Politics Central

A Kiwi study says sugary drinks are more dangerous than high-sugar foods, and are each year causing an estimated 184,000 early deaths across the globe.
The study found that sugary drinks carried a greater risk of causing harmful "metabolic changes" that lead to illnesses, such as obesity and diabetes.
Typical sports or energy drinks contained 27g of sugar - or about 7 teaspoons per cup of liquid - while "fizzy drinks" had 26g and sweetened teas and flavoured milks had 24g.
It's led health experts to call for a tax on sugary drinks as an urgent measure in tackling obesity, type 2 diabetes and rotten teeth.
Researcher Dr Simon Thornley told the Weekend Collective sugary drinks are uniquely harmful.
"We're calling on the Government to show some leadership by taxing these and increasing the price to send a signal to the consumer that sugary soft drinks are less healthy than the diet versions."
He says that New Zealand is now the third fattest nation in the OECD, and children are on lengthy waiting lists to get their teeth sorted. 
Health Minister David Clark has said that he is not "even considering" a sugar tax, which Dr Thornley is disappointed by/.
"He seems to be taking a softly-softly approach. He seems to not want to upset the food industry."
He says that evidence supports the introduction of a sugar tax.

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Sri Lanka's president is banning two groups allegedly linked to the Easter bombings under emergency powers that came into effect on Tuesday.
The office of President Maithripala Sirisena said in a statement Saturday evening that National Thawheed Jammath, or NTJ, and Jamathei Millathu Ibraheem, or JMI, would be banned by presidential decree.
Presidential spokesman Dharmasri Ekanayake says the move allows the government to confiscate any property belonging to the two organizations.
On Monday, officials confirmed that the alleged leader of the Muslim extremist group, an offshoot of NTJ, had died in one of the coordinated suicide bombings at churches and hotels that killed more than 250 people.
The Islamic State group, meanwhile, claimed three of the militants who blew themselves up during a bloody police raid in Ampara linked to the Easter bombings.
In a statement carried by the extremists' Aamaq news agency, IS identified the bombers by their noms du guerre as Abu Hammad, Abu Sufyan and Abu al-Qa'qa. It said they opened fire with automatic weapons and "after exhausting their ammunition, detonated ... their explosive belts."
Sri Lanka's military said the gunfight Friday night near the town of Sammanthurai left 15 dead, including six children, when militants opened fire and set off explosives in suicide bombings as security forces closed in on their safe house.
IS falsely claimed their militants killed 17 "disbelievers" in the attack. The militants often exaggerate their claims.
The IS report carried a photograph of two men before an IS flag, one carrying a Chinese variant of the Kalashnikov rifle like the one found at the scene, another smiling.
A girl and a woman survived the explosion but were critically injured and being treated at a hospital, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said.
Photographs taken by The Associated Press show the charred remains of one child and the body of another wearing a green T-shirt with the words "good boy" written on the back. The bodies of an adult woman and man were found after the explosion with their clothes burned off.
The military said security forces had recovered explosives, detonators, "suicide kits," military uniforms and IS flags during the raids in the area.
Gunasekara said officers acting on information from intelligence officials also found 150 sticks of blasting gelatin and 100,000 small metal balls, as well as a van and clothing suspected of being used by those involved in the Easter attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels that left more than 250 people dead and hundreds injured —the bloodies assault linked to the IS in South Asia.
The government on Saturday formally banned two extremist groups purportedly connected to the attacks, allowing officials to confiscate their property, presidential spokesman Dharmasri Ekanayake said.
The government, crippled from a long political crisis between the president and prime minister last year, promised swift action to capture militants still at large.Sirisena said about 140 people had been identified as having links to the IS.
A "major search operation has been undertaken," Sirisena said. "Every household in the country will be checked."
Police confirmed that the leader of the local militant group blamed for the attack, Mohamed Zahran, died in the suicide bombing at the Shangri-La Hotel, one of six hotels and churches attacked. Zahran appeared in an IS video claiming responsibility for the coordinated assault, and authorities in both Sri Lanka and Australia confirmed links between IS and the attack.
Sri Lanka is majority Buddhist but has significant Hindu and Muslim populations. About 7% are Christian, and most are Roman Catholic.

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Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis is backing a decision to spend more than a million dollars on slushy machines for prison staff.
Corrections bought 193 slushy machines to cool down staff during the hot summer months.
Opposition leader Simon Bridges has slammed the spending as irresponsible and wasteful.
But Davis says Corrections was right to consider the health and well-being of officers wearing gear that weighs up to six kilos.
"It gets up to 30 degrees. They're working in a very dangerous, tense environment, and I think that anything we can do to help alleviate the heat and that - good on Corrections, they are looking after the workers."
Davis says that he has been informed by Corrections that research has found that ice machines are the quickest way for reducing core body temperatures. 
He says that prison guards are hard working and have a tough job to do, which their heavy uniform doesn't make any easier. 
"I challenge anybody to throw on six kilograms worth of gear and walk around in 30 degree heat for eight hours a day." 
Police are also affected, Davis says, as they have to wear a similar weight, but have the benefit of air-conditioned cars that prison guards don't have. 
He says that anyone who picks apart this policy is not focused on the bigger picture. He rejects Simon Bridges complaints, saying that there is no "car too small" for him to bark at. 
Davis says that any questions around the validity of the research and whether the slushy machines were value for money need to be directed to Corrections.

