FOXTON: Local Moteliers Ray and Mary Anderson are delighted to be named in the final 16 of New Zealand’s Next Top Motel competition. Having managed Foxton Court Motel for just 8 months the couple is delighted to see their improvements to the premises are starting to be recognized.

Since taking over in the New Year the couple has installed new jugs and refrigerators in every unit, excepting the rarely used units 15 and 16, and have added new toasted sandwich presses to 10 of the 16 rooms.

Other changes include painting the Motel swimming pool, adding wireless broadband access and refitting the heavily used trampoline in the children’s play area.

“We’ve put a lot of work into the place and it’s exciting to be pitting our experience against New Zealand’s other top Moteliers in the upcoming show,” said a delighted Ray.

The TV3 show will test Ray and Mary’s Moteling skills in a variety of situations from changing beds, through to performing home maintenance jobs to dealing with unruly patrons in the late hours of the evening.

Have you got any advice for young Moteliers Ray?

“Treat everyone how you would like to be treated and never enter a room before knocking.”

WELLINGTON: The ACT Party stunned political pundits today by making a public announcement, implying the political party was still active.

ACT Leader Rodney Hide managed to keep a straight face throughout the announcement of his new deputy, some guy called John Bescowan, but it was obvious to all that the announcement was no more than a desperate attempt to keep the party in the spotlight.

"I thought they had given up the Ghost," said Parliamentary reporter John Rose after the poorly attended press conference in the staff cafeteria at Bowen House.

"I have to admit I had seen the guy they named as Deputy around the house a few times, but I just thought he was plain clothes detective.  Who would have thought he was an MP."

The Government has announced plans for a Newspaper Museum in Wellington.

Before the advent of the Internet, "newspapers" were used to spread information to large numbers of people.

They were printed on low quality paper and delivered by hand to peoples' homes, in a process taking hours.

The average newspaper cost around $1 each and contained hundreds of advertisements, pictures of sharks, rugby analysis, cartoons and an hotchpotch of other items classed as "news".

The $5 million museum will feature a realistic replica of a giant "press", once used to print newspapers.

It will also have a "subs bench", where specially trained people once checked the newspapers for mistakes!

New Zealand once had several newspapers, including the New Zealand Herald, the North Shore Advertiser and The Dominion Post.

Culture and Heritage Minister Judith Tizard said the museum would provide a valuable reminder of a bygone age.

"The morning newspaper is now only a distant memory for some of our old people, so it's important we remember how we once lived."

The museum will be located on a 2 ha block of land near Wellington's waterfront, where sufficient space has been set aside for the forthcoming Radio and Television museums.