ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Friday, February 15, 2013
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Lundy gains Privy Orientation day popular Council appeal with students By Kieran Campbell Police are disappointed they were not able to adequately warn family over the decision to grant Mark Lundy the right to appeal his convictions for the murder of his wife and daughter. Police found out about the Privy Council decision through the media yesterday morning “which is unfortunate, particularly as it did not give us the opportunity to inform the victim’s families first,” a statement said. A spokesman for New Zealand Police said they would meet Crown Law to consider the appeal. Police frustrations were shared by the brother of Lundy’s late wife, Christine. Glenn Weggery said he was angry to have heard the news from media outlets. “I’m rather p***** off that victims in this country are so badly thought of that no one has the balls to inform us before the media gets hold of these things,” he said. “Even [Lundy’s] supporters could have had the balls to call us. They know where we are. They don’t think about the victims.” More than a decade after he was convicted of the brutal axe killing of his wife Christine and 7-yearold daughter Amber, Lundy will have an appeal heard by the Privy Council in London over three days in June. His last-ditch appeal will focus on “the most important piece of evidence” that linked him to the killings. London-based lawyer David Hislop QC says the defence case will focus on a “science experiment”
Mark Lundy used to identify DNA on Lundy’s shirt as being his wife’s brain tissue. Mr Hislop said the crucial evidence used “flawed science” and he accused police investigating the murders of “shopping around” for an expert to give them the testimony they needed. The expert was Texan scientist Dr Rodney Miller, who confirmed that he had been called as a witness in the Lundy appeal. Dr Miller refused to comment on the appeal or claims his evidence was based on “bad science”. Mr Hislop told Radio New Zealand yesterday that Dr Miller had never previously done the test that was used to determine whether it was Christine Lundy’s brain tissue on her husband’s shirt, and it used a flawed method. “What happened in essence was the people in New Zealand weren’t sure what [the DNA on Lundy’s shirt] was,” Mr Hislop said. “They weren’t sure, [investigators] went overseas, they shopped for an expert and of course in the US you can get all sorts of experts if you
shop around, and they got one.” Mr Hislop said if Christine’s DNA on her husband’s shirt was not conclusively proven to be brain tissue it would not place Lundy at the crime scene. In a paper written in 2003 about his involvement in the case, Dr Miller said “the definitive identification of brain tissue on Mark Lundy’s shirt using immunohistochemistry was the most important piece of evidence pointing toward Mark Lundy’s guilt”. Police would not comment on criticisms by Mr Hislop that detectives had relied on unrecognised science to charge Lundy with the murders. Lundy is currently serving 20 years in prison for the murders. In 2002 he lost an appeal to the Court of Appeal and had his nonparole period increased to 20 years. The Privy Council hearing will be held over three days in the week starting June 17. If successful, Mr Hislop said the case would likely be sent back to New Zealand where prosecutors would have to decide on a retrial. Mr Weggery said news of the appeal was “very tough” for the family. “It’s 12 years later, we’re trying to move on with our life and let Christine and Amber rest in peace and it’s just not being allowed to be done,” Mr Weggery told RNZ. “It keeps getting dragged up every few months. “He’s got the right to appeal, fine. But it’s been dragged out for so long, and it took so long for them to lodge their appeal when they’ve been talking about it for years.” - APNZ
By Myles Hume A Disney classic, rugby and an international students’ club may sound like an odd mix but not yesterday on Ashburton College’s chessboard. The college held its annual orientation day where all 1200 pupils were presented with a smorgasbord of sporting and cultural activities in campus and around the community. Camouflage cadets and juggling were among some of the colourful stall-holders who were swarmed by pupils looking to get stuck into the college spirit. Even a pair of bold teenage boys sported bright green hats, trying to attract like-minded pupils to perform in their junior play – Alice in Wonderland. Sara Kircher was manning the Ashburton Youth Council stand, hoping to attract new councillors following the annual exodus of members at the end of each year. “Yeah it’s going really well at the moment and we’re getting a few of the younger ones signing up which is exactly what we want,” Sara said. Rugby and rowing lured in its typically large group of followers, while the international students’ club had more than 20 curious pupils congregating around its table. “We get everyone together and have barbecues at Lake Hood, minigolf and all sorts of other things, it’s about bringing cultures together,” stall-holder Jessica Pelayo said. Principal Grant McMillan said it was a time for pupils to test the waters and find out more about themselves. “It’s a chance for all students, particularly those new to college, to see all the things we have going on here and in the community. “You’ll see some sign up for eight different things and others just interested in a few.”
