Each weekday The Front Page keeps you up to date with the biggest news in New Zealand. Today it's string of deaths on the roads, now including murder, New Zealand stepping up to the plate as world tensions escalate, and a totally new approach to obesity research. Hosted by Frances
The Front Page podcast: String of road deaths now includes murder
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Getty.
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The victim, a 32-year-old Whakatāne man, was hit by a car Monday last week, and died in hospital last Thursday.
The driver of the car appeared in Whakatāne District Court on Friday and has been remanded in custody.
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The charges come after a horror weekend on New Zealand roads, which has left at least six people dead in eight major crashes, and several others fighting for their lives.
It has bumped the year's current road toll above last year's, and road safety experts say New Zealand may be on track to have its worst year in over a decade.
The latest Ministry of Transport figures for road deaths for the year to Friday is 325, about the same as this time last year, but the string of accidents over the weekend is sure to take it much higher.
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AA road safety spokesman Dylan Thomsen says in the early years of this decade New Zealand saw a substantial improvement in road safety, reaching a low point in 2013 when 253 died.
Since then he says the country had been on a "steady climb" back up.
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A meeting of world leaders in Papua New Guinea has highlighted divisions between global powers the US and China.
The 21 nations at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Port Moresby struggled to bridge differences on issues such as trade protectionism, resulting in the unprecedented situation of the countries being unable to agree on a final communique.
US Vice President Mike Pence and China's President Xi Jinping traded barbs in speeches on Saturday. Pence accused China of intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers and unfair trading practices.
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Auckland University trade expert Robert Scollay says he's surprised by the level of posturing.
He says Apec members, including New Zealand, are in a difficult position.
NZ Herald political editor Audrey Young has written an interesting piece of analysis about how our leaders are dealing with the rising world tensions.
She says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Winston Peters have tried to characterise themselves as the honest partners in the middle who care nothing for the fighting elephants.
She says they're aiming for the classic "honest broker role" that has been the hallmark of Kiwi diplomacy.
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Police have busted an organised Asian crime syndicate in Auckland - seizing more than a kilogram of methamphetamine, firearms and $100,000 in cash.
Four people have been arrested and charged in relation to the case, which has been part of an ongoing investigation since two large-scale meth labs were discovered in Auckland in January.
Despite the arrests, police said the man at the head of the syndicate managed to evade capture.
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Family members of victims who died in the 2011 CTV Building collapse have accused New Zealand's professional engineering body of "the worst example of double standards" ... after punishing one of the building's designers while dropping disciplinary action against his boss.
A judicial hearing at the High Court in Wellington began this morning to determine if Engineering New Zealand, formerly the Institution of Professional Engineers (Ipenz), should have pursued proceedings against Dr Alan Reay.
His company was responsible for designing the six-storey Christchurch office block that collapsed in the 2011 earthquake that killed 115 people.
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A Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Canterbury earthquakes criticised Reay for giving his inexperienced structural engineer David Harding "sole responsibility" for the building's mid-1980s design.
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The Government's unveiled new plans for early learning.
Education Minister Chris Hipkins launched the draft strategic plan in Lower Hutt today.
Hipkins says early childhood teachers are some of the worst paid in the system.
Consultation on the proposal is open until March 15.
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Partial strike action from Waikato bus drivers has turned into a full-blown lockout from their bosses.
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The company opted to lock drivers out after receiving notice of partial strike action which would see 120 drivers refuse payment from passengers.
Go Bus claims it's a health and safety issue and it puts all other drivers at risk of verbal and physical assault if passengers think they're going to get a free ride and don't.
First Union's Jarrod Abbott says it's a joke.
The lengthy, and now bitter, pay dispute comes after drivers pushed a claim for the living wage currently set at $20.55 per hour.
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Court staff also walked off the job around New Zealand at midday today.
PSA members from 21 towns and cities held lightning strikes around the country.
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A judge has ordered the Ministry of Justice back to the negotiating table with striking workers.
Negotiations between the Ministry and the PSA are expected to take place tomorrow or Wednesday.
For more on this story tune in to Newstalk ZB
Just as many of us were preparing to crack out the jandals, snow is falling as a late wintry blast hits the lower South Island.
It comes as the MetService confirms heavy snow is likely to fall in inland Southland, Central Otago and inland Clutha for the next two days.
The wild weather kicked off yesterday afternoon with a massive tornado that twisted through parts of Ashburton.
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The family of a teenager swept off rocks at Papanui Point are devastated but rallying together as the search for him enters its third day.
Jack Macnicol was fishing with three others along the coast from Raglan on Saturday afternoon.
The seventeen-year-old was standing on the rocks when a large wave swept him away.
The group he was fishing with, including at least one family member, rushed to help him but he had already disappeared when they returned with a floatation device.
A family spokesman told the Herald the family was "absolutely devastated" and his parents just wanted to get Jack back.
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Spark wants to launch a 5G mobile network by July 2020.
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Managing director Simon Moutter says mobile data traffic is roughly doubling every 12 months, so 5G is needed just to stop the network getting congested.
The announcement has come with a bit of pressure on the Government.
Moutter says for Spark to hit its July 2020 deadline, the Government has to auction spectrum early to mid next year.
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There are calls for Auckland's Pride Parade next year to be postponed or cancelled entirely over the decision to bar uniformed police.
A hui was held over the weekend to discuss the contentious decision ... which has driven a wedge between members of the community.
Attendee Michael Stevens says around 200 people were there, and by a show of hands the majority disagreed with the decision.
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The Board of Auckland Pride has had a no-confidence motion presented to it over the controversy.
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One of the youngest defendants ever to be charged with murder in New Zealand stood trial in Napier today.
Haami Hanara was 14 years old at the time of the death of Kelly Donner in Flaxmere earlier this year.
He's pleaded not guilty to one charge of murder, and one of burglary.
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The crown has alleged that the death of Donner "kicked off over nothing".
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Prosecutor Steve Manning told the jury in his opening remarks that the alleged stabbing was reckless, with Donner bleeding to death after being stabbed in the neck.
The Crown case is that Hanara, along with four other youths were planning to break into the Flax Tavern in Flaxmere to get alcohol. It's alleged they had a wrench, a bag, and balaclavas to cover their identity.
Manning says Hanara and his friends entered the yard, where Donner already was, looking for cigarette butts.
He says the group asked to borrow Donner's torch, and that at some point Donner wanted it back. When he didn't get it, he became angry.
The Crown says the group then attacked Donner.
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A Kiwi teen who has been inspiring people around the world fighting for women's and survivors' rights has lost her battle with cancer.
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Eighteen-year-old Eva McGauley, was diagnosed with a rare type of head and neck cancer, three years ago.
While undergoing treatment she continued to fight for a better world, raising money for a sexual abuse assistance programme, and setting up the charity Eva's Wish, with the aim of stopping sexual violence and supporting survivors.
Her work raised more than $70,000.
McGauley died on Sunday morning, surrounded by her loved ones.
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New Zealand scientists have revealed a link between obesity and scent, finding that the better a person can smell, the more likely they are to be slim.
Lead-author of the study, Dr Mei Peng from the University of Otago, says the link between smell and people's body shape was previously a relatively unknown area of scientific study and knowledge.
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Of the five senses, Peng considers smell to be the least understood, but at the same time noted it was perhaps the most important sense for influencing eating behaviour through detecting and discriminating between different flavours.
She says obese people have a higher chance of making poor food choices because they need other forms of stimulation to enjoy food.
The study, conducted this year, drew on data of 1432 individuals from empirical and clinical worldwide studies.
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That's the Front Page for today, Monday November 19, 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.
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