Top Scoop Stories - 12 March 2008 News Summary

Wednesday, 12 March 2008, 2:03 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

Today's Top Scoops - 12 March 2008

LEAD STORY:

Road Safety: Is Duynhoven Asleep At the Wheel?

NZ POLITICS:

Questions For Oral Answer - Wednesday, 12 March 2008
Public Service: National Will "Halt Growth Of Core Bureaucracy"
Science: R & D Fund A 'Gimmick' Says National
Oddspot: Reconstituted Liberals Get Celebrity Endorsement
Tax: English Says Cullen Is 'Borrowing' For Tax Cuts
Health: Cunliffe Tags In Associate Minister

BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH:

Job Statistics: 55% Of Kiwi Workers On Look-Out For New Job
Food & Economy: Grocery Food Continues To Drive Food Prices Up
Confidence: Mayor Pumped About Manukau Business

WORLD:

Unjust Laws: Drug Control Efforts Should Focus More On Health
Technology: UN Launches Initiative To Improve Internet Access In Asia-Pacific Region
Trends: Declining Support For Tough Measures Against Iran

LIFESTYLE:

Arts Fest: "Last Riot" at City Gallery - Special Arts Fest Tours
Hastings Treat: Reversing The Tide In New Zealand
Arts Festival: Traces - On Now
Environment: Phoenix Foundation Sound Support For Earth Hour

Road Safety: Is Duynhoven Asleep At the Wheel? - In response to the latest cellphone drink driving disaster Harry Duynhoven - reluctant to enact legislation midst a blood bath - claims Government will soon launch a campaign about the risk of driver distractions. Candor Trust remain dubious, given the contents of an Official Information Act request the Trust received just last week. It said that absolutely no work had been commenced on the distractions campaign promised in December 2006. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Green Party - Need for safer cell phone use [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00108.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00194.htm

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY:

• Questions For Oral Answer - Wednesday, 12 March 2008 [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00202.htm

Public Service: National Will "Halt Growth Of Core Bureaucracy" - National Party Leader John Key says a National Government will halt the growth of the Government's core bureaucracy. "My commitment to New Zealanders is this - in the first term of a National Government, we will not grow the size of the core bureaucracy. Enough is enough. We are going to make do with the resource we have, and work to get more value out of it." More >> [1]

ALSO:

• National - Key: Focusing on the Front Line [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00203.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00204.htm

Science: R & D Fund A 'Gimmick' Says National - "Helen Clark has been eager to talk up her new $700 million fund. The real question is: on an annual basis, how much extra will research and development get? Labour's model carries a considerable risk..." More >> [1]

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Appalling lack of judgement [2]
• NZ Govt - National Party needs to wake up to reality [3]
• Lincoln University - NZ's 'unique research' impresses Key [4]
• TV3 Video - AgResearch head: New research money could be better targeted [5]
• Scoop Full Coverage - Fast Forward R&D Fund [6]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00183.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00190.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00191.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0803/S00021.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/business/5871.html
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00184.htm

Oddspot: Reconstituted Liberals Get Celebrity Endorsement - Lord [Paddy] Ashdown the former leader of the British Liberal Democrats and European Union High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina today welcomed the launch of the New Zealand Liberal Party. "The addition of a liberal democrat party in the centre of the political spectrum will only strengthen a modern democracy." Paddy Ashdown said from his home in Somerset, England. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Liberal Party - Liberal Party Launches Draft Constitution for NZ [2]
• Out-Link - No Right Turn: A new Liberal Party [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00105.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00088.htm
[3] - http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2008/03/new-liberal-party.html

Tax: English Says Cullen Is 'Borrowing' For Tax Cuts - The Most recent Economic & Fiscal Update shows that the government is planning to increase borrowing in 2008 by $2.41 billion. This increase in borrowing is very close to the $1.5b the Treasury has set aside for personal tax cuts in Budget 2008 and the $1 billion cost of the business tax cut that has already been booked against this year's budget. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00187.htm

