New Zealand in the News Ed.II

Cross-dressing lawyer hangs up his dress

A male lawyer who appeared in court dressed in women's clothes as a protest against what he said was New Zealand's overly-masculine judiciary was suspended Wednesday after being found to be in contempt of court. The High Court found Rob Moodie, a 68-year-old, balding man who appeared in court in dresses and toting a handbag, was in contempt for circulating suppressed documents outside the court in one of his cases.

Moodie officially changed his name to "Miss Alice" as part of his protest against the "old boys network" that he said runs the nation's judiciary, and was granted an award for the most bizarre conduct by a lawyer in 2006 by London's The Times newspaper.

Taupo skydiver tells of miracle survival

Michael Holmes, 25, went into a spin when his main parachute became tangled during a 4000m drop over Taupo, but survived when he landed in a blackberry bush.

"When the second parachute didn't open I realised it was all over," he told London's The Times newspaper from his bed in Waikato Hospital. "I was going to die. You don't have much time to say goodbye. I just said: 'S**t I'm going to die'."

The ordeal was witnessed by John Siddles, a local man, and his 18-year-old son, Adam, who were watching the parachutists to decide if they wanted to try it themselves.

"One of the skydivers was coming down and going round and round," Mr Siddles said. "He looked like he was all tangled up or something. He just came down, straight down. It looked like it had opened. "We decided it's not for us."