Eruption – Auckland Copter Crash – Willis Payout – Kirsty Bentley – Auckland Murder – Body Found – Margaret Baxter – Child Murder Accused Named – Too Much Coke – PM’S Waitangi Plans – GG Out – Nobodies High

ERUPTION: Their is a fairly large eruption underway in a Rotorua Park this afternoon. Residents thought it was a new Geyser and then it started spitting rocks.

AUCKLAND HELICOPTER CRASH: A helicopter and boat have crashed on the Southern Motorway in Auckland. A couple has been transported to Middlemore hospital following the copter crash. Air inspectors are on the scene now. The aircraft should be cleared later tonight when they have completed. Meanwhile noone is heading out of Auckland via the motorway. Could the weather have contributed to the accident? I wouldn’t like to comment on that, says fire officer. That said it is a bit cloudy and I am standing in the rain at the moment. The Helicopter is on top of the median barrier upright but seriously damaged.

WILLIS PAYOUT: The Inland Revenue Dept has compensated a couple with $550,000 for ill-treatment at the hands of the IRD. The couple were wrongly assessed for their ACC bills a long time ago. The IRD then pursued the debt with vigour. The Willis’s blame the department for cancer and a stroke. The IRD has already issued an apology to the couple. ACT MP Rodney King says it has been a long time coming. Winston Peters says he expects a person who is dead to be used as a scapegoat.

KIRSTY BENTLEY: The father of murdered teenager Kirsty Bentley, Sid Bentley, has changed his story about where he was at the time of his daughter’s disappearance. He was interviewed by police today. Police have refused to discuss the interview saying they need to assess the information and will make a release if it is considered necessary. Kirsty Bentley went missing at New Year’s Eve. Bentley is declining comment.

AUCKLAND MURDER: A brutal bashing in downtown Auckland. The man appears to have been bashed with a piece of wood to death. The victim was in his early 20s, five foot 11 inches. He was carrying a pyramid shaped ring. A bag was found near the young man. Police did not know for a long time who the man was. The incident follows another violent incident in the same area. BREAKING NEWS: Police say they now know who the victim is and are contacting his next of kin.

BODY FOUND: Evidence including the remains of a small adult has been found near Mangakino in the Central North Island. The strongest lead so far is that the bones belong to a man who disappeared 20 years ago. The person who found the body said they knew it was suspicous as a piece of denim was around the bone.

MARGARET BAXTER: 100s of people packed the funeral of murdered Wellington woman Margaret Baxter today at St Mary’s of the Angels.

CHILD MURDER ACCUSED NAMED: A man charged with the murder of a two-year-old in the Wairarapa is a former boxing champion. Hugh Gordon Bryant (sp?). Bryant won a boxing title fight 5 years ago.

TOO MUCH COKE: A former UK Soap Actress who disfigured herself by snorting too much cocaine says she wants an image of her used to discourage others to take the drug. If I knew I would end up looking like that I never would have started, she says.

PM’s WAITANGI PLANS: The PM has announced her plans for Waitangi Day. Her plans have been controversial.

GG OUT: The Governor General has been out today.

NOBODIES HIGH: A long weekend traffic jam has begun in Matamata for a 20,000 strong Christian music festival with 150 bands and nine venues. The organisers are encouraging no sex out of marriage over the weekend of music ahead. Drugs and alcohol are not allowed. Attendance numbers are high and nobodies is high.

© Scoop Media

Alastair Thompson

Scoop Publisher

Alastair Thompson is the co-founder of Scoop. He is of Scottish and Irish extraction and from Wellington, New Zealand. Alastair has 24 years experience in the media, at the Dominion, National Business Review, North & South magazine, Straight Furrow newspaper and online since 1997. He is the winner of several journalism awards for business and investigative work.

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