News

Goi is now a dead village. The two fish ponds, bakery and chicken farm that used to be the pride and joy of its chief deacon, Barrisa Tete Dooh, lie abandoned, covered in a thick black layer. The village's fishing creek is contaminated; the school has been looted; the mangrove forests are coated...

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Justice Minister Simon Power will have his work cut out to get his criminal justice reform passed into law before Parliament rises for the election. The Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill is stuck in the legislative mire because neither Act nor the Maori Party will support it...

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Public sector workers face strict checks on accepting Rugby World Cup hospitality from businesses, while politicians are mostly bound by their "common sense". The World Cup has opened up many opportunities for corporate gifts - including to council workers, government agencies,...

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Auckland is cleaning up its streets for the Rugby World Cup. Inorganic rubbish collections have been suspended during the tournament to avoid the sight of old couches and refrigerators abandoned on the city's grass berms. Graffiti teams have been using cherry pickers to clean years of tagging...

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Residents in some of New Zealand's smallest communities may soon face rates rises that far outstrip their big-city cousins. The increases will be driven by the need to pay interest on council debt that has spiralled out of control in recent years. Read more

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Mattel plans to appeal against a federal judge's award of more than US$309 million ($375 million) to rival toymaker MGA Entertainment in the fight over ownership of the popular Bratz fashion doll line. The toy giant's lawyers filed papers yesterday declaring their intent to appeal against last...

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The Government will limit how 16 and 17-year-old beneficiaries and 18-year-old teen parents can spend the state's money to ensure they are not buying items such as alcohol or cigarettes, Prime Minister John Key announced today. It will also change the law to make it easier to track disengaged...

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Legal profession weathered first downturn but redundancies are more likely if recession returns The legal profession likes to think of itself as recession proof and, to an extent, it is. In the boom, law firms get rich advising on big deals; in the bust, they clean up representing clients...

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The Government's plan to slash rampant growth in legal aid spending has again come under fire from Labour which says low income earners facing some criminal charges will be denied justice. Justice Minister Simon Power yesterday introduced the Legal Assistance (Sustainability) Amendment Bill,...

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A Dutch court will next month decide whether to grant computer giant Apple an injunction in the Netherlands to halt the sale of various smart phones and tablet devices made by South Korean rival Samsung. US-based Apple's lawyers opened yet another front this week in a world-wide battle...

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Maori wardens say they will not be dragging Maori out of bars during the Rugby World Cup even though an "archaic" act allows them to do so. The statement comes after reports that Wellington bar owners were angry at wardens in the Courtenay Place entertainment precinct after a recent...

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A few hundred students protested outside Lincoln University today, voicing their anger about a bill that will make student unions voluntary. The National Party has supported ACT's Education Amendment Bill, which is on track to be passed this month. Read more

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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the world to recognize the right of indigenous peoples to control their intellectual property, saying they needed help to protect, develop and receive fair compensation for their cultural heritage and traditional knowledge. “Indigenous peoples...

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The tourism industry is welcoming moves to make visa applications easier for the fast growing number of Chinese visitors. Immigration New Zealand (INZ) has appointed VFS Global Services as a collection agent for visa applications from today in Shanghai and from late this month in Beijing,...

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The Government has been called on to halt the deportation of 32 Indonesian seafarers who were reportedly abused while on board the Oyang 75. The men, who walked off the Korean-flagged vessel after claims they were subjected to physical and sexual abuse and inadequate pay, could be deported...

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The man who murdered Auckland hairdresser Marie Jamieson in 2001 has lost his appeal for a lighter sentence. Joseph Martin Reekers was last year sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 15 years for killing Ms Jamieson. Read more

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Prime Minister John Key will consider meeting families who lost loved ones in the February earthquake, even though the Government is refusing to pay for their legal representation. A group representing quake victims' families is battling to get government funding to pay for lawyers to...

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Justice Minister Simon Power today welcomed the completion of the Government’s reform of the electoral system, after Parliament voted unanimously to pass the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Bill (No 2). “I’m pleased that the Government’s electoral law reform...

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District Court Judge Paul Barber has been appointed chairperson of the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal, Associate Justice Minister Nathan Guy has announced today. The Disciplinary Tribunal was established under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008, and deals with the licensing and...

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Justice Minister Simon Power today welcomed Parliament’s unanimous passing of a law to protect child victims of family violence. The Child and Family Protection Bill (which was split into three bills for third reading) focuses on keeping children safe where there have been instances of...

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Retirement village registration fees will change on 11 August, Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson said today. ‘”The annual return fees for all retirement village operators will go down,’ Mr Williamson said. “It’s about making sure fees continue...

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Melbourne gangland matriarch Judy Moran has been sentenced to 26 years' jail for orchestrating the bloody murder of her brother-in-law Desmond "Tuppence" Moran. Moran, 66, ordered the killing of Des Moran at a Moonee Ponds coffee shop in June 2009 after a bitter falling out over...

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A lawyer for the maid accusing Dominique Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault says that "many" other women have complained about the French politician's behavior. "We've spoken to many women who've recounted what he has done to them, both physically and psychologically," Doug...

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The woman who plunged a knife into her partner's chest has been acquitted of his murder - much to the fury of his son, who was escorted from the courtroom after screaming abuse at her. Anger boiled over in the High Court at Auckland yesterday after a jury took only five hours to decide Natalie...

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The Financial Markets Authority has made three further appointments to its strategic leadership team under Chief Executive Sean Hughes, and announced its new Auckland office premises. FMA has taken a seven-year lease of level 5, East Building, 52-70 Galway Street, Britomart, which has...

