SO STANDBY FOR A WINDY WEEK ` INITIALLY IN THE SOUTH BUT SLOWLY MOVING NORTH WITH BURSTS OF RAIN. ON THE UP SIDE, IT'LL BE MUCH WARMER THAN IT HAS BEEN. MEDLANDS BEACH. AND THAT'S ONE NEWS FOR MONDAY. FROM THE 6 O'CLOCK TEAM, GOODNIGHT. ONE NEWS CAPTIONS BY DESNEY SHAW AND JOHN LING. 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. Welcome. IT IS A TRICKY ISSUE. DO YOU VACCINATE YOUR KIDS OR DON'T YOU? THAT MAKES PEOPLE VERY PASSIONATE. THE LATEST IMMUNISATION PUSH HAS DIVIDED MORE THAN EVER. ONLY ABOUT 50% OF ELIGIBLE GIRLS HAVE THE FULL THREE-JAB COURSE ` A SLOWER UPTAKE THAN FOR OTHER NEW VACCINES. Ugh. Needles! Also tonight, we start our sharpest towns series. We're going to Motueka. Sticking with that theme, Maori Language Week. Are we embracing it or paying lip service? Also, did you know that NZ invaded America last week? 'JOIN THE ARMY,' THEY SAID. 'SEE THE WORLD,' THEY SAID. THAT'S ALL COMING UP ON SEVEN SHARP. It is a subject that really sets people. If you want to spoil a dinner party, bring up vaccination. It splits people completely down the middle. You hardly ever hear people that are not quite sure. Gill higgins had to make a decision on the latest push. YOUR DAUGHTER GETS HOME FROM SCHOOL. OUT COMES THE LUNCH BOX. THE GYM KIT...(SIGHS) AND... ITS JUST A LEAFLET, AND WHAT IT OFFERS SOUNDS GOOD ` A VACCINE THAT PROTECTS AGAINST A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED VIRUS CALLED HPV THAT CAN CAUSE CERVICAL CANCER. BOOM! ...BUT IT'S GETTING PEOPLE ALL FIRED UP. ...INVADING THE PLANET. SHOULD GARDASIL NOW BE TAKEN OFF THE MARKET? IT'S TIME THAT WE EXPOSE WHAT THESE MERCHANTS OF DEATH ARE DOING. SOMEHOW, IN THE FACE OF ALL THIS, WE, AS PARENTS, ARE SUPPOSED TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION. NOW, I'D LIKE TO GET IT DONE, BECAUSE I LIKE THE IDEA OF PREVENTION RATHER THAN CURE. AS FOR MY DAUGHTER... I REALLY HATE THEM. NOT SO KEEN. NOW THAT I CAN PUT UP WITH. HEY, ITS THE SAME FOR ANY VACCINE FOR GIRLS ANYWHERE. I HATE INJECTIONS. IT JUST, LIKE, HURTS. BUT THE STRENGTH OF REACTION AGAINST THIS VACCINE FROM PARENTS, WELL, THAT GENUINELY CONCERNS ME. ONLY ABOUT 50% OF ELIGIBLE GIRLS HAVE THE FULL THREE-JAB COURSE ` A SLOWER UPTAKE THAN FOR OTHER NEW VACCINES. SO WHY THINK THIS ONE IS SO LOW? WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A VIRUS CALLED HPV, WHICH MANY PEOPLE HAVE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF, AND THEN WHEN YOU ALSO THROW IN FACT THAT IT'S SEX TRANSMITTED, I THINK PEOPLE JUST GET INCREDIBLY NERVOUS. IT'S REALLY DIFFERENT FROM, LIKE, A MENINGOCOCCAL EPIDEMIC, WHERE YOU SEE BABIES DYING IN FRONT OF YOU. THIS IS A BIT MORE INVISIBLE AND A BIT LESS IMMEDIATE. BUT THERE ARE OTHER REASONS TOO. WE WENT TO TWO AUCKLAND INTERMEDIATES ON JAB DAY ` DECILE TEN MURRAYS BAY AND DECILE FIVE TE ATATU. WE FILMED THE GIRLS AND SURVEYED THE PARENTS. THOSE AGAINST THE VACCINE HAD SPECIFIC CONCERNS. FIRST UP, THEY SAID SCREENING AND TREATMENT FOR CERVICAL CANCER IS GOOD ENOUGH ALREADY. WE WILL ALWAYS NEED SCREENING AS WELL, BECAUSE THERE ARE OTHER HPV VIRUSES THAT AREN'T IN THIS VACCINE. SECOND, CONCERNS IT'S UNSAFE. AFTER ALL, THERE ARE CLAIMS OF LINKS TO SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS, EVEN DEATH. THIS IS THE ONE THAT GETS ME. THE LAST THING I'D WANT