ONE NEWS BY LAUREN STRAIN AND SAM BRADFORD. CAPTIONS WERE MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM NZ ON AIR. COPYRIGHT TVNZ ACCESS SERVICES 2013 DUE TO THE LIVE NATURE OF SEVEN SHARP, WE APOLOGISE FOR THE LACK OF CAPTIONS FOR SOME ITEMS. ITS A HUGE MESS, BUT TONIGHT WE'LL TELL YOU THE MISTAKES BEHIND NOVOPAY FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS THERE. IT'LL ASTONISH YOU. FORGET SOFTWARE PROBLEMS ` THIS WAS ABOUT BASIC HUMAN ERRORS BY HUMANS WHO DIDN'T CARE ENOUGH NOT TO MAKE THEM. WE HEAR FROM AN INSIDER WHO SAYS NOVOPAY WAS A TRAIN WRECK WAITING TO HAPPEN. MAN: THEY MADE THE PROBLEMS THAT WERE ALREADY THERE ` THE EXISTING PROBLEMS ` EVEN WORSE, AND THEY WERE BROUGHT ON TO CLEAR A BACKLOG, BUT THEY CREATED MORE BACKLOG. ALSO ` SHE'S THE LAST PERSON YOU'D EXPECT TO BE GOOD AT THIS. SHE GETS SEASICKNESS AND ENJOYS A MANICURE. I LIKE TO HAVE NICE NAILS. YOU KNOW, THE FISH NOTICE THESE SORTS OF THINGS. WE'LL MEET A NATIONAL CHAMPION OF A VERY UNUSUAL SPORT, AND LIFE ON MARS COULD HAPPEN IF A DUTCH REALITY SHOW HAS ITS WAY. THERE IS ONLY ONE CATCH. IT'S TUESDAY NIGHT. WELCOME TO SEVEN SHARP. IF YOU WERE BORN ON APRIL 23RD, YOU'D PROBABLY REALISE IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY TODAY. BUT DID YOU KNOW YOU'RE SHARING IT WITH WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE? SHAKESPEARE WROTE SOME TANGLED PLOTS IN HIS TIME, BUT EVEN AT THE PEAK OF HIS POWERS WOULD HAVE STRUGGLED TO KNOCK OUT 'NOVOPAY ` THE STAGE SHOW'. I WENT TO SHAKESPEAKE'S BIRTHPLACE AND ARGUED. TONIGHT A NEW CHAPTER ` IS IT COMEDY OR TRAGEDY? GUESS IT DEPENDS IF YOU'RE A TEACHER OR NOT. HEATHER DU PLESSIS-ALLAN REVEALS FOR THE FIRST TIME HOW SIMPLE THE MISTAKES WERE BEHIND ONE OF THE GREAT BUREAUCRATIC COCK-UPS OF ALL TIME. LATE INTO THE NIGHT IN WELLINGTON, THE LIGHTS ARE ON IN THE TOP FLOOR OF AN OFFICE BUILDING. THAT'S UP ON LEVEL 12 UP THERE. THAT'S ON LEVEL 12, YEAH. WE KNOW THE ROOM WAS FULL OF PEOPLE. THERE WERE A GOOD 30 TO 35 PEOPLE. WE KNOW WHAT THEY WERE WORKING ON. DO YOU THINK THEY'RE UP THERE NOW DOING THAT JOB? ABSOLUTELY. OK, YOU PROBABLY WEREN'T EXPECTING ALL THIS CLOAK AND DAGGER STUFF FOR A STORY ABOUT NOVOPAY, BUT THIS GUY COULD GET IN TROUBLE FOR TALKING TO US. HE USED TO WORK UP THERE ON LEVEL 12. SO THEY MADE THE PROBLEMS THAT WERE ALREADY THERE, THE EXISTING PROBLEMS, EVEN WORSE. THEY WERE BROUGHT ON TO CLEAR A BACKLOG, BUT THEY CREATED MORE BACKLOG. SHORTLY AFTER NOVOPAY WENT LIVE IN AUGUST LAST YEAR, OUR MAN AND A TEAM OF TEMPS WERE HIRED TO CLEAR A SIMPLE NOVOPAY BACKLOG. BACK THEN THEY WERE ONLY REALLY DEALING WITH NO-PAYMENTS. HE RECKONS THEY CAUSED THE MANY OF