Green Party Elects Metiria Turei Co-Leader

The Green Party elected Metiria Turei its new female Co-Leader today.

Mrs Turei was elected by delegates at the Green Party's AGM in Dunedin.

"It's a new face and new energy for the co-leadership, but it's dedicated to the same cause and values that the Green Party has always stood for," Mrs Turei said.

The new appointee will share leadership responsibility of the Green Party with male Co-Leader Russel Norman.

Mrs Turei replaces the long-serving Jeanette Fitzsimons who has stepped down after 14 years in the position.

The Party's priorities remained the same Mrs Turei said: "We'll continue to promote plans that tackle the economic and environmental crises at the same time.  The $323 million home insulation fund in this week's Budget is a good example of this type of Green New Deal program.

"We also remain committed to protecting New Zealand's water, land and wildlife and to promoting honest politics.  These are fundamental to the Green Party."

Mrs Turei, now in her seventh year as a Green MP, has previously served as the Party's musterer (whip). The Dunedin-based list MP was formerly a resource management lawyer at Simpson Grierson, and Tumuaki Wahine, Te Hunga Roia Maori o Aotearoa (Co-President of the NZ Maori Lawyers Association).  Born and raised in Palmerston North, Mrs Turei has also worked as an advocate for the unemployed.

Outgoing Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said the Party was in good hands: "We were spoiled for choice with two strong candidates and Metiria has a great mix of experience and new energy.  It is the right time to pass the torch and I think she will form a very strong leadership team with Russel."

After the election result, Ms Bradford confirmed that she planned to continue work as a Green Party MP.

Conference delegates representing the Green Party's electorate branches voted on the co-leadership, as the Party's constitution calls for one male and one female co-leader. The last time a position was contested was 2006 following the death of Rod Donald.

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IT Industry Failing to Deliver Climate Change Solutions

The IT industry has massive potential to cut green house gas emissions but is currently failing to deliver, according to the first results of the Greenpeace Cool IT Challenge. (1)

The IT industry has calculated it could make cuts of more than 15 per cent in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 (2) but Greenpeace New Zealand communications manager Suzette Jackson said most companies were falling well short of that target, as shown in results released today at the IT, Environment and Climate Change conference (3) in Copenhagen.

“The majority of IT companies talk big about “going green” rather than giving real evidence of how their software and hardware is actually reducing emissions. It is time they delivered real evidence of their solutions in action.”

The Greenpeace Cool IT Challenge, launched in February this year, asked major IT companies to take action prioritising issues around climate change in 2009. (4)

In addition to cutting its own emissions and increasing the use of renewable energy, the industry was asked to deliver climate solutions for the rest of the economy in areas such as electricity transmission, transport and building efficiency. Greenpeace is calling on the industry to take action, which it says will help influence world leaders to deliver a climate-saving deal at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen in December. (5)

“Time is running out. IT Industry leaders are in a position to take a strong stand on tackling climate change. While governments across the globe are debating climate policy, it is disappointing that innovative IT companies who stand to profit handsomely from tech solutions that reduce GHGs are sitting on the fence.”

The Greenpeace challenge has revealed some positive results. Sun Microsystems has publically called for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050 and a cut of at least 25 percent below by 2020. Greenpeace is urging other IT companies to match these targets. IBM jointly holds the top spot with Sun, mainly due to its wide range of solutions. Additionally, Fujitsu stands out as a company openly addressing the need to measure "net" emissions reductions that result from solutions they propose for the rest of the economy. But, leading names such as HP, Microsoft and Sony amongst other IT giants scored less that 15 out of the maximum of 100. (6)

Like the Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics (7), the Cool IT Challenge will be updated regularly. The second version is expected later year.

Greenpeace recently launched the Sign On campaign, which aims to get as many New Zealanders as possible supporting John Key to do the right thing at Copenhagen in December. See www.signon.org.nz for more details.

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Budget puts New Zealand on strong footing-PM says

The National-led Government's Budget will help put New Zealand on the road to recovery, Prime Minister John Key says.

"The Budget puts in place policies that will help ensure that the New Zealand economy emerges strongly from the current recession and provides a platform for strong growth, higher incomes and quality public services.

"The National-led Government has a clear vision for the future and a clear plan.

"The Budget's three main aims are to improve public services and help New Zealanders through the recession, lift productivity and raise the country's international competitiveness, and take steps to keep government debt under control.

"A strong focus of Budget 2009 is on maintaining existing entitlements such as National Superannuation, Working for Families and welfare benefits, despite the difficult economic circumstances we face.

"I have always said I'm ambitious for New Zealand, and, despite the serious economic challenges we face, I continue to be ambitious and positive for this country's future.

"That does not mean that I am blind to the challenges. But I believe the policies in the Budget put New Zealand on a stronger footing for growth, which will lift New Zealanders' incomes and opportunities."

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POLICE PLEASED WITH BUDGET COMMITMENT TO EXTRA STAFFING

Today's budget announcement gives police the resourcing and tools needed to deliver on the commitment to have 600 extra staff on board by the end of 2011 says Deputy Commissioner Lyn Provost.

The budget provides an extra $162.5m operational funding to police over four years plus a further $20m in capital funding to 2011.