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Consumer Affairs Minister Simon Power today released research into third-tier lending ahead of the Government's Financial Summit to be held in Auckland on Thursday. The main piece of research, undertaken by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, identified 218 third-tier lenders (lenders who...

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Mainstream lenders say New Zealanders may owe $200 million to $300 million to loan sharks charging interest rates of more than 50 per cent a year or using other unethical practices. A position paper prepared by the Financial Services Federation for a financial summit to be held in Auckland...

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About 500 Auckland taxis have been unable to accept fares since Monday, because mandatory security cameras have yet to be installed in them. Although their operators were given an extra week from August 1 to fit the cameras and panic buttons, following attacks on drivers and the murders of two...

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The Government has bowed to public opinion and is backing a parliamentary inquiry into why milk prices are so high when New Zealand is a leading milk producer and many families are struggling to make ends meet. Labour and the Greens have been calling for a select committee inquiry after the...

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A man who took a blank DVD from his workplace for his own use has been found to have been justifiably fired from his job. David Dumolo worked as an information technology technician for the Lakes District Health Board, helping hospital sites in Taupo and Rotorua. Read more

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The Government is facing major embarrassment after failing to secure the numbers to pass its controversial reforms of the criminal justice system in their present form. The Criminal Procedure (Reform and Modernisation) Bill is the biggest shake up to the criminal justice system in 50 years,...

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Theft charges against a woman accused of skipping the country after a massive bank error have been dropped, but police say new indictments laid today include an international element and remain very serious. Kara May-Jo Hurring was facing 32 charges over offences alleged to have been committed...

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Goodman Fielder New Zealand Limited was today fined $37,500 following an accident at its Champion Flour Mills in Christchurch where an employee was seriously injured because the machine he was working on wasn’t properly guarded. The company has already paid the victim over $43,000 as a...

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The Government has released the centrepiece of what Commerce Minister Simon Power has described as "a once in a generation" reform of investment laws. Power yesterday released the draft Financial Markets (Conduct) Bill which will replace the Securities Act as the cornerstone of New...

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The first Briton to have his Twitter identity forcibly revealed by a court is seeking to sue the council that blew his anonymity and force a judicial review of the case. A review could have implications for whistleblowing websites - and for a council that used public funds to unmask a...

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The Board of the Financial Markets Authority has appointed Dimity Kingsford-Smith, a Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales, to the Code Committee for Authorised Financial Advisers for a term of three years. She is Chair of the Conduct Review Committee, a professional...

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Supplementary Orders proposed for inclusion in the Aquaculture Legislation Amendment Bill (No 3) will strengthen the legislation says Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Phil Heatley. "We need to ensure that the legislative changes we put in place work to create the framework needed to...

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Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne today announced that he has issued the first temporary class drug notice under the Misuse of Drugs Act that was amended last week, and that all Kronic and other synthetic cannabis products will be off the market by next Wednesday. “The first...

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The next Census is on track to be held in March 2013 after the introduction of a Bill in Parliament today, Statistics Minister Maurice Williamson says. The Duties of Statutory Officers (Census and Other Remedial Provisions) Bill amends the Statistics Act to allow the census to be deferred to...

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A Christchurch based car company has pleaded guilty to 55 charges of breaching the Fair Trading relating to sales made on Trade Me. Morrison Car Company has been fined a total of $45,000 and ordered to pay $1,000 court costs in the Christchurch District Court today after pleading guilty to...

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The Ministry of Economic Development is seeking feedback on an exposure draft of the Financial Markets Conduct Bill. The draft Bill reflects Cabinet decisions announced earlier this year. The draft Bill rewrites a number of pieces of legislation, including: the Securities Act...

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An online car dealer, which placed bids on its own Trade Me auctions to artificially raise prices, has been fined $45,000 for breaching the Fair Trading Act. The Christchurch-based Morrison Car Company pleaded guilty to 55 charges of breaching the Act over sales made on Trade Me. The charges...

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The maid accusing French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape has filed a civil suit in New York alleging a "sadistic attack'' and seeking unspecified compensation. The civil suit was filed on Monday as prosecutors deliberated over whether to drop sex assault charges...

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Australia's High Court has blocked the Government's controversial refugee swap deal with Malaysia for two weeks pending a full-bench hearing of an appeal by asylum seekers who were to have been flown from detention on Christmas Island yesterday morning. Justice Ken Hayne extended an interim...

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Court ruling sets legal precedent in Israel and is possibly first of its kind in world An Israeli family has been given legal permission to extract and freeze eggs from the ovaries of their 17-year-old daughter, who died in a road accident. The ruling by the magistrates court in the town of...

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The Reserve Bank has released a solvency standard under the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010. It will have the standing of a regulation under the Act. It applies to every licensed insurer that is a life insurer, unless the insurer is subject to another solvency standard that is...

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The Financial Markets Authority, Department of Internal Affairs, and the Police Financial Intelligence Unit are organising an Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Roadshow to be held in August and September 2011. The road show will provide an opportunity for business people...

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American battery company Exide's threat to sue the Government amounts to "commercial brinkmanship" intended to secure a monopoly on valuable used batteries, Environment Minister Nick Smith says. The company yesterday confirmed it planned to sue Commerce Minister Simon Power for...

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International financial turmoil has led to the money market largely discounting the possibility of a rise in the official cash rate next month. After the Reserve Bank's interim cash rate review on July 28, the market fully priced in a rise of 25 basis points to 2.75 per cent on September 15...

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New Zealand's biggest university, the University of Auckland, is worried it could be stung by anti-piracy rules coming into force next month and says policymakers are not addressing its concerns. The Government's "three strikes" copyright regime comes into effect on September 1 and...

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