RNZ: The Week In Review

A review of the week's news including... almost a week after a book made explosive claims about a fatal New Zealand SAS raid on two villages in Afghanistan the chief of the defence force says he's open to an inquiry being held, many fog bound passengers end up spending a night in the Wellington airport terminal curled up under thin blankets while flash flooding in Auckland had a South Auckland farmer rescuing motorists and a postal van from rising waters, more Chinese investment and booming tourism numbers were a key part of talks this week between our Prime Minister and the Chinese Premier, the health ministry strongly defends a decision meaning people in their 50s will be kept waiting to be screened for a major cancer killer, Police fail to find any sign of a missing Auckland woman who isn't the only woman to have gone missing in the Mercer Bay cliffs area at Piha, New Zealand research finds children exposed to high levels of leaded petrol fumes in the 70s and 80s have lower IQs, major questions are still being asked about a lack of resources ahead of the launch of the Ministry Of Vulnerable Children this week, Winston Peters remains in prime position to decide who forms the next government in RNZ's latest poll of polls, a new booklet to help Maori whanau raising gay or gender diverse children is published and Napier plays host to artists from around the World who've painted large scale murals on the city's empty walls.

A review of the week's news including... Journalist Nicky Hager says it is beyond belief government officials deny New Zealand SAS troops were involved in civilian deaths during a botched raid in Afghanistan in 2010, the Prime Minister says he's open to look at charging bottling companies for water, meanwhile the Labour leader says the Government is deliberately delaying the question of taxing water, a pregnancy-testing drug claimed to have been responsible for a number of birth defects was prescribed in New Zealand, businesses in Kaikohe have had a gutsful of gangs of children causing chaos in the Far North town, the director of hospital services at Middlemore defends ACC earning about $4 million a year running a carpark at the hospital, the Government's goal to rid all schools of sugary-drinks by the end of last year fails, John Key talks to Political Editor Jane Patterson on the eve of his departure from Parliament and a Napier fisherman has been nominated for a major international award for a cage that allows under-sized fish to swim free.

A review of the week's news including... Hundreds of students turn out on the grounds of Parliament in solidarity against rape culture, two Wellington College boys are suspended for making Facebook comments about raping drunk young women, a supermarket removes an egg brand from its shelves and the Serious Fraud office is investigating after reports it's been selling caged eggs labelled as free-range, an ambulance service says better reporting is behind the sharp jump in the number of serious mistakes by paramedics, a convicted child sex offender and murderer who fled to South America has won the right to wear a toupee behind bars, a district council is investigating all its contracts issued in the last three years after it was revealed it awarded a contract to upgrade water treatment plants to a company run by a cake decorator, the Abortion Supervisory Committee wants the abortion law updated, the Early Childhood Council says there's no need for compulsory vaccination for all children at early childhood centres, MPs listen to arguments on why fluoride in water should or shouldn't be a decision left to the Ministry of Health, the man who murdered his 6-year-old step-daughter doesn't ever want to get out of prison, an Auckland man who has spent hundreds of dollars in hospital parking fees has launched a petition calling for the charges to be scrapped, New Zealand overtakes Australia to become the third biggest exporter of wine to the United States, the Polyfest cultural festival kicked off on Wednesday, the Maoriland indigenous film festival opens in Otaki and cartoonist Murray Ball is remembered.

A review of the week's news including... Wellington students encourage others to take advantage of 'drunk girls', threats force change of venue for Wellington College protest, NZ Super eligibility age to rise to 67 by 2040, former Glenn Inquiry head starts domestic violence watchdog, a man tells Checkpoint he thought he was going to die after being trapped in a car during a flood, "a game changer" is how the Maori Party's President Tukoroirangi Morgan describes a political endorsement by the Maori King, foreign ownership in private firms reaches 15-year high, a call for world's clearest spring to be protected from commerce, Trident could miss out on roll out of cameras on fishing boats and an eclectic mix is on offer at Dunedin's biggest ever Fringe festival.

