Meet Sam Hunt, New Zealand's best known poet. It's been his living for 17 years. He's performed
his poetry from pulpits, stages, schools and hotel bars the length and breadth of his country.
Despite an outlandish image, Sam's sense of humour and love of the land is helping him
give New Zealanders a sense of their own unique identity. Sam Hunt, Next of the Kiwis,
presented by A Big Country, 8 o'clock Saturday on ABC. Good evening and welcome to Saturday
Night. In coming weeks you'll see the compelling Australian drama Conferenceville and the awesome
world's movie masterpiece Citizen Kane. Tonight it's Animal Farm. Next week on Saturday Night
Citizen Kane, one of the all-time classic films, co-written, directed by and starring
Orson Welles. Citizen Kane, next Saturday night. We as Australians have a right to hear Australian
music on our radios, on our television and on our records and if the records aren't made we will
only hear American and British music on our radio. Warren Fay, one of Australia's leading
independent record producers. Weekend Magazine this Sunday presents a special report on the
nation's independent record companies. The independents are the battlers in a business
dominated by multinationals and imported music. Without their enterprise much of today's music
from around Australia might have been lost. The independents claim to be the creative arm of the
music industry. Certainly in the past decade there's been a spectacular proliferation of
independent labels and as you'll see in Weekend Magazine they've achieved some notable successes.
An entertaining look at independent Australian enterprise in Weekend Magazine this Sunday.
Welcome to ABC Late News, I'm Clive Hale. In London there are fears that the now empty
Libyan Embassy may be booby-trapped but police can't enter the building until Monday morning
Australian time when the building loses its diplomatic status. The siege ended quietly with
the Libyans flying out of Britain for home. The Libyans emerged from the building in groups of
five led by an Arab go-between familiar to them throughout the negotiations. The last of their
hand baggage had been taken out earlier. Police were on full alert and outside the huge blue
screens blocking the public view speculation was mounting that an end to the siege was at last
in sight. But the Libyans were in fact already on their way out of the area through a back exit.
They left in a large convoy of police vans under heavy guard. The siege had ended quietly and
peacefully. The Libyans were driven to a civil service college near Heathrow Airport. There they
were given food and drink and were interviewed at length by police but there was no comment on the
outcome of those interviews. The Libyans were held at the college for several hours under tight
security as preparations were being made at Heathrow Airport for their departure.
More vans carrying the Libyans belongings arrived and soon after the plane that was to take them
home landed. But there was to be a long delay before the Libyans could finally depart Britain.
Back at St James Square the police operation had intensified rather than scaled down.
Police feared that anti-Gaddafi groups might attempt to occupy the now empty building.
Plane clothes officers gingerly approached the building with an escort of marksmen.
The detective's role was to look for spent ammunition and clues. The marksman's role was
to guard against the unexpected. That initial search completed it was judged safe for the
marksman to withdraw and a team of police cadets to move in to conduct a thorough search of the
square. The search of the building itself won't take place for another few days when Britain's
original departure deadline for the Libyans has passed. Landowners in the central and northern
table lands of New South Wales are holding meetings this weekend to protest at plans
to relocate army training grounds in their areas. Tomorrow they're meeting at Tamworth.
Today's meeting was at Hill End north of Bathurst and in the middle of one of the possible new
training zones. Today's protest mainly by farmers worried about losing their prime agricultural and
wool growing land and others worried about wider issues as well as what might happen to the historic
Gold Rush village drew about 1500 people from throughout the rural area founded by the cities
of Bathurst and Orange and the town of Mudgee. Area country party politicians strongly against
the proposal invoked the Franklin Dam in support of their arguments but the regional Federal Labor
Party backbencher David Simmons was told by one of many eager audience members that people who sit
on the fence sometimes lose their seat. While I've only been a member of the Federal Parliament for 12
months I've tried to be honest with people and this I believe is an attempt to make an honest
assessment. I'm not ducking the issue at any stage all I'm urging is that we get further information
so that local government and the people right throughout the area that are affected not just
the landowners can make a sound rational judgment. The Melbourne to Sydney ultra marathon has a
veteran runner in the lead tonight. Wal McCrory who dropped out of last year's race took an early
lead today and is still in front as the field moves through northern Victoria tonight. Duncan Ness reports.
53 year old Wal McCrory led the race throughout the day after stopping for only one hour to sleep.
McCrory from New South Wales stole an early break on the field and led by four kilometres
for much of the day. Last year he dropped out of the race but he also claims to hold a record
for the Sydney to Melbourne run along the coastal road. The field is now well strung out with others
in the leading division including Jeff Malloy of Victoria, Neil Peterson from Queensland and
Joe Record from Western Australia and the familiar shuffle of Cliff Young is still there only 20
kilometres off the pace. Young is reported to be having trouble with an injured knee but as yet the
veteran winner of last year's race has shown no signs of slowing down. The gruelling marathon has
already taken its toll with five of the original 29 starters dropping out. Queenslanders Peter Parcell,
Robin Phillips and Roy Butlin, Dick Cameron of New Zealand and Sunny Bullen of New South Wales have
all pulled out with injuries. Parcell was one of two runners to fall heavily during the night.
