Fishing Boat Rescue – Great Train Robber – Defence Shakeup – Airport Pitch To Air Force – Schoolbus Bomb Threats – Eco-Budget – Ansett Trial – Unpaid Work Survey

FISHING BOAT RESCUE: The three man crew of a fishing boat has been rescued by a passing freighter in the Tasman Sea. The crew were picked up as their boat sank. A captain who serves on the Rotoma, the rescue boat, says the rescue would not have been easy.

GREAT TRAIN ROBBER: The Brazillian born son of Ronnie Biggs held a press conference in tears today. Michael Biggs said he tried to stop his father returning home, but couldn’t stop him. The Sun newspaper is being investigated

DEFENCE SHAKEUP: National MP Max Bradford was trying to score a hit on the Government today over the Skyhawks. Instead he was chucked out of Parliament. Bradford was reacting to an attack from Mark Burton. Bradford earlier claimed that the PM made a mistake in claiming that the army did not need the Air Force to train with. Bradford was also attacked by NZ First. It is curious that National chose to use only one question to talk about defence today.

AIRPORT PITCH TO AIR FORCE: Auckland’s international airport is pitching to become an air force base. The airport company says it could even build a village for the Air Force. The Air Force however want to stay at Whenuapai.

SCHOOLBUS BOMB THREATS: Police today searched school buses in Auckland for a bomb after receiving a tipoff that a bomb would be detonated if a drug bust was made in the next 28 days.

ECO-BUDGET: The Government today announced additional environment and conservation spending. In the Eco-Budget there was funding for upgrades of back-country huts. The Alliance today ignored the contribution to the package from the Greens. The PM’s office had to step in and get Alliance Deputy leader Sandra Lee to issue another statement to give the Greens credit for part of the package. DOC will start a consultation exercise about huts shortly.

ANSETT TRIAL: The Ansett Trial today heard evidence from the co-pilot of the tragic flight that crashed on approach to Palmerston North. Barry Brown does not remember the crash itself, but he does remember his training. Some topics in training were never covered. He asked Ansett for an operations manual but did not get one. He did not know how to lower the landing gear manually and so had to get the pilot Garry Sotheran’s help. He said he regarded Sotheran as a competant pilot and that the accident had been waiting to happen.

UNPAID WORK: The truth is out. Women do far more unpaid work than men. A statistics department study has found that women and men spend similar amounts of time on average working. Women spend 70% of their time on unpaid work compared to men who spend 40%.

© 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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