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Eminem and the National Party in Court, Inside Pike River Mine and Facebook Fake News Crackdown

It's the Monday news bulletin on this first day of New Zealand music month.

The Eminem vs National Party Battle Hits Court Today

In the run-up to the 2014 general election the National Party released a campaign video of rowers slicing through a glassy lake to a tune that immediately drew comparisons to Eminem's hard scrabble rap anthem Lose Yourself. At the time, National's campaign director Steven Joyce casually said he thought using the song was "pretty legal" and that Eminem's people were "having a crack". Well, that "crack" is now a complex three-week trial over copyright of the song in Wellington High Court. The trial opened today with nine lawyers and a judge listening intently to Eminem's lyrical mastery.

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Eminem's Detroit-based publishers Eight Mile Style and Martin Affiliated are suing National, saying the song was never allowed to be used in connection with a political campaign. National say they got the track from Beatbox, a production music supplier based in Australia and Singapore. If the court finds in the artist's favour, National could be up for a hefty damages bill.

Footage of Pike River Mine Shows Men Inside

New leaked footage shows men and a robot working inside Pike River mine—which families say contradict claims form the government and company that the mine cannot safely be re-entered. The mine has been closed since an explosion killed 29 workers in 2010. Their remains have never been removed because of concerns about high gas levels in the mine. The leaked footage, published by Newshub, was taken by a robot that entered the mine's access tunnel in March 2011, three months after the explosion.

It shows two workers in the mine drift with breathing gear. The robot gets more than 1500 metres down the drift before its way is blocked. At one point it apparently gives off smoke or steam.

Dean Dunbar, father of 17-year-old Joe Dunbar who was killed in the explosion told Newshub the Government and the mine's owners had always maintained it's too dangerous to enter.
"They created a situation of absolute danger; they made it look and sound explosive. It's not," he says. "We're going to peel back that litany of lies and expose it for what it is."

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Dairy Workers March Against Violent Crime

More than 300 migrant workers in Auckland hit the streets this weekend to march against violent crime faced by shopkeepers and dairy owners.

Rally organiser Sunny Kaushal told RNZ violent robberies and attacks were happening almost every day but the police often failed to help. "Whenever you call the police, you do not have police available. The police is under-resourced and under-budgeted."

There's been a series of high-profile attacks on dairies and service stations in recent months, including a roving gang of 20 children in Kaikohe who hurled rocks and tried to kick in the glass doors of the Mobil service station; and a man in a shark onesie who stole a bag of confectionery. Liquor store owner Sukhwinder Singh told RNZ he had been robbed many times. Gangs of young people, some just 11-years-old, would often target his shop, he said.

"My family, they do not like that I am running a liquor store, but if I stop this what should I do?"

Facebook Cracks Down on Fake News Before New Zealand Election

Facebook has started briefing political parties and media about its latest crackdown on fake news in the lead-up to the New Zealand election. In a report published last week, the company outlined its plans to crack down on fake accounts used to amplify and disseminate false news stories—using the recent US election as an example. Facebook's director of policy for New Zealand, Mia Garlick, told RNZ the company had begun meeting with politicians and media organisations to help them understand the tools available to them. She would not comment on whether a new feature, rolled out in Europe and the US, that assigns a "disputed" tag on questionable news stories, would reach New Zealand.

Good School Health Services More Than Halve Suicide Attempts

New research indicates well-resourced health teams can halve rates of depression and suicide in schools—but only 10 percent of New Zealand schools have the level of resource required. Speaking to Nine to Noon, University of Auckland researcher Simon Denny said the results, gathered from a 2012 survey, were "dramatic".

"We know you when you do have the right supports available to these young people it does make a real difference. The most effective teams were based on-site, and had a mixture of health professionals, guidance counsellors, social workers, and mental health supporters. In schools with these sorts of teams, rates of depression dropped from 14.2 percent to 4.7 percent, emotional behavioural issues went from 13 percent down to 4 percent, and suicide attempts went from 5.6 percent down to 2 percent. Denny added that the latest data was now 5 years old, and more recent research had not yet been funded by the government. "What we know from a health perspective is relationships are really crucial for students. And that's why secondary services struggle so much—if we refer students to outside agencies… it's that much more difficult for those relationships to form, as opposed to when you have a team within the school itself."

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Man Uses Neighbour's Electric Fence as Defibrillator

A Hamilton man got so fed up with waiting for hospital treatment for his irregular heartbeat that he went home and zapped his own heart with his neighbour's 8000 volt electric fence. John Griffin went to Waikato Hospital emergency department for electric shock by defibrillator but was told he'd have to wait hours and would lose his place in the queue if he went home to take his medication. The 69-year-old couldn't wait without his medication so he headed for home. Griffin told the Herald on Sunday when he noticed his neighbour's fence he kicked off his boots and touched the fence with his hand. "It was right as rain…It worked like a treat."

Hey. It's May! New Zealand Music Month

Today is the first day of New Zealand music month. We'll be featuring a selection of NZ artists throughout May. To kick things off you can check out MELODOWNZ brand new track here.

The Anthem featuring Bailey Wiley (who also plays our NOISEY NZ Music Month party in Wellington this Wednesday. It's free entry so get along here)