The New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the coalition Government agrees RNZ and TVNZ need protecting at a time when media industry is in dire straights; and National is asking its supporters whether District Health Board elections be ditched in favour of an appointment process.
1.The volcanic alert level on Whakaari /White Island has dropped back to level two where it sat before the volcano erupted on Monday. The authorities are no closer to recovering the eight people still on the island while the threat of another eruption remains high.
2.Families of some of the eight missing people gathered for karakia at Ngati Awa Te Mānuka Tūtahi marae in Whakatāne this morning. The Police Minister Stuart Nash joined locals at the ceremony in the marae’s wharenui.
3.Five Australian patients have been returned home and are being treated in burns units there.
4.The cruise ship the Ovation of the Seas which many of the victims have been traveling on has docked in Wellington after its delayed departure from Tauranga. Off the 47 people on the island during the eruption, 38 were passengers from the Royal Carribean cruise ship.
5.Ngāti Awa and neighbouring iwi have placed rahui on their coastlines in response to the Whakaari eruption. A rahui was placed on the island itself early on Tuesday morning to pay respect to the dead.
6.ACC is to review the claims it has declined for people who have suffered pain and health problems after having surgical mesh implants. The Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter made the announcement as a report into the harm suffered by patients is released.
7.Cabinet ministers have ordered more work to be done on the Northport proposal to report back in the middle of next year. It’s officially released the report of the working group set up to consider the best configuration for the Upper North Island ports which strongly recommended Auckland’s freight operations be progressively moved to Northland.
8.The New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says the coalition Government agrees RNZ and TVNZ need protecting at a time when media industry is in dire straights. A decision is looming on a new public broadcasting “super entity”, with the final Cabinet meeting of the year on Monday.
9.Pilot Courts pushing alcohol and drug treatment for offenders in Auckland and Waitakere are to become permanent and a third Court will open in Hamilton next year. The Courts promote treatment instead of jail terms.
10.The Defence Force says a contract to clear abandoned explosives in Afghanistan is due to be signed early next year. The Prime Minister recently directed the Defence Force to speed up the process after revelations that 17 civilians were either killed or injured by exploded ordinates which the UN says was left behind on ranges where New Zealand troops operated.
11.National is asking its supporters whether District Health Board elections be ditched in favour of an appointment process. The Opposition Party has this morning launched its health discussion document seeking public feedback on a range of proposals including whether DHBs should be elected.
12.More than 30 women who were allegedly subjected to sexual misconduct by the disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein have reportedly reached a $25million settlement which, if approved, would bring to an end most of the civil lawsuits pending against him.
13.Britain’s election race has tightened markedly over the past two weeks and Boris Johnson is now likely to win only a modest majority in Thursday’s [Friday NZ time] general election, according to a closely watched forecast released today.
14.Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape has acknowledged the result of the Bougainville independence vote.In the results announced yesterday, a 97.7 percent majority voted for independence in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region’s non-binding referendum.
15. The Christchurch City Council is expected to decide today whether to accept an investment case to build a $470 million stadium.
16.Russian sports attorneys will shortly file lawsuits with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to challenge the ruling of the WADA Executive Committee (ExCo) to strip Russia of the right to participate in major international sports tournaments, including the Olympics and world championships, for a period of four years.
17.Botanist and broadcaster David Bellamy has died aged 86, the Conservation Foundation he formed has said.London-born Bellamy, who became a household name as a TV personality, scientist and conservationist, died on Wednesday, according to the foundation.
