Maori Local Government – NZ Post – Telecommunications Commissioner – TVNZ Interference – Israel – Macedonia – East Timor Massacre – Doctor Registration – Pig Transplants

MAORI LOCAL GOVERNMENT: Separate Maori seats on councils are a step closer with select committee approval to a bill that would allow the Bay of Plenty to institute Maori seats on the district council. A spokesman from the BOP says that local government should be mirroring central government. Others are warning that ethnic strife could result.

NZ POST: New Zealand Post has denied losing a multi-million consultancy contract in South Africa. The office of the SA Communications Minister says the contract has been terminated.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSIONER: National and ACT say that government plans to set up a Telecommunications Commissioner to settle disputes between companies will cost consumers money. National and ACT say that the cost of $2.5 million a year is effectively a tax on the industry.

TVNZ INTERFERENCE: Comments attributed to TVNZ Chairman Ross Armstrong in The Independent Newspaper have raised concerns of political interference in the State Owned Broadcaster. Ross Armstrong said that Pail Cutler’s departure was a dream scenario.

ISRAEL: The US has condemned the killing of two Israeli teenagers, one of whom is a US citizen. Earlier the Israeli PM had called for peace with the Palestinians.

MACEDONIA: Proposals for a National Unity Government in Macedonia are on hold as not all parties are onside. Disagreements between the Albanian Groups are holding up the process.

EAST TIMOR MASSACRE: The Australian Government are dismissing claims that they could have prevented a massacre of civilians in Maliana. A former intelligence officer for the Australians says that information warning of the massacre was not passed on to the UN. Australian officials say that information was sketchy and unreliable.

DOCTOR REGISTRATION: The Medical Association is calling for an independent review of the process of registration for foreign doctors. The call comes as a Select Committee is looking at the registration process through an ACT member’s bill.

PIG TRANSPLANTS: The first cloned pig produced in Australia is being hailed as a possible source of human transplant organs. The pig will need to be modified to stop problems of organ rejection.

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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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