Benson-Pope
Today a police report was released into allegations of assault
against former school teacher and now Cabinet Minister, David
Benson Pope. Police say there was evidence that Benson-Pope
assaulted two teenagers and also looked at charging him with
kidnapping. But they didn't. The reasons for that final decision
have not been released and the legal arguments in the case are
still secret. Only the evidence accumulated by police was released
today. For the past week David Benson-Pope's staff have indicated
that he would appear on Close Up once the police report was
released. In fact his office was leaking edited, and favourable
details of the police report to the Sunday Herald, which published
them yesterday. But both Benson-Pope and the Prime Minister
declined to appear. Instead Act Leader Rodney Hide and National MP
Judith Collins, who have been the attack dogs in Parliament over
this issue, join Susan Wood live.
U2
Sell-out
It's been hard to avoid the
U2
story today. First there was the
excitement as people queued up, went online, and hit the phones.
All hoping to get some of the 38,000 tickets which went on sale
today for the March concert in Auckland. But in just 90-minutes,
all the tickets were sold, leaving thousands disappointed. The
first of many tickets popped up on Trade Me. Tickets bought only
minutes earlier for between $99 to $200 were suddenly going for up
to $1000 a ticket. A tirade of abuse followed from disgruntled fans
who missed out. Many felt greedy scalpers out to make a quick buck
were holding them to ransom. Close Up contacted U2's promoter,
Michael Coppell, who outlined what can happen to those buying from
scalpers.
Rescue Rift
It was a rescue surrounded by controversy. Earlier this year we
brought you the story of the yacht 'Shady Lady' and its
American Skipper Bill Kimball, who was rescued during a severe
storm south of Stewart Island. The Bluff fishing boat 'Sea
Emerald' answered the mayday call but afterwards fisherman
David Willams faced considerable criticism for claiming the yacht
as a salvage prize. Today the controversy was put to one side as
David Williams and crewman Jamie Fisher were awarded bravery medals
by the Governor General. The Royal Humane Society Award recognises
their skill and courage and that both placed their own lives at
risk in order to rescue someone in peril. John Sellwood looks into
the bitter row.
Kings of Kong
The hairiest leading man in history is thriving in his third
reincarnation on the big screen.
King
Kong
is in the can and it'll be here in just nine days
time. The classic beauty and the beast tale is Peter Jackson's
chance to prove he's got much more in him than a one-trick trilogy.
Tim Wilson talks to Peter Jackson and Jack Black on the eve of the
world premiere in New York.