The only woman runner Caroline Vaughan received treatment for cuts and abrasions and is still
in the race. At the present fast rate the runners are expected to cross the border into New South
Wales at midnight tonight. China's leader Deng Xiaoping has called for peaceful reunification
with Taiwan as a means of improving relations between China and the United States. He was
speaking to President Reagan in Peking. The President's visit has highlighted disagreements
over the deployment of American missiles in Europe and over American policies in Central America and
the Middle East. Away from the talks however the Americans scored one victory through basketball
diplomacy. There is a growing appreciation in China for some of the finer things in American life
like basketball. They love it here. Enough for 18,000 Chinese to turn out tonight to watch a
group of former American professionals compete against the finest amateur players in Beijing.
How interested are the Chinese? Enough to set off a small riot when a few remaining programs were
handed out. The Americans may have lost a step over the years but certain skills live on.
Pete Marovitch can still handle the ball nearly as well as anyone on earth
and even blindfolded Rick Berry can still hit pre-throws.
Displays of emotion are rare in China but tonight
when the Beijing All-Stars took an early lead the crowd really came alive.
You just pick everybody will get shot but we're not picking we're just playing for
you know where you go and with international pride at stake the Americans got serious.
Despite the old age and bad knees the Americans pulled it out winning 95 to 86.
The score didn't seem to matter a very different type of diplomacy had taken place here
leaving some very warm impressions.
Emory King, NBC News, Beijing. The Japanese government is stepping up its campaign to
protect people against mercury poisoning from discarded batteries. Some towns are so alarmed
at the threat they've begun separating batteries from other rubbish. In Japan most of the dead
batteries end up in landfills where they rot and the mercury escapes to pollute its surroundings.
Japanese, shocked in the late 50s by the tragic mercury poisoning in the village of Minamata,
have been stepping up their efforts to prevent a new outbreak of mercury poisoning.
Although there is a dispute some towns are taking no chances.
Several have begun to separate batteries from other rubbish to keep them out of the landfills
and garbage incinerators and only about 10 percent of the towns do this. In one the collected
batteries are buried in cement containers but some worry this may only postpone the problem
not solve it. In other towns the collected batteries have an uncertain future and simply
clog warehouses and storage bins until an answer has been found and that may have to await the
discovery of an economical method of reclaiming the mercury. The country's only mercury reclamation
center is in the northern island of Hokkaido at one time the largest mercury mining operation in
the orient. Batteries are chopped up and burned at high temperatures to vaporize the mercury
is then recovered from the steam but the process is costly and discourages wider application.
Meantime the national government has asked industry to increase its collection of old mercury
batteries and to decrease the mercury content of the others by one third over the next three years.
A board of inquiry has been set up to investigate a train crash in Sydney this afternoon in which
two people were killed and other persons in hospital suffering shock. The accident occurred
near Cowan on Sydney's northern outskirts when a train carrying three passengers plus the driver
and guard crashed into the rear of a freight train. Now the weather news and the satellite shows some
high level cloud over southeast Australia together with some rain bearing clouds over western
Australia. Tropical cloud is slowly moving towards the southeast but will not affect the weather in
New South Wales until midweek. There's a strong wind warning for coastal waters south of Montague
Island and a gale warning for the southwest Tasman. Now the forecast for New South Wales
a few showers or drizzle about the far southeast inland and developing along the coast mostly in
the north scattered early fogs and highland frosts. A cool to mild day is forecast mainly
sunny inland chiefly light winds inland mostly southwest to southerly winds on the seaboard
fresh to strong at first in the far south but moderating. Canberra's forecast fine after early
fog a top of 18 degrees expected for Sydney cold early with inland morning fogs then cool to mild
day with the chance of a late coastal shower. The temperature range is expected Sydney 12 to 20
Liverpool 9 to 22 and Richmond 5 to 22 and that's ABC television news to this moment
and next bulletin at seven o'clock tomorrow night until in from television news team good night.
7 30 Monday a fine romance and Michael's finally going to meet Laura's parents.
He's desperate to make a good impression. What is it? Well I was just thinking that Mike and Laura
first met in this very house. We did. We couldn't stand the sight of each other at first but then
we got we got chatting in the bedroom and and right after to the man of
born where Audrey's financial problems force her to do her own shopping at the local supermarket.
If somebody doesn't serve me in a minute I'll help myself.
A fine romance and to the man of born top comedy from 7 30 Monday on ABC.
Your late night movie tonight is the Jacques Tati comedy classic Monsieur Hulot's Holiday.