Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has landed the first blow in the demolition of a leaky St John call centre in Auckland; and the Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine international edition.
1.The man who murdered British backpacker Grace Millane will spend at least 17 years behind bars. There was eerie silence in court this morning as the 28-year-old was jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years. The man, who has continued name suppression, strangled Millane in his CityLife apartment in Auckland’s CBD in December 2018.
2.The US President Donald Trump says his friend and former associate Roger Stone has a very good chance of exoneration. Stone was this morning sentenced to three-years and four months in prison for obstruction, lying to Congress and witness tampering.
3.Fonterra is helping transport water to the drought-hit Far North. The dairy company said it had been delivering around 90,000 litres three tanker loads of water to the towns of Kaitaia and Kaikohe for about a week. The water was then being transferred into council holding tanks.
4.The police are closely monitoring gangs in the Western Bay of Plenty as the rival groups vye for positions. 300 people attended a meeting in Tauranga last night to discuss gang violence.
5.Tourist buses were packed as the first convoy drove into Milford Sound this morning. The only road in was extensively damaged when a metre of rain fell in less than three days at the beginning of the month.
6.The Government is standing on its travel restrictions in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, despite industries being severely disrupted. Treasury estimates the economy will suffer a quarter of a billion dollar hit in the short term following the travel and trade restrictions out of mainland China.
7.Increased demand for healthcare products in China has caused Fisher & Paykel Healthcare to forecast a two percent profit lift. To between $260 million and $270 million for the year. The company makes a range of face masks, humidifiers and other devices.
8.Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has landed the first blow in the demolition of a leaky St John call centre in Auckland. Part of a one off $21 million injection for ambulance services in last year’s budget is going toward a rebuild of the centre.
9.The number of 14 and 15 year olds who have tried cannabis has fallen by more than a quarter. Statistics published in the New Zealand Medical Journal show in 2018, only 14 percent of Year 10 students have taken the drug – down from 19 percent in 2012. The authors said the decline was to be expected – previous studies into cannabis use amongst teens from 2001 to 2012 also showed a decline.
10.A man the Crown says was trafficked to New Zealand and treated as a slave has told the High Court in Napier he was put to work in a vineyard within hours of arriving from Samoa. Hasting’s based chief Joseph Matamata is on trial facing 11 charges of trafficking people and 13 charges of dealing as slaves between 1994 and 2017.
11.The first vigil has taken place for the victims of the deadly far-right attack in the German town of Hanau. Nine people were killed at two shisha bars yesterday. The suspected gunman, a German man who has been described by Chancellor Angela Merkel as a far-right extremist, was later reported to have shot himself and his mother at his home.
12.Porirua’s Mayor Anita Baker says more of the city’s water infrastructure is broken than the Council realised. Wellington Water yesterday told Porirua City Council it will face an almost $2 billion bill to bring its water network up to scratch.
13.Police in Queensland are urging anyone who knew the parents involved in a fire tragedy in Brisbane on Wednesday to come forward. Tauranga born Rowan Baxter, appears to have set a car alight with his family inside fatally injuring his estranged wife and killing their three children aged six, four and three.
14.Actor and director Jennifer Ward-Lealand Te Atamira has won the 2020 New Zealander of the Year Award. She was recognised for her dedication to the performing arts and her unparalleled commitment to and passion for te reo Māori.She was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit last year for her services to theatre, film, and television, including being an outspoken and determined advocate for actors’ working conditions and pay.
15.The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine international edition. The weekly news magazine and website also features an article commenting on her leadership, nearly one year after the Christchurch mosque shootings.
