20 May 2001

Poor Safety Standards Of Small Airlines Could Have Adverse Effect On Tourism

The Rt Hon Winston Peters MP, Leader of New Zealand First, today said that the high fatality rates and poor safety standards of some smaller airplanes and helicopters in New Zealand needed to be addressed promptly to not only save lives but, also, to prevent these statistics having a detrimental effect on tourism.

“At a time when the New Zealand Tourism Board is promoting a 10 year plan to increase the number of visitors to our country over that period all factors which could have a negative impact need to be considered.

“We need more stringent safety standards and auditing procedures to prevent short cuts being taken and safety being compromised in other ways. We need greater accountability and a restoring of confidence in the safety of our smaller airlines which largely cater to tourists from within New Zealand and from overseas,” said Mr Peters.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>