Daily New Zealand News

Southern Field Days begin

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:16:31 PST

The second biggest agricultural fieldays in New Zealand open at Waimumu, near Gore on Wednesday. Organisers are hope that fine weather will continue. The Southern Field Days are held every two years, alternating with the South Island field days in Canterbury. The last event attracted about 500 exhibitors from as far as Australia and 20,000 visitors. Field Days chairman Mark Dillon says they hope

Cook Islands residents moving inland

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:14:38 PST

Updated at 9:57am on 10 February 2010Plans are being made to move people inland in some parts of the Cook Islands in preparation for the arrival of Cyclone Pat. Storm conditions are expected to strengthen later on Wednesday. Recent forecasts put the Category two cyclone 320km north of Aitutaki, moving slowly southwest at about six to nine knots. The Met Service says a warning system is in place

NZ Post congratulated over coin design

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:13:00 PST

Arts marketer Toi Maori is congratulating New Zealand Post for the design on the most valuable New Zealand coin ever made. New Zealand Post is issuing 500 one ounce gold coins featuring a heitiki by Te Puke pounamu carver Raponi Wilson. Chief executive Garry Nicholas told Waatea News it's how Maori art should be used and maximise their skill. The coins, which cost $2650 each, will be housed in

Pacific labour ministers vow to cut youth unemployment at meeting in Vanuatu

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:11:44 PST

Labour ministers from seven Pacific countries attending a high-level United Nations conference that begins in Vanuatu today have committed to creating more jobs and reducing youth unemployment. Ministers from Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Kiribati took part in a panel discussion yesterday as part of the lead-up to the Human Face of the Global Economic Crisis

Stewart Island finds a pre-school teacher

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:39:14 PST

Stewart Island has found a new pre-school teacher after a nationwide search. Last month it was reported the island had been without an early childhood teacher since November, and parents were struggling to convince the Ministry of Education the area should be deemed "hard to staff". The ministry said the island was part of Southland and did not meet the criteria which would earn it a relocation

Body scanners for Australian airports

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:21:52 PST

Body scanners will be introduced to Australia's international airports from next year as part of a $250 million plan to boost security. The scanners will screen travellers departing from Australia, and will be introduced along with more training for security screening staff and an increase in the number of explosive detection dogs. More than $60 million will also be spent installing cargo X-ray

Dean new head of Medical Council

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:15:36 PST

The dean of Otago University's Dunedin School of Medicine, John Adams, is the new head of the Medical Council. The council, which registers doctors and oversees standards, elected Dr Adams at a meeting on Tuesday. He succeeds Otago University Professor John Campbell, who has headed the council since 2002. The council says Dr Adams' extensive experience will be invaluable as it begins regular

Dame Kiri to receive Lifetime Achievement award

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:05:35 PST

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Classical Brits. The 65 year-old soprano, who has been entertaining audiences for more than 40 years, told the Daily Telegraph she was "honoured and delighted" to receive the award. Mark Wilkinson and Barry McCann, co-chairmen of the Classical Brit Awards Committee, said it was a "fitting tribute to one of the

SPCA targets crayfish arcade game

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:01:28 PST

The Auckland SPCA has warned its inspectors will take a police escort to close down an arcade game involving live crayfish (lobster) if it does not get co-operation from pub managers. The SPCA today said it would close down several games in pubs in Auckland where patrons paid to try to catch live crayfish in a tank using a metal claw. The animal welfare organisation would visit the three pubs it

Southern Cooks warned as Cyclone Pat nears

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:55:44 PST

Posted at 04:19 on 09 February, 2010 UTCPeople in the southern Cook Islands are being warned to brace for Cyclone Pat which is now gusting up to 90 knots, or nearly 170 kilometres an hour. At about midday the cyclone was still about 600 kilometres from the main island, Rarotonga, after blowing through the northern islands overnight. It is moving southeast but is likely to tend southwest overnight

Pain medicines to be withdrawn

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:54:54 PST

The Ministry of Health says all Paradex tablets and Capadex capsules will be withdrawn from the market because the risks outweigh the possible benefits. The medicines are analgesics used to treat chronic moderate pain. It says a review has shown the drugs are no better at treating pain than paracetamol. It says they could cause extra side effects to those caused by paracetamol, and are dangerous

Caffeine withdrawals marks minister's Haiti fundraising

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:52:20 PST

Going without coffee appears to be the first big test for Social Development Minister Paula Bennett as she begins her self-imposed famine to raise money for Haiti quake victims. Ms Bennett today began a 40-hour fast to help boost World Vision's Haiti Appeal and has to get through Parliament's first sitting day for the year. "I am definitely missing caffeine," she said this morning. "(National MP

