Due to the live nature of Tonight, we apologise for the lack of captions for some items. We're live at the late-night meeting between the Prime Minister and the Maori Party. The Auckland home of a former Fiji cabinet minister is raided as the police and SIS investigate an alleged plot to assassinate Frank Bainimarama. Has a massive payout for an Australian thalidomide victim opened the floodgates for victims here? And the high is dominating the weather picture, but there's trouble upstream. Details coming up. Kia ora. Good evening. The Prime Minister and the Maori Party have spent the last hour and a half in the Beehive thrashing out the future of their political relationship. The Maori Party has been under increasing pressure to walk away from its coalition with National after John Key suggested the government could ignore the findings of the Waitangi Tribunal on asset sales. But Tariana Turia today downplayed any chance of a split, just as the Prime Minister ruled out an apology. No, we won't be apologising. That was a statement of the government's position, as it has been with other governments. But, look, I'm looking forward to the meeting tonight. I think it'll be constructive. The media suggested that it could be a deal-breaker and kept asking us whether we would. We haven't actually said that at all. And there's a long way to go in the process. Jessica Mutch is standing by at Parliament with the latest on the meeting. Jessica. IT'S STILL GOING ON EHRE IT WAS MEANT TO BE ABOUT 45MINS SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE WIDER MAORI COMMUNITY WENT TO IT. BOTH SIDES DOWNPLAYED THE MEETING TODAY THE LANGUAGE OF THE MAORI PARTY SUGGEST THEY WON'T WALK AWAY. Jess, how do you expect this to play out tomorrow? THIS IS ALL ABOUT JOHN KEY SAYING HE MIGHT NOT LISTEN TO THE TRIBUNAL. THEY'RE MAKING THEIR RECOMMENDATION TOMORROW. WE'LL HAVE MORE THEN. Air NZ chairman John Palmer has come out strongly in support of asset sales. He outlined his views during his first appearance at a parliamentary select committee in three years. Protest against asset sales has been pretty passionate at times. Many NZers don't like the idea of partially selling off Air NZ and four state-owned energy companies. ALL CHANT: Aotearoa is not for sale! But the chairman of Air NZ says the debate has sometimes been hysterical. I don't think the debate has been about the issues at all. It's been about emotion, and in some cases emotional frenzy. It's been unusual of late for the Air NZ chairman to be called before the parliamentary committee. John Palmer put up a passionate defence of asset sales, saying it's good for our economy and the future of NZ. He says the government hasn't done a good sales pitch. I've been disappointed that there's been a reluctance of the government to be quite forthright about the range of benefits involved here. Those comments haven't impressed some MPs. I think that's a pretty arrogant attitude. I think ordinary NZers understand the issues well. They've seen what happened with privatisation before, and they're very dubious about it. Given the position he's in, I think he should hold his counsel and get on with doing his job properly, rather than engaging in the political arena. Air NZ is already a listed company, but the government remains the largest shareholder with 70% of the airline. The chairman's in no rush to sell. Given our disappointment about the current share prices, there probably isn't any particular urgency for the Crown to sell. Mighty River Power is the first to be sold. The government hasn't confirmed which company will be next. Jessica Mutch, ONE News. An alleged plot to assasinate Fiji's military ruler and his attorney general has led to a series of police raids on Auckland homes. A former Fijian cabinet minister now living in Auckland claims NZ police and secret service agents raided his home and seized items. It's believed up to 20 homes were searched, as Helen Castles reports. This is one of the documents used to justify the raid at Rajesh Singh's home, where his cellphone and his daughter's laptop were seized. They showed me the warrant, but they wouldn't give me a copy. I asked for a copy, and they said, 'No. It's classified.' The raids are in connection with an alleged plot to assassinate Fiji's military ruler, Frank Bainimarama, and Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum. They said, 'Do you know that Mara and Tony Fullman were planning to assassinate Frank Bainimarama? 