THE CRAZY OVERPAYMENTS AND UNDERPAYMENTS WE'VE HEARD ABOUT. WANT TO KNOW HOW EASILY ONE TEACHER APPARENTLY ENDED UP BEING PAID $40,000? SOMEBODY OBVIOUSLY DID A WRONG KEYING ERROR, THAT'S ALL. WHAT, THEY JUST PUT IN A COUPLE OF EXTRA ZEROS? THAT'S PRETTY MUCH IT. OR THEY'VE ENTERED TOO MANY HOURS. WITHIN A FEW WEEKS OF THE TEMPS STARTING THEIR WORK UP THERE, THESE ARE THE HEADLINES WE STARTED HEARING ` MORE HORROR STORIES ARE COMING TO LIGHT, CAUSED BY THE BELEAGUERED PAY ROLL SYSTEM, NOVOPAY. PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY HAVE FACED THREE MONTHS OF BOTCH-UPS. SOME HAVEN'T BEEN PAID AT ALL. WE CHECKED OUR SOURCE'S CLAIMS WITH ANOTHER TALENT2 STAFF MEMBER WHO WORKED IN THE SAME OFFICE. HE SAID, YEAH, THE TEMPS WOULD HAVE ADDED TO THE ERRORS. OFFICIAL STATS ARE EVEN MORE DAMNING. WE GOT THIS OFF THE EDUCATION MINISTRY'S WEBSITE, AND IT SHOWS US THE PAY CENTRE, AND THAT INCLUDES TEMPS, CAUSED NEARLY HALF OF THE OVERPAYMENTS. ALL THE TEMPS HAD TO DO WAS TAKE SCHOOLS' PAPER PAY FORMS AND PUT THEM INTO THE COMPUTER SYSTEM. PROBLEM WAS ` WE WERE GIVEN ABSOLUTELY NO TRAINING. WHEN I SAY FIVE MINUTES, IT WAS FIVE MINUTES, MAYBE FIVE TO 10 MINUTES. DO YOU THINK THAT THOSE TEMP STAFF YOU WERE WORKING WITH WERE MAKING THE PROBLEM WORSE? ABSOLUTELY. 100%. I MEAN, I THINK A LOT OF TEMPS, DUE TO LACK OF TRAINING, DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. ULTIMATELY, IF WE'D BEEN GIVEN ADEQUATE TRAINING, WE COULD'VE PROBABLY CLEARED THE BACKLOG MONTHS AGO. OUR MAN SAYS THE TEMPS DIDN'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING ON A REALLY COMPLICATED COMPUTER SYSTEM. SO, AS YOU DO, MOST OF THEM SPENT THEIR EVENINGS SURFING THE NET. SO, AT ANY ONE TIME HOW MANY OF THE WOULD BE SURFING THE INTERNET? 20,... 15,... 20. THE BAD NEWS IS THERE'S A GOOD CHANCE YOU AND I WILL END UP PAYING THE WAGES OF THOSE TEMPS. SHOULD WE? OK, SO WE'VE CALCULATED THAT AT $22 AN HOUR, THEIR SKILLS WERE NON-EXISTENT. 30 TEMP STAFF WORKING 40 HOURS WOULD COST US MORE THAN $26,000 A WEEK. SHOULD WE HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT? WE ASKED TALENT2 FOR THEIR RESPONSE. THEY SENT US TO THE GOVERNMENT. WE'RE A BIT WORRIED TALENT2 MADE SOME REALLY BASIC ERRORS. I'M A BIT WORRIED THAT ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE HAVE MADE SOME VERY BASIC ERRORS. MY VIEW IS ` AND IT HAS BEEN SINCE THE BEGINNING ` IS THERE IS PLENTY OF BLAME TO GO AROUND FOR EVERYBODY HERE, BUT WE'LL GET A MINISTERIAL ENQUIRY OUT, AND EVERYBODY'LL HAVE A CHANCE TO DON THE CLOTH AND ASHES AND ADMIT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR SHARE OF IT. Every time I hear Stephen Joyce