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ISSN 1172-4153 | Volume 2 | Issue 40 |
| 3 July 2009
Schools MEDIA HOUND KEY OVER WORTH don’t want to be judged by parents
on the
INSIDE
Wellington, July 3 – Pressure is expected to build
Minister says ‘tough’ Wellington, July 3 – Education Minister Anne Tolley is ruling out a law change to prevent standards’information being used to create league tables comparing schools. Her position comes as a new survey shows 95 percent of New Zealand Principal Federation (NZPF) members were either opposed to or have serious concerns that new national standards would be used to create the tables, which would allow parents to compare school performances. Principals have threatened to withhold standard assessment results over the issue,concerned that schools would be unfairly compared against each other. From next year, the progress of primary school children in maths, reading and writing will be assessed against government-set standards. NZPF president Ernie Buutveld said students, teachers, boards and schools would be affected if a fundamental, but wrong, change was made to the education system. “If following consultation data remains the issue and could be used potentially to publicly exercise a culture of blame and shame for schools we would be worried for our children.” Last week Labour education spokesman Trevor Mallard suggested a change could be made to the Education Amendment Bill currently before a select
on Prime Minister John Key to state why he lost confidence in Richard Worth, now a sexual complaint against the former minister has been dropped. Police today confirmed the Korean woman who laid the complaint against Dr Worth had withdrawn it. “At no time did police suggest to the complainant that she should withdraw her complaint,” a Wellington police spokeswoman said. “Police will need to assess all the information we have to bring the file to a state of finality.” Dr Worth’s lawyer Paul Dacre said his client was happy with the outcome and now wanted time to reflect. Dr Worth resigned as a minister on June 2 and quit 10 days later after the scandal involving the Korean woman and another incident involving a woman from the Labour Party who accused him of making inappropriate phone calls and texts. At a press conference last month Mr Key made it clear he would not be revealing the reason he accepted Dr Worth’s resignation. All he would say was that Dr Worth had lost his confidence. Mr Key was not commenting today. TV3 tonight reported further details of the Korean woman’s allegation; that Dr Worth invited her to Wellington for a function, they later drank wine in his office after which he escorted her to a hotel room he had booked and had the key for. The woman became tired, when Dr Worth allegedly would not leave, she went to bed and awoke to find him next to her. Dr Worth consistently maintained his innocence and previously said he had no choice but to resign from Parliament because of the “avalanche of rumour and innuendo” surrounding him. – NZPA
FINAL DIG
Dinosaur lady’s obit Page 5
GIANT RAT The new plague Page 7
FADE OUT
Michael’s memorial Page 8
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Top HoS journo denies drug-dealing Auckland, July 3 – A Herald on Sunday assistant editor who was sacked last year has told an employment hearing he denies allegations he was selling the drug P in the newspaper’s own toilets. Stephen Cook told Employment Relations Authority member Rosemary Monaghan in Auckland today that he was also told of rumours and gossip among Auckland journalists that he was connected with the Head Hunters gang . Cook is arguing he was unjustifiably dismissed by
the Herald on Sunday towards the end of last year and is seeking compensation. He said he heard the rumours about alleged criminal activity in October last year, just under a month after drug police arrived at the Herald on Sunday office making inquiries about him. The rumours suggested he was involved with the Head Hunters gang and“dealing P out of the toilets of the Herald on Sunday”, he told Ms Monaghan. Cook said these rumours helped damage his rela-
tionship with the Herald on Sunday. Herald on Sunday editor Shayne Currie told Ms Monaghan the events which led to Cook’s dismissal began when police came to the newspaper’s office on September 5 last year. He said they identified themselves as drug police and had seen Cook in an unmarked Herald on Sunday car outside a property they had under surveillance. Currie said the information gave him cause for concern and he gave police the home address of
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Cook, who was sick that day with influenza. Cook said police visited him and claimed that he was “pushed around and roughed up”. When asked by Currie at a meeting the following Tuesday, September 9, why he was outside the address, Cook said he was covering a story about a dispute at a plastics company. He told Currie there was nothing for either him or the publication to concern themselves about, and offered to take a drugs test.Currie told the authority he found Cook’s response“puzzling and troubling”. Subsequently Currie asked Cook to attend a meetContinue reading