8 Dec 2010

Wednesday's newspaper headlines

10:46 am on 8 December 2010

ACC says no to crash injury claim; Serepisos says he's paying off debts; passengers' pleas to stop fleeing police ignored.

NZ Herald

A woman whose car was spun across three lanes of an Auckland motorway has been refused compensation for a back injury, on the grounds that her spinal condition is actually degenerative. Her doctor says the 48-year-old is the victim of a hardline policy by ACC, which he claims is trying to say everyone over the age of 40 has degeneration.

Dominion Post

The family of John "Jack" Howard talk about the 23-year-old, who was killed in Afghanistan over the weekend. Private Howard died from his wounds on Sunday after apparently being hit by friendly fire during a strafing run by a US jet.

Property developer Terry Serepisos says he is close to completing a company restructuring plan which will resolve all his financial issues.

Prime Minister John Key has repeated his promise not to tinker with pensions if National wins a second term, rejecting the Retirement Commission's call for the Government to gradually increase the pension age to 67.

The Press

An inquest has heard that a driver ignored passengers' pleas to stop before hitting a power pole while fleeing police in July. Three people, including the driver, died in the crash.

The parents of a 36-year-old man who died despite being held in the Hillmorton Hospital secure unit are liable to pay costs of more than $11,000 to the Canterbury District Health Board after a civil case they took against it was dismissed.

The September earthquake appears to have triggered an increase in Christchurch house prices. After falling for several months before the quake, prices "immediately jumped" as buyers sought undamaged homes.

Otago Daily Times

The paper interviews the man who was probably the last person to see two French kayakers alive. The pair were found dead and floating on their backs, near Hidden Island on Lake Wakatipu in the early hours of Tuesday morning.