"All 600 new staff will be destined to improve service delivery where-ever they are based," says Mrs Provost.

"Recruiting for the extra 300 staff in Counties Manukau is already underway and the district is on track to be ahead of its constabulary target at the end of this financial year.   

"Details on the exact deployment of extra staff in Counties Manukau are being worked on at present and Commissioner Howard Broad is considering a number of recommendations. These include further resourcing for areas such as response, investigations, youth and community services, intelligence and case management.  

"The aim of extra staffing in these areas is to improve both public satisfaction with our service and crime resolution rates."

  

Elsewhere most districts and groups will also benefit from receiving a share of the 300 extra staff being recruited for outside Counties Manukau.  

"Recruiting these extra staff is not expected to be a problem given the high level of current interest in joining police and the record low attrition rate.  Recruit applicants from other districts wishing to serve in Counties Manukau may be able to shorten the time they may otherwise have to wait to get into any other district."

Mrs Provost added that, although police are outside the staffing cap applying to the core public service, like all agencies the organisation still needs to absorb cost pressures relating to its existing operations.

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XT GO FOR LAUNCH

From the Media Centre of Telecom :

Tomorrow morning Telecom stores around New Zealand will open and customers will be able to enjoy the XT Mobile Network.

On the eve of launch, Telecom has revealed its suite of pricing plans that incorporate the concepts of One Rate pricing, per second billing after the first minute and the innovative option of shared calling plans. Some exciting handset offers are also being released.

Each plan is designed to give customers certainty, make it easy to understand what’s on offer, and provide customers with the flexibility that they have asked us for says Telecom Retail CEO, Alan Gourdie.

“We have reduced the number of mobile plans on offer from 60 to just 14 – in response to customers telling us they want choosing a plan to be easy.

“With Telecom’s new One Rate plans, customers will no longer have to worry if they are calling during on-peak or off-peak, or to someone on the same or different network - now it’s all One Rate,” says Mr Gourdie.

On Telecom’s new One Rate 250 plan for example, for $99.95 a month Telecom customers will receive 250 minutes, at a per minute rate of $0.40. And that rate will apply to all minutes after the 250 have been used - no matter when or which network they call.

“By contrast, on the equivalent competitor plan, once you’ve used those 250 minutes at a rate of $0.44 a minute, they charge $0.55 a minute for each additional minute – that’s a steep jump of 25% and something you will not experience with One Rate,” says Mr Gourdie.

For business customers and families, Telecom has introduced the new ability to share minutes between the team or whanau, and take advantage of a lower per minute calling rate and free calling between business group members.

Share Calling plans can have between two and 10 users and are perfect for businesses that want the flexibility to add a new staff member to their plan during the busy Christmas period, and then remove them once the summer is over.

For example, two people on a Share 250 plan could share 250 minutes for $114.95* a month, at a per minute rate of $0.40. By contrast, with another provider they would need to purchase a plan each, costing them more per month for less minutes and a higher rate per minute for the calls they make.

Examples of how this all comes together were also revealed today with some great value postpaid and handset offers released.

The Samsung F480, a full touch screen device with 5mega pixel (MP) camera will retail for $449 on a 24 month One Rate 100 plan, or if you’re looking for a great talk and text device, then a free Telecom R6 when you sign up to a 24 month One Rate 100 plan may be of interest. Both offers also include My Favourites for free so customers can talk to their favourite person on any Telecom network free for two years.

Prepaid customers also benefit from the One Rate concept with all calls being charged at a per minute rate of $0.89. Prepaid customers also receive per second billing after the first minute of a call which means their top-up goes further, and a bonus credit of between 25% and 33% when they top up.

“So, not only do you get more bang for your buck, but the amount you are charged accurately reflects the time you talk. For example, if you talk for 64 seconds with Telecom One Rate prepaid that call will cost $0.95 vs $1.78 for the same length call on Vodafone Supa prepay,” says Mr Gourdie.

Telecom’s exclusive Bebo offer was also revealed today. Customers purchasing a Samsung C5220 on One Rate Prepaid for $249** will receive the following free for three months: Bebo text and picture messaging, one free My Favourites number, free 20MB of mobile email and internet each month, 600 texts to any NZ mobile, and access to free and exclusive Bebo video content.

A variety of Telecom Extras can be added to each One Rate or Shared Calling plan giving customers the option of bolstering their mobile broadband or texts. Three texting plans have been introduced giving customers who text a little or a lot options between $6 and $18 a month.

Casual mobile broadband will be charged at a rate of $1 a day for usage up to 10MB. Those wanting more can choose from one of seven data plans between 20MB and 3Gig priced between $6 and $84.95 a month.

“Our mobile broadband plans provide plenty of scope to take advantage of the XT Mobile Network’s world class 3G capability around NZ for downloading, emailing and internet browsing,” says Mr Gourdie.

All Telecom Extras are available on postpaid or prepaid. Postpaid plans can be taken open term or for 12 or 24 months.

These new plans are available for customers choosing a new device and connecting to the XT Mobile Network from Friday (29 May) morning. The new XT Mobile Network device range will be available for purchase at any Telecom retail store and partner store across NZ during normal opening hours, or 24/7 online at www.telecom.co.nz from 7.30am Friday.

