The Front Page podcast: No charges over fatal ski bus crash, Mary Poppins Santa challenges stereotypes

Emergency services at the scene of the fatal bus crash near the Tūroa skifield. Photo / Fenella Murphy

Each weekday The Front Page keeps you up to date with the biggest news in New Zealand. Today, police say no criminal charges will be laid over a fatal Ruapehu ski bus crash, MPs travel expenses revealed, reaction to the Huawei decision, and the new Mary Poppins Santa statue challenging gender stereotypes.

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No criminal charges will be laid in relation to a Mt Ruapehu bus crash that killed a West Auckland schoolgirl.

Police have completed their investigation into the crash near the Turoa Skifield in July that killed 11-year-old Hannah Francis.

Eighteen others were injured, including the driver.

Police say as a result of their investigation no criminal charges will be laid and they're preparing for a coronial hearing.

Detective Inspector Ross McKay, crime manager for the central district CIB, says Police will continue to provide support for other agencies in their ongoing investigations

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A decision to bar Huawei from contributing to Spark's 5G network could end up costing consumers.

Spark's been notified by the GCSB it can't use the Chinese company's equipment to build its 5G network, because the hardware would raise a significant security risk.

Telecommunication Users Association spokesperson Craig Young says the company now has to find another way to finish its network.

He says if Spark's alternative solution costs more, there's one group it'll almost certainly fall on - the customers.

Winston Peters has dismissed concerns expressed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry over the move.

The Foreign Minister says China may be getting ahead of itself.

Huawei said in a statement, that it is a private company and is not controlled by Beijing.

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It seems Simon Bridges has reined in his use of Crown limos.

MPs' travel and accommodation latest expenses have been released this morning, covering July to September.

They show the National leader's spending on VIP transport is down by nearly half.

Overall, Bridges' expenses came to $75,316 for the September quarter.

At the other end of the spectrum was Associate Transport Minister and Green MP Julie Anne Genter, who spent $250 topping up her public transport AT Hop Card.

Her expenses of $10,480 were the lowest of any minister, although she spent part of the quarter on parental leave.

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Auckland's Mayor wants to pump an extra $5m into the Auckland City Mission's new home.

Its new building on Hobson St, to be called HomeGround, will contain accommodation, health services and community facilities.

Demolition of the old City Mission buildings has already begun.

The Auckland Mayor made the announcement as part of his Annual Budget proposal and is the only new item proposed.

Goff says there's been a massive growth of homelessness on the city's streets.

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The Bay of Plenty District Health Board has laid a complaint against midwives for failing to provide "life preserving services".

The DHB claims their two-hour strike last weekend at Whakatane maternity unit created a "highly dangerous situation".

A spokesman for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment says the authority's received an application from the DHB.

Last week midwives in the union began a series of two-hour work stoppages affecting Tauranga and Whakatāne hospitals in the Bay of Plenty.

The midwives' union co-leader Caroline Conroy says the DHB has completely missed the purpose of the strikes, which was to highlight the poor staffing levels.

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Stewart Murray Wilson, the man dubbed the Beast of Blenheim, has been jailed again for historic rapes.

Wilson was found guilty last month of historic rapes, from the 1970s and 80s, of a woman and a then 9-year-old girl, and of attempting to rape a third woman.

He was found not guilty of raping a fourth woman, the mother of the young girl.

The 71-year-old has today been sentenced to two years and four months' imprisonment .

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Rotorua man Richard Te Kani has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars for his role in the deaths of Raymond and James Fleet.

The 30-year-old earlier pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the uncle and nephew at Mamaku in August last year.

The two men were brutally killed after members of the Mangu Kaha gang claimed some of the meth Raymond Fleet had been manufacturing for them had gone missing.

James Fleet played no role in the manufacturing process, but was killed because he witnessed his uncle's murder.

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The Government is hoping to lure big overseas spenders to the West Coast.

Another large payment from the Provincial Growth Fund has been announced, with the West Coast set to receive around $140ms.

Of that, $40m is being injected into the TranzAlpine scenic train.

The TranzAlpine brings in about 82,000 to Greymouth each year and supports 400 local jobs.

It's projected to jump to over 120,000 tourists and create 290 more jobs.

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There's a plan to build nearly a thousand new homes in the town of Kingston near Queenstown.

Kingston Village Limited is proposing to build 950 homes, visitor accommodation and possibly a school on 88ha of land.

A resource application has been lodged for stage one of the development, which would see building across 21ha.

The sleepy town, at the southern end of Lake Wakatipu, currently has about 290 homes.

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

More changes are afoot at broadcaster MediaWorks.

It's revealed plans to merge with Australian-owned outdoor advertising company QMS in New Zealand.

QMS says it's signed a heads of agreement for the proposed merger which is subject to final binding terms and conditions.

The deal would create a new entity offering radio, television, digital and out-of-home advertising in New Zealand.

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Scientists are certain they've found the former location of New Zealand's long-lost Pink and White Terraces.

The terraces, at Lake Rotomahana near Rotorua, were sometimes called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" and attracted tourists from across the globe.

They were destroyed in the devastating 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption, and the lost icon has since been the focus of a series of major studies aimed at its rediscovery.

Scientist Dr Andrew Lorrey says they've used light pulse technology and the geologist's diary to pinpoint the former location.

The terraces formed over thousands of years as silica-rich water emerging from springs and boiling geysers crystallised into giant tiered staircases.

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A new Santa installation in Auckland is challenging all the stereotypes of St Nick.

The Ponsonby Central Santa statue is dressed in fishnet stockings, holding a bag and umbrella.

The team at Ponsonby Central and Blunt umbrellas created the Mary Poppins-themed statue in a tongue-in-cheek response to Simon Bridges' claim that, "Just as Mary Poppins is a woman, Santa Claus is a man."

The creators say the new "Mary Poppins Santa" is set to put a fresh perspective on the gender diversity conversation.

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That's the Front Page for today, Thursday November 29, 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 Juliette Sivertsen on Twitter.