Saturday, May 10, 2014

Govt signs travel agreement with 15 countries

A new air service agreement with Sri Lanka and 14 other countries will make it easier for New Zealanders to travel and open the door for international business, says Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee.
The agreements, approved by Cabinet, also include Finland, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Togo and Zambia.
It allows airlines to offer flights from New Zealand to those countries and then on to other destinations.
Mr Brownlee says the agreements give Kiwis better access to the world and signed today's deal with Sri Lanka's External Affairs Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris.
The Ministry of Transport negotiated the 15 agreements over five days at the International Civil Aviation Negotiation Conference in Durban last year.
Mr Brownlee says the arrangement with Ethiopia, along with an amendment to the South Africa agreement, "helps pave the way for stronger links in Africa".
The amendment means a doubling of passenger services, as well as another seven freight services to South Africa a week. 
Changes have also been made with agreements with Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Norway and Sweden.
Mr Brownlee says further announcements will include countries in South East Asia.

Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/Govt-signs-travel-agreement-with-15-countries/tabid/421/articleID/343310/Default.aspx#ixzz31IXHl3Jy
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Tennis coach's death a 'tragic accident' - Coroner Simon Wong 3 News Online Reporter By Simon Wong Online Reporter Friday 09 May 2014 1:55p.m

An Australian tennis coach whose body was found in the Waikato River after going missing last year was a "tragic accidental death", a coroner has ruled.
However, the man's parents have raised concerns about the lack of signage along the river where he died.
The mysterious disappearance of Paul Arber, 38, in December last year sparked a large-scale search in the region which lasted almost a week.
He was visiting the country with a large group of children for a tennis tournament and was seen alone by a woman in Hamilton East on Saturday, December 7. Images were taken of him at an ATM 15 minutes after the encounter and Mr Arber was last seen at the edge of the Waikato River around 4am Sunday wearing only a pair of shorts.
His body was found by a group of rowers from Hamilton Girls' High School.
Coroner Wallace Bain ruled the cause of death to be drowning and there is "nothing at all to suggest that this is anything but a tragic accident".
“There are no indications to suggest that Paul was at any stage thinking about taking his own life and he was otherwise a fit and healthy young man with no depression or other factors in this life which would lead him to even consider taking his own life."
During the hearing, Mr Arber's parents raised concerns about the safety of the river.
"Their concern was that overseas visitors would have no idea [of the dangers] because the river seems so peaceful and calm but in fact had a strong undertow," the ruling says.
The Waikato Regional Council noted the Harbour Master, who oversees the Waikato River believes that particular part of the river is "no more treacherous than many other stretches of the Waikato River".
The Hamilton City Council confirmed the area Mr Arber was found in – known as Ferry Bank Reserve – had no signs relating to the river and also had no lighting.
It also believes it is the individual's responsibility to make sure they can handle the conditions of the water they're swimming in.
The council says it will review its signage across its parks and open spaces in the next 12 months and would take access points to the Waikato River into consideration to make sure appropriate information is provided.
Mr Bain made no formal recommendations in relation to the death.
3 News
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The father of a New Zealand man who saved a baby humpback whale from a tangled cray pot line says his son wouldn't have thought twice about going to the rescue.
Charter boat skipper Joe Brogan, from Whitianga, was on boat off Geraldton, Western Australia last week when he came across the whale with ropes tangled around its tail.
Part of the event was filmed and posted on YouTube yesterday and shows people on board pulling the rope up onto the boat. The 42-year-old then jumps into the ocean, swims toward the whale and cuts the rope with a knife.
Mr Brogan's father, Paddy, says his son called him shortly after the incident told him of the encounter.
He believes the whale knew what was happening because it had calmed down as his son swam toward it.
His son wouldn't have thought twice about getting into the water, Mr Brogan says.
"If he'd thought about it, he wouldn’t have done it. The whale was in the shit, so he jumped in and did it," Mr Brogan says.
"[He said] it was a wonderful feeling having done that."
Mr Brogan has worked as a skipper for around six years and has a company based in Whitianga. However, he has been contracted to skipper larger boats for game fishing in Australia.
3 News

Man saves baby humpback from tangled ropes

Friday 09 May 2014 11:52a.m.
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