'We've got intelligence reports.' I said, 'Look here, we didn't discuss anything of that nature, and I do not condone those.' Mara is Roko Ului Tevita Mara, the plot's supposed mastermind. He fled Fiji last year, where he's wanted on charges of conspiring to overthrow the military leader. Uh, well, that's news to me. I don't know anything about it. So you've not heard anything at all? Absolutely not. ONE News contacted the Prime Minister's office, which heads the SIS, to find out why NZ is involved in Fijian security matters ` particularly when the NZ government doesn't back the military-led regime. We got this statement back, saying it's an operational matter and they have no further comment. Rajesh Singh plans to lodge a formal complaint about the raid. Helen Castles, ONE News. War hero Willie Apiata is laying down his arms and joining the battle to help at-risk children. NZ's most decorated soldier, the only living recipient of the Victoria Cross, is quitting the military. Political reporter Michael Parkin has more. Five years ago this month, SAS soldier Cpl Willie Apiata received the illustrious Victoria Cross and became the most highly decorated member of the NZ Defence Force, recognised at home and abroad. But its been revealed the 40-year-old is leaving the elite unit. His decoration speaks for itself, and we wish him all the best in his future career, but he's given 10 years' outstanding service as a member of the SAS, 23 years' service to the NZDF in total, and just want to acknowledge the contribution that he's made. Cpl Apiata received the VC for his heroics during a firefight in Afghanistan where he carried a seriously wounded comrade across 70m of open ground to get him to safety. But it seems all has not been right since. Sources have told ONE News Willie Apiata has threatened to leave before. And it's believed his decision to depart may have been sparked by the Defence Force's handling of a request for some extra time off to spend with his family. I've had no indication of that whatsoever, and I think this man's given distinguished service to NZ. Why hasn't he been promoted to at least a sergeant? Maybe those are the sort of things he's saying ` 'Well, Victoria Cross or not, I'm not gonna get promoted. Maybe I might as well be a civilian.' ONE News understands almost two dozen members of our special forces have left this year. And the Defence Minister's confirmed around five badged SAS members like Cpl Apiata have recently quit. Faced with full-time training in Papakura rather than action overseas, some have opted for lucrative security contracts. Things go through cycles. Obviously after coming through a tough rotation of deployment in Afghanistan, people will be for a variety of reasons looking at various options, assessing their life. Willie Apiata will become a part-time territorial soldier while taking up a job with the High Wire Trust helping Auckland youth. A Melbourne woman born without arms or legs because of thalidomide has won a multi-million dollar settlement. It's a groundbreaking decision, and the victory will be shared by thalidomide victims across Australia and NZ. The ABC's Sarah Farnsworth reports. 50 years ago, Lynette Rowe was born without limbs ` a victim of the greatest pharmaceutical disaster in history. Now the company responsible for placing thalidomide on Australian shelves, Diageo Plc, has agreed to pay out millions of dollars for its part in the medical disgrace. Today Lynette Rowe, an armless and legless woman from Nunawading in suburban Melbourne, Victoria, has struck a blow for thalidomiders all over the world. Ms Rowe became the face of the Australian class action taken against Diageo and the manufacturers of thalidomide, German drug giant Grunenthal. Diageo has now agreed to compensate Ms Rowe and provide her with care for the rest of her life. It's a relief to her parents. Obviously Wendy and I are getting a bit ` only a bit ` older and finding it harder and harder to give Lyn the full-time care she needs. So this settlement has come just in time for us too. As Lyn would want me to say, this result shows you don't need arms and legs to change the world. The court victory paves the way for compensation for more than 130 others involved in the class action. But no settlement has been reached with Grunenthal. 50 years on from the disaster, Grunenthal ought to take a constructive approach to compensating people injured by its own thalidomide. Action against the German company will only proceed if compensation negotiations with Diageo falter. It's not known just how many people were affected by the thalidomide drug, which was taken not just for morning sickness, but as a painkiller and anxiety medication. Lawyers are confident many more people will now come forward to seek compensation from across Australia and NZ. Just ahead ` the women who tried to help Iraena Asher the night she disappeared hit back at police criticism. And a humiliating shambles ` a security staff shortage at the London Games angers politicians. 