New Zealand Police Published on Dec 16, 2015
Singer Tina Cross and Counties Manukau’s police choir have joined forces to re-record Tina’s song Walk Away. Supported by Otahuhu Blue Light Choir, and with messages from It’s Not OK champions Vic Tamati and Jude Simpson, this video makes a heartfelt statement – family violence is never OK, but it is OK to ask for help.
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New Zealand Police – Media Release
Walk Away from violence (video)
Thursday, 17 December 2015 – 2:40pm
A police choir has joined forces with Kiwi singing star Tina Cross to take a powerful and heartfelt stand against family violence.
Tina Cross, the Counties Manukau District Commander’s Police Choir and teenagers from Otahuhu Blue Light Choir joined forces to re-record Tina’s song Walk Away, with its message of support for women in abusive relationships.
The video – including messages from Jude Simpson and Vic Tamati, champions for the national anti-violence campaign It’s Not OK – was launched at Counties Manukau Police District Headquarters.
The launch included a live performance of the song, a screening of the video and speakers including Jude, Vic and Police Commissioner Mike Bush.
Choir leader Inspector Wati Chaplow and manager Martin Bailey approached Tina – who had twice previously performed with the choir – about collaborating on Walk Away, from her 2014 album Lay Down Your Heart.
“She’s a true professional and an amazing performer,” says Wati. “We knew she had this song that dealt with family violence. Its lessons – ‘walk away’ and ‘give her a voice’ – are very apt to our work.”
He says the inclusion of Jude and Vic’s stories adds to the impact. “It’s hard for a victim to walk away but Jude is proof that it can be done. And Vic’s story shows that as an offender you can also walk away from that violence and anger.”
Tina, an ambassador for Women’s Refuge, says working with the police and Blue Light singers had been “absolutely brilliant”.
“We’re all in the same waka,” she says. “The kaupapa is the same for us all, sworn officer or non-sworn. The most important thing is what the song can deliver.”
Useful links:
● http://www.police.govt.nz/advice/family-violence/help
● http://areyouok.org.nz/ (link is external)
Walk Away, written by Tina Cross, courtesy of Tina Cross. Licensed by Aeroplane Music Ltd.
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18.12.15 article + video
Stuff: Police choir teams up with Tina Cross for family violence campaign
█ 33 people, including 16 children and 10 women, had died as a result of family violence this year alone. The Christmas and New Year period was one of the worst periods for family violence.
WHERE TO GET HELP
● Women’s Refuge: 0800 REFUGE or 0800 733 843
● Family violence information line: 0800 456 450 or go to areyouok.org.nz
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Walk Away published 3 Jul 2014
Tina would like to thank those women who appear in close up, those who opened their homes to a film crew, those who walked the streets with her and of course, three of her best chick singer mates, Jackie Clarke, Annie Crummer and Callie Blood. “Thank you all for being wonderful Wahine and giving your support to “Walk Away” and Women’s Refuge.
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr
What if? Dunedin... 
### radionz.co.nz 2 hrs ago
RNZ News
PM to keep anti-violence role despite radio rape joke
Anti-violence charity White Ribbon has accepted Prime Minister John Key’s word that he was unaware of a prison rape joke during an appearance on a music station. Mr Key joined in a prank on The Rock by getting into a cage and picking up a bar of soap – a reference to rape in prison. A petition is calling for Mr Key to be axed from his role as a White Ribbon ambassador. White Ribbon said the jokes were an exercise in bad taste and helped to perpetuate violence by normalising and trivialising it.
Read more
I bet the Germans envy us. Angela Merkel doesn’t even try to include Coarse Jester in her role as leader of their country.
Angela Merkel is in a different league to Key. A person with a lot more panache, and dignity, that Key couldn’t even come close to emulating.
How long will it be before Kiwis tire of their Village Idiot PM? Says a lot about our collective immaturity that we see him as a good joker.
And Kiwis have the nerve to put down Aussies as 0ckers!
Being shallow is not a political disadvantage here in Godzone. Being a bit of a dag is great, it’s like having our own TV2 family comedy with home-canned laughter.
### NZ Herald Online Sat, 19 Dec 2015
Bail decision ‘idiotic’
By Anna Leask
A man found guilty of sexually abusing his neighbour’s granddaughter when she was 8 has been bailed to live at home – up a shared driveway and just 30m from where his victim lives – until sentencing in June. His sentencing has been delayed until after a second trial next year in which he will stand accused of offending against another child. The first victim, now 10, and her family see the man most days and say their Auckland home has become a prison and “an absolute hell” because of the judge’s decision.
The man, in his 70s, has name suppression. That was granted because he lives next door to the victim, who has automatic and permanent name secrecy due to the sexual nature of the charges. The man was found guilty of two representative charges of sexual conduct with a child under 12 after a three-day trial. Despite the verdict, Judge Anna Johns did not formally enter a conviction, and granted the man bail until sentencing.
Read more
### NZ Herald Online 2:48 PM Tuesday Dec 22, 2015
Kiwis arrested in FBI child abuse sting
Three New Zealand men have been arrested and convicted following an international operation to identify individuals involved in the distribution of child abuse material on the internet. The three men face charges of distributing and possessing objectionable publications.
The operation that netted the men was launched in July last year and coordinated by OCEANZ, a specialist New Zealand police unit working as part of the FBI-led Violent Crimes Against Children International Taskforce (VCACITF) to protect children from online child abuse.
Detective Senior Sergeant John Michael said the three New Zealanders arrested were among 48 individuals identified and arrested worldwide as part of this operation. “So far, 31 children have been rescued from abusive situations. Four children in New Zealand have been safeguarded from potential abuse,” he said.
Mr Michael said trade in child abuse images was a serious criminal offence that victimised and revictimised “our most vulnerable members of society”.
Read more
█ VCACITF was established in 2004 and now includes 67 investigators from 44 countries who work closely together to coordinate complex multinational investigations.
Video shows boys’ reactions when asked to hit a girl.
Reaches 20,000 in its first two hours (via Facebook).
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### NZ Herald Online Tue, 22 Dec 2015 9:42 AM
Family violence campaign: ‘If kids know it’s wrong you should too’
By Kirsty Johnston
A video recording boys’ reaction when asked to hit a girl has been filmed by Counties Manukau Police in their ongoing campaign against family violence. The clip, which features seven boys aged 8 to 12, has taken a cue from “Slap Her”, an Italian clip that gained world-wide attention earlier this year. It begins with an interviewer asking the boys their names, ages, and what they want to be. They are introduced to a girl called Chloe, asked to make her laugh, and give her a hug. Asked why they like her, one responds, “there’s just something nice about Chloe”. The boys are then asked to slap her. […] The video was shot over two weeks, and released today to remind people of the “It’s not OK” message in time for Christmas.