Customers who move to the XT Mobile Network, from Telecom’s existing mobile network or a competitor network, won’t need to change their phone number. Telecom and Gen-i have a range of offers to make it easy for both new and existing customers to switch.

Telecom’s current mobile network continues to operate and will be supported as normal following the XT Mobile Network launch tomorrow.

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National votes down $15 minimum wage

From the LAbour Party:

Labour MP Darien Fenton’s Minimum Wage and Remuneration Bill was voted down by the National/Act Government in Parliament last night.

The Bill would have brought minimum wage rights to thousands of contractors who are currently without protection because their employment status excludes them from the Minimum Wage Act.

It would also have increased the minimum wage for all workers to $13.00 on 1 July this year, $14.00 on 2 July 2010 and $15.00 in 2011.

“This shows that National has no commitment to the lowest paid workers at a time when we need to be looking out for those most in need in these tough times,” said Ms Fenton.

“It is an opportunity missed and as a result of last night’s vote, contractors will continue to be open to exploitation and paid as little as $4 an hour.

Darien Fenton said she also sought an amendment that would require political parties to sign up to the Minimum Wage Act as a way of demonstrating their commitment to this most basic of rights.

“The National/Act government voted against this as well.”

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Deferred tax cuts by National

The Government remains committed to lower personal income taxes. 

The planned second and third tranches of tax cuts, which were due to take effect on 1 April 2010 and 1 April 2011 respectively, have been deferred to avoid further increasing debt. 

Even with the other debt reduction measures in Budget 2009, the Treasury is forecasting large budget deficits for 2010 and 2011. This means the Government would have added to its already considerable debt to fund the planned second and third tranches of tax cuts.

This has been a difficult decision. But, on balance, the Government has decided to prioritise safeguarding entitlements, improving public services and reducing debt. 

Tax cuts will be assessed to consider whether they are affordable, as part of future budget processes. 

The Government's first round of tax cuts delivered on 1 April 2009 is not affected. It left around $1 billion a year in the pockets of 1.5 million New Zealand workers. These tax cuts were fully funded from other policy changes rather than through borrowing. 

By deferring the second and third tranches of the tax cuts, the Government will save around $900 million a year from 2011/12. 

The Government’s medium-term goal remains to align and reduce the top rate of personal tax, trust, and company tax rates at a maximum rate of 30 per cent. 

The decision to defer the tax cuts will be included in legislation introduced today.

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Tourism Industry Called on to Help Stop Flu Spread

The tourism industry is being called on to "do its bit" to help stop the spread of Influenza A (H1N1) in New Zealand.

A new Ministry of Health information campaign will be directed at visitors, returning Kiwis and the general public.

Dr Fran McGrath, Deputy Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Health, says the department needs the help of tourism operators to get the message out to international visitors.

"We are preparing an information sheet for tourists that will provide useful information about what to do if travellers become unwell within seven days of arriving in New Zealand, who to call for free advice and assistance and what precautions to take to stay well.

"We are recruiting the help of the tourism industry’s networks to make sure this document gets distributed to the people who need it, whether that means putting the information in a hire car or campervan, in a welcome pack or handed to visitors when they check in," Dr McGrath says.

More information will also be on display and given out at airports.

Health Minister Tony Ryall says with the spread of cases, and the spread of the virus in Australia, it would be almost impossible to keep Influenza A (H1N) out of New Zealand forever.

"There is no cause for alarm, but for caution. The Government is taking this threat seriously and will continue to do all it can to delay the virus taking hold in New Zealand," he adds.

The World Health Organisation’s latest update of 26 May records almost 13,000 cases of Influenza A (H1N1) in 46 countries.

Tourism operators who are part of an existing membership organisation will be forwarded a document to hand out to visitors later this week. Others should visit www.tourismnewzealand.com or www.tianz.org.nz and download a version of the document to hand out.

"The tourism industry has an important role to play in making sure that New Zealand contains the spread of this flu," Dr McGrath says.

According to World Health Organisation records, Japan, which detected its first cases on Saturday 16 May, had 350 confirmed cases at the last update on May 26. China had 20 cases, India one case and Korea 21 cases.

During recent weeks there has been growing concern over cancellations from Asian markets, particularly from Japanese school groups heading for New Zealand.

Tourism New Zealand’s Regional Manager Japan Jason Hill says though the flu was spreading in Japan, the "panic" factor was abating.

"The Government is very much in anti-panic mode here. The public is realising that for most people the illness is not severe, although for some it may be. The students who contracted it in Japan are recovering quickly and the Government has said it is now treating it as a normal seasonal flu."

Jason Hill says one school group from Japan, which had been wavering, had now decided to visit New Zealand as planned next week. Two others that had cancelled, have now rebooked for December.

"The concern is that new bookings are not coming through as they should. Many of our visitors are in the 50-plus age group and they can travel any time, so they will be able to put off trips to a later date," says Jason Hill.

Inbound Tour Operators Council Chief Executive Paul Yeo says he has not heard of any further substantial cancellations on top of the 3,500 notified through his members last week.

There are currently no confirmed cases of Influenza A (H1N1) in New Zealand, as all those people who had contracted it have now fully recovered.

