Newsgroups: soc.culture.new-zealand
Subject: NZ news to 25/9/92
From: cctr123@csc.canterbury.ac.nz (Alan Murray, CSC Operations, Uni of Canty)
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 21:49:20 GMT
Organization: University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

News for the week ended 25 September

Govt sticks to reform timetable
Calls by electoral reformers to fast-track proportional representation and 
insulate it from politicians have been rejected by the Government. Both the 
Electoral Reform Coalition and the Alliance MP for Sydenham, Mr Jim Anderton, 
have urged major amendments to the Government's constitutional change process 
in the wake of an 85 per cent vote for change in Saturday's referendum. The 
ERC has demanded that MMP be used in the 1993 General Election, not in 1996. 
Both it and Mr Anderton want the Bill defining MMP to be managed by an 
independent body, such as a reconstituted Royal Commission on the Electoral 
System. In addition, the National MP for Tauranga, Mr Winston Peters, has 
insisted that the select committee which considers legislation for the next, 
and binding, referendum, be balanced by adding MMP supporters.
The Minister of Justice, Mr Graham, made it clear last night, however, that 
the Government was sticking to the process and timetable originally announced. 
"They (the ERC) are getting a bit carried away, quite frankly," he said.
Underlying ERC calls is a deep suspicion of how a Parliament with a majority 
of members opposed to MMP can be trusted to fairly produce legislation 
defining MMP. The ERC wants an independent body to draft the detailed MMP 
proposal and hear submissions on it, returning it to Parliament with 
an overwhelming mandate for change.

Police back use of spikes in vehicle chases
The Police Association has given its backing to the use of road spikes and a 
"moving block" to stop vehicles in high-speed pursuits. Police national 
headquarters said last week that new tactics to deal with speeding motorists 
who refused to stop would include spikes and a tactic called a "moving block", 
which involved police cars shouldering offending vehicles off the road. The 
spikes, laid across the road to deflate the tyres of speeding motorists, will 
be introduced in the next few months after initial training.
A spokesman for the association, Senior Sergeant Trevor Marshall, said the 
association supported any move that stopped prolonged high-speed pursuits. 
"The longer they go on the greater the danger that someone will be killed." Mr 
Marshall said the new tactics would only be used as a last resort. 
However, public safety had to come first.
Some police officers are seeking a clarification on the liability of frontline 
police using the spikes if they result in a death. The spikes are a mat of 
detachable hollow points that are spread across the road. They have vertical 
grooves which allow air to rush in and out of the base, deflating the tyres in 
a controlled way, and avoiding a sudden blow-out. It takes 8 to 12 seconds for 
the tyre to deflate.

Taxpayer funding of parties mooted
The Prime Minister has pledged to act responsibly over electoral reform - even 
as he raised the spectre of taxpayer funding for political parties being part 
of an MMP option. At his post-Cabinet press conference he reaffirmed the 
Government's intention to proceed with a binding run-off referendum next year 
between MMP and the existing voting system. Legislation for this would be 
introduced on the basis of the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the 
Electoral System and be subject to possible revision at parliamentary select 
committee level, Mr Bolger said. "I want to say again that I will entertain no 
playing about or no sense of irresponsibility on a matter such as this."
Yet Mr Bolger also suggested that the State funding of political parties 
probably should be part of the MMP bill. He made it clear that he had not 
consulted his Cabinet colleagues over the issue. He rejected the suggestion 
that party political funding would be a way of putting people off MMP. The 
Royal Commission's report recommended that there should be State funding of 
parties.

Ngai Tahu gambles on Sealord settlement
The Ngai Tahu tribe is gambling its right to the lion's share of the Sealord 
Maori fisheries settlement in a bid to settle once and for all how assets won 
in the Treaty of Waitangi negotiations are carved up within Maoridom. Support 
for the fisheries settlement was pledged by leaders of the vast majority of 
iwi at a special hui at Parliament after three days of round-the-clock 
negotiations between Maori fisheries negotiators and Government Ministers. The 
Minister in charge of treaty negotiations, Mr Graham, said it was "as historic 
an agreement as any since 1840", when the Treaty was signed.
Under the settlement, the Government will pay Maoris $150 million over three 
years to buy half of the fishing company Sealords Products Ltd, and Maoris 
will gain automatic access to 20 per cent of future fishing quota. In return, 
all Maori commercial fishing claims against the Crown have been dropped and a 
new system for assuring non-commercial fishing rights agreed.
The Ngai Tahu Trust board chairman, Mr Tipene O'Regan, told the hui that Ngai 
Tahu had agreed to allow the question of carving up assets gained in treaty 
settlements to be negotiated again by all iwi. 
This was in spite of an agreement on July 25 at a commission hui in Wellington 
that assets should be divided up on a basis of traditional iwi sovereignty. 
Ngai Tahu would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Sealord deal in an 
iwi-based carve-up. That is because of the Waitangi Tribunal finding that the 
iwi should be compensated for the loss of its huge inshore fisheries with 
access to deep-sea fisheries off the South Island, where 70 per cent of the 
total commercial catch is taken.

