Intervening in the Dollar
Today Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard intervened in the
international currency markets to attempt to force down the value
of the Kiwi dollar. Mark Sainsbury spoke to economist Gareth
Morgan and Westpac Chief Economist Brendan O'Donovan about what the
intervention - the first in 22 years - means to New Zealanders.
The Real Cost of P
How much are P addicts costing New Zealanders everyday? Well, it's
a staggering amount. Just one person getting hooked on P, or meth,
can end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical
bills, use of emergency services, and theft. Then there's the
impact on employers. A recent study shows more than 60% of users
are employed, putting themselves and their colleagues at risk. And
it's not a problem that's going away. New Zealand has one of the
highest addiction rates to P in the world. Gill
Higgins spoke to a former user about the cost to him, and to
medical and emergency professionals about the other costs. Then
Mark Sainsbury spoke to former police detective Mike Sabin who now
specialises in how to deal with P users.
Information about P
Mike Sabin has information on his website about P,
click
HERE
For police information about P click
HERE
Melting Pot or Not?
The title read Asian Angst: Is It Time To Send Some Back? That
story in North and South magazine written by former Act MP Deborah
Coddington painted a picture of a rising tide of crime committed by
Asian immigrants but has ended with the
New Zealand Press Council
finding against the magazine on the grounds of discrimination. The
council called the language emotionally loaded, with a gratuitous
emphasis on dehumanising racial stereotypes, and fearmongering. But
is that article an isolated case? With New Zealand's Asian
population increasing and set to continue doing so, are Asians,
both immigrants and their Kiwi-born descendents, getting a fair go?
Damian Christie finds out.
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