TO DO IS PUT MY DAUGHTER AT RISK, SO AM I RIGHT TO GIVE THIS VACCINE? BECAUSE I'VE STARTED TO WORRY ABOUT IT GOING THROUGH ALL THIS. THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE LINKING THIS VACCINE TO DEATH. WE HAVE HUGE AMOUNTS OF SAFETY DATA. IT'S NOW BEING USED INTERNATIONALLY ON MORE THAN 100 MILLION GIRLS, AND WE HAVE LARGE INTERNATIONAL DATA BASES LOOKING HARD ALL THE TIME AT SAFETY WARNINGS AND CHECKING ON SAFETY. THREE... NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO PROVE IT WORKS. THE VACCINE IS PERFORMING VERY WELL. NZ EARLY DATA IS ALREADY SHOWING A DRAMATIC REDUCTION IN GENITAL WARTS AND WE ARE BEGINNING TO SHOW A REDUCTION IN THE EARLY CHANGES THAT LEAD TO CERVICAL CANCER. BUT A LOT OF PARENTS ARE ARGUING THERE'S BEEN TOO LITTLE RESEARCH. THIS VACCINE HAS MORE RESEARCH THAN ALMOST ANY OTHER NEW INTRODUCED VACCINE. WE'RE NOT THE NOT FIRST IN WORLD. IT'S BEEN RUNNING IN MANY COUNTRIES BEFORE US. ASK THE AUSTRALIANS. YOU KNOW, THEY'RE AHEAD OF US, UNFORTUNATELY, ON THIS ONE. AND WAIT FOR IT, THERE'S ONE MORE ` IT'S GIVEN TO GIRLS AT TOO YOUNG AN AGE. AT 12, THEY'RE NOT EVEN THINKING ABOUT SEX... WE HOPE. THE VACCINE IS MORE EFFECTIVE YOUNGER GIVE IT. IT'S COMPLETELY DISASSOCIATED FROM SEX. THE IDEA IS THAT WE ARE BUILDING UP PROTECTION WITHIN OUR BODIES. OBVIOUSLY, IT'S A VERY EMOTIONAL ISSUE WHEN IT'S GOT ANYTHING TO DO WITH OUR OWN CHILDREN, IF IT'S GOT ANYTHING TO DO WITH SEX, AND BECAUSE WE ARE VACCINATING HEALTHY POPULATION. BUT NIKKI HAS ANOTHER CREDENTIAL. SHE'S ALSO A MUM WHO'S HAD ALL FOUR OF HER CHILDREN VACCINATED. I WOULD FEEL REALLY BAD IF HADN'T OFFERED IT TO MY CHILDREN WITH ALL I KNOW ABOUT THIS VACCINE. AND THIS INCLUDES HER STEPSON, AGE 13. I BELIEVE THAT THERE'S A VERY STRONG CASE FOR OFFERING VACCINE TO BOYS AND TO GIRLS. AUSTRALIA IS THE FIRST COUNTRY TO INTRODUCE IT FOR BOYS TOO. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LIKE THE SOUND OF THIS, BOYS. YOU CAN GET CANCER OF PENIS. YOU CAN GET CANCER OF THE ANUS. YOU CAN GET CANCER OF THE THROAT. WE HAVE MICHAEL DOUGLAS TO THANK FOR PUBLICISING THAT ONE. IF ONLY THE VACCINE HAD BEEN AVAILABLE FOR HIM. WELL, IT IS AVAILABLE NOW. AT THE SCHOOLS WE WENT TO, UPTAKE WAS ACTUALLY PRETTY GOOD. AS FOR MY DAUGHTER, AFTER WEIGHING IT ALL UP, I DID GET HER TO HAVE IT. THANKFULLY, NO SIDE EFFECTS, AND IMPORTANTLY FOR HER... IT ACTUALLY DIDN'T HURT. ONE JAB DOWN, TWO TO GO. Ian Williams is a dad and very much pro-vaccination. It wasn't always that way. We decided not to vaccinate our kids. Our son, in his seventh year, got rubella and then tetanus. Tetanus is horrendous. You can see him there on life-support. We don't hear much about that these days. It is horrendous. You get a prick from a thorn or rusty nail. The bacteria releases a toxin that destroys all your muscles and can't control contraction. You can't open your mouth. It is like mother nature is just torturing you. What did the doctors say? It took us three days to figure out it was tetanus.Because it is uncommon these days and we have vaccinations. He was put in a coma. You almost lost him. 10% chance of dying. Tell me why you were so against vaccination originally. We haven't have friends around us who are very anti-vaccination. We got caught up in their data and myths. It's easy to focus on