Scoop Headlines

The House:Crime - The Government's move yesterday to play the crime card was trumped temporarily by an attempt to send the Home Invasion laws back to select committee. However after a heated debate the legislation did progress. See "The House: Sanctuaries, Legislation And Crime" in the parliament wire.

The PM And TVNZ - The Prime Minister clarifies her comments on John Hawkesby's payout on TV While Labour asks When can the PM be taken literally?

NZQA - The former NZQA Boss at the centre of the latest payout publicity has promises to disclose all. There is coverage in the headlines wire. Meanwhile the original 'golden handshake' is still in the sights of the Tourism Minister, Lockwood Smith. He has told a select committee that the two former Tourism Board members will be able to keep some of their pay-out money in a deal due to be announced in the next few days.

Question Time - Arguing The Moral Equivalence Of Hawkesby And Blackmur - Question time yesterday was marked by an interchange between the government and the opposition over comments the PM apparently made last night about John Hawkesby's reported claims for compensation for dismissal by TVNZ. Speaking for the PM Wyatt Creech ably defended his leader challenging the opposition to be as concerned about this they are about other crown entity payments. The opposition rejoined by casting aspersions concerning who was the Minister of State Services at the time of Dr Blackmur's contract with the NZQA. The answer - Mrs Shipley - was not given up by Creech nor English. In other debate during the question session covered by The Scoop in detail in the headlines wire, new Treasurer Bill English arguably had Michael Cullen a little rattled, Trade Minister Lockwood Smith had some passionate things to say about the impact of trade liberalisation on poverty, and Peter Brown - New Zealand First - had some concerns about pilots. See.. Questions Of The Day (1-6) and Questions Of The Day (7-12)

Licence Fees Cut - The Government has cut fees on some commercial drivers licences. The changes mean a bus driver taking out a five-year licence will pay just under Drivers will also have the option of renewing their licence annually rather than for a five year period. Police vetting will only be every five years in any case. Details are in the parliament wire. The Alliance says the Government bows to pressure over licensing fiasco, but it hasn't gone far enough. ACT says taxi Drivers Get No Relief From LTSA Fee Hike and Labour says the Government bows to pressure over licensing fiasco

ACT On Tax - ACT has also indicated it will be moving an amendment to a confidence motion, to cut income tax by 3%. See "ACT - amendment to confidence motion" in the Parliament wire.

Don Will Seek List Position Don McKinnon says he will stand for a list position despite the fact that he looks to be ahead in the race for the Commonwealth's top job.

East Timor Bound Don McKinnon says "NZ To Send Observers For East Timor Ballot"

Shopping Around - The Government has announced how it is to help people to find the cheapest power deal, details are in the parliament wire.

Fishing Bill - The Government has introduced fisheries legislation to the House, which the Minister, John Luxton says both improves prospect for sustainability and meets the Crown obligations for fisheries. See the Parliament wire.

McDonalds Under The Grill - McDonald's 'Grilled Chicken Burger' has been withdrawn from sale in Australia after action over the use of the word grill, which has apparently little to do with the process the burgers are given. See the general wire.

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