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XT Mobile Network set to launch this coming Friday

Timing will be everything for technology enthusiasts wanting to get their

hands on New Zealand’s latest range of handsets, gadgets and mobile

services this Friday.

Telecom will mark the launch of its XT Mobile Network with a range of

product giveaways for the quick-fire shoppers at five of its Retail and

Leading Edge stores in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, and

Dunedin.

With the XT Mobile Network scheduled to go live on Friday 29 May, staff in

five special stores will be racing against the clock to have everything in

place for what Telecom’s Director of Mobile Paul Hamburger promises to be

a busy morning.

“Our staff will open these five stores early at 7:30a.m ready to unveil

the new range of products, services and pricing we are launching alongside

the XT Mobile Network,” says Mr Hamburger.

Some customers will have extra cause for celebration, with Telecom giving

the first person in line for the 7.30am opening at each of the five stores

any XT Mobile Network phone of their choice – along with $1,000 credit.

The remaining people in the line at each of the five stores will go into a

draw to win a heap of mobile gadgets and technology, including a

touch-screen Samsung F480 mobile with $500 credit, Samsung stereo

Bluetooth handsets and Telecom Prepaid Credit.  One lucky customer in line

before the store opens will also walk away with a Samsung LCD TV.

The stores where customers can be in early to win are:

Telecom Retail Store, Broadway    263 Broadway, Newmarket, Auckland

Leading Edge Communications, Hamilton     116 London Street, Hamilton

Telecom Retail Store, Lambton Quay    203 Lambton Quay, Wellington

Leading Edge Communications, Moorhouse Ave    70 Moorhouse Ave, Christchurch

Telecom Retail Store, Dunedin    Corner George Pl & Moray Pl, Dunedin

For customers unable to get to a store early, the new XT Mobile Network

device range will be available during normal opening hours across the

country and 24/7 online at www.telecom.co.nz from Friday.

Customers who move to the new XT Mobile Network are able to retain their

existing phone number including 021 numbers.

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Auckland Airport – chief financial officer,resign!!

Auckland Airport advises that its chief financial officer, Jason Dale, has given notice of his resignation.

Mr Dale will be continuing with the Company during his notice period. His departure date, which will be at some point within the next three months, is still to be finalised.

Mr Dale has decided to take up a CFO position in a sector in which he had extensive experience prior to joining Auckland Airport in 2008.

Auckland Airport will announce a new CFO in due course.

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People take back bridge in historic harbour crossing

The sun came out this morning for the thousands of Kiwis who walked and cycled across the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman and MP Keith Locke both spoke at the rally before joining the historic bridge crossing.

“It was just tremendous to be there – it was a real celebration of walking and biking, and showed just how Aucklanders could get around if the Government had the gumption and the brains to think beyond building motorways,” Dr Norman said.

The big disappointment was that the New Zealand Transport Agency denied requests for the crossing to go ahead, failed to plan for it, and that meant there was no strategy to manage the traffic on the day.

“The lack of planning by the Transport Agency led to motorists being completely unnecessarily delayed,” Dr Norman said.

This fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the bridge was always going to attract a big crowd. This was especially so in light of the campaign to allow walking and cycling access on the bridge.

“It is ridiculous that the NZ Transport Agency still opposes cyclists and pedestrians crossing the bridge. The policy dinosaurs at the NZTA should wake up to the fact that Aucklanders are desperate for alternatives to motorways.

The Green Co-Leader praised the Police: “At the end of the crossing, people were applauding the Police” Dr Norman said. “The police were put in a tricky position by the incompetence of the Transport Agency, but they put public safety first. They kept us safe and that meant that kids could ride their bikes, and parents could take little ones in pushchairs over the Auckland Harbour Bridge.”

“The organisers of this historic event should be congratulated. This is the day that the people of Auckland stood up against the bureaucrats and the Beehive and took their bridge back.”

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Electoral Finance Act Issues Paper released

An Issues Paper that aims to generate public discussion and ideas about how to address issues around electoral finance reform has been released, Justice Minister Simon Power said today.

"The Issues Paper allows the public to have a say on what kind of electoral finance system New Zealand should have, and is designed to ask questions rather than provide answers," Mr Power said.

"There are a lot of good ideas out there and the Government wants to hear those ideas before making any decisions."

The review of electoral finance legislation is being carried out in three stages. Each stage provides an opportunity for the public to have a say.

The first stage is the Issues Paper. Views received on the Issues Paper will be incorporated in a Proposal Document that will set out Government proposals for new legislation. This will be released in August this year.

The final stage will be the parliamentary process, and there will be a further opportunity for the public to provide feedback at the Select Committee phase.

"The Government wants to engage all parliamentary parties and the public in order to achieve the type of broad consensus that has historically been the hallmark of electoral law reform," Mr Power said.

"We acknowledge that there may be differences in opinion, but we will be listening carefully to the views of parliamentary parties and the public."

Consultation on the Issues Paper closes on 26 June 2009.

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Auckland Airport firefighters climb an uphill battle for charity

A team of Auckland Airport firefighters will race up the 1,103 steps of Auckland’s Sky Tower this Saturday and the reward is more than the calorie burning and awesome view at the top.

The gruelling leg burning stair climb is a charity fundraiser for the New Zealand Leukaemia & Blood Foundation (LBF) and the people suffering with this illness are facing their own uphill battle.