talk, I feel like I'm hearing something, but nothing is being said. I worry that this ministerial enquiry has echoes of Pike River. I reckon that's way hekia parata was taken out of the picture. AFTER THE BREAK, THERE ARE QUEUES AROUND THE BLOCK FOR THE LATEST TECH GADGET IN AUCKLAND, BUT THE PEOPLE IN LINE ARE A LITTLE TWO DIMENSIONAL. ALSO,... THE KIWI CHAMPIONS OF A SPORT WHICH INVOLVES HOLDING YOUR BREATH FOR A LONG TIME, AND NO WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT A RUGBY SCRUM. THIS IS THE PLAN ` GET YOUR ASS TO MARS. WELL, NOW YOU CAN. COULD YOU SEE YOURSELF MOVING TO MARS FOR GOOD? WELCOME BACK. JESSE'S LEFT US. HE'S OFF TO AOTEA SQUARE IN THE AUCKLAND CBD, AND HE'LL BE WITH US IN A LITTLE BIT TO LET US KNOW WHAT HE'S UP TO. IN THE MEANTIME, WE'VE SEEN THE WORST REALITY TV CAN BE ALREADY, RIGHT? MAYBE NOT. YESTERDAY A DUTCH GROUP BEGAN CASTING FOR A SHOW THAT IS, FORGIVE ME, LITERALLY OUT THIS WORLD. # MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, MONEY... # REALITY TV'S ALWAYS BEEN A GREAT PLACE TO GET THINGS DONE, WHETHER IT'S GETTING ON WITH THE JOB,... YOU'RE FIRED. ...FINDING A SPOUSE,... I AM SO IN LOVE WITH YOU. ...OR A BIT OF ANGER MANAGEMENT. GO <BLEEP> YOURSELF, YOU BITCH! NOW, REALITY TV COULD TAKE US WHERE NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE. THE MARS ONE FOUNDATION IS ON THE HUNT FOR FOUR BRAVE SOULS TO COLONISE THE RED PLANET. ALL GOING TO PLAN, THE AIM IS TO LEAVE EARTH IN 2022. WHEN THE ASTRONAUTS LANDED ON THE MOON FOR THE FIRST TIME, IT ALSO CHANGED THE WORLD. IMAGINE DOING THIS NOT JUST AS ONE NATION, BUT AS THE ENTIRE WORLD. I DO THINK THAT IT CAN CHANGE THE WORLD. THE $7B MISSION WILL BE FUNDED THROUGH GLOBAL BROADCAST RIGHTS. GOOD NEWS FOR ASPIRING ASTRONAUTS ` IF YOU'RE 18 OR OLDER AND HEALTHY, YOU'RE ELIGIBLE. THERE'S JUST ONE, FAIRLY MAJOR CATCH ` IT'S A ONE-WAY TICKET. I HAVE VISIONS OF TWO DUTCH GUYS. THIS IS LIKE BIG BROTHER MEETS THE HUNGER GAMES. LISTEN TO THIS FROM THE PROJECT'S LEADERS ` HAVE TO BE HEALTHY WHEN YOU APPLY, BUT RADIATION POISONING ON THE WAY; CANCER, IMMUNE DEPRESSION, INFERTILITY. AND IF YOU DO GET SICK, IT'S EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF. PRODUCERS SAY THERE WILL BE ACCIDENTS AND DEATHS, SO DEAL WITH IT. YOU'LL HAVE TO RECYCLE YOUR URINE FOR DRINKING, AND IT'S CANNED FOOD PRETTY MUCH ALWAYS. WHO WOULD READ THAT AND WANT IN? THEY SAY POPULATING MARS IS NOT ONE OF THEIR AIMS AND THEY'RE NOT SENDING COUPLES, BUT THEY ARE SENDING MEN AND WOMEN TOGETHER, SO YOU DO THE MATH. THERE'S THE UPSIDE! HARI MOGOSANU KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED TO LIVE ON MARS. SHE'S DONE