the adverse reactions and how bad they might be. The Internet can be so dangerous. You described to me earlier how things get inversely proportioned. What everyone is doing analysing vaccinations is trying to figure out the risk of diseases versus the risk of vaccines. Hundred percent of doctors around the world are basically pro vaccines. Measles by itself has killed 200 million people in the last 150 years. That wiped out a fifth of Hawaii. Tthe risk of the disease is up here, and the risk of adverse reactions is down here. What the Internet does is focus on those adverse reactions, and doctors can't get the message out about how important the protection I H We are trying to get perspective here. We are aware that there are those of you out there who will not agree. One viewer says... Take tetanus. I have a healthy diet, and that will help with heart disease, cancer, diabetes, things like that. Tetanus... One guy got it twice in America. The only way a human being can get resistant to tetanus is with a vaccine. You need Western medicine on some things. Thanks, Ian. STAY WITH US ` PLENTY TO COME. WITH SO MANY BLANK FACES DURING PART OF OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM, HAS MAORI LANGUAGE WEEK HAD ANY IMPACT? WE'RE WITH THE KIWI SOLDIERS FOOTING IT WITH THE MARINES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. IT'S A` IT'S A SMALL TOWN. IT'S THE GATEWAY TO THE ABEL TASMAN. WE'RE WELL CONNECTED WITH THE NORTH, BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY PART OF THE SOUTH ` THE MAINLAND. YES, LET THE GAMES BEGIN. WE HEAD TO OUR FIRST 'SHARPEST TOWN' NOMINEE TO SEE WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT MOTUEKA IN THE SOUTH ISLAND. Welcome back. We have been looking forward to this week. Every day we will be profiling a sharp town. We will choose the best one based on your votes. And then we will go there. Will present from that town. Can I just point out how dirty some of the tactics of some reporters have been? We're heading to the South Island. If you have dreams of leaving the rat race, this might be the place you are dreaming about. UPBEAT MUSIC IT'S A SMALL TOWN. IT'S A GATEWAY TO THE ABEL TASMAN. WE'RE CONNECTED WITH THE NORTH, BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY PART OF THE SOUTH ` THE MAINLAND. IT'S GOT A HISTORY OF TOBACCO AND FRUIT GROWING. IT HAS BEEN RENOWNED TO BE A HIPPIE TOWN. I THINK WE'VE ALL GROWN UP A BIT. MO-TU-EKA. MOT-CHEW-ACRE? MOT-OO-EKA? THE LOCALS DON'T MIND WHAT YOU CALL THEIR TOWN. THEY JUST WANT YOU TO CALL IN. YOU'VE GOT A WHOLE LOT OF NEW PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING HERE FOR THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING HERE. I MOVED TO MOTUEKA TO PICK APPLES, AND I JUST REALLY ENJOYED THE LIFESTYLE HERE. I THINK IT'S PRETTY SPECIAL. THE ABUNDANCE OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES; THE ABUNDANCE OF FOOD BEING PRODUCED. WE GET SO MUCH SUNSHINE AND WE ENJOY THE WEATHER HERE. SO THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE IN MOTUEKA WHO GO TRAMPING, THEY GO SAILING. WE'VE GOT GOLDEN BEACHES AND BLUE SKIES. WHAT ISN'T THERE TO LIKE? SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE? WELL, NOT ACCORDING TO THE LOCALS. OVER 20 YEARS AGO NOW, MY HUSBAND AND I FROM ENGLAND