Top Scoop Stories - 27 March 2008 News Summary

Thursday, 27 March 2008, 2:04 pm
Article: The Scoop Editor

Today's Top Scoops - 27 March 2008

LEAD STORY:

Education: ERA Says Buchanan Dismissal Was Unjustified

NZ POLITICS:

Govt Real Estate: Purchase of Tarnbrae Station, Omarama
Foreign Affairs: Goff Meets Jose Ramos Horta
Scoop Audio: Pacific Ministers Tight On Fiji
Justice: Sensible Sentencing Asked To Respect Victim's Rights
Tax: Cullen "Squirms" On Cuts
Open Letters: Copeland Speaks For The Goats

BUSINESS SCIENCE & TECH:

TV3 Video: Impacts Of Emissions Trading Scheme On NZ Industry
TV3 Video: Blue Chip Founder Fails To Turn Up To Creditors' Meeting
Transport: Fuel Efficiency Car Sale Labels From April 7

WORLD:

World News: Indonesian Shooting Rampage In West Papua
Energy Revolution: Cuba Energy Program Saves One Million Tons Of Oil
Peru: British TV Company Accused Of Bringing 'Epidemic' To Isolated Indians
Crowd Pleaser: UN Human Rights Council Elects Khaddafi Prize Founder to Expert Post

COMMENT:

Paul G. Buchanan: Obama And The 'Pastor Disaster'
Michael Collins: The Money Party (5) - "Us versus Them"
Jim Miles: The Science of Terror

LIFESTYLE:

Scoop Review: Split Enz In Wellington
Funding: League Club Distances Itself From Pokies
Water: UNICEF Launches Tap Project In NZ

Education: ERA Says Buchanan Dismissal Was Unjustified - The Employment Relations Authority has ruled that the dismissal of Dr Paul Buchanan from the University of Auckland was unjustified and it has awarded him more than $65,000 in lost wages and compensation. [The determination said that] while there was no doubt that there was misconduct on Dr Buchanan's part, it was unreasonable for the university to have escalated the matter to one of serious misconduct. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Scoop Full Coverage - Students Flare Over Buchanan Firing [2]
• Paul G. Buchanan - Obama And The 'Pastor Disaster' [3]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0803/S00065.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0708/S00096.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00408.htm

Govt Real Estate: Purchase of Tarnbrae Station, Omarama - Conservation Minister Steve Chadwick today announced the purchase by the Nature Heritage Fund of 2044 hectares of a high country wetland and tussock complex in the Mackenzie Basin near Omarama in Canterbury. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00454.htm

Foreign Affairs: Goff Meets Jose Ramos Horta - Defence Minister, Phil Goff, last night met Timor Leste President Jose Ramos Horta, who is recovering in Darwin from wounds received in the February 11 assassination attempt. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• NZ Govt - Goff visit to Timor Leste [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00451.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00452.htm

Scoop Audio: Pacific Ministers Tight On Fiji - Audio+Images+Pdf (full press conference): Pacific Islands foreign ministers presented a unified pact today calling on Fiji to honour its commitment to hold free and fair elections before March 31 2009 - a move that would see military coup leader Frank Bainimarama out of office. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• (95bFM Audio): Paul Deady & Selwyn Manning - All Eyes on Fiji [2]
• Scoop Audio - Audio: Peters & Stephen Smith Bilateral Press Conf [3]
• Scoop Audio/Images - Multimedia: PM's Post Cabinet Presser 25 Mar. 2008 [4]
• NZ Govt - Ministers welcome a quarter century of CER [5]
• PIF - Forum Foreign Ministers' Meeting Outcome (pdf) [6]
• Fiji Government - "We Are On Track" - Fiji Foreign Affairs Minister [7]
• TV3 - Pacific Forum Sceptical At Chance Of Free And Fair Fijian Elections

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00412.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00411.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00404.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00399.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00461.htm
[6] - http://img.scoop.co.nz/media/pdfs/0803/FFAMM200820Outcomes20Statement20FINAL2026mar081.pdf
[7] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00210.htm

Justice: Sensible Sentencing Asked To Respect Victim's Rights - Brian Aim, the father of Taupo murder victim Karen Aim, should be able to choose to meet the 14 year old offender, without harassment from an organisation promoting its own political agenda," said Project Leader of Rethinking Crime and Punishment, Kim Workman. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Rethinking Crime and Punishment - International Experts on Penal Reform To Speak [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00248.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00249.htm

Tax: Cullen "Squirms" On Cuts - National leader John Key today expressed confidence his party will "out tax cut" Labour in this year's election, but he ignores an issue of vital interest to most New Zealanders and that is at what cost, says Finance Minister Michael Cullen. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• National - Cullen in 'defiant squirming' over tax cuts [2]
• NZ Govt - Cullen: Speech to AUT Business Faculty, Auckland [3]
• NZ Govt - Key and English not taking challenges seriously [4]

AND KEY "SLIDES":