THAT ` KINDA. SHE SPENT TWO 14-DAY STRETCHES IN A SIMULATOR IN THE UTAH DESERT WITH A TEAM OF KIWIS, LIVING AS THEY WOULD ON MARS. AND HARI, OUT OF ALL THE HARDSHIPS, WHAT WAS THE WORST THING? I bring the breath of life. The worse thing that I can see there on my simulation was I couldn't see any green leaf. What did you do all day? We ate food that was given to us from NASA. We had to answer questions. We had lots of fun. We had to fight for having a shower. Do you have to be a little bit odd to want to do something like this? I don't mean your mission; I mean the one where you go to Mars and never come back. I think so. I think you have to go through a very serious psychological training and selection if you want to survive there. The Utah desert did look like Mars. Every time we went out, we had to wear astronaut suits. Would you be in line for the Dutch project? No. What aRe NASA saying about this mission? Some of them agree that we can take a falcon shuttle, a dragon shuttle, a falcon rocket and we can fly. It's a nice dream, but we have to think about planetary protection. You have to think about what will happen to people after they die. We were talking a lot about the rover on Mars looking for signs. We're not thinking about what's going to happen to the planet. There's a lot of ethics. Thank you for giving us an insight into what it might be like. I need to know I can get out and walk about. Bernard gave us an uplifting lists of books. I think it's reality with movies might be an idea. You'd have to say part of the appeal of reality shows is schadenfreude. That's what the hunger games was based on. There's a fish tank just there. THINKIt is a fish tank GREAT NZ SPORTING FAMILIES, THINK GREAT NZ SPORTING FAMILIES, AND NAMES LIKE GOING, HADLEE AND DEANS COME TO MIND. BUT TONIGHT WE'RE GOING TO MEET A FANATICAL WHANAU YOU'VE PROBABLY NOT HEARD OF, THREE GENERATIONS OF NATIONAL CHAMPIONS ` THE SHIELDS FAMILY. MATT CHISHOLM WITH THE STORY OFF LITTLE BARRIER ISLAND IN THE HAURAKI GULF. WITH HER LONG LEGS, BLONDE HAIR AND DESIGNER SUNNIES, SHE'S MORE CATWALK THAN CATFISH. I LIKE TO HAVE NICE NAILS. YOU KNOW, THE FISH NOTICE THESE SORTS OF THINGS. (LAUGHS) METALLICA'S 'ENTER SANDMAN' BUT LOOKS, AS THEY SAY, CAN BE DECEIVING. GEMMA SHIELDS (23) IS A KILLER. BANG! THE BEST FEMALE SPEARFISHER IN THE COUNTRY. HOW MANY WOMEN DID YOU HAVE TO BEAT OUT TO WIN THAT? NOT TOO MANY. