The Front Page podcast: Grace Millane murder accused fights to keep identity secret

Each weekday The Front Page keeps you up to date with the biggest news in New Zealand. Today it's the first court appearance for the man accused of murdering British backpacker Grace Millane, the plan for candlelight vigils around New Zealand in her memory, one in five New Zealand children don't have enough food, and the mysterious appearance of thousands of dollars on the West Coast. Hosted by Frances Cook.

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A judge has addressed the grieving family of slain British backpacker Grace Millane, saying "your grief must be desperate".

A body was discovered in the Waitakere Ranges yesterday, and is believed to be Grace Millane.

A 26-year-old man is charged with her murder. He appeared in Auckland District Court this morning, wearing a blue boiler suit.

The Millane family was in court for this appearance.

Judge Evangelos Thomas started the hearing by addressing the family, saying everyone hoped justice would be fair, swift, and bring them peace.

He warned them that couldn't happen today, as it was a hearing to determine procedural issues.

More than a dozen members of the press were also in court for the hearing, including several journalists from British television news stations and newspapers.

The accused man applied for name suppression, which was denied.

His lawyer then appealed the ruling, meaning his identity will be suppressed for a further 20 working days, until that appeal can be dealt with.

The 26-year-old has been remanded in custody, to reappear on January 23.

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Police are appealing for sightings of a red 2016 Toyota Corolla hatchback last Monday morning, that's December 3, in West Auckland.

They want to hear from anyone who saw it between 6am and 9.30 am that day, on 0800 676 255.

Kiwis and travellers alike have hit social media saddened and now angry that Grace Millane's life was suddenly taken while on a night out in Auckland last weekend.

Many women on social media have expressed anger and frustration at her death, saying they should be safe when enjoying a night out.

Some have pointed out it's natural to meet people while travelling, as it's how you get to know a place, and make friends.

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Vigils are being planned to remember Grace Millane in both Auckland and Wellington.

Auckland Council manager of events David Burt confirmed the council had been notified of two vigils this week.

One is a candlelight vigil, at 7.30pm on Wednesday, December 12 on Federal St, and another at 12pm on Saturday, December 15 on Queen St.

An organiser of one of the Auckland vigils said planning for the event was under way and more details would be shared in the coming days.

A vigil for Millane is also planned in Wellington's Civic Square on December 12, from 5.30pm.

The Wellington event says it is to express grief at the murder of Grace Millane, and send her family a message of love in this unbearable time.

Flowers have been left at the roadside cordon in the Waitakere ranges where Grace's body was found.

A spokesperson for Lucie Blackman Trust, which is supporting the Millane family, says they are amazed at the outpouring of condolences from New Zealand.

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Police have warned they still have months of hard work ahead of them in their pursuit of justice for the slain tourist.

The team investigating Millane's murder is now tasked with building a case against her alleged killer in a bid to secure a conviction.

If he pleads not guilty, the matter will go to trial in the High Court at Auckland, and police need to ensure they have gathered as much evidence as possible to convince a jury the man is guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

Detective Inspector Scott Beard says he can't comment now the case is before the courts.

He previously said the investigation centred around forensic evidence gathered from the hotel room Millane went to with the accused.

A car linked to the alleged murder was also a key focus.

Police Association president Chris Cahill, also a detective inspector who spent many years running investigations in Auckland city, says making an arrest in a murder case is only "half the challenge".

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One in five Kiwi kids live without access to food, according to the latest Child Poverty Monitor report released today.

Children's Commissioner Andrew Becroft says child poverty statistics aren't changing, and children are continuing to grow up deprived.

His latest report has also found many beneficiaries are spending half their income on rent alone.

Becroft says it's clear there has been little change to deprivation levels in the past two years.

About 80-thousand children are currently experiencing material hardship in New Zealand.

Charity KidsCan is feeling the full force of child poverty.

CEO Julie Chapman says the Child Poverty Monitor report echoes KidsCan's own data.

This year, KidsCan has distributed a record 5.27 million food items - up 15 per cent on last year.

And the Auckland City Mission says they - and other similar organisations around the country - are experiencing unprecedented demand.

Missioner Chris Farrelly says that's forced some changes to this year's operation for them.

He says from today, they will begin distributing emergency Christmas food parcels and presents.

But instead of doing that from Hobson St, they will be operating out of Eden Park, the Ngā Whare Waatea Marae in Mangere and Papakura Marae.