Read more
New Zealand Police Published on Dec 21, 2015
If kids know it’s wrong, you should too
Please, if you or someone you know is going through a hard time, then talk to someone who can help. We and many other agencies are here to support you. #itsnotOK #safercommunitiestogether
http://areyouok.org.nz/
### ODT Online Tue, 22 Dec 2015
Editorial: Change will take courage
A recently released Law Commission report makes a case for major change and innovation in the way the justice system responds to victims of sexual violence. The report has been a long time coming. The commission was tasked in 2009 with a high-level review of criminal trial processes as they apply to sexual violence cases. It considered whether processes needed to be changed to improve fairness, effectiveness and efficiency, particularly in relation to complainants’ court experience.
Read more
As a matter of interest, why did Judith Collins decide to give this important matter the extended taiho? NOT important, in that “esteemed” (Goon Show usage) person’s opinion?
Not sure, will have to delve. An indictment very possibly.
Indictment that didn’t affect Amy Adams? Sorry, still bewildered.
I meant an indictment upon Ms Collins. Although now I’m confused.
From the same editorial, biffo for John Key PM
“Sadly, we have a long way to go.
When jokes and comments about sexual offending are entertainment or political point-scoring fodder for our own Prime Minister (who is notably also a White Ribbon ambassador), the message is far from encouraging.
Ms Adams has her work cut out.”
Top marks to whoever wrote that editorial. Cojones were in evidence, suckup absent. Only one quibble, see above – why Collins stalled it.
“Sexually abused people should stop whining and get on with the important things like rorting and treachery”?
Sadly we have an editor unable to tell the difference between the victim of a sexually inappropriate radio prank, and the perpetrator of it.
I thought “blame the victim” attitude was something anti-sexual violence campaigners were strongly against.
Clearly, when it suits them politically, they’re happy to “blame the victim” as well.
Very likely. Pony tails notwithstanding.
That was another issue that was much more about scoring political points than what was being discussed.
Having a daughter in an all girls football team where everyone has a pony tail, the question from the girls was “why is this a big deal – it’s not as if it doesn’t happen regularly”.
Prime Minister of New Zealand.
Unthinking unbecoming behaviour.
Paternalistic condescending behaviour.
Repeated behaviour.
Touching is not acceptable.
The complainant was not a child.
The issue received the media attention it deserved.
The John Key PM persona took a hit, no more feeling up ponytails in public since.
Judging by polls, his persona didn’t take much of a hit.
Because the people who already hated him and blame everything they can on him, still hate him and blame everything they can on him.
The people who think the above always try to make the biggest deal over the smallest thing, still think that.
I reckon every time he gets blamed for something that’s either not his fault or no big deal, the haters add just as much teflon than they take away.
Which is why you’ve got to go back at least half a century to find a third term PM as popular.
No more feeling up ponytails in public since.
Victim? Haven’t you forgotten the power relationship issue?
“Blame the victim” is situations such as underage kid is so sexually – and deliberately – tempting that a policeman reasonably assumes she’s “asking for it”.
Compare with person mature in age, mature in responsibility of occupation therefore reasonably assumed to be mature in judgement, makes a habit of avoiding mature relationships with media, makes a habit of engaging in pranks that commonly make him look like a dick.
Victim? Don’t make me laugh, I gotta cracked lip.
Whatever – trying to make a big deal out of something that happens thousands of times every day around the country, is clearly more an attempt at political point scoring, than it is actually caring about real and actual issues.
photonz, I don’t accept women or men touching me up inappropriately in public places including work places; I don’t have any colleagues, friends or family that think it is acceptable in any way.
I don’t imagine Finance minister Bill English condones the PM’s ‘mistake’ either.
In the real world banter and teasing between people who regularly see each other is pretty common.
The way it looks to a large part of the population, is that anybody trying to make such a big deal over such a minor thing has an ulterior motive – probably that they hate Key and will use any minor thing they can to try to get at him.
Of course, it was not a naive Key here. He knows the prison shower reference. It’s an old Kiwi joke…..very hackneyed….along with the one about Kiwis being sheep farmers and into bestiality with gumboots on.
Whether people take offence is up to the individual, but Key being a victim? Nah. Late fifties, Man of the World.
PhotoNZ that is not The Real World. That is a world you claim is real. Always, just because a behaviour is culturally normative does not make it right, especially perpetrated by ‘Number 1’./ Number 6, The Village.
Peter – that’s a great example of what I said above.
You’ve made it obvious you hate Key, so you take something where he was the target of the joke, and you’re trying to make out it was his fault as if he was the perpetrator – rather than the one being mocked.
The proof of all that is that out of all the thousands of online comments about how offended they are of Key doing this, you’ll struggle to find a single one that has even a word of criticism of the perpetrators of the prank – the radio station.
Hate (in this context) is a bit strong and loaded, or simply emphatic.
Hating is a waste of energy but at least it points to dislike and preference, I guess.
I think it’s reasonably safe to assume that when someone is calling the Prime Minister a “village idiot”, they hate them.
However I agree it’s a waste of energy. The proof of that is that the haters have spent vast amounts of time beating up any small thing Key has done. And yet after teapotgate, ponytailgate, and soapgate, he’s still one of the most popular PMs we’ve ever had.
That’s because most people see it as a bunch of people trying to making the biggest deal out of the smallest things that wouldn’t even be news if it was someone else.
Well here goes, photonz.
What passes as MSM (mainstream media) in New Zealand is hardly the stomping ground of strenuous investigation for our national welfare. Obsessions with teapots, ponytails and soap, or even flags, seem to be a fashion of avoidance. In-house lampooning, where no-one has to work too hard for their salary and entitlements.
I’d agree with that Elizabeth. The hysteria they work themselves into over minutiae can be frenetic and long lasting.
Just today I read a roundup on political comment at the height of ponytailgate, and almost everyone – even many on the far right of the spectrum – was predicting it would be hugely damaging to Key’s ratings, if not bring his downfall.
The hysteria over teapotgate was even worse and totally dominated all other election coverage of important issues. Today few people can tell you what the real issue behind it actually was.
Fair enough, and whether I like Mr Key or not I do know his brand is very strong. I don’t identify with it.
No – “I think it’s reasonably safe to assume that when someone is calling the Prime Minister a “village idiot”, they hate them” – it’s not within a bull’s roar of hating them. Village idiots / urban idiots were/are part of the humanscape. They’re OK, just don’t expect them to do anything more demanding than “hold this end of the tape measure willya”. Don’t give them responsibility for matters affecting the whole country, nor appointing people to the job of negotiating binding trade agreements too complex and too secret for us to know about. “Just trust me” – sorry Village/Urban Idiot, no can do.
And that is why “the smallest things” are of no, little or great significance, according to when, where and who’s involved. Joe Shelfstacker banters with Checkout Charlee – not significant unless it’s one-sided and the one who gets “bantered at” objects. If so, most workplaces the banteror risks dismissal unless the banteree accepts proffered apology and the practice stops forthwith. Laws and rules regarding bullying and harassment have gradually changed what people expect to do and endure. This is why workplace banter is much less prevalent, and there is avoidance of unwanted physical contact and sexual comments, compared with 40 years ago – is that perhaps the period photonz thinks of and assumes it’s still the same today?
The PM has power which he has been given by the people, voters who trust him to exercise mature judgement.
