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News of Zealand

The News of Zealand: Friday 23 June

Foreign students volunteering for the Labour Party say they lived in substandard conditions and had to forage for furniture, Trump on Comey tapes and new surveillance laws in Germany.
Former Auckland Labour chief of staff Matt McCarten. Image via Twitter

Everything you need to know about the world this morning, curated by 95bFM and VICE NZ.

LOCAL NEWS

Foreign Students Volunteering for Labour Lived in Subpar Conditions
New information has come to light over the mistreatment of international students by an internship programme supported by the Labour Party.
Politik reported yesterday that students were expecting a six-week stay in dorm-room style lodging, where they would be exposed to what a career in politics is like and real world campaigning experience. They would have special access to senior MPs and decision makers, as well as receive lectures from long-time politicians such as Helen Clark.
Instead, the students arrived to stay in cramped accommodation at a marae, and none of the promised lectures actually went ahead.
Speaking anonymously to 95bFM, one of the students said the volunteers had to build their own accommodation out of "abandoned materials and plastic", and that they had to raid an "abandoned church for furniture". However he added that it wasn't the Labour Party's fault, and that it was actually the organisers of the programme who were to blame.
It's understood former Auckland Labour chief of staff Matt McCarten started the scheme when he left his role in mid-May, but ran it separately from the party. The source told 95bFM other members of the Auckland Labour Party were at fault for the situation, and had leaked the information to the media to try pin the blame on McCarten.
General Secretary of the Labour Party Andrew Kirton reportedly heard about the issues late last week and flew up early this week to try to deal with the situation.

Suicide Prevention Videos Launch
A series of suicide prevention videos have been launched to shed light upon the growing issue of youth suicide in New Zealand.
The four resource videos called "Out in the Open" aim to encourage rangatahi to talk to someone about how they are feeling.
Te Rau Matatini's CEO Maria Baker told 95bFM the campaign has been about supporting and initiating change.
"It's really been about posting information, focusing on increased awareness and knowledge, and in supporting the appropriate messaging around what we can do capability for others to seek help," Baker said.
"[Its] also about connecting people with other people or resources and supports in their communities, if they need those. So that they can respond, talk, facilitate help that's needed."
Te Rau Matatini worked in conjunction with a group of young people from across New Zealand to produce the videos.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

President Trump Denies Comey Secret Recording Allegations
US President Donald Trump has tweeted that he didn't make secret recordings of his conversations with ex-FBI head James Comey.
This comes after he tweeted last month, only days after firing Comey, that the former FBI director 'better hope' there were no tapes of conversations between the two.
Since that first tweet, Trump has been under pressure to produce such tapes, amid an ongoing investigation into possible Russian hacking in last year's election.
Comey was head of the FBI inquiry into alleged Russian meddling when he was fired on the 9th of May.

Chinese Straddling Make A U-Turn
After being seen as a revolutionary way to deal with traffic issues, straddling busses have been discontinued in China.
With many Chinese cities suffering from traffic problems, straddling busses, which allow traffic to pass underneath them, was thought to be an effective solution.
However, recent test runs have highlighted major problems with the concept, such as a lack of turning ability on corners and the height of pre-existing bridges.
The concepts testing site has now been demolished completely, with China looking for other ways to deal with their chaotic traffic.

Combustibility Being Tested On English High-Rises
Cladding on more than 600 high-rise buildings across England is being urgently tested for combustibility following the Grenfell tower fire in London earlier this month.
Samples from seven high-rise buildings have already been deemed highly flammable by investigators.
A spokesperson for the British prime minister says, however, that a failed test does not necessarily mean there is a danger. The spokesperson stated the degree of unsafety would mostly be dependent upon the amount of cladding used and where it had been installed.
This follows the resignation of Kensington and Chelsea Council Chief Nicholas Holgate, who received criticism for his handling of the fire aftermath, which residents are calling "absolute chaos".

Republicans Opposing The Plan To Repeal Obamacare
Four Republican senators have voiced their opposition to the US Republican party's plan to repeal Obamacare, putting the future of the new healthcare bill in jeopardy.
Senators Mike Lee, Ted Cruz, Ron Johnson and Rand Paul expressed that they are worried about the bill, saying that it "doesn't keep their promises to the American people" to lower health costs, but that they are open to negotiation.
Two other Republican senators have also questioned the bill, raising concerns about how it might negatively impact US citizens.
As all 48 Democrats are expected to vote against the bill, the Republicans can only afford two defections, otherwise the bill won't pass.
The 142-page bill will impact tens of millions of Americans by scraping much of Obama's healthcare law introduced in 2010.

Privacy Issues Surround Proposed German Surveillance law
A new surveillance law has been proposed in Germany which would allow police to hack into people's smartphones.
The new legislation would allow investigators access to suspects' Whatsapp messages and other online communications. Authorities would also be able to install malware under the new law, effectively giving access to read anything saved on a device.
Politicians from the governing coalition say the law needs updating, as terrorists are increasingly communicating mostly online rather than over the phone. Many in Germany are seeing the proposal as dangerously invasive rather than cutting-edge, saying it violates people's rights to privacy.

Reporting by Katie Doyle, Leonard Powell, Ximena Smith and Adam Jacobson.