Leukaemia is the fourth most common cancer in New Zealand with six people diagnosed each day. The LBF hope to raise over $100,000 to help provide resources and information for patients, family members and friends affected by the disease.

“Auckland Airport is providing a kick-start to the fundraising efforts with a $15,000 donation,” says CEO Simon Moutter. “This money has come from the generosity of the travelling public who donate their foreign currency in donation globes positioned throughout the airport.”

“The airport has a 60 strong team of firefighters and every year a group competes in this challenge. We decided to come on board as a key partner to encourage fitness and well being and support this great cause,” says Simon. “Our firefighters are in the business of helping people and this is just another way for them to do it.”

Getting even further behind this great cause, Simon Moutter himself is stepping up to the challenge and will be racing in a special guest category. He feels stair climbing is one of his strengths and is confident he will make it to the top in a good time!

Event organiser and airport emergency officer, Tony Scott, says stair climbing is one of the most gruelling sports known to mankind. “It’s a total body workout and you burn twice as many calories than any other activity.”

Each competitor wears 25kgs of full firefighting combat gear for the climb. This might seem a heavy load to carry, but nothing compared to the load that families must carry when a member is battling leukaemia. The quickest time to the top will be around 10 minutes, an average time is 17 minutes

Prizes are awarded to those who get to the top first, but the most hotly contested prize is the team that raises the most money. The airport team have been fundraising and training in the airport over the last couple of months, continually climbing an escalator in the international terminal in their fire gear. Travellers have witnessed their training efforts and given their loose change in support of the grueling leg burning climb.

“Our guys are working hard at trying to break the fundraising record of more than $16,000,” says Tony.

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NZ doubts fair trial for Aung San Suu Kyi

New Zealand doubts that Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will get a fair trial, and continues to call for her immediate release, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said today.

Last week, Mr McCully condemned the arrest of the Burmese opposition leader, who has been under home detention for many years, and is now standing trial for alleged breaches of detention conditions.

"Despite widespread international condemnation, and calls for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the regime is continuing with its trial," Mr McCully said.

"Opening the court up to foreign diplomatic observers and journalists does not make it any more legitimate, nor will it lessen international criticism. In fact several observers have already said they see little evidence that Aung San Suu Kyi is receiving a fair trial.

"Even Burma's closest neighbours have expressed grave concern about recent developments, with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), saying the trial had put Burma's "honor and credibility" at stake."The Burmese government needs to listen to the international community, end the trial, and free Aung San Suu Kyi.

"New Zealand will continue to speak out on this issue. At a regional meeting in Thailand earlier this week we voiced concerns again, and called on the Burmese regime to make genuine efforts to restore democracy," Mr McCully said.

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Influenza A Continues to Impact Travel to New Zealand

ew Zealand’s tourism industry is facing the prospect of a further downturn in international visitors from Asia as Influenza A (H1N1) continues to spread around the world.

As of 19 May, 40 countries have officially reported cases of Influenza A (H1N1) infection, also called Swine Flu.

Unfortunately for the New Zealand tourism industry, infections have now been identified in the highly-sensitive markets of China and Japan, New Zealand’s fourth and fifth biggest tourism markets.

"We know that people are reviewing, postponing and cancelling travel to all international destinations and New Zealand has to expect that it will take a share of that," says Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive George Hickton.

On Tuesday 19 May, there were over 150 confirmed cases of Influenza A (H1N1) in Japan, mostly in schools and colleges in the Osaka and Kobe region. The figure is rising daily, but most of the infections are not serious.

Japanese local authorities have now closed public schools in the region. Some universities and private schools have also closed. While the virus still appears to be relatively mild, it is likely there will be further restrictions on school travel as a result.

So far, Japanese school groups have accounted for about two-thirds of notified cancellations and postponements to New Zealand from Japan.

"We had hoped to encourage school groups to rebook, but that is looking increasingly difficult given developments over the weekend," George Hickton says.

In 2008, New Zealand hosted around 8000 secondary school students during the Japanese high season for educational visits, which runs from June to August.

China has now confirmed cases of Influenza A (H1N1) and we know this is having a knock-on effect on outbound travel to all countries, says George Hickton.

So far, agents have reported several hundred cancellations and postponements from China to New Zealand. Influenza A (H1N1) has been cited as one of the reasons for these cancellations.

Thailand and India have reported around 200 cancellations and postponements so far.

"This is extremely unfortunate for New Zealand as the situation here has stabilised and all nine original cases of Influenza A (H1N1) have now been treated and have fully recovered," says George Hickton.

The Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed that there were no new cases of Influenza A (H1N1) infection in New Zealand.

The cumulative total of known past infections remains at nine, with all cases fully recovered. The cumulative total of probable cases remains at 10, with all cases fully recovered, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

Tourism New Zealand is monitoring the situation through its offshore offices around the world. Other markets are reporting low, or little, impact on numbers.

"Tourism New Zealand and New Zealand Government agencies have been in constant contact with offshore operators and Government departments to reassure them about travel to New Zealand and we will continue to do that.

