Waitangi Day – Laila Harre On Waterfront– Israel Election – CYFS Gets Help – Apples – Indonesia – Fast Ferries

WAITANGI DAY: The PM Helen Clark says that an official crown party will not return to Waitangi till Maori Sovereignty activists leave. These people want a different system of government, she says. Meanwhile a hui of Maori leaders at Waitangi has called on Maori to set goals for the next 40 years. Donna Hall says the plan is to turn Waitangi Day at Waitangi into a day of celebration. The hui is also proposing five yearly huis at Waitangi.

LAILA HARRE: Alliance MP and Associate Labour Minister Laila Harre is under fire for attending a picket on the Nelson waterfront. Harre says no one, Anderton or Clark, tried to stop her going. “You would have to have a heart of stone not to acknowledge that a large group of waterfront workers see their jobs to be at risk.”

ISRAEL ELECTION: All the indications from Israel indicate hard-liner Ariel Sharon is headed for a landslide victory over Ehud Barak. The election is likely to have a very low turnout. The polls close in an hour.

CYFS GETS HELP: The Government is finalising plans for CYFS to share its work in Hamilton with private providers. 600 children in Hamilton are waiting for assessment.

APPLES: An Australian Parliamentary Committee may head to NZ to interview apple growers on their plans to export apples to Australia.

INDONESIA: Indonesia’s President appears to have staved off an attempt to bring impeachment hearings against him. President Wahid has denied wrongdoing.

FAST FERRIES: The Marlborough District Council is holding public hearings on fast ferry’s in the sounds. Options being considered include a ban on the ferries and lifting an 18 knot speed limit.

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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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