Two road fatalities

A person died after crashing 10 metres off a Banks Peninsula cliff yesterday. Emergency services were called to the crash near Akaroa at 1pm. And earlier yesterday a person died and another was seriously injured after a car and truck crashed near Lake Tekapo about 7am. The deceased person was the driver of the car, police said. The driver of the truck was flown to hospital with serious injuries.

Euthanasia bill progresses

A bill legalising voluntary euthanasia passed its first hurdle after Parliament voted to send it to a select committee by 76 to 44 in a conscience vote on Wednesday night. David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill would allow for a New Zealand citizen or resident over the age of 18 and suffering from either a terminal illness likely to end their life within 6 months or a grievous and untreatable medical condition, to choose an assisted death. It would require fully informed consent, an assessment by two doctors and potentially a third specialist followed by rigorous checks and extensive documentation. The public will have a say at the select committee stage.

Exodus from party

The Opportunities Party is facing a mass exodus as leader Gareth Morgan and three others step down. The same day Morgan announced his resignation as leader, deputy leader Geoff Simmons also stepped down, along with O¯ ha¯riu candidate Jessica Hammond-doube and Waitaki candidate Kevin Neill. Neill called the party a ‘‘dictatorship’’, run by Morgan, and said he could not work in a party that did not have open, transparent discussions.