"Unfortunately, as Influenza A spreads around the world people are becoming more concerned about travelling abroad. We have to accept that New Zealand arrivals, particularly from Japan and China, are going to suffer as a result of that," says George Hickton.

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Taser Use Is Torture , A UN Report says

From the Green Party:

The Government should take note of concerns the United Nations Committee Against Torture has regarding the use of the electric stun gun known as the Taser in New Zealand, said Green Party Human Rights Spokesperson Keith Locke.

The UN Committee Against Torture has just issued its five-yearly report on New Zealand’s compliance with the UN Convention Against Torture.

The Committee notes in its report that it is ‘deeply concerned’ about New Zealand’s introduction of this 50,000-volt weapon which ‘causes severe pain constituting a form of torture, and that in some cases may even cause death’.

"New Zealand politicians should listen when a reputable UN committee says this 50,000-volt stun gun inflicts ‘a form of torture’ on its targets," said Mr Locke.

The UN Committee was also concerned regarding the ‘impartiality’ of the Independent Police Conduct Authority noting that it may it ‘might be hampered by the inclusion of both current and former police officers’, particularly when investigating allegations of ‘ill-treatment’ by Police.

"The Police have had a pretty easy ride so far in introducing the Taser, with the Independent Police Conduct Authority ignoring the concerns many Kiwis have around the Taser," said Mr Locke.

"The Green Party considers - as does the UN Committee in its report - that for best practice the Authority should be ‘staffed with independent experts drawn from outside the Police.’

"In light of the UN Committee’s report the Prime Minister John Key needs to re-think his recent statements giving the green light to all front-line Police having access to Tasers."

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Lee fails to front Mt Albert meeting

The people of Mt Albert deserve a political leader who is prepared to publicly debate the electorate’s issues, so Melissa Lee should engage at tonight’s community meeting on SuperCity proposals, Green Party Co-Leader Dr Russel Norman said today.

“I call on Melissa Lee to front up and debate the issues. Preparing a statement for someone else to read out just isn’t going to cut it. The people of Mt Albert need a representative who is willing to engage in public debate.

“The fact that Melissa isn’t debating at Owairaka District School tonight suggests that National is not serious about contesting the Mt Albert by-election.”

The controversial National Party candidate will not take part in tonight’s 6.30pm Eden Albert Community Board meeting to discuss Auckland Governance. Ms Lee has told organisers she is double-booked, so will turn up instead at 6pm and won’t stay for the by-election candidates’ debate.

Ms Lee has asked for a statement to be read out at the meeting. 

“The National Party seems to be mounting a campaign-in-hiding, with no media even invited to Melissa Lee’s recent closed-door campaign launch. It’s looking like the Mt Albert by-election could become a two-horse race between me and David Shearer,” Dr Norman said.

On the other hand,The National Party said The Green Party seems to be making mischief after Green Party Mt Albert candidate Russel Norman made claims about a community board meeting planned to discuss super city issues.

Mount Albert candidate Melissa Lee MP confirmed today she had never received an invitation to attend the Eden/Albert community board meeting being held in Owairaka tonight.

"We were first made aware of the meeting by the media on Monday afternoon. At about the same time we received an email from a supporter within the Mt Albert residents Association."

"I understand the community board chair Chris Dempsey may have mentioned the meeting to the Labour and Green candidates last week, but I received no such notice."

Ms Lee said she was disappointed not to be able to participate in the meeting but as she had a prior engagement this would not be possible.

Her campaign team advised Chris Dempsey of her other commitment early Tuesday morning and suggested a way her views could still be represented. She was concerned to see this advice appear in a Green party media release just 3 hours later.

"It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that this meeting is a Green party jack-up. I received no invitation and scarcely 24 hours notice that it was happening. My campaign team's advice to the organiser was then transmitted straight to the Green party...

"I have spent today on the streets of Mt Albert with Local Government Minister Hon John Carter speaking directly with residents about the super city proposals and other issues. This has been a much more useful means of getting feedback than participating in a Green party jack-up".

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Fifteen candidates stand in Mt Albert by-election

The Chief Electoral Office has released the details of who is standing and where people can vote in the 13 June Mt Albert by-election.

Fifteen candidates are seeking selection as the Mt Albert electorate Member of Parliament.

Nominations for the by-election have closed. The following candidates have been confirmed:

Candidate Name	Party
Jim Bagnall	Independent
Ari Baker	Independent
John Boscawen	ACT New Zealand
Ben Boyce	The Bill and Ben Party
Simonne Dyer	Kiwi Party
Malcolm France	People Before Profit
Dakta Green	Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party
Rusty Kane	The Peoples Choice Party
Melissa Lee	National Party
Russel Norman	Green Party
Julian Pistorius	Libertarianz
David Shearer	Labour Party
Judy Turner	United Future
Anthony Joseph James Van Den Heuvel	Human Rights Party
Jackson James Wood	Independent

“The Chief Electoral Office now moves immediately to get the Mt Albert by-election ballot papers printed and distributed in time for the start of advance voting in just over a week, Wednesday 27 May,” says Robert Peden, Chief Electoral Officer.

Advance voting is available for Mt Albert voters who will find it difficult to get to a polling place on election day, Saturday 13 June.

“Unlike a general election, there will be no polling places open outside the Mt Albert electorate on election day. Therefore, Mt Albert voters who will be outside their electorate on election day should vote in advance,” says Mr Peden.