CAME OVER FOR OUR HONEYMOON. MANY VISITORS, LIKE TERRI, END UP STICKING AROUND FOR GOOD. THERE'S GREAT COLLABORATION OF LOTS OF PEOPLE WITH LOTS OF ENERGY. WE'VE GOT THIS BEAUTIFUL ALLOTMENT THAT'S A COMMUNITY BASED THING. WE HAVE A SENSE OF COMMUNITY THAT A LOT OF LARGER PLACES DON'T HAVE. I LOVE HOW MANY VOLUNTEERS THERE ARE. I WANT MOTUEKA TO BE THE VOLUNTEER CAPITAL OF NZ. THERE'S NO BARRIER, THEY SAY, TO LIVING 40 MINUTES OUT OF NELSON. LOTS OF PEOPLE COME HERE TO GET AWAY FROM THE RAT RACE. PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE MAKE A CONSCIOUS CHOICE TO LIVE HERE. WE'RE GETTING A WHOLE HEAP MORE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WORK IN I.T. AND INDUSTRIES THAT NEED THE INTERNET TO SURVIVE, SO AS WE GET FASTER BROADBAND, WHICH WE ARE, THAT YOU GET YOUNGER PEOPLE COMING IN AND BRING THEIR BUSINESSES WITH THEM. AND IF YOU NEED ANY MORE CONVINCING OF HOW SHARP THIS TOWN IS, THERE'S SOMEONE I WANT YOU TO MEET. NOW, YOUR NAME'S RON SHARP? THAT'S RIGHT. SHARP BY NAME AND SHARP BY NATURE? YES, YES. AND SEVEN SHARP! MM, AND GUESS HOW OLD RON IS. 77! I REST MY CASE. IT'S A GOOD SHARP TOWN, ALL RIGHT. GOOD SHARP TOWN. THAT'S WHAT WE LIKE. VERY SHARP PLACE OH MY GOODNESS ME. IT HURTS! Hello to everybody at Tasman Bay Roses in Motueka. They named a rose after me. I can get an Ali Mau rose? I don't know whether it is a very good seller. Go, Motueka! TOMORROW IT'S OHAKUNE'S TURN. At the end of the week you will be able to vote. Please don't vote until then, because you won't have seen all the towns. If I was from Motueka, I'd vote now. Hard to believe that Jesse and Maori Language week have anything in common, but both have been around 38 years. To explain more about Maori Language week, Scotty Morrison. It is all about place names this time around, isn't it? Is something a lot of people still struggle with. They do, and it is a good theme to have. That is something that you can't avoid. It's in your face every day. There is three stages to revitalising our language. Valuing, acquisition and usage. If people want to show that they are valuing the language, pronouncing names correctly is a good start. Has it been successful? It's been putting the language into people's consciousness. And a lot of local boards have really got into it. Information and training is about the Maori names for places the trains go to. Two are always contentious ` Oamaru. It's Te Oha A Maru. Some of our weather presenters have come to me over the years� talking about pronunciations people have given them. The other one is a really long place name. I'm not going to attempt it. Greg Stubbings had a crack. OK, THIS IS GOING OUT TO MY AUNTIE SUSAN AND EVERYONE IN PORANGAHAU, CENTRAL HAWKE'S BAY. I'LL CLOSE MY EYES, SO YOU KNOW I'M NOT CHEATING. TAUMATAWHAKATANGIHANGAKOAUAUO TAMATEATURIPUKAKAPIKIMAUNGA HORONUKUPOKAIWHENUAKITANATAHU. PRETTY FLY FOR A WHITE GUY. Not bad, eh? I would give them what I would call a restricted pass. Hard taskmaster. At the end of the day, what we appreciate as people making a good effort. Your name, people must get frustrated at various pronunciations. It is just a matter of showing some respect for the name. Scotty, thank you. STICK WITH US. AFTER THE BREAK ` YOU'RE DOING EVERYTHING THAT YOU DREAM OF DOING AS A YOUNG FELLA ` JUST