1 The couple who tried to help missing Auckland woman Iraena Asher on the night she disappeared eight years ago have hit back at police who accused them of failing to act. The model's family was also in court as the coroner's inquest into the 25-year-old's death drew to a close. Donna-Marie Lever was there. Iraena Asher's image was never far from sight as her family arrived at court for what became an emotional morning. Whatever we say, all the words I've said and that thing there is not going to change anything. It's` It's` It's` meaningless. While Michael Asher was prevented from breaking court protocol and reading a victim impact statement,... I'm concerned that it does not reflect very well on you. ...he did tell the court he thought his daughter was taken by the sea. You know how vicious the tide is at Piha. It probably dragged her. Last night we reported comments from the officer in charge, who said Iraena Asher may still be alive if the family who took her in had called for help. The suggestion of Sutton's that we may be culpable at all is nothing short of despicable. Iraena Asher was with the couple and one of their sons for some four hours, but took off into the night, and that's when they called police. We did not fail Iraena. The police actually failed Iraena. Earlier that night, police sent a taxi instead of a patrol car when Iraena Asher had phoned for help. The last people to see her alive say her behaviour was odd. She was naked on the road and saluting a streetlight. That's when I began to kind of like,... 'This is really spooky.' The coroner has heard mixed evidence about whether in fact Iraena Asher was in a manic and psychotic state on the night she disappeared or whether she was under the influence of drugs. Even a clinical psychiatrist couldn't decide. I'm 50/50 on that. It could possibly be that she developed a manic episode very rapidly ` no indication, just bang. I think we've got to keep an open mind about the possibility, however, that there was some substance-induced change in this young woman. The coroner plans to deliver his findings tomorrow. Donna-Marie Lever, ONE News. The judge in charge of Kim Dotcom's extradition trial has resigned from the case. Self-professed internet expert judge David Harvey was set to oversee Dotcom's trial in March, but he stepped down today after comments he made last week at an internet conference, suggesting the United States is the enemy. Dotcom's lawyers say the resignation is unlikey to affect proceedings. There are reports of a bombing attack on a national security building in Damascus, while rebels say they're closing in on the presidential palace. The United Nations is set to vote on a tougher resolution on Syria after a third day of fierce fighting in the capital. Rebel fighters are calling this Operation Damascus Volcano ` a major assault to capture the Syrian capital. GUNFIRE But as the fighting spreads to more of the city, government forces are responding with increasing fury. The Syrian Army has sent helicopter gunships in with heavy machine guns to attack the rebels from the air, while on the ground, troops backed by tanks and armoured personnel-carriers have moved in to wrest control of key suburbs. It's the fiercest and most sustained fighting seen in Damascus since the uprising began. Some opposition groups believe it could prove to be the decisive battle. Others, though, fear even more bloodshed ahead unless there's a political solution. Our message is Russia has an important role to play, but we cannot continue to hit a Russian wall and say there is nothing that the international community can do. The special envoy Kofi Annan has been in Moscow to win Russia's support for a tougher UN resolution that in theory could allow military intervention in Syria. And the United Nations chief has met the Chinese President in Beijing ahead of the Security Council vote later today. Sometimes I cannot sleep when I think of so many people being killed every day. This must stop. The heightened urgency to global diplomatic efforts may yet come to nothing, with both Russia and China unwilling to support any UN resolution designed to put more pressure on the Assad regime. London's Olympic security crisis has been labelled a humiliating shambles by angry politicians. That follows admissions by the private company responsible for games security that it doesn't have enough staff. The ABC's Sarah Harris has more. They've spent billions on turning Olympic Park into a fortress. INDISTINCT PA ANNOUNCEMENT But it's mostly military muscle en garde. Many of these troops have just returned from Afghanistan, called up to fill an embarrassing gaping hole in Games security. < It's a humiliating shambles for the company ` yes or no? I cannot disagree with you. This is the CEO of G4S, the company contracted to staff security at the Games, being grilled by furious MPs. Just nine days out, he's hired less than half of the 10,000 guards he promised. I will say it again ` we are ready. In the heart of London, more chaos. HORNS HONK Black-cab drivers