A review of the week's news including... Jacinda Ardern looks likely to be elected as Labour's deputy leader, a report the government tried to keep secret says its approach to social and affordable housing lacks a robust plan and is fragmented, a woman living in a Wellington flat with rats in the walls says the Prime Minister's view that soaring rental prices in the city are a sign of sucess is stupid and ridiculous, the Prime Minister's told his claims young New Zealanders are too stoned to get jobs are disgraceful, the Race Relations Commissioner says children were more likely to be taken off their families and put in State care if they were Maori, The New Zealand First leader will sit on Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, the death of a former Silver Fern after collapsing while playing touch rugby, a New Zealand film editor wins an Oscar for his work on war film Hacksaw Ridge, US-style negative election campaigning may be coming to New Zealand's airwaves, a former All Black apologises for letting down the rugby community after being charged with buying cocaine in Paris, the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal quits New Zealand, cavers involved in rescuing a Canadian woman in Harwoods Hole on Takaka Hill say the operation went like clockwork, the champions of Kapa Haka are crowned and is Martin Guptill New Zealand's great ever one day batsman?

A review of the week's news including... Mt Albert voters head to the polls to select a new MP this weekend, we hear from three candidates contesting the by election, Maori political leaders respond explosively to the Labour leader's comments that the Maori party is "not kaupapa Maori", how did a senior council roading manager receive over 1.1 million dollars in payments from a council contractor without his bosses knowing? the High Court rules Kim Dotcom is eligible for extradition US, the Fire Service's principal rural fire officer says lives may have been lost had firefighters not been told to return to their station, Sky TV says a decision to deny its billion dollar proposal to buy Vodafone is bizarre and disappointing, Pharmac considers funding women's sanitary products, we have coverage from the 6th anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake, the Prime Minister puts the board of the NZ Super Fund on notice after it approved a 23 percent pay increase for its Chief Executive, an Australian woman helping New Zealand dairy farmers across the Tasman who have fallen onto hard times is horrified by a lack of Government help and helicopters to Hercules and F-16s to classic spitfire replicas are on display at Ohakea airforce base during this weekend's Air Tattoo.

A review of the week's news including... Some sleepless night for residents near Christchurch's Port Hills this week as a massive blaze swept through the area destroying homes and claiming a life, a woman is arrested following an attack on a group of New Zealand Muslim women, an 8000-strong petition calling for foreign drivers to sit a practical driving is presented at Parliament, the chair of Solid Energy says he'll resign if the company is forced to enter the Pike River mine, the Greens deny they are being hypocritical by standing aside in the key seat of Ohariu, surging rental prices make it hard for students to not just find flats but to keep paying rent and ongoing costs, Dunedin's Mayor says the impending closure of the Cadbury factory is a reminder that manufacturing will probably not be part of the city's future. thirty years after the 'Unfortunate Experiment' the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists apologise publicly to the women affected and Team New Zealand launches 'peddle power' on the boat it'll contest the America's Cup in just over three months.

A review of the week's news including... More than 400 pilot whales strand at Farewell Spit in Golden Bay, the Prime Minister gets the thumbs up for getting through a phone call with the US president Donald Trump, calls to move Waitangi Day commemorations away from Te Tii Marae gain traction, the Rugby Union describes the news that their own security guard has been arrested over the bugging of their Sydney hotel meeting as 'bizarre and unbelievable', the Government is promising medical cannabis will be quicker and easier to access under policy changes announced this week, the Government announces a new scheme to address historical convictions for homosexual offences, the Labour leader lays down the law with his MPs and party members after being criticised for headhunting urban Maori leader Willie Jackson, beneficiaries and low-spending households are hardest hit by rising living costs in the past year, Solid Energy asks for more time to get the Pike River Mine sealed and the former All Whites captain Steve Sumner has died after a battle with cancer.

A review of the week's news including... a major health alert in Pukekohe after two and a half thousand children were exposed to contaminated water, the Prime Minister kicks off election year with a pledge to spend more than half a billion dollar on crime-fighting, is New Zealand citizenship for sale? several former employees of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority are being investigated, international Indian students to be deported, more alleged mistreatment of animals revealed at another New Zealand rodeo event, a women's sexual abuse group says the judge got it wrong when he ruled in favour of a man who posted photos of his half naked wife on Facebook, people increasingly find ways to get around petrol prices that they think are too high, should an unofficial white chair memorial to the victims of the 2011 Christchurch quake be moved? the scientific test results which reveal exactly how Havelock North's drinking water supply was contaminated, the Maori Party backs calls from a group of local councils campaigning to keep their regions free from genetic modification, a film producer is caught out by a recent law change banning anyone travelling from America from entering New Zealand with medicinal cannabis and an update on a seriously unwell albatross chick.

