West Coast Gold Mine Dispute – Islamic Incident – Montana Wines - Prescription Charges – Avalanche – Fisheries Compliance – Fiji Weapons – All Black Jerseys – Donald Woods Dies – Tourism Changes

WEST COAST GOLD MINE DISPUTE: The PM has played down a dispute between her back-bench MP Damien O’Connor and Alliance Party Conservation Minister Sandra Lee over a decision to deny an application for a gold mine on DOC land on the West Coast.

ISLAMIC INCIDENT: The Islamic community in Auckland is distancing itself from an incident in Auckland in which the body of a dead person was stabbed by a Muslim man. The traditional practice is not observed here, Muslims say.

MONTANA WINES: Lion Nathan is expected to show its hand this week in the bidding war for Montana Wines. Lion now holds 43% compared to Allied Domecq’s 27%. Lion Nathan may decide to sell up and take profits.

PRESCRIPTION CHARGES: The Ministry of Health is determined patients will not end up paying more for subscriptions. Pharmacists think they should be charging $1.50 more as a dispensing fee.

AVALANCHE: The Mountain Safety Council says that people who go back country skiing after fresh snow falls do so at their own risk. The warning comes after a 40-year-old skier was killed in an avalanche near Treble Cone skifield.

FISHERIES COMPLIANCE: The Ministry of Fisheries is warning NZ charterers of foreign vessels to ensure that foreign crewed vessels operate legally when fishing for NZ quota.

FIJI WEAPONS: Fiji’s Military has been ordered by the President to come up with a plan to recover all weapons missing from military arsenals in advance of the upcoming Fijian elections.

ALL BLACK JERSEYS: Clothing manufacturer Canterbury NZ has laid a complaint with the Commerce Commission about an Adidas move to stop retailers selling its “invincibles” range of rugby jerseys. Adidas says it is simply talking to its distributors.

DONALD WOODS DIED: Veteran ant-apartheid campaigner Donald Woods has died aged 67. Woods was probably best known for his friendship with student leader Steve Biko, He fled SA after he was banned.

TOURISM CHANGES: The PM Helen Clark is expected to outline changes in the tourism sector when she makes a speech today.

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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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