Legal Aid Reform - Disquiet this morning at a proposal to set up a public defenders office. That is one of a number of suggestions from Justice Minister Tony Ryall to curb the country’s rising legal aid bill. But defence lawyer Barry Hart says such a move may save money but he fears it would also lead to a reduction in the quality of defence. Mr Hart says public defenders overseas often complain of being under-funded and under-staffed.

WINZ Report Released Today - The State Services Commissioner presents his report on WINZ chief executive Christine Rankin today, but it’s not expected to recommend she lose her job. Labour social welfare spokesperson Steve Maharey hopes the inquiry will demand a greater control will be placed on Ms Rankin and note that her flamboyance style of management is inappropriate. He expects the WINZ boss will get a “stern shake-up”.

Heatwave Death-toll - The death-toll from heat in the USA has risen to 178. The US has been in the grip of a heatwave since July 19. In 1995 a similar hot-spell caused more than 700 deaths in the Chicago region alone.

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>