A review of the week's news including... What the inauguration of Donald Trump as US President means for New Zealand's trade, Ratana Pa erupts in a war of words with Gareth Morgan calling Winston Peters an "Uncle Tom" and anti-Treaty, there's been a further call for the Government to ban rodeos after footage released exclusively to Checkpoint, more than five thousand dairy cows are to be shipped to China by the same Saudi businessman involved in the Saudi sheep scandal, the extraordinary case of the man who took his six year old daughter across the Tasman in a small home built catamaran, one of the two Pike River survivors demands a rescue team be granted permission to enter the mine, the Prime Minister defends the Government's decision to grant a US tech billionaire and Donald Trump advisor New Zealand citizenship, a disabled Auckland woman who was growing and smoking marijuana for pain relief has escaped eviction from her state home and the United Future Leader launches a petition to find out what you think about moving the summer holidays.

A review of the week's news including... New Zealand has a new Prime Minister for the first time since 2008, Gisborne businesses reopened two days after they had to stop selling because the city had no power, a fresh look at worker exploitation reveals those in the construction, dairy, horticulture and hospitality sectors are targeted the most, tensions were high as the new Prime Minister and the Earthquake Commission minister met with frustrated Kaikoura farmers, Checkpoint revealed how much WINZ has been spending on emergency and temporary accommodation, the daughter of an investigative journalist is enormously relieved the police are going to pay damages and costs, we hear from the father of a toddler allegedly kidnapped from his Rotorua home, boxer Joseph Parker is now a heavy weight champion, he's also son to two proud parents and we meet his mother, New Zealand rugby players are in line for a pay rise, a public health professor says contaminated chicken is the biggest food safety issue in New Zealand, two fishing companies say they're joining forces to help protect the World's rarest dolphin and he's played a gangster, a duke, a priest and was the voice of Rangi from Footrot Flats, now Rawiri Paratene has been given the Toi Maori achievement award for his half century of service to the arts.

A review of the week's news including... John Key announces he is stepping down as Prime Minister, we'll hear from Mr Key and reaction to his surprise Monday announcement, Labour MP David Shearer heads for a top job with the United Nations while a landslide victory in the Mt Roskill by-election gives Labour a huge morale boost, Kaikoura tourist operators accuse authorities of leaving them in the dark, new figures show just how serious last month's earthquakes have been for the people who work in the capital, Solid Energy releases an open letter saying it is reckless for uninformed people to claim the Pike River Mine could be safely re-entered, we hear from the NZ first MP who's 'Broadcasting Games of National Significance Amendment' Bill has been drawn from the ballot for debate, a vigilante tyre slasher has struck again in the Wellington suburb of Miramar near the Airport and New Zealand golfer Lydia Ko's dumped coach says her father should stop interfering in her career.

A review of the week's news including... The tragic fatal capsizing of the Francie as it attempted to cross the Kaipara Harbour bar, tourism tremours from the Kaikoura earthquakes hit Picton hard while the occupants of a Wellington apartment block hit by the quake have been allowed back home, the Social Development Minister says people abused as children while in state care should not be put through the ordeal of giving evidence to an independent inquiry - a judge disagrees, the passing of a Kiwi music icon, Pike River families and supporters picket the mine following a meeting the CEO of Solid Energy, Waitamata police say they don't prosecute low level P dealers anymore, we hear the view of the founder of an addiction recovery programme, the brother of the New Zealand journalist killed when Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 is asking the government what it's done to bring his killers to justice and one of New Zealand's most unlikely industrial milestones was reached 50 years ago this week.

A review of the week's news including... more of RNZ's continuing coverage of the aftermath of the 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake, a company which was supplying concrete to seal the Pike River pulls out of the job, the seven-year jail sentence given to a man for pinching a prison guard's bottom described as preposterous and cruel, the decision by the Federation of Islamic Associations to cut all ties with a controversial cleric for making anti-Semitic and sexist speeches gets the thumbs up, the New Zealand First leader says the Government is being reckless with immigration, an Auckland Uber driver says the company is encouraging their drivers to commit insurance fraud, just one district health board is meeting the government's faster cancer treatment target and five more volcanic cones in Auckland will be open only to pedestrians from next year.

A review of the week's news including... This week's RNZ News coverage of the 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake, the family of a woman killed as she jogged in Remuera says they will never be able to forgive her killer, the families of the men killed in the Pike River tragedy are devastated their loved-one's bodies will not be recovered from the mine, more than a hundred demonstrators clash with police outside a defence forum in Auckland, the fate of a half-million-dollar global marketing campaign for Auckland could be passed back to politicians to decide, after criticism about it's cost, a New Zealand swimmer becomes one of the first people ever to swim across the Dead Sea.and the story of a 98-year-old Hamilton woman, dubbed the world's oldest navigator.