GM Royal Commission – Cervical Screening – Britomart – Israel – Australia US Defence Relationship – Power Crisis – Salary Survey – Paraglider Crash – Testicular Rugby Foul – Dry West Coast

GM ROYAL COMMISSION: The Environment Minister says the Government is looking at having a system similar to the Resource Management Act for the ongoing monitoring and control of GE organisms when released into the environment. Conditions would be set up to prevent risks, she says.

CERVICAL SCREENING: An independent monitoring report into the Cervical Screening Program has found several problems in the program.

BRITOMART: Moves are underway to close the $46 million funding gap for its $200 million Britomart transport programme. The government’s own $20 million Transfund grant is not all good news either as some of it comes out of other public transport funding.

ISRAEL: Israeli forces have fired rockets at the Palestinian police HQ in Gaza City. Earlier the Palestinians accused the Israelis of a mass assassination of Fatah members.

AUSTRALIA/US DEFENCE: Australia and the US are to push for increased military contacts with Indonesia. Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld are in Australia to meet their Australian counterparts. The meeting was apparently upbeat and differences of opinions on biological weapons were played down.

POWER CRISIS: The workings of the electricity market are expected to come under sustained attack today. The Major Electricity Users Group want to suspend the dysfunctional wholesale market. Federated Farmers and Business NZ also say the market is not working.

SALARY SURVEY: A survey shows salaries for white colour workers rose by 4.5% in the last year. The TMP survey covers 550 employers. The survey also found that new conditions of employment are being introduced.

PARAGLIDER CRASH: A 12-year-old girl is in a serious condition in Dunedin Hospital after falling 150m from a paraglider.

TESTICULAR RUGBY FOUL: Police are being called in to investigate how a teenage rugby player sustained an injury that led to his losing a testical. The injury resulted from foul play rugby officials say.

DRY WEST COAST: The MET Service says the West Coast of the South Island has had its dryest July since records began. Enough rain fell at the weekend to allow Trustpower to restart hydro dams but.

© 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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