TV3 News

Monday, 2 April 2001, 6:22 pm
Article: Alastair Thompson

Spy Plane Colision – Heavy Rain In Far North – Marlborough Rain – Bunkle – Chile Working Holidays – Queenstown Murder – Teenagers Murdered – Road Safety

SPY PLANE COLISION: A mid-air collision between a US spy plane and a Chinese fighter has put the super-powers at loggerheads with one another. A US EP3 plane was out spying over the South China Sea when it collided with a Chinese fighter that was tailing it. President Bush is being watched closely as he already has a strained relationship with China. One theory is that Chinese hard-liners will seek to incite public outrage over the incident. US Diplomats are on their way to Hainan Island to try and secure the spy plane and its 24 crew.

HEAVY RAIN IN FAR NORTH: 42mm of rain fell in the Bay of Islands today and a similar amount followed in Auckland causing some disruption. High winds knocked over a tree in central Auckland.

MARLBOROUGH RAIN: Relief may be at hand for Marlborough cockies who desperately need rain. The rain currently falling is the right sort – slow and steady – around 24mm is expected over the next 24 hours with more expected on Thursday.

BUNKLE: The PM has criticised the Registra of Electors report on Phillida Bunkle’s enrolment calling it a cop-out. We will know what Phillida Bunkle’s fate is at 2pm tomorrow after caucus meetings of the Government parties. Helen Clark had wanted the Registra of Electors to make a decision on the validity of Bunkle’s enrolment. Matthew Palmer – the dean of Wellington Law School – says the decision to reinstate or not should be made on the basis of confidence or not in Bunkle. Opposition Leader Jenny Shipley says there is more information still to come out. Jane Young says that Hugh Rennie Q.C, Bunkle’s lawyer, may well have had a hand in why the report was so confusing. She says that if Bunkle is reinstated there will be political ramifications.

CHILE WORKING HOLIDAYS: NZers between the ages of 18-30 will be able to go on working holidays in Chile from next year.

QUEENSTOWN MURDER: The son of Queenstown woman Patricia Anne Burton has appeared in court today charged with the murder of his mother. Mrs Burton’s husband, a police officer, was one of the first police officers on the scene. There were emotional scenes at Mrs Burton’s school today where Mrs Burton was the deputy principal. Her son Mark Burton was remanded for psychiatric assessment following his appearance. Mark Burton was stopped between Queenstown and Invercargill an hour after his mother died.

TEENAGERS REMEMBERED: A memorial service is held at a high-school for teenagers killed in a horrific accident north of Taupo. The accident happened when the car did a u-turn into the path of a truck.

ROAD SAFETY: A road-safety conference in Auckland has heard that children in NZ are twice as likely to die in motor accidents as their counterparts in the USA. Figures produced at the conference suggest that helicopters may be being used too frequently in accidents. There are also thought to be problems with the use of child restraints for children.

© 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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