Air Wars – Waterfront Wars – Perfing Rapist – Phillipines – Indonesia – May Day Australia – May Day London – Ambulanceman Sentencing – Disability Strategy

AIR WARS: Freedom Air’s first flight will leave in just over an hour as the price war on domestic routes heats up. Last night Qantas announced even lower cost fares than those charged by Freedom Air. Freedom Air says it plans to add more planes to its fleet shortly.

WATERFRONT WARS: The Minister of Labour Margaret Wilson says it is up to the parties involved in the waterfront dispute to resolve the issue. The parties are now headed back for the courts following the failure of mediation efforts.

PERFING RAPIST: The Police Minister says that the PERF fund was never intended to help police officers convicted of serious offences. A Mangakino police officer convicted of rape has applied to be paid out.

PHILLIPINES: 1000s of supporters of Philippines President Joseph Estrada have broken through police lines in protests.

INDONESIA: The Indonesian Parliament has censored President Abdurrachman Wahid for a second time. Mr Wahid has a month to respond to the censure motion. Many MPs would now like Mr Wahid to step down. Mr Wahid however says he will serve till 2004.

MAY DAY AUSTRALIA: Australia’s stock exchange expects to trade as normal in spite of May Day blockades by the M1 Alliance. M1 organisers were behind the S11 protests in Melbourne last year. A spokesman for the Stock Exchange says the exchange is automated and that many staff will be working from home.

MAY DAY LONDON: Police in London are being issued with rubber bullets in advance of a May Day anarchist demonstration. All police leave has been cancelled. A government spokesman says that rubber bullets will only be used as a last resort.

AMBULANCEMAN SENTENCING: There have been calls for emergency service drivers to be protected from prosecution following the sentencing of an Auckland Ambulance driver for killing an elderly woman pedestrian. The driver was fined $4000 and disqualified from driving for a year.

DISABILITY STRATEGY: NZ’s first disability strategy outlines more than 100 ways for disabled people to participate in life. 11 departments will be required to file reports over the next year. Next year all departments will have to participate.

© 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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