John Tamihere – Lord Of The Rings – Mitsubishi Recall – Queenstown Icy – Wanganui Rains – Armed Robbery – Jorgensen – Pike Murder – GM Inquiry Hui - Cellulite
JOHN TAMIHERE: John Tamihere back in trouble today when he is accused of having 3,4 or five convictions. The PM however is biting back and says she is getting tired of media assassination of. Tamihere says he was aware of three not five drunk driving convictions against his name. Tamihere says he did not mislead the house. Winston Peters said he did and that Tamihere should resign. ACT was reluctant to comment on it today. He said he would be attacked for muck-raking and so did not want to comment. Helen Clark says that on balance the Labour Party has decided that Mr Tamihere has a lot to offer. It seems inevitable that Tamihere will now
LORD OF THE RINGS: Two people have appeared in court in Auckland charged with stealing videos and props from the Lord of the Rings. Another man is charged with laundering money. The interest in Lord of the Rings memorabilia is very high. The police said they had the assistance of law enforcement agencies overseas.
MITSUBISHI RECALL: Lots of Mitsubishi imports are being recalled for various reasons. The AA says anyone with concerns should contact their Mitsubishi dealers. Mitsubishi NZ says that the recall mostly relates to used car imports not new cars in NZ. The extent of the faults came to light after a raid on Mitsubishi by Japanese authorities.
QUEENSTOWN ICY: Several accidents caused by black Ice. No one seriously injured.
WANGANUI RAINS: .. lead to slippery roads and a motorcycle accident with a lucky escape.
ARMED ROBBERY: The Grand Chancellor hotel in Christchurch was robbed by armed robbers last night – but they didn’t get anything.
JORGENSON: The Dept. of Corrections is going to reopen its files on Ronald Jorgensen if there is any evidence he is alive. Peter Williams however says that he is sure his former client is dead. Police are taking the latest reports of a siting seriously.
PIKE MURDER: The family of an ACC staff member murdered by a psychiatric patient have received an apology from health authorities who say information on the man should have been passed on to ACC.
GM INQUIRY: Ngai Tahu is disappointed that it was not invited to Rotorua to a hui held for the GE Royal Commission. Maori are trying to stop human genes being put into cows as part of an experiment. Many Maori fear that fooling with genes will lead to hybrid diseases. The next hui will be held in Wellington next month.
CELLULITE: A cure for cellulite may be an expensive scam. The product has been taken to court in the US. The company that makes Cellasene has been accused of selling a product that doesn’t work. The NZ Commerce Commisison is also investigating the product. The Consumer’s Institute is advising people to save their money and not by the product. NZ distributors would not comment.