Tiger Woods Wins Masters – Dairy Mega-Merger – TV3 Poll - Jane Young Commentary – Mental Health Incident – Crime Stats – Plane Found - Sophiegate

TIGER WOODS WINS MASTERS: A 25-year-old man named Tiger Woods today became the first man in history to win four major golfing titles in a row. Tiger Woods began playing golf before he could count. After his victory in the US Masters he said it was a highlight in his career. He now has the US PGA, Open and Masters titles as well as the British Open title. The public’s adulation for Tiger is now unequalled. Whether Tiger gets to play in NZ remains to be decided.

DAIRY MEGA-MERGER: The Government has given the go-ahead for he largest merger in NZ corporate history, without Commerce Commission approval. The Kiwi Dairy Company will be allowed to join with the NZ Dairy Group. The mega-merger still needs the approval of farmers however. The merger would have created a near monopoly in retail dairy products. To avoid this the new company will have to sell a NZ subsidiary. 75% of farmers

TV3 COLMAR/BRUNTON POLL:

In Party Vote:
Labour 50 up 1
National 32 down 2
Greens 5 up 0.3%
ACT 4.2
Alliance 3.7
NZ First 2

Preferred PM Stakes:
Helen Clark 36 up 6
Jenny Shipley 11 down 2
Bill English 5

Hobbs reinstatement:
54% approve

Dover Samuels appointment as undersecretary:
60% approve

JANE YOUNG COMMENTARY: This completes a trifecta in the polling stakes following on an NBR poll and a TVNZ poll both with similar results. The PM attributes her climb in popularity to the muck being thrown around in Parliament. These results will be worrying National. National is starting way behind the 8 ball now. This must put Jenny Shipley’s leadership in doubt. Parties get the jitters when they are polling this badly.

MENTAL HEALTH INCIDENT: There was an incident in Greenlane today involving a mentally ill person

CRIME STATS: Figures out today show recorded crime is at its lowest level in ages. Crime is down 2.5%. Police crime resolution rates are up 2.5%. But sex and violence crimes are up.

PLANE FOUND: Hunters have found the wreckage of a plane missing for six years.

SOPHIEGATE: The royal scandal over the “Sophie tapes” won’t go away. On Friday the Countess continued her royal duties. Today she decided to step aside as the chairwoman of her PR company. In the interview with the News of The World reporter she was rude about Tony Blair and William Hague. The Queen said she deplored the entrapment of the countess.

© 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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