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Photo Tetsuro Mitomo 140213-TM-007
Ashburton College pupils Abby Eastwood and Fran Connelly-Whyte get involved in the college’s annual orientation day.
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New Zealand consumers are the most confident they’ve been in 32 months and the happiest citizens live in the South Island, according to the ANZ-Roy Morgan NZ consumer confidence survey for February. Consumer confidence rose 2.7 points to 121 this month with the biggest pick up being in Kiwis’ perceptions of the broader economy over the
next five years, which rose 8 points to 29. Four of the five sub-components of the index rose in the latest month. The survey follows figures indicating consumers are becoming more willing to open their wallets again in the face of low interest rates and rising property values. New Zealanders lifted spending on their credit, debit and charge cards by 0.3 per cent last
month, the fourth straight gain. Data today is expected to show retail sales climbed 1.1 per cent in the fourth quarter. The Roy Morgan survey showed confidence in the South Island rose 4 points to 124, beating the North Island which rose 5 points to 120. Confidence rose 1 point to 122 in Canterbury and fell by the same amount to 122 in
Auckland. Confidence in Wellington jumped 8 points to 119 but was still the weakest of any region. Consumers felt less bad about their own financial circumstances than this time last year, with the measure falling to -2 from -5. Looking ahead 12 months the net balance expecting to be better off rose 6 points to 35. For the economy as a whole over
the next 12 months, a net 12 per cent see good times financially, up from 8 per cent. Those deeming now to be a good time to buy a major household item fell to a net 32 per cent from 38 per cent. Perceptions of house prices rose to a survey high, with respondents expecting a 4.1 per cent lift over the next two – APNZ years.
US to launch free trade talks with EU The United States and Europe will launch talks on what would be the world’s largest free trade zone, US President Barack Obama has declared in his State of the Union address. The move answered mounting calls from Europe to pursue a grand trade pact to spur growth on both sides of the Atlantic – covering a region where two-way trade hit $US646 billion ($A630.21 billion) last year. “Tonight, I am announcing that we will launch talks on a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the European Union – because trade that is free and fair across the Atlantic supports millions of good-paying American jobs,” Obama said on Wednesday in his signature annual speech. Proposed years ago, the US-EU trade pact idea has been revived recently as both sides of the Atlantic seek avenues for growth and job creation for their weak economies. On February 1, German Chancellor Angela Merkel greeted Vice President Joe Biden in Berlin with a call for movement on free trade talks. And last week EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht was in Washington to press the case. Analysts have said the White House wants to fast-track talks as a bookend to the drawn-out Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), another free trade project Obama has pushed but which missed the end-2012 target for completion. Obama added that he would continue to pursue completion of the TPP, saying it was important “to boost American exports, support American jobs and level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia”. Both come amid frustration over the stalled Doha round of World Trade Organisation talks, said Andras Simonyi, managing director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Washington’s Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International – AFP Studies.
NZ manufacturing expands at fastest pace in eight months
photo ap
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso smiles as he addresses the media, at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels yesterday. The EU and the US agreed yesterday to launch talks for a trans-Atlantic free trade deal.
New Zealand manufacturing grew at the fastest pace in eight months in January, with the strongest growth in Canterbury/ Westland probably reflecting demand for building materials, but employment in the sector is shrinking. The BNZ-Business New Zealand Performance of Manufacturing Index climbed 4.8 points to 55.2 last month, the highest since May last year and the highest for the month of January since 2007. The survey showed the strongest sector within manufacturing was in non-metallic mineral products, which stood at 77.5 and probably reflected demand for concrete, especially for the Christchurch rebuild, said Bank of New Zealand economist Doug Steel.
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“Over the coming years we anticipate the positive flow-on effects of a stronger construction sector, and not only in Canterbury, to broaden to other parts of the manufacturing sector,” Steel said. Production was the strongest of the five seasonally adjusted diffusion indexes within the PMI, with a reading of 57.7 last month, the survey shows. On the PMI scale, a reading of 50 separates contraction from expansion. Deliveries were at 57.6 and finished stocks on 56.1, the highest since October 2007. New orders rose to an eight-month high of 55.8. By contrast employment slipped to 48.4, marking the eighth straight month of contraction. – APNZ