The stories you might have missed this week, told in the form it’s impossible to ignore.
LITTLE LEADS LABOUR
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After the Labour Party’s disastrous election loss in September, David Cunliffe stepped down, and this week, Andrew Little was elected its new leader. Mr Little won the tight leadership battle with 50.52 per cent support compared with Grant Robertson’s 49.48 per cent – a lead that could have been wiped out if just one MP had switched sides. Questions remain over whether he can hold the party together.
GARDENING LEAVE
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Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority boss Roger Sutton resigned from his position on Monday, after a State Services Commission investigation upheld a number of complaints of sexual harassment. Sutton told reporters he had “called women ‘honey’ or ‘sweetie’,” and the Green Party’s Christchurch spokeswoman Eugenie Sage described him as a “bouncy, Tigger-ish character”. Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Jackie Blue says Mr Sutton should not have been allowed to make public comments that seemed to trivialise the matter.
EARLY MORNING ARRESTS
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A Christchurch resident reporting seeing up to 40 police and Armed Offenders Squad members arrest six people early yesterday morning. Police cordoned off a Gloucester St address and found a number of firearms.
KEEP TO THE LEFT
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Coroner Richard McElrea is calling for sweeping changes to deal with the growing problem of tourist drivers on New Zealand roads. He believes police should be given more power to remove dangerous drivers from roads, and that rental car agencies should have a more hands-on role.
WE WANT WHAT THEY’RE HAVING
Prime Minister John Key intends to discuss the recently signed trade deal between Australia and China with that country’s visiting President Xi Jinping. There are concerns that the terms of Australia’s agreement are better than those of its deal with New Zealand, which took effect in 2008.