Hate or not hate – immaterial. No matter how nice the people were. , the surgical team who would be performing elective surgery on me should I not fall off the waiting list again, I’d still be aghast if I was at a local eatery and saw them drop their fork then pick it up and continue eating; knock over their glass of mineral water; fumble while cutting steak and send a chunk of it flying across the table. Would I hate them? No. Would I feel confident that surgery at their hands was a horrifying prospect, best avoided even if it meant I remained impaired – but impaired in a way I had learned to live with! I hope this analogy is not confusing, I merely wish to indicate why dislike of a person *in one role* is not the same as hatred of that person as an individual outside that role.
I didn’t identify with Helen Clark’s personal “brand”. However I thought she did a pretty good job running the country, at least for her first two terms – perhaps not quite so much for the third.
Like most politicians (and arguably most people) Key does silly things every now and again.
But while what some people portray as serious career ending issues are really just a beat-up of something very minor, they’re unlikely to ever make a difference to his popularity larger than the margin of error.
Kiwis have a pretty good sense of justice and fairness, so often irrational over-reactions against something minor, are going to have the opposite effect on a significant portion of the population.
Which is probably the opposite of what the irrational over-reactors want.
I agree with Elizabeth’s comment about the use of the word, hate. Calling someone a ‘village idiot’ is not tantamount to expressing hate. If it was so, that emotion would be pretty mildly expressed by those words.
Idiocy is common to many politicians, on all sides, at times because they inevitably have egos that overtake them and, in the process, come across as dick heads.
Sometimes they act the goat for effect. This is something Key seems to value in his political tool kit. So, he appears on trashy radio programmes and willingly partakes in stunts. This is to show he is a fun guy, a bit of a dag.
Yes, photonz, I have recently acknowledged that he is popular with many people. He hits the right key, so to speak, with those Kiwis. So far, it hasn’t harmed him, but that isn’t to say this state of affairs will continue.
Think of Idi Amin, Emperor Bokassa of the Central African Empire, Papa Doc Duvalier, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump. At least Key isn’t dangerous like those ones, but his idiocy is up there. So much so that the British comedian on American TV (John Oliver, I think his name is) obviously keeps an eagle eye out for his next foolish gaffe to parody.
I personally would prefer our PM not to be an embarrassing dick head, but that’s me. You obviously don’t mind having a dick head PM, photonz. That’s your call.
I want a PM with a keen sense of humour, a sharp wit a la David Lange, Gough Whitlam or Paul Keating. Key doesn’t come close to having a sharp wit.
Whereas I don’t give a toss if they come across as witty, or as a dickhead.
To me how they run the country is a thousand times more important than superficial appearances.
And frankly, the comparisons with Amin and Bokassa is more than just a little desperate. I’ve been to both Uganda and CAR a number of times and the legacy of their madness is the absolute extreme opposite end of the spectrum of here.
Unless you expect Key to get pet lions and literally feed them Andrew Little and Metiria Turei, like the CAR emperor did with his political opposition. Or lock the opposition in a cell, give them hammers to bash each others skulls in, then shoot the last one alive, like Amin did.
I’m sorry, but your comparison is laughable, and should be treated with the absolute derision it deserves.
photonz. Comprehension,please. I said Key was not dangerous like the forementioned political oddities. Only his idiotic antics were up there.
I guess we shouldn’t be surprised if Key’s next stunt will be to sit on a whoopee cushion, but that’s fine by you. Fair enough……for you.
Hype – was that an explanation of why really minor things are actually really important?
Or did I get that wrong and were you actually saying that clumsy waiters should not be surgeons?
Oh dear, I really was being too obscure for you. Sorry, photonz. Did anyone out there understand what I was getting at?
No photonz it was advice that Prime Ministers should not pull sheilas’ hair cause it brings into question their judgement which is crucial to their job or vocation.
Hey Gurglars, you got it!
Sorry Hype – I must be mistaken than you’d rambled about people stacking shelves and hospital waiting lists and trade agreements and some workplace from 40 years ago that you wrongly thought I’d worked in.
Maybe I fell asleep at the point you had a point.
Never mind, photonz. I don’t expect everyone to have the identical attention spans.
One group of people are always going to question Key’s judgement.
As the polls show, the size of that group didn’t change because of some banter at a cafe.
All it did was show how anally retentive some people are to try to make a big issue out of minutiae.
Another interesting phenomenon is how the term anally retentive has been taken from Freud’s original use of it to mean in common parlance a person with so much attention to detail that the obsession becomes annoying to other people, one who feels a need to be in control of all aspects of his or her surroundings.
photonz, you have been supplied with other people’s reasons for disliking John Key’s “trivial” behaviour, including that it reveals the cut of his jib [figure of speech] i.e. degree to which they feel his judgement is fit to be relied upon in the important role of Prime Minister. You disagree. Your reason for disagreeing is that the actions in and of themselves were trivial – or have I misunderstood you?
You appear to admire – you certainly defend with relentless vigour – John Key. That is your right. Should you be called a Key lover?
I do not admire John Key. Do you think it is reasonable behaviour to call me, as you called another who shares my opinion, a hater?
If you fell asleep while reading this please have a chat with your general practitioner ahead of sharing with us on this site. Your GP may be able to help.
Dunedin WAKE UP
Look after your families friends neighbours work colleagues………….
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The level of violence in the south remained troubling
### ODT Online Thu, 24 Dec 2015
Family violence is on the rise
By Timothy Brown
Reported family violence continues to rise in the south as police dealt with almost 2000 cases in Dunedin alone during the past year.
Dunedin police are attending between 35 and 50 cases of domestic violence a week, almost double the caseload from three years ago.
Read more
Delcelia Witika – A case of child abuse
News reports on the death of Delcelia Witika sickened New Zealanders. The description of the events leading up to her death and how Delcelia’s body was found left many asking ‘How could such a horrific crime occur and go undetected in a civilised society.’
http://www.crime.co.nz/c-files.aspx?ID=472
### NZ Herald Online 7:06 PM Thursday Dec 17, 2015
Find out your partner’s history of abuse
By Nicholas Jones
People will be able to go to police and ask if their partner has a history of abuse under a new disclosure scheme – receiving a response within 24 hours in the most serious cases. If people are concerned about their safety they can now approach police either in person or by phone and ask about their partner’s history.
● Police will consider disclosing information on a case-by-case basis if it is legal and will protect the potential victim.
● If there is a serious threat to the safety of a person or their children then a decision will be made within 24 hours, with other decisions coming within 20 working days.
● A third party, such as a parent or friend, can make an application but they would not necessarily receive the information about the individual concerned.
● According to the police website, it may be considered more appropriate for the information to be provided to the partner or “another person who is best placed to protect the potential victim”.
The new disclosure scheme was announced by Justice Minister Amy Adams and Police Minister Judith Collins, and is part of a range of measures designed to reduce domestic violence.
Read more
****
█ NZ POLICE Help for family violence
Family violence is a crime. It is not a private matter. People in violent relationships often cannot help themselves. They need your help.
In an emergency dial 111 and ask for the Police. Your call could save a life. Ignoring family violence could result in serious injury or death. Nearly half of all homicides in New Zealand are related to family violence.
The law says that ‘domestic violence’ can be physical, sexual or psychological.