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The 11 guns allegedly stolen from a police station are continuing to elude police.
"The investigation into this incident remains ongoing. Eleven firearms remain unaccounted for," the police told the Herald today.
Alan James Harris, 38, has been charged with burglary over the disappearance of the guns from the Palmerston North Police Station on Thursday.
No-one else had been charged over the incident, the police said today.
They have previously appealed for public help in tracking down the missing guns.
The missing weapons were not police firearms; they were being held as exhibits or had been handed in for destruction.
The embarrassing loss occurred while gun owners are surrendering military-style semi-automatics (MSSAs) and assault rifles nationally as part of a Government buy-back scheme following the Christchurch mosque shootings.
MSSAs and assault rifles were banned in rapid law changes after the March 15 shootings. An amnesty for handing in the weapons is operating until the end of September.
When the buy-back was announced, Police Minister Stuart Nash sought police assurance they had strong processes for handling the firearms. Police said at the time they were confident they could manage the collection of the guns.
Following the alleged station burglary, Nash has sought a new assurance.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush has demanded an investigation into how Harris was allegedly able to get into the Palmerston North station. Stations' firearms security nationwide is also being reviewed.

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Police are investigating a manifesto which indicates the California synagogue shooter may have been inspired by the Christchurch mosque attacks.
One woman is dead and three other people are injured after a man opened fire in the synagogue in Poway near San Diego.
Police have 19-year-old John Earnest in custody and say he's also being investigated over a fire at a mosque in a nearby city last month.
An open letter posted online in his name references other attacks on houses of worship, including the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and the mosque shootings in Christchurch.
Police are investigating its validity.
However, one terror analyst says the depths of the internet are making angry young men all the more dangerous.
Intelligence analyst Paul Buchanan told the Weekend Collective we are talking about people who want to find justification for their unhappy, rotten lives.
"And in the old days., they would have to go up and meet up with like minded spirits physically. Today, you can do all that online in the confines of your bedroom." 
The news comes as it is revealed that New Zealand police have put together a watchlist put following the Christchurch terror attack, which left 50 people dead and as many injured. 
More than 100 people are reportedly being actively monitored by police.
People on the list include white supremacists, people "disaffected" with firearm licences, and others with racist and radical views are also included.
Buchanan told the Weekend Collective it's a very good step.
"Police have decided to modify their profiling of potential terrorist suspects, and rather than looking at communities, such as the Muslim community, because there are a few bad eggs in it, they are now looking at behaviours, including online behaviour."
Buchanan says that of this list of people, there could be people that are simply ranters.
"This leak could serve as a warning to them that they better back off, as they have now attracted attention." 
He believes that in general we are quite safe, but the gunman accused of the attack is part of a larger community. 
"We seem to be seeing a backlash from alt-right, neo-Nazi, white supremacists around the world, and New Zealand is not immune from that."
Despite this, Buchanan says that there is a slim chance of a revenge attack.
Police aren't commenting on the list, but urge anyone who has concerns about someone to report them to their local police station or Crimestoppers.

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Three quarters of those surveyed by a new poll are against the Crusaders changing their name.
The team's branding has been the subject of debate after the Christchurch mosque attacks as it's associated with the religious Crusades, a 'holy war' launched against Muslims.
The 1 NEWS-Colmar Brunton poll shows 76 percent are against a name change, and just 14 percent are in support.
Otago and Southland residents are most likely to support keeping the name.
But NZ Rugby boss Steve Tew says change is coming, as the imagery of horse-mounted knights along with the Crusaders name is too closely linked to the holy wars.
They're exploring two options: keeping the name but changing their branding and imagery, or ditching the name and starting their brand again from square one.
On whether it is a good idea or not, Tim Roxborogh and Tim Wilson went head to head with callers on what the team should do next.

