The Front Page podcast: Sentencing for man who injured High Court judge, Kiwis' unique pot strains sought

James Lawrence Beaumont Gilliland, 29, in the dock during his sentencing at the Auckland District Court, after he pushed High Court judge Mary Peters in a road rage incident. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Each weekday The Front Page keeps you up to date with the biggest news in New Zealand. Today, a man's been sentenced for pushing and injuring a High Court judge, another mass pilot whale stranding on NZ shores, and the medicinal cannabis company calling for pot growers to bring in their unique strains.

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The man who pushed a High Court judge over in a fit of road rage has been sentenced to community work.

James Lawrence Beaumont Gilliland was charged with injuring Justice Mary Peters "with reckless disregard for the safety of others" following an altercation in Auckland's Ponsonby in May.

It resulted in Justice Peters breaking her wrist in four places.

She sits in the High Court at Auckland.

Gilliland, a 29-year-old computer programmer, initially pleaded not guilty to the charge.

He then admitted the crime and sought a discharge without conviction.

That application was rejected and he appeared in the Auckland District Court for sentencing this morning.

For more on this story, click here

The man who broke Wellington's Water Whirler sculpture believed the stunt would be a crowd pleaser.

That's what Wellington District Court heard today, after Hunter Macdonald pleaded guilty to one charge of wilful damage.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Gary Hilsdon said Macdonald was on the waterfront near Frank Kitts Park on October 8, when he began doing "gymnastic-type movements" on the $300,000 sculpture.

He climbed the pole until it bent over, suspending him above the water, and then snapped, sending him plunging into the harbour.

In explanation to police, Macdonald said he was trying to climb out to the end of the pole and intended to climb back again, believing it would look impressive to the crowd.

Macdonald will be sentenced in March.

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There's been another mass whale stranding on New Zealand waters.

52 pilot whales have died, after the stranding at the Chatham Islands.

The Department of Conservation says more than 90 pilot whales were found stranded last night.

This morning, staff found about 40 had refloated themselves and returned to sea and 51 had died.

DOC euthanised the final whale, because of its poor condition.

This is the second large stranding of pilot whales this week.

On Rakiura/Stewart Island on Monday, there was a mass stranding of 145 pilot whales.

None survived.

Ten pygmy killer whales also stranded on Ninety Mile Beach in Northland on Sunday.

For more on this story, click here

The mountaineer killed in an avalanche near Mt Cook yesterday was an off-duty Australian senior police officer.

Police this afternoon revealed it was 40-year-old was Nathan Deutschbein.

An Australian police spokesman confirmed to the Herald he was a leading senior constable in the Blue Mountains Area Command, New South Wales.

The accident occurred around 1.30pm yesterday when the off-duty officer and a fellow mountaineer were descending the Eugenie Glacier, just below the Footstool mountain peak.

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There was relief after a six-year-old boy missing in South Auckland for more than 15 hours, was found safe and well.

It turns out Walter Everitt was spending the night at a mate's place.

Hundreds of people including family members, his school and the wider community joined to search for the boy, who had gone missing from his mother's home in Weymouth in Manukau City.

His aunt Meri Everitt told the Herald, a lady saw the Facebook posts and alerted the police that he had stayed at her house without her knowing.

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Government departments spending more than the Treasury had forecast, has led to an expected surplus turning into a $300 million deficit.

But this was flagged by Finance Minister Grant Robertson last month, when he warned the surplus figure was likely to fluctuate.

The latest set of Crown accounts show the deficit was largely due to core Crown spending being higher than expected in the four months to October 31.

At $28.3b, overall Government spending was 1.2 per cent over budget.

The Treasury says that's because some Government departments spent more than had been expected over that period.

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It's about the get cheaper for some of us to go to the doctors.

From tomorrow, free doctors' visits will extend to every child under 14, and the cost will drop by $20-$30, for up to 540,000 Community Services Card holders.

In this year's budget, the Government announced it would spend $363m on making doctor's visits cheaper for cardholders, as well as extending the eligibility for the CSC.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says some people don't go to the doctor when they need it.

For more on this story, click here

A midwives' union has cancelled eight strikes for two Bay of Plenty hospitals following an Employment Relations Authority ruling yesterday.

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board took the union to the authority following a dispute over staffing levels during strike at Tauranga and Whakatāne hospitals.

The health board alleged understaffing had created an unsafe situation during a strike at Whakatāne Hospital on Saturday.

The authority found the union had to stick to the agreements it made with the health board for the level of staffing it would provide during the strikes to ensure that "life preserving services" could be provided to mothers and babies.

The union had argued the agreements called for staffing beyond what was normally required on a shift.

Two-hour strikes planned for Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday at both hospitals have been called off.

For more on this story, click here

Another health group planning to strike is Family Planning.

About 100 staff, including nurses and receptionists around the country are to strike over "equitable pay".

The New Zealand Nurses Organisation says their members voted for a 24-hour strike to take place on December 13th, after a breakdown in their collective agreement negotiation with the Family Planning Association.

The FPA provides clinical services and education in 33 clinics, 32 school-linked clinics and outreach centres across New Zealand.

The parties had been in negotiations since March this year, and had mediation in August.

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The deadlock between the Ministry of Justice and its striking staff has been broken after a day of court-ordered negotiations.

The Public Service Association and the ministry met yesterday for mediation after being ordered back to the table by the Employment Court.

PSA national secretary Glenn Barclay said in a statement today the talks had broken a deadlock in the industrial bargaining.

Industrial action had been planned from 1.30pm today until December 7, which has now been suspended.

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A therapeutics company is asking pot growers to bring in their unique strains, ahead of the medicinal cannabis law passing.

The Government announced that licensed producers will be allowed to onboard illicit cannabis strains already being grown in the country.

Helius Therapeutics is calling on New Zealanders secretly growing their own strains to come out of the shadows.

Executive director Paul Manning says this amnesty programme provides access to a potential treasure trove of therapeutic compounds, which rivals the best in the world.

He says with unique New Zealand strains, they will now have the opportunity to further differentiate theirs from imported products.

But he says it's likely licenses will only be given out in a short amnesty period, to avoid imported varieties being thrown in the mix.

For more on this story, click here

We need more tech workers in New Zealand.

According to the annual Robert Walters salary review, the talent pool for technology isn't getting any bigger.

And a shortage of talent may start a bidding war.

Shay Peters, Robert Walters New Zealand Director, says we're still learning what tech jobs are out there.

For more on this story, click here

The Christmas countdown is on, and a much-loved Wellington cat has earned itself a spot on the city's official Advent calendar.

Mittens is known to wander the streets of Wellington and into shops, restaurants and people's home.

This week he was even spotted night clubbing at Calendar Girls.

The curious cat is joined on the calendar by Wellington's whale, double decker buses and the Cuba St Rainbow crossing.

Wellington's regional economic development agency says it's a chance for people to look back on the city's most memorable moments of the year.

The calendar launches tomorrow.

For more on this story, tune in to Newstalk ZB

That's the Front Page for today, Friday November 30, 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.