blockaded roads, fuming over the ban that keeps them out of official Olympic traffic lanes. HORNS HONK And, to top it off, Games officials have withdrawn half a million tickets after football matches failed to sell out. British bank hsbc is under fire for making it possible for drug lords to launder money. As the ABC's Brian Ross reports, bank officials have admitted to cover-ups. It is one of the world's best-known banks, and in its commercials, HSBC boasts of being the bank of choice for everyone. WOMAN: HSBC. The world's local bank. According to today's senate report, among those who have made it their bank of choice are the ruthless leaders of Mexican drug cartels; suspected Al Qaeda moneymen; and the Iranian government, trying to get around US embargoes. You need to have a bank that's willing to take you on as a customer, knowing that your customers are dodgy, your relationships are bad and you're in illegal activity. And internal documents show HSBC executives knew exactly what they were doing. 'We are allowing organised criminals to launder their money,' wrote one executive. Today, bank executives sheepishly admitted there had been cover-ups of the relationships and suspect accounts were left open for years. Is there any way that that should've been allowed to happen at the time? Uh, no, Senator. One HSBC executive admitted he made the decision to move money for a Saudi bank that a CIA report says helped finance Al Qaeda around the time of the 9/11 attacks. Did you believe what you wrote at that time? Uh, at that moment, uh, yes. As to whether HSBC should lose its US banking licence, its senior executive here today did not want to talk. Just ahead, on the bay ` a mum-and-bubs outing of a different kind; a delightful day for Sydneysiders. And I'll be back with a cool start to Thursday. Nah, I'm good, mate. I'm good. Ohhh. Ohhh. May I help you, sir? Ohhh. May I help you, sir? Hey, bro. I'm Tim. From NZ. I won the, uh... the MasterCard prize, where you get to tour with the All Blacks. Fellas! Oh! Danny C! Oh yeah! Nonu, Nonu, Nonu! Boom! Richie. Bring it in, mate. Register and use your MasterCard before September 15 and you could go on tour with the All Blacks. Good to see ya. Good to see ya. Yeah, you too. So, who am I rooming with? Returning now to Parliament, where the meeting between the Prime Minister and the Maori Party has just broken up. The two sides have been thrashing out the future of their political relationship after John Key suggested the government could ignore the findings of the Waitangi Tribunal on water rights. Political reporter Jessica Mutch is there. Jess, what's happening? THE MEETING ENDED A WHILE AGO. IT WENT FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF THEY SENT OUT A JOINT PRESS RELEASE - SYMBOLIC? THEY'RE BOTH GOING TO DISCUSS THE FINDINGS OF THE TRIBUNAL WHEN THEY COME OUT. WE ASKED ABOUT WHETHER TARIANA GOT AN APOLOGY FROM JOHN KEY SHE DIDN'T, BUT SAID SHE DIDN'T NEED ONE. A southern right whale has given birth in Sydney Harbour and spent the last few days parading its baby around the bays, much to the delight of Sydneysiders. Channel Nine's Tracey Vo reports. This mother whale is no accidental tourist. She was in a gentle mood at Middle Head, and it was easy to see why, cruising along with her calf, born just days ago. dwarfing her newborn in the water, it was a day of leisure, at times playful ` Mum bouncing baby on her tail. That's just teaching her calf the ways of life, basically. So just playing around as you do with a newborn. National Parks rangers have identified Mum as Alex. Her first appearance was back in 1999. She's returned to give birth in calmer waters. It's the first calf born in the harbour. Youngster grabbed at the chance to name bub. Uh, Lily. Brucie. They're in extremely shallow waters here, just about 6m or 7m deep. They've made a short pit stop to rest off Balmoral as they continue their migration north. But the central coast may be the furthest they go before heading south again. Around about 10% each year the population is recovering, so the potential is that we're going to be seeing more and more of these incidents at Sydney Harbour, which is fantastic. Whale lovers can keep track of mother and baby online. Weather time with Renee now, and a chilly night ahead? Yes, keep the bed socks handy. Most centres are expected to drop to single digits tonight. The high moves slowly across the North Island tonight, becoming centred over the Chatham Islands tomorrow. The trough in the west moves on to the middle of the Tasman Sea tomorrow, accompanied with a low that fades. This is not the low that will cause trouble later. The north-wester picks up over the far south, and an easterly flow affects the top of the country. For weather, see onenews.co.nz And that's your weather. I'll see you tomorrow. That's it from us here on Tonight.