Health: Cunliffe Tags In Associate Minister - Health Minister David Cunliffe yesterday launched extensive delegations to a strong team of Associate Health Ministers giving them a wide scope for action. The five Associate Ministers, the Hon Jim Anderton, Hon Steve Chadwick, Hon Damien O'Connor, Hon Mita Ririnui and Hon Peter Dunne represent a diverse range of constituencies and portfolio areas. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00193.htm

Job Statistics: 55% Of Kiwi Workers On Look-Out For New Job - Companies who correctly invest in attracting and retaining staff are at a distinct advantage - Research confirms significant gaps between what job seekers want and what's offered - Employers selling themselves short; job ads leaving candidates ... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0803/S00194.htm

Food & Economy: Grocery Food Continues To Drive Food Prices Up - Food prices increased 0.8 percent in the February 2008 month, Statistics New Zealand said today. The higher prices for the grocery food subgroup (up 1.1 percent) accounted for half of the increase in the Food Price Index (FPI). Grocery food has been the ... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0803/S00190.htm

Confidence: Mayor Pumped About Manukau Business - Manukau Mayor Len Brown says the past winners for the Westpac Manukau Business Excellence Awards highlight that Manukau businesses are strong, no matter what size they are. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0803/S00179.htm

Unjust Laws: Drug Control Efforts Should Focus More On Health - The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has urged measures to address the ''image problem'' of global drug control efforts, which he says tend to focus more on the criminality of the problem and not enough on health-related issues. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00106.htm

Technology: UN Launches Initiative To Improve Internet Access In Asia-Pacific Region - ''Sharing of views, experiences and best practices among regulators is the only way to address the challenges posed by today's technological and market developments,'' ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré noted. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00113.htm

Trends: Declining Support For Tough Measures Against Iran - Compared to results from a June 2006 BBC World Service Poll, support for economic sanctions or military strikes has declined significantly, including in countries that were previously among the highest supporters of tough action. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00118.htm

Arts Fest: "Last Riot" at City Gallery - Special Arts Fest Tours - Learn more about the current exhibitions and impress your family and friends! Our free exhibition tours are a great way to get more out of your visit to City Gallery Wellington. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0803/S00127.htm

Hastings Treat: Reversing The Tide In New Zealand - What happens when a world famous actress falls in love with a world famous scientist? It's a question that can only be answered by seeing the sole New Zealand performance of the mesmerising and profoundly important show SeaChange: Reversing The Tide . More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0803/S00121.htm

Arts Festival: Traces - On Now - First and foremost it's a showcase the skills of the performers. And these guys are good. They do impossible things and make it look easy. But there's more to Traces than that. More >> [1]

NOW ON:

• The Dentist's Chair [2]
• Cirque Ici - Secret [3]
• Giselle [4]
• La Vie [5]
• Scoop Audio - Songs of Kurt Weill's Janet Roddick (from Festival 2006) [6]
• TV3 Video - Dance Borrowed Light based on shaker religion [7]

AND MORE!

• Arts Festival 2008 Website [8]
• Scoop Full Coverage: Arts Festival 2008 [9]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00176.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00136.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0802/S00248.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00157.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0802/S00265.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0602/S00356.htm
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/entertainment/5870.html
[8] - http://www.nzfestival.nzpost.co.nz/
[9] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/features/festival08.html

Environment: Phoenix Foundation Sound Support For Earth Hour - They'll be opening for Split Enz during Earth Hour on Saturday 29 March, but The Phoenix Foundation say they will still be celebrating Earth Hour - in spirit. "We might do a couple of songs with the PA and all the lights turned off - maybe a couple of megaphones and acoustic guitars," mused Phoenix drummer Richie Singleton, in an interview with The Press. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• V - 'V' back Pig Out to take on SXSW [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0803/S00117.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0803/S00116.htm

ENDS

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