Advance voting will be available in the Mt Albert electorate at:

• Coverstaff Office, 509 Rosebank Road
• Mt Albert Electorate Headquarters, Unit 1, 49 Sainsbury Road
• Mt Albert Community Library, 84 St Lukes Road
• Pt Chevalier Community Library, corner Great North & Pt Chevalier Roads
• Sandringham Bowling Club, Kiwitea Street

“Mt Albert voters can also vote in advance at any Registrars of Electors’ office across the country or at the Chief Electoral Office in Wellington,” says Mr Peden.

On election day, Saturday 13 June, there will be 28 polling places in the Mt Albert electorate.

This is the same number of polling places as was available for the 2008 general election.

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PM welcomes Greens’ support on Cycleway

Prime Minister John Key is welcoming the Green Party's agreement to work with National on the New Zealand Cycleway Project.

The cycleway has been added to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that outlines the policy initiatives both parties have agreed to collaborate on.

"When we first signed the MOU with the Green Party in April, I said there would be other important policy areas where we had common ground, and the cycleway certainly fits the criteria."

The MOU now covers four common areas; home insulation, energy efficiency, the regulation of natural health products, and the cycleway.John Key, as Minister of Tourism, will now work together with the Green Party's spokesperson on Tourism, Sport and Recreation, and Cycling and Active Transport, Kevin Hague, on the development of the cycleway project."While the Greens and National will always have policy differences, it is increasingly clear that in an MMP environment this should never stand in the way of working together when we share the same policy objectives.

"I look forward to the valuable input the Greens will have into this project."

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Pig farm investigation underway

Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister David Carter has confirmed that animal welfare investigators are carrying out an inspection of the pig farm at the centre of TVNZ's ‘Sunday' programme.

The Minister yesterday urged animal rights group, SAFE, to reveal the location of the property so it could be inspected by Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry animal welfare investigators.

"SAFE has not contacted my office and has instead speculated on the property involved through media channels. From various sources, MAF has identified the farm and is now carrying out an investigation," said Mr Carter.

"I am very concerned about animal welfare and no one wants to see animals suffer. This is why I urged SAFE to provide details of the property yesterday so the authorities could take the appropriate action immediately.

"In fact, SAFE could have revealed details of the property when it first received the recorded footage."Instead, the organisation seems more intent on playing publicity games than assisting the animals on this farm. I trust that SAFE will cooperate fully with the MAF investigation and provide them with any further evidence they may need.

"As an investigation is now underway, I will not be commenting further on the details of this case," Mr Carter said

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PIG FARMER TO BE IDENTIFIED - NOT A ROGUE, SAY PIG ADVOCATES

The identity of the intensive piggery at the centre of a national investigationwhich has left Mike King and most New Zealanders disgusted and horrifiedwill be revealed by the national animal advocacy organisation SAFE today.

SAFE says it will disclose the identity of the farm to the Minister ofAgriculture tomorrow in order for MAF to investigate, however the groupmaintains the North Island piggery is a typical sow stall operation andis unlikely to be breaking the law.SAFE can reveal the owner is a leading pig industry representative andformer director of the New Zealand Pork Industry Board, who owns fivepiggeries.

“The owner of the intensive piggery at the centre of public outrage is norogue farmer. He owns several intensive piggeries worth an estimated$4m. This farm has previously been investigated by MAF, who foundnothing in breach of the law. The farm is disgusting but appears to beoperating within the law, so we doubt if MAF will find anything differentthis time,” says SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek.

SAFE was surprised to hear comments from the chairman of the NewZealand Pork Industry Board denying ever seeing similar conditions onother intensive pig farms with sow stalls.

Chris Trengrove said on Close Up tonight:

“I have not been on a farm that looks anything like that. We are horrifiedas well. We support the 

minister in investigating that farm.”

“SAFE says over 22,000 pregnant sows live in sow stalls in New Zealandand suffer the same fate as those pigs on the exposed piggery. Other pigfarms may look a bit cleaner but the cages are just as small and cruel,”says Mr Kriek.

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Focus on cockpit doors, not more aviation screening

Transport Minister Steven Joyce announced today that the government will not extend security screening for domestic air travel, preferring instead to tighten up flight deck security on domestic aircraft.

The government has been considering the review of aviation security, ordered by the previous government following an alleged hijacking attempt in February last year. The review assessed the risks in New Zealand's domestic aviation environment to see if current levels of security were adequate.

"The cost to extend screening, estimated at $160 million over ten years, is prohibitively expensive and creates costs for airports, airlines, government and ultimately passengers" says Mr Joyce.

"Fortunately, events like the alleged hijacking in February 2008 are very rare in New Zealand. While there will always be some risk with unscreened passengers on domestic aircraft, the cost of implementing additional screening would have a disproportionate impact on domestic aviation and is therefore unjustified, particularly in these tough economic times."

Mr Joyce says the government will instead implement a range of alternative security measures, including strengthening existing cockpit doors on aircraft with more than 30 seats, and investigating the installation of cockpit doors for 19-seat aircraft.

"Strengthened cockpit doors will reduce the risk of interference with an aircraft mid-flight and will be significantly less costly than implementing additional screening."