● Nobody has the right to assault another person.
● Nobody is allowed to have sexual contact with another person without permission.
● Nobody has the right to use intimidation, threats or mind games to gain power over another person.
If you are a victim of family violence or in a relationship that makes you fearful about your own or anyone else’s safety, seek help as soon as possible. You have the right to be safe.
If you are a friend or acquaintance of a victim of family violence, you can help by listening and being supportive, ensuring the person and any children are safe and finding out what help is available in the community.
If you are a friend or acquaintance of a violent person, you can help by telling them it is not OK and assisting them to find help.
█ FOR MORE HELP go to http://www.police.govt.nz/advice/family-violence/help
16.1.16 ODT Editorial: Honest alcohol conversation needed
While the research row over an alcohol company-funded report by a British anthropologist which found no direct link between alcohol and violence is unsurprising, it is disappointing worthy content is being overlooked in the backlash. […] This newspaper has long maintained there is a cocktail of factors contributing to our appalling violence statistics, one of which is alcohol abuse, but another is undoubtedly our “frontier mentality”, a “hard man” and misogynistic attitude – evident everywhere from the sports field and sidelines, to the workplace, to the home.
Unusual having an anthropologist researching this lol! I was thinking is this a joke or what?! But she could be right I suppose. I’ve been drunk before and I am cautious of what I do. But I am still curious as to why some people become violent or do weird embarrassing things when they are drunk.
An anthropologist studies human society. Nothing unusual there. She’s not my wife, Im Ipso Facto. Anthro as Sociology is big. Health Sciences students take it as minor in a medical degree.
Increasingly forensic. Along the archaeological strand (physical anthropology).
I hope not. That’s going ‘Splat!’, already.
You are definitely right. I’m an anthropology major myself. I always forget that people in anthropology end up looking into modern culture these days. A lot of it has to do with not only ethics but some cultures prefer that westerners do not study them. But for some reason I keep thinking of the early 20th century anthropology (like Malinowski, Meads) where anthropologists studied distant remote exotic cultures.
Ditto. I’m very well behaved nowadays! In my youth the more drunk we got, the stronger our survival instinct became to crawl home successfully and sleep it off without (ahem) undue or ugly entanglements. The virtue of homing pigeons…. lol. No violence of any sort, I dare say we were privileged in this respect. It really was just the occasional ‘altered state’ fun of self-poisoning during the good times! (yeah okay we lost brain cells and so forth but it wasn’t three or more times a week, or weekly – couldn’t afford it, plus we had to work too hard to maintain our academic standing in architecture, and we had good self-esteem).
However, the loss of inhibition, the amount drunk and how often, and all the social and familial conditionings of power play and violence generally mean not all drunks are stupidly hopeless and sweet, or still breathing……. as New Zealand’s dreadful alcohol and [domestic] violence statistics show.
TheWeekndVEVO Published on Dec 8, 2015
The Weeknd – In The Night
In The Night (Official Video)
Song available on the new album Beauty Behind The Madness. Video directed by BRTHR. Produced by Sara Greco for LEGS MEDIA.
Objectification and unhelpful videos that feed.
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Of Ethiopian descent, Abęl Makkonen Tesfaye (born 16 February 1990), known professionally by his stage name The Weeknd (/ˈwiːkɛnd/), is a Canadian singer, songwriter and record producer. Wikipedia
The 25-year-old Grammy nominee’s epic music video for “In The Night” is shot in Brooklyn, and prominently stars Abel’s girlfriend Bella Hadid, 19.
lightener
Bubblegum with stunts
Maroon5VEVO Uploaded on Jun 30, 2010
Maroon 5 – Misery
Music video by Maroon 5 performing Misery. (C) 2010 A&M/Octone Records
### ODT Online Fri, 22 Jan 2016
Editorial: Culture, change and respect
The mass molestation of women on New Year’s Eve in Cologne has rocked and shocked Germany. […] The sheer numbers pouring into Germany had prompted fears and divisive views before the New Year celebration outside the Cologne Railway Station. Gangs of men harassed and robbed women, resulting in hundreds of complaints including two of rape. Similar smaller incidents occurred in Stuttgart and Hamburg.
Read more
I can’t imagine what Angela Merkel was thinking when she announced Germany would welcome all comers
Didn’t she noticed the preponderence of young men? Not many middle aged, not many women, proportionately. What do jobless young men do when outside the anchors of family? What kind of young men make that journey in the first place? The risk-takers, brave, desperate, determined and quick to grab opportunities. Great immigrants when there are societal slots for them to quickly fit into in jobs, and establish homes – routes to success _and_ something to lose if one behaves badly. On the other hand, they have the potential to become social blights when those qualities have nowhere constructive to go, to use up all that energy.
Fri, 1 Apr 2016
ODT: More funding for sexual assault
The Government has committed to more funding for sexual assault services as part of an overhaul of the sector which will allow rape crisis centres to remain open around the clock. In a report presented to Parliament yesterday, the Government said it had broadly accepted all 32 of the recommendations made by the Social Services Committee following a two-year inquiry. The inquiry in December concluded that the funding and delivery models for specialist sexual violence services were limited and disjointed, and that these shortcomings were having an impact on the rates and costs of sexual violence in New Zealand.
Excellent news for rapists, they won’t have to restrict themselves to hours 9 – 5 now.
What’s that? You say they didn’t?
Evenings? Night hours?
Well that comes as a shock.
Isn’t our Government wonderful, knowing the need is there at inconvenient times and now finding the money to assist victims asap: “Government has committed to more funding … which will allow rape crisis centres to remain open around the clock.”
NZ Newswire
http://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/toddlers-two-months-of-hell-before-death/ar-BBsveGb?ocid=spartandhp
We truly live in a sad society. The hype and glib talk of the ‘politico’s spin machines’ cannot hide the continuing sequences of the terrible state of affairs this greed, ‘devil take the hindmost’ economy, Rogernomics bequeathed upon this country. It has rotted the very heart of our society.
Tue, 10 May 2016
ODT: Dunedin woman’s killer denied parole
A 44-year-old man who stabbed his former partner to death using a combination of knives and a spade has been denied parole. At a parole board hearing on April 30, Gareth Lawrence Smither was declined on the basis that “he poses an undue risk to the safety of the community” and a “moderate risk of both violent and sexual re-offending”, decision documents released today said.
### radionz.co.nz. 7:22 pm on 12 May 2016
RNZ News
Abused may get new self-defence law
Ruth Hill – Wellington
A new law recommended by the Law Commission would recognise family violence victims who kill are usually reacting to years of mounting abuse. […] The current law failed to recognise that family violence victims who killed, were usually reacting to years of mounting abuse and often didn’t see any other way to stop it.
Read more
Mon, 27 Jun 2016
ODT: Dunedin joins march for Moko
Dunedinites have turned out to show their support for harsher sentences and putting a stop to child abuse in a march for Moko. Justice for Moko rallies have been organised throughout the country for today after the killing of three-year-old Moko Sayviah Rangitoheriri in Taupo. […] Moko was tortured and abused by his caregivers in August last year, which ended with his death in hospital. They did not call 111 for four days following the abuse.
