August 2000

MP puts weight behind revised sticker scheme. - Christchurch - Waimakariri Labour MP today reportedly affirmed his wholehearted support for proposed revisions to the often controversial Under 25 car sticker scheme [more].

Controversy surrounds Bledisloe game - The controversy surrounding the  Bledisloe Cup match against the Wallabies on August 5 refuses to fade away. In a prepared statement, Me First president Chester Dobbins has hit out [more].

News in Brief.

A study of Auckland High School students has revealed that Maori, Pacific Island, and Asian girls are two to three times more likely to be iron deficient than New Zealanders of European descent. The study indicates that diet and genetic differences may be responsible for this deficiency and shows that people who are unfit are more likely to be lacking in iron. Labour list MP Tariana Turia has advised the University of Auckland not to publish these Maori iron deficiency statistics, claiming that such a move would be "yet another negative and culturally inappropriate move by tau iwi (Pakeha) researchers. Ms Turia added that the burgeoning iron deficiency problem amongst Maori would correct itself without highlighting the extent and severity of the issue in the nation's media. 

In Australia, aboriginal rights activists this week threatened to disrupt the Sydney Olympics with violent protesting following a high court ruling that the so-called Stolen Generation never occurred. In unrelated news, the Australian Federal Government is currently pushing through parliament a bill granting the Army the power to shoot citizens during times of civil unrest. According to media sources, the Government wants the bill enacted in time for two big events next month: the Sydney Olympics and the World Economic Forum in Melbourne.

Act and National MPs are currently staging a go-slow in parliament to impede the passing of the Employment Relations Bill, a legislation they fear will give employees and unions greater freedom to stage harmful industrial actions such as strikes and go-slows.  

New Zealand firefighters, supported by Australian and American counterparts, continue to fight fierce blazes in several western US states.

The Government has adamantly denied Opposition and business community allegations that the new Employment Relations Bill was directly responsible for last month's Concord crash near Paris.