You’re Sacked - Commuting State Bosses - Speight Fails Shortlist- Alleged Drug Dealing Cop- Hit And Run- No Sale Tipped- Robertson Picked- Editorial: A Kicking For Health Care

The lead story on the front page:

YOU’RE SACKED: Gisborne Hospital board members were sacked yesterday after it was revealed that hundreds of patients received false prostate cancer results in the latest in a series of blunders. Health Minister Annette King said she sacked the Tairawhiti Healthcare board so people could again have confidence in the hospital.

Also on the front page:

- COMMUTING STATE BOSSES: Some senior bureaucrats, led by Customs Service boss Robin Dare, are costing the taxpayer more than $2 million a year as they commute from their homes to Wellington offices. In the course of a year, the travelling public servants cost about $2.39 million – more than the budget of government agencies such as the Crown Company Monitoring Advisory Unit.

- SPEIGHT FAILS SHORTLIST: Coup leader George Speight stunned Fiji last night by leaving himself out of a proposed civilian government. After a crucial all-day meeting to hammer out a solution to the crisis, he emerged and announced the agreed cabinet lineup.

- ALLEGED DRUG DEALING COP: a Horowhenua police constable will appear in Palmerston North District Court today on two charges of having cannabis for supply.

- HIT AND RUN: A suspicious hit and run accident has seriously injured the wife of a Chilean lawyer due to prosecute former dictator Augusto Pinochet.

- NO SALE TIPPED: Tranz Rail would not sell or close its main trunk rail services or sell its Cook Strait Ferry service because of a review of the company by new chief executive Michael Beard, analysts said yesterday.

- ROBERTSON PICKED: Scott Robertson’s explosive tackling has seen him win the coveted All Black openside flanker’s spot ahead of Josh Kronfeld for Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup test against Australia in Sydney.

- EDITORIAL: A KICKING FOR HEALTH CARE: The Dominion editorial focusses on the revelation of yet another cancer screening health scare in Gisborne involving a botch-up prostate cancer tests.