Good call by police to make it a manslaughter charge. It’s damned hard to prove deliberate intent to kill in these cases of prolonged torture, and the penalty for manslaughter can be as heavy as the real-life time served by murderers – and I sincerely hope the judge goes to the heaviest end of what’s available.
It’s appalling to see child torturers walk free because deliberate intention to inflict life-ending violence can’t be proven and the jury is swayed by defence counsel’s imaginative explanations of how the perp(s) could have been ignorant of the fact that kicking and bashing till a kid is a limp doll, is astronomically unlikely to result in anything but death. It’s like shooting someone in the head and saying “I thought they might have had a metal plate there from a previous injury that the bullet wouldn’t get through.”
### dunedintv.co.nz Mon, 27 Jun 2016
Hundreds gather for Moko
More than 100 people gathered in the central city this morning, as part of a nationwide rally to end New Zealand’s abysmal child abuse record. The march was held at the Dunedin District Court to coincide with the sentencing of the two people charged with the manslaughter of three year-old Moko. And organisers were happy to see so much local support.
Ch39 Video
Manslaughter isn’t going to look like an “easy” option now. Murderers are indeed sentenced to “life” but how many years do they really spend locked up? And sure they CAN be, for life, recalled to prison… but the bar seems to be helluva high before that happens.
Considering that it’s easier to get a conviction for manslaughter than for murder and juries seem reluctant to convict even when the “doubts” cast by defence are vastly improbable, so killers walk free, I hope the use of manslaughter charges will increase. Many people want the “worst” label pinned on the perp. I don’t care that much about the label, I want them convicted and punished, and I think judges can work out the difference between “series of many deliberate cruel but individually non-lethal actions that combine to cause death”, and a moment’s carelessness resulting in the death of a child (or for that matter, hunting companion) who nobody wanted to see harmed in any way.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/391306/police-officer-allegedly-assaulted-son
http://nzpca.co.nz/mosgiel-police-officer-under-investigation-for-allegedly-assaulting-her-son/
#radionz.co.nz12:47 pm on 14 Sep 2016
RNZ News
Govt’s overhaul of family violence laws revealed
By Eric Frykberg
An overhaul of New Zealand’s family violence laws has been revealed, aimed at faster and more effective intervention. Police respond to about 110,000 family violence call-outs every year, with children present at two thirds of those events. The changes were announced today by Prime Minister John Key and Justice Minister Amy Adams in Wellington. The new measures include flagging all family violence offending on criminal records to make sure the courts and police know people’s history. New offences of non-fatal strangulation and assault on a family member will be created, and will carry tougher sentences than common assault. Ms Adams said research showed non-fatal strangulation was a common precursor for more serious attacks, including homicide. “The thought of a man using physical strength to restrict a woman’s ability to breathe is one of the most terrifying situations imaginable,” Ms Adams said. “Worse than that, we now know it is very clearly linked to high-risk escalating behaviour, and we need the system to know that, and to respond appropriately.” Coercion to marry will also be criminalised, and tougher penalties for people who commit crimes while subject to protection orders will be enforced. Ms Adams said New Zealand’s rate of family violence was horrendous.
Read more
****
### lawsociety.org.nz 13 Sep 2016
Sweeping changes to Domestic Violence Act announced
The Government is planning to make more than 50 changes to family violence legislation, driven by a comprehensive review of the 20-year old Domestic Violence Act. Justice Minister Amy Adams and Social Development Minister Anne Tolley say sweeping reforms to these laws will build a better system for combatting abuse and will reduce harm.
Police currently respond to 110,000 family violence call-outs a year. Children are present at nearly two-thirds of these incidents.
“New Zealand’s rate of family violence is horrendous. It has a devastating impact on individuals and communities, and a profound impact that can span generations and lifetimes. Our suite of changes are directed to earlier and more effective interventions. We are focused on better ways to keep victims safe and changing perpetrator behaviour to stop abuse and re-abuse,” Ms Adams says. The Minister says it is about redesigning the way the entire system prevents and responds to family violence. “For many, family violence is an ingrained, intergenerational pattern of behaviour. There are no easy fixes. Our reforms make extensive changes across the Domestic Violence Act, Care of Children Act, Sentencing Act, Bail Act, Crimes Act, Criminal Procedure Act and the Evidence Act,” she says.
Changes include:
• getting help to those in need without them having to go to court
• ensuring all family violence is clearly identified and risk information is properly shared
• putting the safety of victims at the heart of bail decisions
• creating three new offences of strangulation, coercion to marry and assault on a family member
• making it easier to apply for a Protection Orders, allowing others to apply on a victim’s behalf, and better providing for the rights of children under Protection Orders
• providing for supervised handovers and aligning Care of Children orders to the family violence regime
• making evidence gathering in family violence cases easier for Police and less traumatic for victims
• wider range of programmes able to be ordered when Protection Order imposed
• making offending while on a Protection Order a specific aggravating factor in sentencing
• enabling the setting of codes of practice across the sector
Amy Adams says the changes are the beginning of a new integrated system but on their own have the potential to significantly reduce family violence. “Changes to protection orders and the new offences alone are expected to prevent about 2300 violent incidents each year,” she says.
The government package makes changes to both civil and criminal laws, and provides system level changes to support new ways of working. It will cost $132 million over four years.
Social Development Minister Anne Tolley, says legislation is part of but not the whole change required. “These legislative reforms are designed to support and drive the change underpinning the wider work programme overseen by the Ministerial Group on Family and Sexual Violence. The work is about comprehensive and coordinated system change with a focus on early intervention and prevention,” she says. Social agencies and NGOs she has been speaking with are desperate for a system-wide change so we can make a real shift in the rate of family violence.
Ms Adams says laws alone cannot solve New Zealand’s horrific rate of family violence. “But they are a cornerstone element in how we respond to confronting family violence. It sets up the system, holds perpetrators to account, and puts a stake in the ground,” she says.
NZLawSoc Link
****
█ The full package of reforms is available at http://www.justice.govt.nz/justice-sector-policy/key-initiatives/reducing-family-and-sexual-violence/safer-sooner
Fri, 16 Sep 2016
ODT: Stopping family violence
OPINION There has been near-universal approval for new family violence measures, which will go part of the way to reducing one of the most serious blights on the face of New Zealand life. Prime Minister John Key announced an overhaul of New Zealand’s family violence laws, which will mean more support for victims and new offences. A media campaign by prominent New Zealanders has made an impact on those who have sometimes turned away from the violence they have seen which some in their family or their social circle perpetrate. Turning away is not good enough and the Government is going some way to insisting we all take a role in reducing family violence. New Zealand has the highest reported rate of intimate partner violence in the developed world. Disturbingly, it is believed about 80% of offences are not reported.
ODT Editorial today:
Only Smith himself will know how “remorseful” he actually is. Whatever. Smith is doing his time and has suffered additionally from saturation publicity. He should, now, be welcomed back for the All Blacks’ northern hemisphere tour next month. His actions, while vulgar, are not in the same league as serious assaults and he should not be the scapegoat for other recent incidents. Link
Oh really. What does this say about the ODT Boys.
