Watch: All Blacks red card, wild winds and cannabis for debt

Don’t have time to read the headlines? Watch the Focus Morning Bulletin presented by Chereè Kinnear above.

RED CARD DECISION

All Blacks prop Ethan de Groot could miss a large chunk of the World Cup campaign for his dangerous contact charge at the weekend.

De Groot will front the Judicial panel in Paris overnight - seeking to explain it was shoulder-to-shoulder contact and not shoulder-to-head on Namibia’s Adrian Booysen.

Forwards coach Jason Ryan says they believe in the case they’ve prepared but are also preparing for bad news.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks depart Toulouse today and head to Bordeaux for their bye week in preparation for facing Italy next Saturday morning.

All Black Ethan de Groot leaves the field after a yellow card. Photo / Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz

WINDS WREAK HAVOC

Damaging severe winds of up to 240km/h have wreaked havoc and disrupted travel in the lower North Island.

Wellington and Palmerston North airports were forced to suspend all flights last night, while several local roads around the greater Wellington area were blocked by felled trees and debris.

Up to 7000 homes were left without power at the height of the gale-force winds.

CANNABIS FOR DEBT

Vietnamese migrants paying big money to come to New Zealand are being forced to cultivate cannabis to pay off their debt.

Immigration New Zealand told ethnic community leaders it was aware of the situation, at a police-led meeting in Auckland on Tuesday night.

Investigations manager Carl Knight says much of the money the migrants pay to agents for visas is borrowed - and they become vulnerable.

He says they’ll do anything to pay the debt, and the community offers them the opportunity to make big money with illegal work.

CORONER’S REPORT: TRIBESMAN DEATH

A Coroner has found a Tribesmen gang member was riding with a swarm of motorcyclists before he was catapulted into an oncoming motorist’s car.

Merc Maumasi-Rihari died instantly following the collision in North Canterbury’s Great Valley in November 2020.

Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame says MDMA and a synthetic cathinone found in the 21-year-old’s blood was considered a potential contributor to the crash.

His mother, Angela Maumasi-Rihari, told our newsroom she hates her son being labelled as a gang member and describes him as a loving, caring young man who had so much potential.

Merc Maumasi-Rihari, 21, was killed in a head-on collision while riding his motorcycle as part of a Tribesmen gang run in Canterbury in November 2020. Photo / Supplied

ACT DEFENDS CUTS

Act leader David Seymour has defended his policies around cutting back on “wasteful spending”.

If elected, the party would shrink the Public Service back to its 2017 headcount.

Speaking to media from his campaign launch over the weekend, Seymour was asked what would happen to those who would lose their jobs.

He says 3000 people change jobs every day.

He says if a job isn’t efficient and is sucking up money, everyone is worse off.