• National - Aust audience hears message of optimism [5]
• NZ Govt - Key slips and slides over the truth. Again [6]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00438.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00446.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00445.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00453.htm
[5] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00441.htm
[6] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00448.htm

Open Letters: Copeland Speaks For The Goats - I am having a meeting with... the Minister of Conservation, in early April to look at the situation objectively. I believe it is possible both to preserve a beautiful part of our natural history and at the same time the flora and fauna on that island. More >> [1]

EARLIER:

• Arapawa Island Goats - New move to save the unique goats of Arapawa Is [2]
• Gordon Copeland - Arapawa Goats [3]
• Gordon Copeland - Copeland not giving up on Arapawa Island Goats [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00443.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC0803/S00003.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00068.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00258.htm

TV3 Video: Impacts Of Emissions Trading Scheme On NZ Industry - Examining the impacts of an emissions trading scheme on New Zealand industry is the theme of a summit on in Wellington today. A keynote speaker is Robert Dornau of SGS Switzerland - the world's largest control and inspection company. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• Petroleum Exploration Association of New Zealand - Report pulls Government up on Gas [2]
• Major Electricity Users Group - Electricity security being compromised [3]
• Wastesaver - More Stable "Green" Electricity Needed [4]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/business/6225.html
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00251.htm
[3] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00253.htm
[4] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0803/S00384.htm

TV3 Video: Blue Chip Founder Fails To Turn Up To Creditors' Meeting - Blue Chip's founder Mark Byers is to be reported to the "appropriate authorities" after he failed to show at today's meeting of about 300 angry creditors in Auckland. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/business/6226.html

Transport: Fuel Efficiency Car Sale Labels From April 7 - Car buyers wanting to save money on their fuel bills will find it easier to choose a vehicle that goes further on a full tank, as a result of new fuel efficiency labels. More >> [1]

ALSO:

• TV3 Video - New vehicle efficiency ratings could be misleading [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0803/S00431.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/multimedia/tv/business/6219.html

World News: Indonesian Shooting Rampage In West Papua - Local human rights workers at the scene report that the police were supported by Indonesian military forces from the Koramil (district headquarters) and Tim Khusus (Army Special Services). These military forces were described as combat troops. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00224.htm

Energy Revolution: Cuba Energy Program Saves One Million Tons Of Oil - Cuba saved nearly one million tons of oil in the period between 2006 and 2007, which translated into 400 million dollars, as a result of the ongoing nationwide energy program, known here as Energy Revolution. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00222.htm

Peru: British TV Company Accused Of Bringing 'Epidemic' To Isolated Indians - A fierce controversy is raging in the Peruvian Amazon over the activities of a film crew working for the British TV company Cicada Films. Local Indians, government officials and independent scientists have accused the film-makers of visiting very isolated Indian communities, despite being warned not to. The isolated Indians reported later that the visit provoked an epidemic of respiratory disease that left four people dead and others seriously ill. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00225.htm

Crowd Pleaser: UN Human Rights Council Elects Khaddafi Prize Founder to Expert Post - To the sound of cheers, and by an overhwelming majority of 40 out of 47 votes, the UN Human Rights Council today elected Jean Ziegler, the co-founder of the ''Muammar Khaddafi Human Rights Prize,'' as an expert advisor representing the Western world. More >> [1]

EARLIER:

• UN Watch - Suspension Of Jean Ziegler's UN Nomination Urged [2]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00226.htm
[2] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0803/S00215.htm

Paul G. Buchanan: Obama And The 'Pastor Disaster' - The "pastor disaster" that is Jeremiah Wright, spiritual mentor to Barack Obama, has occasioned a chorus of righteous indignation from US conservatives and a few Democrats about the first viable black American presidential candidate. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00408.htm

Michael Collins: The Money Party (5) - "Us versus Them" - We have been warned again and again that seeing the world as an "us versus them" proposition is a fatal error. It's polarizing. It leads to "class warfare." It absolves "us" of the collective responsibility we all have in a democracy. Can't have it, ... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00402.htm

Jim Miles: The Science of Terror - Sometimes the science community, hiding behind the guise of empirical research, cannot see its own bias even while correctly analyzing a situation. The latter statement may seem contradictory, but given the manner in which it studies `terror´ and then ... More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00406.htm

Scoop Review: Split Enz In Wellington - Split Enz was huge fun and a remarkable nostalgia trip. As the band got more and more into it and the crowd limbered up, a great sense of the fondness a lot of Kiwis feel for the Enz became more and more apparent. You really could feel the love. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0803/S00424.htm

Funding: League Club Distances Itself From Pokies - In an era where many sports clubs are struggling to survive one league club is trying innovative ways of regaining community support. The Mt Wellington Rugby League Club is backing up its healthy message with plans to free itself of pokie funding. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00250.htm

Water: UNICEF Launches Tap Project In NZ - UNICEF NZ is inviting restaurants around the country to join the campaign, by asking diners to donate a minimum of $1 for the tap water they normally enjoy for free, for one week from Saturday 5 - Friday 11 April. More >> [1]

[1] - http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0803/S00252.htm

ENDS

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