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French yellow vest protesters set fires Saturday along a march through Paris to drive home their message to a government they believe is ignoring the poor: that rebuilding the fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral isn't the only problem France needs to solve.
Like the high-visibility vests the protesters wear, the scattered small fires in Paris appeared to be a collective plea to French President Emmanuel Macron's government to "look at me — I need help too!"
Police fired water cannon and sprayed tear gas to try to control radical elements rampaging on the margins of the largely peaceful march, one of several actions around Paris and other French cities.
The protests marked the 23rd straight weekend of yellow vest actions against Macron's centrist government, which they see as favouring the wealthy and big business. Protesters view themselves as standing up for beleaguered French workers , students and retirees who have been battered by high unemployment, high taxes and shrinking purchasing power.
But violence and divisions have marred the movement.
Associated Press reporters saw a car, motorbikes and barricades set ablaze around the Place de la Republique plaza in eastern Paris. The smell of tear gas mixed with the smoke, choking the air.
Paris firefighters — who struggled earlier this week to prevent the 12th-century Notre Dame from collapsing — quickly responded to extinguish the flames at Saturday's protest.
Masked protesters hurled paving stones and flares. Helmeted riot police repeatedly charged as they tried to contain the crowd.  AP reporters saw at least two journalists injured in the melee. Troublemakers also ransacked at least two stores and one black-clad protester jumped on a parked Mercedes, smashing its windshields.
Paris police said authorities detained more than 200 people by early afternoon and carried out spot checks on more than 20,000 trying to enter the capital for the protest.
The violence contrasted sharply with the peaceful atmosphere at another march through Paris, where demonstrators mourned the Notre Dame blaze while also keeping up the pressure on Macron. They tried to march to Notre Dame itself, but were stopped by police a few hundred meters (yards) away.
Young women at that march skipped down a street along the Seine River, accompanied by drummers and singers. One protester carried a huge wooden cross resembling those carried in Good Friday processions.
Many protesters were deeply saddened by the fire at a national monument . But at the same time they are angry at the $1 billion in donations for Notre Dame renovations that poured in from French tycoons while their own economic demands remain largely unmet and they struggle to make ends meet.
"I think what happened at Notre Dame is a great tragedy but humans should be more important than stones," said protester Jose Fraile.
Some 60,000 police officers mobilized for Saturday's protests across France, and the heavy security thwarted some tourists trying to enjoy the French capital on a warm spring day.
"Paris is very difficult right now," said Paul Harlow of Kansas City, Missouri, as he looked sadly at the damaged Notre Dame.
He and his wife Susan were in Paris only for a few days and didn't make it in time to see the cathedral. On Saturday, their efforts to visit museums were derailed by closed subways and barricaded roads.
"I don't think we'll be back," he said.
Other visitors showed solidarity with the yellow vest cause.
"I am not interested in joining them, but I can understand what they're angry about," said Antonio Costes, a retiree from the Paris suburb of Montreuil who came Saturday to see the damage to Notre Dame. "There is a lot of injustice."
Macron champions pro-business policies that he believes will create much-needed jobs in France. He had been scheduled to lay out his responses to yellow vest concerns on Monday night — tax cuts for...

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Parliament's work environment has been described as "very unique".
Stuff reports that 35 back office staffers at the Beehive have left over interactions with senior management.
The report claims that multiple people have signed non-disclosure agreements and agreed to pay-outs 
Former Labour Party member and union official Shane Te Pou has worked in Parliament. He told the Weekend Collective that there is a lot of conflict between the different parties. 
"You're employed by one employer but you're in conflict with half your workmates as you may work for Labour and they work for National and you have to one up them."
He says that there is also conflict amongst the party, as staffers try and push the agenda of their MP or Minister.
Te Pou says that it is a very "insular" environment that exists amongst those offices, and he wants to see something done about it. 
"The Speaker who has ultimate responsibility needs to get on top of it."
He has personally witnessed Ministers and MPs being toxic and unpleasant towards staffers and people who work beneath them, such as drivers. 

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Fletcher Construction CEO Peter Reidy says a new Construction Industry Accord will create safer and healthier workplaces.
The accord, announced today, calls on the industry, its clients and the Government to change the way they work together.
It's so they can jointly tackle systemic problems that have led to high-profile building company collapses, poor-quality builds and skills shortages.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the wellbeing of New Zealanders is intrinsically linked to safe, durable and affordable homes, buildings and infrastructure.
She says to meet the future needs of New Zealand, both Government and industry recognise they need to work differently.
Reidy developed the accord with the government, and says it's a game changer for the industry.
"If we can improve the contracts and not make them so risky that people take shortcuts, that will have a positive impact on the way people feel about the project when they get up in the morning and go to work."
He says the government and industry have committed to taking the pressure out of projects.
"We've started to get industry leaders now to say that if the Government's prepared to look at it, we'll come to the table. It's a real partnership. This is step one of a catalyst of change."
Reidy told The Weekend Collective that construction is very fragmented, with a lot of smaller builders making up the bulk of the industry. 
"The Government's asked how we can incorporate the people and understand what the issues are." 
One issue that the Government has acknowledged that they need to look at how contracts are awarded for big contracts, where price has normally been the key determent.
"It's always going to be a key criteria, but what Government's now saying is if there is another lens with which we can also review around larger construction and what outcomes are we looking for for the country." 
Factors such as what the commitment to workforce training and capacity will be amongst the new considerations. 
Reidy says the next step is engaging with the wider industry about what the next steps are.

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