National Radio Midday Report

Labour Reforms – Maori Women’s Rights – Millitary Training –Metro Water – 111 Hoaxes – Timor Hunger – Chechenya – Woman’s Admission – Ozone Layer – Tech Rush – Cuban Boy

- LABOUR REFORMS: The government rejects Nationals claim the cost of Labour’s planned reforms and reviews would total $30 million dollars. Helen Clark says the number of the reviews show the government is “brimming with ideas” and says most of the reviews can be done without extra cost.

- MAORI WOMEN’S RIGHTS: Donna Hall, a Maori lawyer, says the ban on woman speaking on marae goes against the Human Rights acts and is open to legal challenge. Activist Titewhai Harawira says she will challenge the Prime Minister if she tries to speaks on the Waitangi marae at Waitangi celebrations.

- MILITARY TRAINING: The head of the Police Association Greg O’Connor suggests millitary training should be a component of corrective training for youth offenders. The Department of Corrections says that a review of corrections is underway.

- METRO WATER: Auckland’s Metro Water company says it will disconnect homes illegally connected to water supplies and with outstanding debts. Groups opposed to user-pays water have deliberately not paid their bills.

- 111 HOAXES: Telecom is concerned that a large number of fake calls made to emergency service could jeopardise genuine calls. Studies have shown around 7 out of 10 calls made to 911 are hoaxes.

- TIMOR HUNGER: The United Nations has rushed food to East Timor where many people remain malnourished to avert a potential famine.

- CHECHENYA: Russia has launched a concerted bid to establish total control of the Chechen capital Grozny.

- WOMAN’S ADMISSION: A woman charged in relation to a killing of a Chirstchurch man has admitted to attempting to murder an elderly woman in a Dunedin hospital.

- OZONE LAYER: UV levels above New Zealand this are amoung the lowest number ever recorded. The Met Office says the low count is due to cloudy conditions.

-TECH RUSH: A huge number of applicants are asking for 10 times the amount of a new state fund avaliable for research and technology. Ideas include projects in biotechnology, robotics, and information technology.

- CUBAN BOY: US officials have discussed the fate of a six-year-old-boy with Cuban authorities despite the decades of a diplomatic freeze between the two countries.

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