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, GIRLS AREN'T REAL KEEN SPEAROS, BUT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THEM ARE PRETTY GOOD. WE'RE NOT GONNA LET THE NUMBERS GET IN THE WAY OF A GOOD STORY, GEMMA? NO, WE'RE NOT. BOTH LAUGH SHE DOES ALL RIGHT FOR A GIRL. (LAUGHS) YOU CAN'T SAY THAT ON NATIONAL TELLY, MATE. OH WELL. BOTH LAUGH ONLY A LITTLE BROTHER COULD GET AWAY WITH THAT. ON THIS TRIP WITH US, JUST 30 MINUTES IN THE DRINK, AND GEMMA'S ALREADY SORTED DINNER. IT'S NO FUN BUYING SOMETHING IN THE SUPERMARKET. YOU WANNA GO HUNT IT DOWN, RIGHT? IT'S A PRETTY GOOD SIZE BLUE MOKI. YOU'D BE HAPPY WITH THAT TOO. THAT'S A GOOD HEAD SHOT ISN'T IT? IT WAS, ACTUALLY. HE DID NOT MOVE. (LAUGHS) OFTEN GIRLS CAN BE BETTER THAN GUYS, COS THEY ARE A LITTLE BIT MORE RELAXED, AND THEY GENERALLY HAVE QUITE A GOOD BREATH HOLD COMPARED TO GUYS. RIGHT. ARE YOU READY? YEP. ONE, TWO, THREE. I THOUGHT I'D PUT GEMMA TO THE TEST AND USING SOME WEIRD FACIALS, PROBABLY PUT HER OFF AFTER JUST 34 SECONDS. NO, I CAN'T. OH! I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT TO HAPPEN. I HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO WARM UP. I WAS FEELING OK. REALLY? THAT WASN'T YOUR BEST SHOT, SURELY. NO, IT WASN'T. IT'S NOT ALL FUN AND GAMES OUT HERE, THOUGH. TESTIMONY TO HOW KEEN SHE IS ON THE SPORT, GEMMA PUTS UP WITH SEASICKNESS. I GET SICK ON THE BOAT AND IN THE WATER, SO THERE'S NO ESCAPE, REALLY. THEN EVEN TODAY THERE'S SHARKS. I DIDN'T MEASURE IT, BUT IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT 2M OR MAYBE A LITTLE BIT MORE. THE BIGGEST PROBLEM, HOWEVER ` SOMETHING YOU'D NEVER EXPECT. YOU'VE LOST FOUR MATES IN THIS SPORT? YEAH, YEAH. IT'S... IT'S MOSTLY TO WHAT'S CALLED SHALLOW WATER BLACKOUT, WHICH IS HOLDING YOUR BREATH FOR TOO LONG. SO YOU GO DOWN, AND YOU COME UP, AND YOU BASICALLY GO TO SLEEP. YOU'D ALMOST WONDER WHY GEMMA DOES IT. TRUTH IS, SHE NEVER REALLY HAD A CHOICE. IT STARTED WITH MY GRANDFATHER, ACTUALLY, AND MY DAD GOT THROWN IN. I DON'T KNOW IF THERE WAS MUCH OPTION THERE. AND THEN THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME AND MY BROTHER ` WE JUST GOT PUSHED OVER THE SIDE, AND OFF YOU GO. GRANDAD ` THAT'S DAVE SHIELDS ` WAS NATIONAL SPEARFISHING CHAMP BACK IN '71. FOUR DECADES ON, AND HE'S STILL MAD KEEN. COUPLE OF HEART ATTACKS LATER, A DOCTOR SAID, 'YOU'RE GONNA KILL YOURSELF,' AND HE'S IN THERE SHOOTING KINGYS AND ALL SORTS. (LAUGHS) DAVE, WHERE WERE YOU TODAY? TODAY I WAS SITTING AT HOME LOOKING AT THE WEATHER. WHY WEREN'T YOU OUT SPEAR FISHING? WELL, I DIDN'T GET THE INVITE, DID I? I WAS REALLY FANATICAL FOR A WHILE THERE, ESPECIALLY ON THE COMPETITIVE SIDE. I EVEN HAD A PERSONAL TRAINER. GEMMA'S FATHER, DARREN ` THAT'S DAVE'S SON ` IS A SIX-TIME NATIONAL CHAMPION. DAD'S A BIT OF A LEGEND? OH, HE RECKONS. BOTH LAUGH THEN THERE'S YOUNGER BROTHER JACKSON. NOW HE'S IN THE KIWI SPEAR TEAM TOO AND