RNZ: The Week In Review

A review of the week's news including... Low payouts, low dividends and a tumbling share price has the country's biggest company facing complaints of poor performance, what's thought to be the biggest ever live shipment of sheep from New Zealand left the port of Timaru this week, a one off cannabis oil treatment for a 19-year old Nelson man has been approved, the central bank cuts the official cash rate for the first time in more than four years, rescuers recover the body of a digger driver who was buried under tonnes of rock at a quarry near Waikari, secondary students zip their lips for a day in a stand against the bullying of LGBT students, one of this county's leading lawyers dies of cancer aged 80, a South Auckland primary school is spending thousands of dollars a year on air testing so it knows when to move the children out of toxic classrooms and one of New Zealand's greatest racehorses has been buried at Ellerslie Racecourse where he so often triumphed.

A review of the week's news including... Waitangi Day celebrations take place against the backdrop of ongoing divisions within host Iwi Ngapuhi, the Reserve Bank rules out a cut in interest rates for now, global dairy prices bounce back, the British Foreign Secretary urges New Zealand to commit troops to fight Islamic State, two insurance workers who had sex in their office late at night oblivious to hundreds of people looking on and filming from a central Christchurch bar could lose their jobs, claims a girls basketball team were refused entry into the National Maori Basketball Tournament because their coach isn't Maori, a petition seeks to implement a pardon for men convicted of homosexuality in New Zealand in the past, a unique and high-profile case in New Zealand's legal history is the subject of a new book - we hear from it's author, the 100th anniversary of the first New Zealand combat casualty of the First World War was marked this week and the story of a 1984 song that became an anthem is being turned into a movie.

A review of the week's news including... Some social housing groups are worried charities wanting to buy up large numbers of state houses could bite off more than they can chew, a weight loss surgeon says New Zealand will become the fattest nation on earth within five years, the Air Force will no longer fly people to Antarctica on its Boeing 757s after a terrifying landing two years ago, a New Zealand Book Award judge joins a chorus of people dismayed at Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton's criticism, an Auckland city councillor says linking ethnicity with a high number of dog attacks amounts to South Auckland bashing, a Wellington lawyer says too many travellers may be buying domestic travel insurance from Air New Zealand unwittingly and it's unfair, Queenstown airport turns away private jets as a summer influx of the rich stretches it to maximum capacity, recently retired Christchurch coroner Richard McElrea on his two decades presiding over cases, CERA workers farewell the disgraced one time chief executive Roger Sutton and we hear from Auschwitz survivor Benjamin Steiner on the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camp.

A review of the week's news including... The Whanganui District Health Board says the mother of a 16-month-old toddler who died in the hospital grounds is a valued staff member and they are grieving with the family, the Government believes it's possible to cut the cost of a house or section by tens of thousands of dollars with changes to the Resource Management Act, why the commander of the HMNZS Wellington decided not to board boats illegally fishing near Antarctica, an Iwi leader says Tuwharetoa will come back from its financial losses after bad financial decisions that have substantially reduced the Iwi's treaty settlement amount, the Taxi Federation says a review of the law that regulates taxis and private hire vehicles such as the online taxi-sharing Uber is not before time, more of the country's banks join the pack in cutting home loan rates, David Bain 's fight for compensation for the 13 years he spent behind bars is resuming after two years of delays, child abuse falls by 12 percent according to the latest Child Youth and Family statistics, trams could be back in Auckland, Rolling Stone and now childrens author Keith Richards talks about his latest book and a hundred years of aviation history was on display at the Wings over Wairarapa airshow.

A review of the week's news including... The New Zealand First Party calling for the Navy to up the ante and use its firepower in the standoff with a fleet of illegal toothfish ships in the Southern Ocean, the Labour leader questions the reasons for the sudden resignation of the head of the Government's spy agency, the Police Minister orders a review of how the Police's zero tolerance on speed campaign was promoted, an Islamic leader in Wellington is urging people to show more respect for Islam in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks in Paris, Auckland Transport looks to step up security at the city's central transport hub, house prices rise by almost 18-per-cent since the market high of 2007, the New Zealand Film Commission believes the country has what it takes to make a mark on the world's stage, the Medical Council hits back at criticism that doctors aren't taking enough care when writing medical certificates for stressed workers, a discussion about New Zealand's place in the World, a campaign to crack down on poaching and illegal hunting on remote West Coast farms and the Labour Party leader is looking for a new media minder.

A review of the week's news including... investigators trying to work out why a plane crashed into Lake Taupo, Air New Zealand named one of the ten safest airlines in the world, Pope Francis names twenty new cardinals including one from New Zealand and Tonga, warnings from Australia about New Zealand's reliance on dairy exports, commentators and experts question Vodafone price rises, what online recruitment site Seek's new data shows about where to live and work, we hear from an expert in well-being, the RNZAF's fleet of Iroquois helicopters will soon to be a thing of the past and we hear a couple of recently added gems available at the NZ On Screen website as played on Summer Noelle.

A review of the week's news including... A three hour riot in Gisborne that left 83 injured, the top New Years Honours recipients, latest road toll figures show motorcyclist deaths are going up, Infratil and the New Zealand Super Fund are investing in Australia's retirement industry, New Zealand's two-year term on the United Nations Security Council begins, a drive from Cape Reinga to the Bluff without using a drop of petrol, a record number of construction apprentices for 2014, Summer Noelle's 'Gallery of the Day' in Nelson and the way we are reading books is changing.

