothing; a sketch style comedy show that should deliver plenty of laughs. The list of the show’s creators reads like an NZ comedy who’s who, and includes the Naked Samoans fresh from their final series of Bro’town; Oscar nominated Taika Waititi; and Grammy winner Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords) More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0903/S00111.htm

Coziness: It's Curtain Time For Cold Houses
The Home Energy Advice Centre in Wellington in partnership with Refugee Services and Lewis’s Curtain Specialists will be running their second free workshop on how to make your curtains more effective this weekend. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0903/S00110.htm

Music: Lawrence Arabia's Aural Britzkrieg To Storm NZ
With his multi-talented band, Broadsword, in tow… Lawrence Arabia finally returns to New Zealand to tour his new album, “Chant Darling”, which is out March 9 on Honorary Bedouin/Rhythmethod. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0903/S00104.htm

ALSO:

Chimp Escape Hamilton Zoo [2]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0903/S00093.htm [2]

Performance: New Scholarship For Dancers
Outstanding young New Zealand dancers will benefit from the generosity of a former dancer, with the announcement of a new scholarship from the Eileen May Norris Dance Scholarships Trust, it was announced today by Public Trust. Public Trust administers ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0903/S00088.htm

Outdoors: Avalanche Peak Mountain Running Challenge
After going into recess last year, this iconic mountain running race event is being held again this coming Saturday. Race director Chris Cox is pleased with the amount of support the event has received this year with 170 entries and expecting late entries ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0903/S00082.htm

Arts: Applications Invited For Pacific Writer’s Residency
Fulbright New Zealand and Creative New Zealand invite applications for the 2009 Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer’s Residency, an award which offers a New Zealand writer of Pacific heritage the opportunity to work for three months on a creative writing project exploring Pacific identity, culture or history at the University of Hawai‘i. More »[1]

[1] - http://books.scoop.co.nz/2009/03/04/applications-invited-for-writers-residency/

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WORLD

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International Criminal Court: Arrest Warrant Issued For Sudanese President
The United States is strongly committed to the pursuit of peace in Sudan and believes those who have committed atrocities should be held accountable for their crimes. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00110.htm

Gender Discrimination: Gender Pay Gap Bigger Than Previously Thought
Brussels, 5 March 2009 (ITUC OnLine): A new report released by the ITUC for March 8, International Women's Day, has revealed that the pay gap between men and women worldwide may be much higher than official government figures. The report, ''Gender ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00104.htm

ALSO:

"We Need To Change The Lives Of Women” [2]

Ban Decries Violence Against Women As Abomination [3]

Combat Against Discrimination Is Top Priority [4]

Silence Surrounding Violence Against Women [5]

Liberia Breaks New Ground For Women [6]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00105.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00116.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00119.htm [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00120.htm [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00122.htm [6]

International Human Rights: Worsening Human Rights Situation In Afghanistan
New York, Mar 5 2009 10:10AM The human rights situation in Afghanistan is marked by a rise in civilian casualties, setbacks for women, mounting attacks on freedom of expression and a culture of impunity when it comes to punishing perpetrators of ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00121.htm

Ethnic Relations: 'Shameful' Failure For Indigenous Peoples
Only four members of the UN voted against the Declaration on Indigenous Rights in 2007: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. Three are members of the Commonwealth. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00103.htm

Energy Policy: Roadmap For Halving Auto Emissions Unveiled
New York, Mar 4 2009 1:10PM With the world's car fleet expected to triple by 2050, a road map to halve greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles by that date was laid out today at the Geneva Motor Show by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00073.htm

South East Asia: UNICEF Opens 200th School In Indonesia
The construction project is part of UNICEF’s determination to not only replace schools destroyed and heavily damaged in the earthquake and tsunami which struck Indonesia in 2004, but to build them back better. As a result, the children who rely ... More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0903/S00082.htm

3News Video: Cricket World Reeling After Terror Attack
A team of heavily armed gunmen, some travelling in rickshaws, ambushed Sri Lanka's national cricket team as it arrived for a match, killing six police guards and wounding seven players. The brazen attack heightened fears that Pakistan is becoming increasingly unstable. More »[1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/world/19177.html

ALSO:

Attack on cricket team condemned [2]

Labour Leader deplores cricket team attack [3]

Sri Lankan cricket side shot at in Pakistan [4]

Gunmen attack Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan [5]

December tour of Pakistan off, Vaughan says [6]

[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00040.htm [2]

[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0903/S00046.htm [3]

[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/world/19136.html [4]

[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/world/19158.html [5]

[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/sports/19180.html [6]

ENDS

Scoop

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Top Scoop Stories 5th March, 2009 News Summary