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December 09, 2015 at 3:36 PM

John Key apologises for 'backing rapists' comment:

The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition have ended the Parliamentary year with public apologies.

Both John Key and Andrew Little made statements in the debating chamber at the opening of the last sitting day for 2015.

Mr Key backed down and apologised for accusing Opposition MPS of "backing rapists" last month.

"I have reflected on my comments and on this last sitting day of the year, so close to Christmas, I would like to withdraw and apologise for that response," he said.

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Police investigating after Oamaru baby seriously injured

Police are trying to establish how an Oamaru baby suffered serious injuries on Tuesday afternoon.

The 14-month-old boy was reportedly flown from his home on the corner of Thames Highway and Foyle St to Dunedin Hospital in a critical condition on Tuesday night.

The property was understood to be cordoned off and a scene-investigation caravan had been seen outside. 

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Review finds media frequently distort violence against women:

Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS) has published a Landscapes State of Knowledge paper on media representations of violence against women.

Media representations of violence against women and their children: State of knowledge paper, provides an overview of the best available contemporary evidence on the way news and information media portray violence against women. The paper groups evidence into three broad areas of inquiry and identifies a number of key themes within each area. 

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Taranaki hospitals' emergency departments overflow with Crate Day participants:

Taranaki health bosses and community leaders have joined the chorus of condemnation for Crate Day after it caused chaos for police and medical staff in the region.

Crate Day, promoted by The Rock FM, involves drinking a "swappa crate" – 12 large (745-millilitre) bottles of beer – to mark the beginning of summer. 

Taranaki District Heath Board (TDHB) emergency department nurse manager Sharon Crowe said the event resulted in 23 more patients arriving at hospitals in New Plymouth and Hawera resulting in extra pressure on staff.

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Domestic violence prevention programme said to be paying off:

The Pacific Prevention Domestic Violence Programme began in 2006 with the aim of raising police standards when dealing with domestic violence cases.

Its programme officer, Nga Utanga, spoke at a special screening of the New Zealand film, Once Were Warriors, which is based around domestic violence, at the Nothing Less than Equal Film Festival in Suva.

Mr Utanga says like the work they do in the region, the film shows people having the courage to overcome violence.

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Wellington Hospital emergency department screens women for domestic violence:

Female patients at Wellington Hospital's emergency department are likely to be asked about a non-medical condition - "have you been subjected to domestic violence?".

Doctors or nurses have begun screening most of the department's female patients over the age of 16.

In the programme's first three months 1200 women were questioned, 29 disclosed that they had been subjected to violence and 20 consented to being referred to a specialist agency for help.

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Push to launch mental health court:

Judges, lawyers and mental health advocates are calling for a 'mental health court' to stop what they say is the 'recycling' of people through the justice system. They say by creating a court that takes a holistic view - rather than 'locking them up and throwing away the key' - there would be less reoffending.

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Women's Refuges at breaking point:

Women’s refuges in Auckland are at crisis point, and are having to turn away women needing shelter.

New Zealand has the highest reported rate of intimate partner violence in the developed world, and last year police were sent on 100,000 calls related to family violence.

Refuges face a daily struggle to keep their doors open. They’re over-filled and under-funded and women are being turned away as a result.

There is no arguing our rates of domestic violence are getting worse. It could be because more people are coming forward, but those trying to help women are at breaking point.

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Rejection of lover led to murder, court told:

Hell hath no fury like a lover scorned.

The lawyer for a woman accused of killing her husband told a jury her rejection of her lover drove him into a rage that resulted in murder.

Amandeep Kaur, 32, is on trial before the High Court at Auckland accused of the murder of her husband, 35-year-old Davender Singh, who had his throat slit as they sat in their vehicle on the side of a south Auckland road on August 7 last year.

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Anti-violence worker says men in Samoa need forum to talk:

A campaigner on domestic violence based in New Zealand says groups in Samoa need to have trained facilitators to help men change their behaviour.

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