A review of the week's news including... The Government's been called on to ban alcohol advertising and sponsorship in sport, the Government is moving to regulate small airfields in the wake of a fatal air accident in 2008, global dairy prices increase, Dunedin City Council's missing cars, petrol prices dip again, the chair of Mighty River Power wins the Shareholders' Association's Beacon Award, players in the telco industry say a planned new trans-Tasman data cable should've happened years ago, health researchers say Maori are more likely to suffer from an increase in diseases brought about by climate change, the man who masterminded the refloating of the Costa Condordia, All Blacks first five Dan Carter is set to be the highest paid rugby player in the World and Steve Hansen has signed on as All Blacks coach till 2017.

A review of the week's news including... murderer and child sex abuser Phillip Smith says he had help from a prison guard to escape from jail, a New Zealander who is in prison in Bali for suspected drug smuggling is on suicide watch, the Labour Party leader says he believes corrupt Chinese who've fled their own country may be making donations to political parties here, the Finance Minister responds to new analysis by the OECD that says trickle down economics doesn't work and rising inequality has cost the New Zealand economy growth, the heat is back on in the housing market while the older generation is complaining banks are shutting them out of the market, a senior manager at Counties Manukau District Health Board admits if his team had listened to the family of a schizophrenic man, they may have been able to stop him killing his friend, the bottom drops out of dairy prices, the drug-buying agency Pharmac says district health boards will save more than 100 million dollars over the next five years because of its work, KiwiRail has decided to bring back the Stena Alegra despite the ship's troubled record and why are some provincial stadiums bucking the trend and getting near sell-out crowds to this years national championship rugby matches?

A review of the week's news including... Wellington and Wairarapa mayors bite back at a proposal to amalgamate the region's nine councils into one, the Government waters down its latest anti-terror legislation while the Prime Minister reveals more details about the sort of role New Zealand might play in any war against Islamic State, new drink driving laws came into force this week, a Labour MP tells Parliament he's been informed of unsubstantiated claims about the businessman Mark Hotchin, speculation mounts as to when AC/DC will finally call time on troubled drummer Phil Rudd who's appeared in a Tauranga Court again, most gambling operators fail to identify problem gamblers in an undercover test, a bid to increase the supply of affordable housing Auckland, the third and final installment of Sir Peter Jackson's Hobbit series has it's first screenings, two New Zealanders are part of a nine-man Volvo Ocean Race crew who ran aground in the Indian Ocean and a University of Canterbury history Professor says there may actually be something in the wind in Canterbury.

A review of the week's news including... convicted murderer and child molester Phillip John Smith is deported from Brazil, the Prime Minister comes under fire following the release of the SIS inquiry and his involvement with a right-wing blogger, the director of the SIS says the organisation needs more powers to continue to keep the country safe, the results of an inquiry finds no evidence to back up claims the former Justice Minister attempted to undermine the head of the Serious Fraud Office in 2011, the Labour Party's new leader gives the new intake on his front bench a year to prove whether any of them is good enough to become his deputy, the President of the Labour Party announces her resignation, a North Shore woman is dead and a young couple are seriously wounded as the suspect tries to escape the country, the Green Party says people are increasingly spending more of their pay packet on power, we hear from a senior Australain water scientist in the country for the River Awards, a mothballed rail link between Napier and Gisborne has been thrown a lifeline and Lydia Ko may be New Zealand's highest paid sportswoman.

A review of the week's news including... the visit to New Zealand of the Chinese President, Christchurch's earthquake recovery boss quits after a sexual harassment investigation, Andrew Little takes the Labour Party leadership by just one point zero four per cent, the Commerce Commission dismisses accusations against Countdown supermarkets, Lorde cleans up at the 2014 NZ music awards, Richie McCaw brings up another milestone, Kim Dotcom scrambles to replace his New Zealand lawyers, a man who had been deaf for seven years regaines his hearing following groundbreaking surgery done for the first time in New Zealand, the long-awaited re-opening of the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch and after 112 years a missing wreck is finally found off the coast of Northland.

A review of the week's news including... A likely swift deportation from Brazil for a recaptured fugitive, domestic violence is estimated to be costing the country as much as 7 billion dollars a year, a union covering fast food workers is fighting to scrap employment contracts where the employer is under no obligation to provide work, sales of million dollar plus homes in Auckland have nearly quadrupled over the past decade, conservationists say it would be a huge international embarrassment for New Zealand if it allowed our national bird to become all but extinct, the Wellington scientist whose award winning documentary about climate change is to be screened on American public television, medical specialists say New Zealand is facing a workforce crisis for doctors trained in end-of-life care, a new survey finds the number of patients admitted to intensive care with severe flu symptoms has doubled in a year and NCEA exams started this week.

A review of the week's news including... both of the boys charged over the assault and murder of a Henderson dairy owner are denied bail, businesses are warning that further hikes in interest rates will derail the economy, primary school teachers and principals unite in opposition to the government's flagship education policy, the Epsom MP John Banks formally resigns from Parliament, Wellington's mayor says she wants to keep the city's famous trolley buses on the roads for a few years yet, a Marlborough Boys College student becomes a life-saver after jumping into a river to rescue a 12-year-old girl, a prestigious honour recognising the outstanding achievement for a New Zealand cancer researcher, the Ellerslie International Flower Show is canned by the Christchurch City Council and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra's Beethoven marathon.

A review of the week's news including... ACT MP John Banks is found guilty Thursday of filing a false electoral donation return, a Christchurch mosque is at the centre of fresh claims about the past life of a suspected terrorist killed by a drone strike in Yemen last year, four Queen's Birthday weekend road deaths are linked to foreign drivers, Team New Zealand accepts rule changes to the America's Cup and says it's time to get on with the job, Conservative Party leader, Colin Craig seeking costs only in his defamation case against Green co-leader, Russel Norman, Danica Weeks, the wife of one of the two New Zealanders missing on board flight MH370 on Nine to Noon, The Prime Minister wraps up his Pacific Mission with a day-long visit to Niue and netball's most capped international player, Irene van Dyk, announces her retirement.