I haven’t understood right from the beginning of this scandal why the “villain” wasn’t the eavesdropper, recorder, tattle-tale. That was obnoxious behaviour, in my opinion.
Consensual sex out of view of other people – why does Great Rugby, media and public condemn it?
Cheating on one’s partner is not good but it’s a matter for the couple to sort out, not that the actions of the snoopy blabbermouths gave them much chance of the relationship surviving.
How many people feel it’s appropriate to shout out when they become aware that someone is cheating on his/her partner? How many people think a VERY casual act of sexual “infidelity” is worth narking about? It’s not the same as someone establishing another serious-looking relationship with another partner – that’s real cheating and really damaging.
Would you, dear reader, eavesdrop and tell-tale (to the world at large!) on a person having casual sex / having what appears like an affair – or would you speak privately to the person who’s cheating, or shut up and mind your own business?
……Assuming that none of those involved were your sibling/offspring/best mate…… because in those cases loyalty comes first, doesn’t it?
Consensual sex is something that should be celebrated, yet this fellow is receiving more condemnation than most of the sports “hero” abusers and disrespecters! How sick is that?
Mon, 14 Nov 2016
ODT: Deaths prompt change
The number of people facing court on protection order breaches has jumped almost 36% since the 2014 deaths of Dunedin children Bradley and Ellen Livingstone at the hands of their father, who was subject to a protection order. Numbers released by the Ministry of Justice under the Official Information Act showed 2916 people were before the courts in the past financial year on protection order breaches. That was a 14.3% increase on the previous year, when 2552 appeared before the court on breaches, and a 35.8% increase on 2013-14. Police and Te Whare Pounamu Dunedin Women’s Refuge said the Livingstone children’s deaths in 2014 were a catalyst for change in the police and agencies charged with protecting family violence victims. Cont/
Wed, 16 Nov 2016
ODT Editorial: Signs of change welcome
OPINION Two and a-half years ago this newspaper called for an examination of the country’s domestic violence response, the use of protection orders, their effectiveness and enforcement, and more work around inter-agency and transtasman information sharing. We were not alone. Victims, their families, friends, advocacy groups, legal experts and the public had had enough. […] There is now better criminal history information sharing between New Zealand and Australia. Changes to legislation (including the Domestic Violence Act, Care of Children Act, Sentencing Act, Bail Act, Crimes Act, Criminal Procedure Act and the Evidence Act) and procedure have resulted in better communication between relevant agencies in this country, provided greater powers to those who need them, and ensured more accountability. There are dozens of targeted police and government family violence initiatives and groups dedicated to improving the system and better protecting and supporting family violence victims. The work appears to be paying off. Cont/
White Ribbon Day is held annually on November 25 with events occurring throughout November. White Ribbon aims to end men’s violence towards women by encouraging men to lead by example and talk to other men. Together we can make a difference.
More at https://whiteribbon.org.nz/
****
Fri, 25 Nov 2016
ODT: Plea for White Ribbon Day
Southern police are calling on communities around the district to embrace White Ribbon Day and acknowledge the scope of violence as a first step to stemming the problem. “Family violence isn’t just a police issue, it’s a community issue,” Southern district family violence manager Inspector Matt Scoles said. “Before we can make a difference in this country, the community has to accept it as the problem it is.” Cont/
ODT: Bearing White Ribbon message
—
Domestic violence support services (via ODT)
• If you are in immediate danger, call 111 and ask for the police.
• Women’s Refuge 24-hour Crisisline on 0800 REFUGE or 0800 733 843 anywhere in the country.
• If you’re experiencing or witnessing violence call 0800 456 450 for information about services that can help. Seven days a week, 9am to 11pm.
• Young people experiencing or witnessing violence can call 0800 456 450 for information about services that can help. 7 days a week, 9am to 11pm.
• For lesbian gay, bisexual, transgender relationships see kahukura.co.nz/information/need-help/
• areyouok.org.nz
• Rape Crisis 24-hour helpline on 0800 883 300.
• For information on local sexual violence services see toah-nnest.org.nz/get-help/find-help
• Call 0800 456 450 for information about services if you want to change your behaviour. Seven days a week, 9am to 11pm.
WhiteRibbonNZ Published on Nov 14, 2016
The White Ribbon Pledge
I will stand up, speak out and act to prevent violence towards women
You can take The Pledge at https://whiteribbon.org.nz/act/the-pledge/
Show what kind of guy you wanna be.
You want to be a good man, a loving partner, and you want the best for your kids. You want your partner and children to be treated with respect.
You’re like most men and oppose violence. You know how much it hurts the women and children you love.
Join with other good men and take the White Ribbon pledge. This is a commitment to stand up, speak out and act to prevent violence.
Commit to Stand up
Stand by your respectful values.
Show respect by treating women as an equal.
Make fair decisions together. Really listen to others. Express your feelings and work through it together. Even when you’re stressed.
Stand up as a man who doesn’t live by old ideas of male power or rigid roles. Be flexible and accepting.
Ask before doing anything sexual. It’s everyone’s choice.
Treat women the same in public as you do in private.
Stand up as the respectful man you are.
Commit to Speak out
Take strength – Most men don’t support the use of violence by other men.
Speak out when other men disrespect for women. Show you don’t agree.
Speak of your respect for women and appreciation for what they give you. Talk about women as equals and how you make decisions together.
Talk openly about your values of respect – such as Mana Tane Mana Wahine, your religious beliefs, or values like Everyone’s equal or A fair go for all.
Openly question any ideas that men have to be in charge. Talk about the benefits of everyone behaving in the ways that suit them, being expressive and sharing power around.
Talk to your children about being respectful. Show your son how to respect women. And teach your daughter to expect respect.
Commit to act to prevent violence
It is men who prevent other men’s violence by standing up and speaking up. Particularly when other men disrespect women in their talk or actions.
Be your true self when you’re around other men. Show your respectful values. Actually say: no to violence towards women, and yes to respectful relationships.
Intervene if you see a man abusing a woman. Disrupt or distract him. Ask if she’s OK. Show him you’re watching and that his actions aren’t acceptable. Get others involved.
Show your sons and daughters equal respect. Ensure they live without violence and learn how to communicate respectfully.
Show your support for anything that is against violence and for respectful behaviour. Wear a white ribbon. Tell other men about the toolbox. Encourage other men to say Yes to respectful relationships.
Print this off and put it where others will see it. Actually say
I stand up, speak out and act to prevent violence towards women
****
WhiteRibbonNZ Published on Nov 20, 2016
Why we want to end men’s violence towards women
When a bunch of New Zealanders came together to make an video promoting The Pledge, https://youtu.be/p-ExsoEHeWg they shared their personal motivations for ending men’s violence towards women. Watch their White Ribbon Testimonials.
