Opposition Leader Jenny Shipley today expressed shock over reports that Police 'cannot afford' to recover two objects which they believe have a 'high probability' of being the bodies of murdered Blenheim teenagers Ben Smart and Olivia Hope.

Mrs Shipley has today called on the Government to ensure money is quickly made available for the Police to recover two objects on the sea floor near Tory Channel - which may be the remains of the missing teenagers.

"This is a shocking and distressing state of affairs. My heartfelt sympathies go to both the Hope and Smart families - who have shown tremendous bravery in the face of enormous sorrow and distress. The inability to establish whether these objects are the bodies of their lost loved ones denies resolution for the families and for the community.

"So many parents have shared the anguish of these two families. I don't believe there's a taxpayer in NZ that would not want closure brought to this issue.

"If the Evening Post report is correct it would be monstrous to allow the current state of affairs to continue. I implore the Minister to urgently step in and ensure money is made available for this operation," Jenny Shipley said.

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>>