"Security committees, made up of airline and airport staff, local police and other key stakeholders will be established at most regional airports to improve sharing of security intelligence and enhance local threat assessment and risk management.

"We will also be enhancing training and education requirements for airline and airport staff to increase their risk awareness and proficiency in security matters.

"These measures will improve general security awareness and the security of aircraft."

Mr Joyce says he will be writing to all domestic airports to encourage them to consider the possible future need for passenger screening when planning for terminal changes, so that if the threat environment changes in the future, airports will be better equipped to implement screening quickly if required.

"New Zealand's domestic aviation security is constantly under review and if the threat environment changed, the need for additional domestic passenger screening will be revisited."

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TXT TE REO MAORI KI TELECOM

In a first for New Zealand, common te Reo Maori words will now be

recognised in the predictive text message function and auto voice dialling

on certain Telecom 3G handsets.

Customers using these handsets on Telecom’s soon-to-be-launched XT Mobile

Network will be able to type a word in Maori in a text message, and it

will be instantly recognised by the phone in the same way that English

words are.

“Introducing te reo Maori to some of our services is a move that reflects

Telecom’s’ Kiwi heritage, and the unique culture of Aotearoa New Zealand,”

says Telecom Retail CEO, Alan Gourdie.

Te Taura Whiri it te Reo Maori (the Maori Language Commission) was

consulted regarding the word selection, and the Commission’s Chief

Executive Huhana Rokx says they are delighted to have supported Telecom

with this service.

“This initiative ensures that te Reo Maori remains a valid form of texting

discourse. Our young people who are growing up as bilingual Maori

language speakers are also active mobile users and expect the same

immediate service that predictive texting offers in the English language,”

says Ms Rokx.

As well as common greetings, the words include days of the week, months of

the year, the numbers one to ten, and popular New Zealand place names.

The devices capable of te Reo Maori predictive text messaging will include

two Telecom-branded handsets and the Samsung S8300 Ultra Touch, with more

devices to be added with the feature after launch. The two Telecom

branded handsets also feature spoken voice dialling in Maori, Chinese and

English, - where the handset will say aloud the numbers from 0-9 when they

are pressed.

Customers who move to the new network won’t need to change their phone

number, and Telecom and Gen-i will have a range of offers to make it easy

for both new and existing customers to switch. Telecom’s current mobile

network continues to operate and will be supported as normal following the

XT Mobile Network launch in late May.

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Live Presscon of PM John Key

Live Video - PM's Press Conference 4pm 18 May '09

Streaming live video provided by R2.co.nz

>

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McCully condemns detention of Aung San Suu Kyi

Foreign Minister Murray McCully today condemned the apparent imprisonment of Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

"This is totally unacceptable. The only thing Aung San Suu Kyi is guilty of is standing up for the rights of the Burmese people in the face of appalling repression," Mr McCully said.

"Reports from Burma say Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under home detention for many years, was taken from her house yesterday to a Rangoon prison.

"The reports say the arrest came after unauthorised visits by supporters, and that Aung San Suu Kyi is likely to stand trial for breaches of detention conditions. She could face a substantial prison term if found guilty.

"This action is yet another setback for Burma, and throws more doubt over the credibility of the planned 2010 elections.

"The Burmese government must release Aung San Suu Kyi immediately, and take meaningful steps towards the restoration of democracy," Mr McCully said.

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Google brings more Search options to Kiwi searchers

A press release from Google New Zealand:

Today, we’re starting to roll out a significant new feature on www.google.co.nz for New Zealand web users: Search options.

Available on the Google results page, Search options lets you slice and dice results and explore queries to quickly and more easily find what you need. For example, you can select:

• Reviews and Forums: Show only pages with this type of content
• Videos: Show only pages with videos in them, and see a video thumbnail
• Date restricts: Show results from the past 24 hours, past week or past year
• Timeline: Histogram-like representation of results by year and month
• Wonder Wheel: A graphical, interactive representation of searches related to your query.

Search options helps you solve a potentially tricky question: what query should I ask? For example, you might be looking for forum discussions about a specific product, but are most interested in ones that have taken place more recently. With Search options, you can search for the product’s name, apply the option to filter out anything but forum sites, and then apply an option to only see results from the past week.

Check out the Official Google Blog for more information: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/more-search-options-and-other-updates.html.

Search options was announced at our annual Searchology event in Mountain View, California, where we provided an update on recent innovations in search at Google and announced other new features including:

• Rich snippets: an enhanced version of the preview text we show for search results which we call snippets. The enhancement will display structured data from the page as marked up by the site’s owner. We think this additional data surfaced on rich snippets, such as a product’s price or number of stars in a review, will help people understand what the page is about and let you make a more informed click (available only on www.google.com / searches in English)

• Google Squared: a search tool that helps people quickly build a collection of facts from the Web for any topic specified. For example, you’re curious about which roller coasters are the fastest, tallest, and longest in the world. Until now, you’d comb through dozens of webpages to compile the information you’re looking for. With Google Squared, you’ll type [ roller coasters ] into the search box at and click Square it to see an automatically generated table of roller coasters and their attributes. The tool is still in an experimental phase at this point (available in Google Labs soon)

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