#whiteribbnz
█ Website: newzealandchildabuse.com
—
### NZ Herald Online 10:08 AM Monday Dec 19, 2016
New Zealand child sexual abuse charity urges parents to not force children to hug and kiss other adults
An online campaign urging parents to stop forcing little children to hug and kiss adults against their will is making a special appeal to protect children ahead of Christmas family gatherings. New Zealand child abuse charity CAPS Hauraki is behind a viral social media campaign warning parents they could be setting up children for a life of abuse if they insist their offspring have no say in hugging or kissing other adults. The controversial campaign uses a pretty five-year-old girl as the face of every child. In it she speaks directly to adults about consent and the importance of not being made to dish out hugs and kisses against her will. It has been followed with a similar style message in time for Christmas from a grandparent’s perspective respecting the wishes of children if they do not want to give a hug or be tickled. The simple but arresting message has sparked a storm on the internet with adults polarised over whether children should be made to kiss relatives and family friends as a matter of respect … The organisation, which works with child abuse victims, said the campaign was not about banning children giving adults hugs and kisses but intended to change community cultural attitudes to consent and body ownership in order to protect children.
Read more
—
Facebook Album: Safe kids, thriving families
█ CAPS Hauraki is a social service agency, offering counselling, social work, parenting and youth support within Thames/Coromandel and Hauraki regions.
OMG yes.
My mother had a bunch of distant cousiny women who with husbands and sundry others used to call in on their way to wherever they went on holiday. Out of the car(s) they barrelled, female lips pursed to kiss anything with a pulse. My father had a way of looking unkissable in a courteous but chilly way, spiny, angular. I as a child had to find my own technique. Before the car doors opened I’d taken off out the back and didn’t emerge till they were indoors with cake.
Children should be taught to hold their hand out for a formal handshake and say “How d’ye do.” The outstretched hand is a barrier, a space-enforcer, and the greeting shows one has been taught to be polite. That’s enough. Kisses and hugs are optional extras.
This campaign by CAPS Hauraki has the potential to go too far. In the normal course of events hugging and kissing between adults and children is based on familiarity. Where it is not, there might be a ‘problem’ or it might be just a case where a child starts learning about how different adults behave with social greetings and they can be shown/taught how to deal with such ‘over the top’ adults as they see fit.
It does not help children by traumatising such things with ‘owning your own body’ type ideological statements. OTT kissing and hugging is not the same thing as sexual child abuse.
I know someone who has the habit of kissing me directly on the lips when we occasionally meet. Unusual, and not really appropriate, but I get over it, and not by politicising the act. I just understand that some people are unaware of correct etiquette. Children, by growing up, should be allowed to discern these things in a more adult way.
As usual these campaigns can go too far, I agree. But “OTT kissing and hugging is not the same thing as sexual child abuse” – yeah-nah. If children learn that putting up with kissing and hugging people they don’t want to kiss and hug, just because they’re the parents’ rellies and friends that they may see once a year or have never met before, how do they know that there are times when you can and should refuse, avoid, tell a responsible adult?
“Your Mum had to go out so she asked me to pick you up from school.” He’s pleasant and friendly, the kid’s never seen him before but he must be one of Mum’s friends… he says Mum won’t be home yet so let’s go for a drive…. He’s Mum’s friend (he said) so the kid knows when he’s kissing and tickling he’s being friendly and you have to be friendly back … but Mum’s other friends don’t … it’s bad manners, he’ll tell Mum I’ve got bad manners and she’ll be upset … so even when it feels yucky, even when it hurts….. If I tell Mum she’ll be angry with me.
Yep, Hype. A common means of assault and worse. How many New Zealand kids from all walks of life don’t get to feel safe with family, immediate and extended – and there’s simply no one looking out for them. The campaign gets us past the stranger danger messaging which ignores the ‘home danger’ and how easily people all around wreck safe boundaries for children in New Zealand. Reminders like the CAPS Hauraki campaign are bluntly welcome. If nobody was doing wrong by the kids the campaign wouldn’t be needed ?
And yes, sitting on a stranger’s knee in his red suit and fake white beard was a fearful prospect at this time of year, as much as disgusting hugs and kisses from people considered as family. The same applies…. even to inappropriate hugs given (by surprise attack) to men and women when in public places at Dunedin, from male city leaders.
Maintaining personal.space is right up there.
Learn it early, learn it well. The safety message works for both young and old.
OUR DISTRICT
Mon, 26 Dec 2016
ODT: Speak out about violence, police urge
Southern police are calling on residents to take a stand against family violence this holiday season … Southern district victims manager Inspector Matt Scoles said family members and neighbours should intervene to prevent family violence. “As a mate, family member and community member, we all have a responsibility to prevent family violence and the harm that occurs,” he said. “Sometimes just one action or comment can make the difference … “Don’t ask yourself ‘what will happen if I say something?’ What will happen if you don’t?” Cont/
—
via ODT
What you can do
● Challenge the behaviour — but never risk your own or others’ safety.
● Offer support to victims and find out what they need.
● Make your home a safe place for them and a place they can come to talk.
● Call 111 if you believe someone is in danger.
● Call the It’s Not OK information line, 0800 456-450, for advice.
● Provide information anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555-111.
More information: http://www.areyouok.org.nz
—Call Dunedin Police 03 471 4800.
Earlier in December, the Ombudsman advised police of his final opinion that information the ODT requested in July last year was of public interest.
Mon, 26 Dec 2016
ODT: Deficient policing detailed
….The employment investigations which followed the deaths of Bradley (9) and Ellen (6) Livingstone at the hands of their father uncovered breaches of the police code of conduct by officers, a report about police handling of the case has revealed. Livingstone was the subject of a protection order when he shot his children on January 15, 2014, with a stolen 12-gauge Stoeger shotgun in the Kiwi St, St Leonards, home they shared with their mother, Livingstone’s estranged wife, Katharine Webb. Cont/
Mon, 20 Feb 2017
ODT Editorial: Facing the future
OPINION The stance taken by Dunedin North Intermediate principal Heidi Hayward in sharing her concerns about some of her pupils has much to commend it. Children in society need to be protected and the new Vulnerable Children’s Ministry is setting out to do just that.
Ms Hayward wrote a no-holds-barred open letter sent to government ministers last year expressing deep concern about the lack of government funding and resources for at-risk children. In the letter, she detailed the living conditions of two 12-year-old pupils at her school, who were surrounded by drugs in their respective family homes. The letter elicited assurances from the Government the issues would be addressed by providing an extra $347 million to fund cost pressures and the creation of the ministry which will replace Child Youth and Family on April 1.
Children have been beaten by their elders since time began. For too long, the brutality of mainly fathers beating their wives and children was hidden from society: no-one wanted to be seen to be interfering. Many will remember the saying of “all he needs is a damn good hiding” when exactly the opposite was true. Now, as drugs and violence have become more intertwined, some family members are too frightened to intervene because of the risk to themselves. Cont/
****
EminemVEVO Uploaded on Aug 5, 2010
Eminem – Love The Way You Lie ft. Rihanna
Music video by Eminem performing Love The Way You Lie. © 2010 Aftermath Records #VEVOCertified on September 13, 2011.
