Government wants to give employers power to keep unions out of workplaces; $100 million a year in ACC payouts for people injured by health professionals; world's first robotic legs made in New Zealand.
NZ Herald
Motorists have been stung with $4.2 million in fines in one year for using bus lanes in Auckland City even though they have no indication when they can enter lanes to turn left.
The Government is planning to allow all companies to have 90-day trials for new workers and wants to give employers the power to keep unions out of the workplace. Unions say that's outrageous and attacks workers rights.
Dominion Post
Inspired by Hollywood sci-fi and made in New Zealand, the world's first robotic legs may have already secured interest from the United States military.
The controversial 2025 Task Force, which recommended slashing government spending, blew its entire three-year budget for chairman Don Brash's meeting fees in just one year. The task force came in under budget, however, because it spent less than anticipated on outside experts.
The Press
ACC payouts for people injured by health professionals have skyrocketed since 2005 and now cost $100 million a year. The figures come as the Health and Disability Commissioner looks into the case of a Christchurch woman who died after a hospital doctor punctured her lung with a feeding tube.
A $6000 electronic voting system for councillors, which has never been used, will be left behind when the Christchurch City Council moves into its new building this year.
Otago Daily Times
Dunedin councillors are divided over credit card spending by staff and the finger-pointing has begun, the paper says. Dunedin's chief executive Jim Harland was told nearly two years ago staff were holding too many meetings in cafes.
Former Silver Ferns shooter Jodi Brown has decided to put family first and make herself unavailable for the national side this year - a decision, she says, that involved a lot of heartache.
