Waterfront Wars – People’s Bank – Indian Earthquake, Donation – Toddler Killed – 3 Aussie Plane Crashes – Balloon Crash – Outerspace Party Drug – Coastguard Conversion – Auckland Anniversary

WATERFRONT WARS: More trouble on the waterfront this time in Bluff. A woman is arrested when she gets in the way of a police flying wedge taking Mainland Stevedore staff to the port. Police are accused of cowardice in arresting a single woman for obstruction. Police defended their wedge. Plans to keep the protest trouble free fell by the wayside. Mainland Stevedoring says it’s a demarcation dispute. Waterfronters and police are both planning on upping their numbers on the barricades tonight.

PEOPLE’S BANK: Time is running out for the People’s Bank. Jim Anderton says he wants approval in the next couple of weeks. Otherwise the bank might not be up and running till next year. David Tripe a banking lecturer says that bank fees charged by banks do not cover bank costs. A report on the bank has not been released. The Alliance leader says this is it, if the decision isn’t taken soon then it might be off altogether. The PM seems in less of a hurry however. Jenny Shipley thinks Jim Anderton is being irresponsible.

EARTHQUAKE 1: Up to 30,000 people may have died in India’s huge earthquake. In Bhuj rescue workers struggle to release buried people. Rescue workers hear a voice and dig to rescue a woman. The found her with a large block of concrete on her chest. There are nowhere near enough rescue workers however. The Indian soldiers need more equipment. Most of the rescue work we saw was being done in the city but in outlying areas whole towns have been flattened. There however there are no rescue workers.

EARTHQUAKE 2:As the remains of children are taken away onlookers become agitated. Many are enduring the agony of not knowing whether their relatives are alive or dead. One half of a 10 story apartment block fell down. A man who was standing on top of it survived miraculously. Survivors are concerned about building standards. A building contractor cannot be found. This is the biggest natural disaster in living memory.

EARTHQUAKE DONATION: The NZ Government is donating half a million dollars in aid to the Indian relief effort.

TODDLER KILLED: A toddler is killed in a suburban neighbourhood.

THREE AUSSIE PLANE CRASHES: Several Kiwis have been killed in a plane crash in Australia. A TV personality also died in a plane crash. A crash in Western Australia claimed the lives of four policemen.

BALLOON CRASH: A hot air balloon flight ends in a crash landing but no-one was hurt. The crash is captured on camera.

OUTERSPACE PARTY DRUG: The Ministry of Health is investigating an organisation called Outerspace selling a drug called One4B. Two teenage boys were admitted to hospital after passing out at the weekend.The drug is being sold as an alternative to sleeping pills. The drug makes you feel warm and friendly for one to three hours says the distributor. All three patients were treated and discharged within hours. The distributor says the boys probably took too much.

COASTGUARD CONVERSION: A teenager who stole the Mana Coastguard boat to go for a joyride with his friends will appear in court tomorrow. The Coastguard chased the boat. The teenager says he planned to apologise this morning if he hadn’t been caught. The teenager says he would have liked to join the Coastguard.

AUCKLAND ANNIVERSARY: The City of Sails lived up to its name today on Auckland Anniversary Day. The number of people in the regatta today was up said organisers. Police say it has been a quiet weekend, but. A charity lunch was held on the Te Kaha. Team NZ performed a demonstration race to start off the day.

© 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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