TODAY GETS ONE UP ON BIG SIS BY SHOOTING THIS KINGFISH. HEY, MATE, YOU REALISE THIS STORY'S SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT YOUR SISTER, DON'T YOU? YEAH, I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT. (LAUGHS) IT JUST SORT OF HAPPENED. I GUESS SHE WASN'T THERE. BEFORE ANYONE TUCKS IN TO THAT, THERE'S KINA UP FOR GRABS. AND WHILE I REALLY WANTED TO SAY NO... JUST SLURP IT DOWN? YEAH, GIVE IT A GO. LAUGHTER (GAGS, LAUGHS) I'M NOT EXPECTING A CALL FROM FEAR FACTOR ANY TIME SOON. (LAUGHS) I'M ALL RIGHT FOR KINA, THANKS, MATE. (LAUGHS) DO YOU WANT THIS? DO YOU WANT THIS? BACK HOME, AND GEMMA'S STILL HARD AT WORK. IF YOU'RE GONNA GO OUT AND KILL IT, YOU'VE GOTTA CUT IT UP. THIS IS THE MESSIEST PART... (LAUGHS) OF THE WHOLE THING, SO I'VE GOT BLOOD UNDER MY FINGERNAILS, WHICH IS GREAT. (LAUGHS) AND WELL WORTH IT. THERE'S KINGFISH AND CRAYS FOR DINNER. BEAUTIFUL. AND AN INTER-PACIFIC TOURNAMENT OFF THE AUSSIE COAST TO CONTEMPLATE. STAYING THERE WITH A WHOLE BUNCH OF BOYS... (LAUGHS) AND SPEARFISHING FOR FOUR OR FIVE DAYS, SO... WHY DO YOU LAUGH? WELL, I DON'T THINK ANY SINGLE GIRL'S GUTTED ABOUT BEING ON A BOAT WITH BOYS FOR A WEEK, REALLY, ARE THEY? BOTH LAUGH NOW WHILE MATT 'LUNGS' MCCHISHOLM WON THAT BREATH HOLDING CONTEST, GEMMA THINKS SHE CAN PROBABLY GO WITHOUT AIR FOR OVER TWO MINUTES. HAVE YOU NOTICED MATT ALWAYS HAS ATTRACTIVE MEN AND WOMEN? AS FOR JUDGING SPEAR FISHING, COMPETITORS GET A LIST OF SPECIES AND GET POINTS FOR EACH ONE THEY GET AND MORE POINTS BASED ON WEIGHT. AFTER THE BREAK, WE HEAR FROM JESSE. SPEAKING OF BLASTING OFF TO BARREN WASTELANDS, I'M IN THE AUCKLAND CBD. IT'S PACKED WITH PEOPLE, BUT IT'S ALSO EMPTY. I'LL TELL YOU WHAT I MEAN SHORTLY. I'm standing in front of what is the largest electronic billboard in New Zealand. Last year they put an ad on people's iPhone screens which made fun of people who wait in line all night for iPhones. Why don't we just say that you're queueing up and we'll save you space. Around New Zealand there are 8000 people queueing up for this new phone. This is the top 50. Behind me you might even see my photo. I've got quite a good spot in the queue. Every time I tell people how great the phone is, a speech bubble comes out. The better I do, the further I go up the line. Putting on my cynical dungarees, it's clever, but it's basically getting you to do the advertising for Samsung, and you don't have to go out into the rain. 8000 people are in this queue. Do you know how many people have seen the tweets and Facebook updates about the phone? THATS OUR SHOW FOR TUESDAY. SEE YOU TOMORROW. CAPTIONS BY FAITH HAMBLYN AND ANNA BRACEWELL-WORRALL.