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The Herald understands KiwiBuild boss Stephen Barclay is in an employment dispute with the Government department overseeing the massive house construction scheme.

Amidst growing calls for Housing Minister Phil Twyford to say why the head of KiwiBuild has not been performing his duties since early last month, the new Ministry of Housing and Urban Development this afternoon issued a brief statement saying that Barclay had not resigned.

But that did not explain any background to what was happening.

Now according to a source close to the situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Barclay and the Ministry are in an employment dispute.

The Herald understands issues revolve around the transfer of KiwiBuild from the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment to the new Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, headed by Andrew Crisp.

The source said Barclay was still officially employed yet had not been working in any way in his role for around one-and-a-half months.

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Mediation is under way to try avert a strike that would disrupt Christmas flights for 40,000 Kiwis.

A thousand unionised Air New Zealand engineers and support staff have issued a strike notice for the busiest flying day of the year, December 21.

They're not happy with a pay offer from the company.

Air New Zealand's GM of maintenance, Viv de Beus says the parties had only just started negotiating - so it's disappointing they've opted for this.

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About 115,000 Kiwis will be stung with a tax bill for the first time next year and experts are warning there could be teething issues even for those who get refunds.

The Inland Revenue is undertaking a major overhaul of the way it collects information from employers from April and will use it to issue automatic tax assessments.

While 1.67 million people are expected to get a refund a further 263,000 will get a bill - of which 115,000 will receive a tax bill for the first time.

The change has also hit the tax refund industry with some businesses set to shut up shop and lay-off staff while others switch their business to other focuses.

Terry Baucher, a tax consultant, said he was in favour of the changes but had questions over how well IRD would handle it.

He pointed to headaches earlier this year when the department switched to a new way of handling GST payments.

Baucher says some of the underpayments of tax will relate to people being on the wrong tax code.

People who worked more than one job but do not use an S or secondary tax code for their second or third jobs were at risk of underpaying.

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More than half of Kiwis believe they need to save more for retirement, but aren't sure how much.

Research by KiwiSaver provider ASB bank found 62 per cent of people surveyed said they needed to save more for their golden years while another 18 per cent were unsure.

But exactly how much they would need per year in retirement ranged wildly.

One in five people believed they would need less than $30,000 per year while 31 per cent believed it would be between $30,000 and $50,000.

The survey suggests 60 per cent of us want Kiwisaver to be compulsory.

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A New Zealander says she can't get treatment for her disease, after doctors accused her of faking her symptoms.

Stephanie Aston was a 25-year-old flatting in Mt Albert, Auckland, when the effects of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or EDS, began to take hold in 2015.

She suffered severe migraines, joint dislocations, easy bruising, abdominal pain, multiple injuries, iron deficiency, fainting and tachycardia.

At one of her frequent referrals to Auckland Hospital for severe anaemia, gastrointestinal and heart problems, skin allergies and low potassium, Aston encountered Dr Chris Kenedi.

She says she had never met him before, but he entered her room, telling her she was not seriously unwell, and indicated that she was causing her illness.

Aston says he hadn't evaluated her in persona, or ordered a psych consultation.

In a complaint to the Health and Disability Commissioner in November 2016, Aston said she strongly disagreed she was causing her own symptoms, and believed that diagnosis continued to have a detrimental effect on the care she received and the way she was treated.

Aston has family members with diagnosed EDS. She herself has now been diagnosed with EDS by two New Zealand geneticists.

But Aston says Auckland DHB has taken no notice of the new diagnoses.

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Thousands of dollars of cash was left under windscreen wipers and at tent doors at a West Coast camp ground, and it's a mystery who did it.

Close to seven thousand dollars was doled out between midnight and 2 am Saturday around the Gentle Annie Seaside Accommodation and Camping Ground near Westport.

Owner Jesse Paley-Atkins says everyone's pinching themselves to see if it was real.

The money's been handed in to police - but will be returned if it was intended as a gift, and doesn't legally belong to someone else.

For more on this story, tune in to Newstalk ZB.

That's the Front Page for today, Monday December 10, making sure you're across the biggest news of the day. For more on these stories, check out The New Zealand Herald, or tune in to Newstalk ZB.

You can subscribe to this podcast on Apple podcasts here, iHeartRadio here, and Stitcher here.

If you like to stay up to date on social media, you can find host Frances Cook on Facebook here, Instagram here and Twitter here.