A high-flying real estate agent known as
'million-dollar-Marnie' has appeared before a disciplinary
tribunal to defend claims of misconduct over a mansion in
Auckland's eastern suburbs.
Almost 300 state house tenants - many of them elderly or in
wheelchairs - cheered last night as speakers at a public
meeting vowed to defy Housing New Zealand plans to clear them
out of their Auckland homes for redevelopment.
A barrister fighting disciplinary charges can now be
identified after the Supreme Court said it was "untenable''
that professional people with high public profiles should be
given name suppression as of right.
The Law Commission has proposed ditching trials by a full
jury of 12 in favour of trials by a judge and two
semi-professional jurors to allow more evidence, such as
previous convictions, to be used.
The mother of an American backpacker killed by falling debris
in the February 22 Canterbury earthquake has welcomed the
royal commission of inquiry, saying it has helped "bring
closure" to her family.