BNZ hid big losses, says Peters
The Bank of New Zealand hid losses of $200 million in 1988 when it declared a 
$181.6 million profit, Mr Peters told Parliament. The Tauranga MP said a false 
set of accounts was presented to the Government, financial institutions, and 
taxpayers. A conspiracy existed between some BNZ directors and executives, its 
auditors and lawyers, and merchant bank Fay Richwhite to conceal the losses 
through the use of secret Cook Island companies. Mr Peters said the $200 
million in losses had remained hidden until he revealed its existence in 
Parliament. After his speech he tabled dozens of pages of documents relating 
to his allegations.
The 1988 year was the last result in which the BNZ declared a profit before 
huge consecutive losses required Government bail-outs. The papers tabled by Mr 
Peters show that in March 1988, European Pacific New Zealand Ltd, set up an 
insurance transaction for the BNZ to cover doubtful debts of up to $200 
million. Inquiries show European Pacific International was set up in 1987 by 
the BNZ, Fay Richwhite and Brierly Investments Ltd. Offices were established 
in Luxembourg and the Cook Islands, both tax havens.

Caucus showdown looms for MP
A political showdown for Mr Winston Peters has been called for next week, 
after 30 of the 64-member National Party caucus voted to expel the rebel MP. 
The Government caucus may hold a special meeting on Tuesday in an attempt to 
get a clear majority to oust Mr Peters. An alternative is for the ousting 
motion to be put at the usual Thursday meeting. This week's gathering voted 
30-15 to banish Mr Peters from any future National caucus meetings or 
responsibilities.

Iwi may protest against fish deal
A spokesman for a group of seven tribes, involving at least 25,000 people, 
said his iwi does not accept the Sealords Products deal negotiated with the 
Government and may defy the quota management system in protest. Maori tribal 
representatives on Wednesday night signed an agreement in Wellington which the 
Government hopes will end Maori commercial fishing claims under the Treaty of 
Waitangi.
However four tribes from Manawatu, Dannevirke, Wairarapa, and Marlborough, and 
affiliated tribes of Mua-Upoko (Horowhenua), Ngati Apa (Wanganui) and Ngati 
Apa Wai Pounama (South Island) have rejected the deal. Mr Michael Bradley, of 
Blenheim, said he spoke for fisheries matters for the tribes, who are 
affiliated under the Kurahaupo Waka Society, which represents at least 25,000 
people. 
He was consulting lawyers about possible legal action to thwart the deal and 
also consulting the Kurahaupo waka tribes to see how they wanted to proceed. 
Mr Bradley said he hoped the Kurahaupo waka could link with the Moriori and 
other tribes of the Chatham Islands to make submissions to a special hearing 
of the Waitangi Tribunal on the Sealord deal.

Bank denies accounts falsified to hide debts
The Bank of New Zealand has confirmed it insured against $200 million of bad 
debts in 1988 when it declared a $181.6 million profit, but denies its accounts
were falsified. The BNZ chairman, Mr Syd Pasley, said the policy referred to 
by Mr Peters had no impact on the 1988 financial result, apart from a small 
premium payment. He said the policy was an acceptable business transaction to 
give some protection against the possible flow-on effects of the 1987 share 
market crash.
"At the time, it was impossible to fully appreciate these impacts and hence 
additional provisioning in the 1988 year would have been appropriate," said Mr 
Pasley. He said claims of a conspiracy surrounding the BNZ's accounts were 
preposterous and Mr Peter's claims of falsified accounts "scurrilous". The 
bank was taking legal advice about whether Mr Peter's remarks were protected by 
parliamentary privilege.

Give small nations a voice - PM
The Prime Minister took New Zealand's case for a seat on the United Nations 
Security Council to the UN General Assembly in New York yesterday. Promoting 
New Zealand's bid for a United Nations Security Council seat, expected to be 
decided upon next month, Mr Bolger said: "The small must be represented in 
major UN decision-making as well as the large. To maintain its authority we 
must ensure that democratic principles are applied to the workings of the UN 
itself. It means that there must be fair and regular rotation among member 
states." He also called for an end to nuclear testing and an early solution of 
the GATT round.



Alan Murray
CSC Operations
University of Canterbury
a.murray@csc.canterbury.ac.nz