National Radio Midday Bulletin

Budget Due - BOP Deficit - Corrections Dept. Criticised - Goff In Fiji - Peace In Solomons? - Oil Company Action - Oil Price Review- US Family Fraud - Legionnaire’s Disease – Tourism In South - Pregnancy Breakthrough - Blakie Car

BUDGET DUE: The first budget of the coalition government will be delivered in two hours shortly after 2pm by Finance Minister Michael Cullen.

BOP DEFICIT: The gap between what New Zealand earns and spends in the world has reached an all-time high. The amount is down for this financial quarter but overall the defecit is up to the highest level ever.

CORRECTIONS DEPT. CRITICISED: The largest prison officers union has criticised the Department of Corrections for what it describes as a “trigger-happy attitude” towards staff discipline.

GOFF IN FIJI: A group of Commonwealth Foreign Ministers, including New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff, are due to arrive in Fiji for a fact finding mission. The group, which has New Zealanders Australians and Malaysians taking part, is not planning to meet coup leader George Speight.

PEACE IN SOLOMONS?: The Solomon Islands militia group that now controls the capital says peace will be restored following Tuesday’s resignation of the Prime Minister Bartholomew Ulufa'alu

OIL COMPANY ACTION: The Commerce Commission has warned the Mobil and Caltex oil companies that if they make misleading claims about petrol prices, they will face prosecution under the Fair Trading Act.

OIL PRICE REVIEW: Four of the country's oil companies are reviewing their petrol and diesel prices, after Mobil raised the cost of both at midnight last night.

US FAMILY FRAUD: Members of five organised crime families and a number of stockbrokers have been charged, in what may be the largest securities fraud case in United States history.

LEGIONNAIRE’S DISEASE: The bacterium that causes the potentially fatal Legionnaires' disease may be living in the hot-water tanks of 12 per cent of homes with electrical heating.

TOURISM IN SOUTH: The latest accommodation figures show a large increase in the number of North Islanders visiting the South Island.

PREGNANCY BREAKTHROUGH: British scientists have announced a breakthrough in research on a potentially fatal condition in pregnant women, which is the leading cause of premature births.

BLAKIE CAR: The car seized by police investigating the killing of Timaru woman Lisa Blaikie has been road tested near the area where her body was found.

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