24 Apr 2013

Morning Report: local papers

7:05 am on 24 April 2013

Wednesday's headlines: machete and a mallet seized from dairy owners in Dunedin; more than a third of the population of Waikato is obese; woman had no idea her ex-partner was a killer until after her daughter was dead.

NZ Herald

The New Zealand Herald leads with details from an Australian inquest into the death of former Wellington Rugby player Marc Verhoeven.

Mr Voerhoeven died from a stroke at St Vincent hospital in Sydney in 2011 following shoulder surgery.

The paper says the operation was performed in a semi-upright position, a procedure which increases the risk of impairing blood flow to the brain. It says the surgery position is widely used in New Zealand.

Waikato Times

The Waikato Times says public health figures for the region show more than a third of the population is obese. The paper says at 34%, it is the second highest rate in the country. Diabetes NZ Waikato president Murray Dear says financial incentives might be a way to reduce obesity, and in turn save money.

And the paper says the developer behind Starplus Homes set up a new company just a month before abandoning 100 building sites, and placing the company into liquidation.

Dominion Post

The Dominion Post leads with more on John Key's involvement with the appointment of GCSB boss Ian Fletcher. It says the two men had breakfast together at the Stamford Plaza hotel in Auckland, just days after Mr Key selected a panel to interview candidates for the top spy job. Mr Key told the paper the job vacancy was not discussed at the meeting.

Australian Football fans Rob Eichfuss and Lorraine Johnson are pictured in Cuba street ahead of an ANZAC Day game between St Kilda and the Swans.

[]h The Press

The Press says Tina Bayliss had no idea her ex-partner had killed an Australian teenager until after her daughter was found dead in their Christchurch home. A jury on Tuesday found Jeremy McLaughlin guilty of murdering Jade Bayliss in November 2011.

The jury did not know McLaughlin was previously found guilty of killing Perth teenager Philip Vidot 18 years ago.

ODT

The Otago Daily Times says police have seized a machete, a mallet and some large wooden sticks from several dairy owners in Dunedin. The paper says they are arming themselves against robbers looking for synthetic cannabis.

The paper features a picture of Mosgiel mother Carol Pine who wants the Government to make synthetic cannabis illegal. She told the paper when her son smokes the stuff, he turns into a monster.