I can’t tell you what it really is
I can only tell you what it feels like
And right now there’s a steel knife in my windpipe
I can’t breathe but I still fight while I can fight
As long as the wrong feels right it’s like I’m in flight
High off her love, drunk from her hate,
It’s like I’m huffing paint and I love her the more I suffer, I suffocate
And right before I’m about to drown, she resuscitates me
She fucking hates me and I love it
EminemVEVO Uploaded on Jun 16, 2009
Eminem – When I’m Gone
Music video by Eminem performing When I’m Gone. (C) 2005 Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records
These fucking walls must be talking, cause man I can hear ’em
They’re saying “You’ve got one more chance to do right” – and it’s tonight
Now go out there and show ’em that you love ’em before it’s too late
And just as I go to walk out of my bedroom door
It turns to a stage, they’re gone, and this spotlight is on
And I’m singing…
SOUTH ISLAND MURDEROUS THUG, REMEMBER THE FACE
Fri, 24 Feb 2017
NZ Herald: Assault on pregnant ex broke baseball bat
By Kurt Bayer
█ Warning content may disturb:
A farmer who bashed his heavily-pregnant ex-partner so hard with a baseball bat that it snapped in half became enraged after she wanted to keep the baby. Christopher James Buick, known as Chris, now faces a lengthy jail term after the “frenzied attack” in Christchurch earlier this month, which left the 23-week pregnant woman with a fractured skull, severe facial bruising and lacerations, and a broken eye socket.
Today at Christchurch District Court, he pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 14 years in jail.
The brutal assault, where Buick aimed blows at the woman’s stomach, only stopped when she lay on the ground and pretended to be dead.
Ashburton farm contractor Buick, 32, and the victim, who the Herald has chosen not to name, had been long-term friends and in an on-and-off relationship. But when she fell pregnant with their first child, Buick said he didn’t want her to keep the baby as he was seeing another Ashburton woman. Cont/
—
ODT 25.2.17 (page 28): The police summary does not reveal whether the unborn child survived the assault.
THE SMALL COUNTRY
Women and children in New Zealand obviously still mean nothing to gang members.
—
Thu, 23 Feb 2017
NZ Herld: Mob president Hoani Chase jailed for 16-year campaign of terror
█ Warning content may disturb:
An Eastern Bay of Plenty self-styled Mongrel Mob president who terrorised and intimidated a woman over 16 years has been jailed for 18-and-a-half years. Justice Sarah Katz stepped back from the preventive detention sentence the Crown requested in the High Court at Rotorua today but stipulated Hoani Chase, 54, of Te Teko, must serve half his sentence before being eligible to be assessed for parole. After a judge-alone trial in October, Justice Katz found Chase guilty of 28 violence and sexual abuse charges including rape. Other charges were withdrawn during the trial and Chase admitted possessing explosives and receiving. At sentencing, Justice Katz described Chase’s conduct as a desperate 16-year campaign of terror and intimidation. She outlined how Chase had, during that time, duct-taped the woman to a chair for three days and repeatedly raped her, as well as how he’d again raped her within days of giving birth to twins by caesarean section. She was so badly injured she had to be readmitted to hospital. On another occasion, he had roped her to the back of his car, dragging her down the road. Justice Katz recounted how at times he knocked the victim unconscious, kicking her with steel capped boots. The attacks were often witnessed by the woman’s young son. Cont/
Another dropkick – “Kelleher made his All Blacks debut in 1999 after impressing for the Highlanders at Super Rugby level.” (NZH)
At Twitter:
****
Maroon5VEVO Published on Feb 15, 2017
Maroon 5 – Cold ft. Future
Fri, 3 Mar 2017
How ODT Online styles domestic violence by a rugby player [screenshot]:
Thu, 2 Mar 2017
ODT: Dunedin man jailed over ‘horrific’ attack
By Rob Kidd
Dunedin Court News— A Dunedin man who stabbed his ex-wife’s friend 14 times and left her for dead has been jailed for a decade.
“This was particularly horrific offending and I get no real sense you understand the harm you’ve caused to your victim,” the judge said. Early on February 7 last year, Owens called his ex-wife Leanne Donaldson from outside the Cutten St house. The pair spoke briefly on the phone during which he told her the victim, who was asleep on the couch at the time, was “going to get a f***** lesson that she would never forget”. Moments later, the ex-wife woke her friend and said there was someone at the door. She hid in the kitchen while the victim went to see who it was. Owens grabbed her by the throat, pushed her into a wall, head-butted her and stabbed her in the shoulder. The 13 wounds that followed lacerated the woman’s liver, punctured her lung, penetrated the muscles beside her spine and one to her abdomen resulted in her stomach lining protruding from her skin. As the victim bled, Owens warned his ex-wife not to call emergency services. Cont/
● [Leanne] Donaldson was previously sentenced to home detention for her role in the incident.
MSD’s data-for-funding scheme dangerous and abhorrent
At Facebook:
12:53 pm on 7 March 2017 [+ Audio]
RNZ News: Rape Crisis will risk funding to keep data private
****
At Facebook:
3 new Rape Crisis clients in Dunedin? Well, probably area beyond Dunedin City, but all the same….
Which brings into [klaxon + flashing lights] question the decision –
Search result:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11844260
2 days ago – … powers curbed after non-deportation decision for repeat sex offender … Immigration Minister Woodhouse said he would take steps to improve …
“…A man who emigrated to New Zealand has been convicted twice for sex offending since his arrival in 2012 – including while on bail – but will not be deported if his record stays clean for the next five years….”
Repeat offender is on 5 years’ notice that he really mustn’t offend against adult women or young girls, or he really will be sent back where he came from.
That’s nice. NZ women and girls are fair game as test subjects to see if he’s going to behave. If he doesn’t, well, he’ll be sent back (unless there’s another outbreak of softcockery in the ranks of immigration officials).
BUT WAIT, there’s more!
Handwringing is to be expected should he end up with a carry on bag and one way ticket to Afghanistan, and no doubt this will include wails that “we have failed this man” because we did not give him sufficient assistance to adjust to NZ culture. Will there be equal wailing, will there be resignations and admissions of failure from those particular immigration officials guilt-stricken about the ongoing trauma of the victims they had presented for his 5-year challenge? Or will it be a case of “we were only following procedure” – procedure allowing undue freedom from obligation to NZers, that Michael Woodhouse is being savaged for quickly acting to bring into line with decent consideration towards NZ women and girls?
As you note (and as I read when it first came up via Twitter) Minister Woodhouse has actually done a good thing – by suspending Immigration NZ’s decision-making authority ‘until I have confidence that the decisions being made are consistent with my expectations’.
Double sigh
Wed, 26 Apr 2017
ODT: Officer charged with murder
Police say they are “shocked and dismayed” after one of their own was alleged to have shot two people in Invercargill last night. Constable Benjamin Peter McLean has been charged with the murder of his wife and the attempted murder of a man she was believed to be in a relationship with. McLean appeared before Judge Mark Callaghan at a Southland Hospital bedside Invercargill District Court hearing this afternoon. The 47-year-old is charged with murdering Verity Ann McLean – with whom he has three children – and the attempted murder of Garry William Duggan. McLean was remanded in custody by consent to May 18, when he will appear in the Invercargill High Court by video link. Cont/
At Twitter:
Gerroff, can’t people manage to be violent to their folks in their own time nowadays?