Australian migration changes will hurt education market

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:11:40 PST

Education agents are predicting even more tough times ahead for Australia's overseas education market because of changes to migration residency rules. The Government says it wants to attract better skilled people and will drop some lower skilled jobs from the the list of occupations used to choose migrants. The changes are expected to affect many overseas students who are studying in Australia

Divers in Tonga facing charges for removing treasure from ancient shipwreck

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:01:09 PST

A group of divers in Tonga is facing charges after allegedly removing items from a ship which sank more than a 150 years ago. Our correspondent reports that police have confiscated what are believed to be gold pieces from the Nuku’alofa homes of the divers. Mateni Tapueluelu says the divers, all Tongans, had allegedly been removing the materials from the ship, which sank in 1853, for quite some

Singapore envies Kiwi lifestyle

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:53:55 PST

By Lincoln TanThe bait was better working hours, cheaper cars and housing - and in three weeks thousands from Singapore have registered their interest in living in New Zealand. An Immigration New Zealand pilot project aimed at attracting Singaporean migrants has resulted in over 1000 registrations each week since it was launched last month, with 3565 potential immigrants having registered their

Safer Down syndrome tests now available

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:51:12 PST

By Martin JohnstonHealth services are this week starting an expanded, safer screening programme to detect Down syndrome during pregnancy, after serious flaws were detected in the old system. All women who see a midwife or doctor in early pregnancy will now be offered a blood test in addition to the existing ultrasound scan. The blood test is free, but the scan usually costs about $30 to $40.

Four new operating theatres announced

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:48:48 PST

The Government is to spend $24 million on providing four new operating theatres to boost the amount of non-urgent surgery being done in central Auckland. Health Minister Tony Ryall says the new theatres at Greenlane clinical centre will be for elective or non-urgent surgery only, to enable more non-urgent operations to be done. Mr Ryall says Auckland has lagged behind other centres in this work,

New translation service in Parliament

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:46:22 PST

The use of the Maori language in Parliament steps up a notch as MPs return to the House today. Over the summer break $320,000 was spent setting up the debating chamber to cater for a new Maori interpretation service. The change will see simultaneous English interpretations given every time a member of Parliament chooses to address the chamber in Te Reo. The translation service is available to MPs

More Maori midwives wanted

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:43:05 PST

Getting more Maori midwives is seen as a priority for a new push to encourage Maori into health careers. Taima Campbell, a director of the national Maori nursing and midwifery workforce development programme, says the planned "Kia ora Hauora" campaign will show students and second-chance learners there's more to medicine than being a doctor. She told Waatea News the shortage of Maori midwives is

Another award nomination for Whale Watch

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:41:12 PST

Whale Watch Kaikoura is in line for another international award. Owned by Ngai Tahu, Whale Watch is a finalist in the World Tourism & Travel Council's Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, which will be announced at the 10th global travel and tourism summit in Beijing in May. Chief operating officer Kauahi Ngapora, told Waatea News the nomination for the community benefit award was fitting, because the

Fake speed radars used to fool motorists

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:38:01 PST

Old police speed radars are being used to fool speeding motorists using radar detectors into slowing down. The radars, renamed drones and each worth $150, emit a beam which activates the radar detectors in cars, fooling motorists into thinking they are entering a monitored speed zone and slowing them down. They are being used by the police, councils and the Transport Agency. Radar detectors were

'Big four' cancer cases slow down but others rise

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:28:35 PST

By GREER McDONALD - The Dominion Post The rise in cancer cases appears to have levelled out. However, a report into cancer projections for the next decade shows the tide could turn on "the big four", with a steady rise in other forms of the disease. According to a just-issued Health Ministry report, the risk of cancer, when adjusted for age, is projected to stabilise over the coming decade for

Bollywood comes to Queenstown

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:43:34 PST

Queenstown has won many accolades for its beauty and the picturesque town is about to add Bollywood to the list. The director of an exotic love story currently being filmed on location in the town says "you often see postcard pictures and you say could a place actually look like that, you turn a camera anywhere in New Zealand and it's all postcard", says Punit Malhoto. The stars of the Indian

NZDF races against time on Antarctic voyage

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:35:39 PST

It is one of the most unusual offloads in the shipping world, takes years of planning, and is done under intense pressure. The annual, and only, container ship visit to McMurdo Station in Antarctica has just taken place, and New Zealand's Defence Force played a large part in this race against time. The icebreaker works for several weeks to clear a channel before the ship can come in to dock at

Competition to join PM at Gallipoli

noreply@blogger.com (NZNews) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:37:27 PST

Year 13 students are being given the chance to accompany the Prime Minister to Gallipoli for this year's ANZAC Commemorations. Veterans' Affairs is holding a competition to mark the 95th anniversary of the Gallipoli Landings with 21 spots up for grabs. To enter, students must illustrate the impact of World War 1 on New Zealand society by using Gallipoli as a case study. They can do this through