PLAYING WAR. FROM OAMARU TO THE FRONT LINES. SOME YOUNG KIWI SOLDIERS SHOWING US MARINES WHAT THEY'RE MADE OF. Welcome back. Did you know that armies are bit like sports teams? If you're not good at one aspect of war, you can go and practice. That is what the NZ Army has been doing. Our US correspondent Jack Tame went to Camp Pendleton in California, where our army is practising war against... America. IT WAS DUSK ON THE HILL, AND SOMEWHERE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA A GROUP OF US MARINES AND A PLATOON OF YOUNG KIWI SOLDIERS WERE PREPARING FOR A LONG NIGHT. YOU DO IT FOR DIFFERENT REASONS. YOU DO IT TO GO ON OPERATIONS, YOU DO IT TO LEAD MEN INTO COMBAT... YEAH, IT'S A HUGE SPAN OF REASONS, AND YOU JUST END UP LOVING IT. IT WAS ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS, KIND OF LIKE AFTER A DAY ON A SKI FIELD, WHEN YOU REALLY FEEL LIKE A BEER ` MAYBE TWO ` A FEED... YOU WANT TO TRY SOME? NAH. ...AND, ABOVE ALL, A GOOD BED. YEAH, A BED YOU DON'T HAVE TO DIG FIRST. 'JOIN THE ARMY,' THEY SAID. 'SEE THE WORLD,' THEY SAID. BUT IT WAS HERE ON THE HILL THE 10TH PLATOON ` AVERAGE AGE OF 20 ` SET DOWN FOR THE NIGHT. A JOURNO IN INAPPROPRIATE SKINNY JEANS, A HOLE FOR A BED, A HOLE FOR A BOG, CREEPY STUFF THAT LOVES BITING HUMANS, AND SOMEWHERE OUT IN THE DISTANCE, A SCORE OF US MARINES INTENT ON SMOKING THE KIWIS OUT. TENSE MUSIC THE DAY HAD STARTED ON US CHOPPERS ` UP THE CALIFORNIAN COAST, INTO A PADDOCK THAT COULD HAVE BEEN NORTH CANTERBURY, EXCEPT FOR THE LOCALS. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT RATTLESNAKES? OH, IT'S FINE. IT'S HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT ME I'M MORE WORRIED. IMMEDIATELY THERE WERE PROBLEMS ` PATCHY RADIOS, AND A COMPANY SPLIT. SO, WE'VE GOT GROUPS OF TROOPS IN ABOUT THREE DIFFERENT PLACES TRYING TO ESTABLISH COMMUNICATIONS BEFORE WE ALL JOIN TOGETHER AND MOVE ON. IT'S HOT. YEP, 34 DEGREES, WHICH, WHEN YOU'RE CARRYING 40KG OF GEAR, MAKES THOSE HILLS EXTRA FUN (!) FOUR THREE WERE A BIT QUICKER OFF THE MARK, AND THEY'VE GOT ABOUT HALFWAY UP THEIR RIDGE LINE. A FEW KILOMETRES IN THE DISTANCE, THE OBJECTIVE. THAT DISTANT HILL ` THERE'S ALWAYS A HILL ` DISTANT GUNFIRE AND MORE ENEMY FORCES THAN MOST OF THE COMPANY HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE. THIS IS AS CLOSE TO COMBAT AS MANY OF THE YOUNG MEN HAVE EVER SEEN, AND AS CLOSE AS MANY MAY EVER GET. AND FOR AN ARMY STILL BATTLING TO RECRUIT YOUNG SOLDIERS, IT MAKES GETTING OUT OF WAIOURU AND BURNHAM ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT. AFTER ALL, DESPITE ALL THE HILLS ` THERE'S ALWAYS A HILL ` THERE'S NO DENYING THIS STUFF MAKES FOR BOYS' OWN FUN. WE'VE HAD TWO SECTIONS MOVE AROUND TO THE RIGHT FLANK. THEY'VE NOW COME UP OUT OF THEIR FORM-UP POINT ` THEIR FUP ` AND THEY'RE ASSAULTING ON TO THE POSITION. GUNFIRE AND IT WAS THERE ON THAT HILL THAT THE KIWIS WON THEIR BEDS FOR THE NIGHT ` A DEFEATED ENEMY FORCE, A HILL AND ONLY FIVE DAYS TO GO. For a Marine exercise, I thought slightly more water would be involved.There was no water. Lots of cool gear. And they won against America as well, which I thought was impressive. THAT'S ALL FOR TONIGHT. SEE YOU TOMORROW. CAPTIONS BY RICHARD EDMUNDS AND ANNA BRACEWELL-WORRALL. CAPTIONS WERE MADE POSSIBLE WITH FUNDING FROM NZ ON AIR.