Two a penny

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Fiji’s coup leader and self-appointed Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has complained to other nations that his country’s troops have been barred from joining any new United Nations peacekeeping force.

He darkly hinted that his critics are the dupes of twisted politicians who are in league with terrorists to push “racial supremacy” and a “corrupt agenda.N.”In his speech to the General Assembly, Bainimarama did not name Australia or New Zealand as Fiji’s nemeses in the region, but he made clear who he blamed for being blackballed from U.”In all of this, they have used their extensive diplomatic and financial resources to deny Fiji to participate in new peacekeeping operations,” he complained. peacekeeping:”Our people pose no threat to anyone, least of all to the big powers of the South Pacific who have arrogated to themselves the right to dictate to us our future and the way we govern ourselves,” Bainimarama said.”Fiji has participated in peacekeeping operations since 1978 and is proud of its association with the United Nations, in particular the Department of Peacekeeping Operations,” Bainimarama said. Fiji still participates in other long-standing peacekeeping patrols, such as in Iraq. To this day, we have not been able to receive a clear and satisfactory reply on this matter from the United Nations,” he said.”Fiji has been disappointed by what appears to be a unilateral decision on the part of the United Nations to debar our country from any new peacekeeping operations. .When Britain granted Fiji independence in 1970, the Fijian army had only about 200 active troops. peacekeeping operations, building a robust military culture in the nation of fewer than 950,000 people.N. His government had promised elections earlier this year, but Bainimarama said in Saturday’s speech that they will not be held until 2014.Fiji has been under military rule since Bainimarama, the country’s armed forces chief, seized power in a 2006 coup, its fourth since 1987. The first coup in 1987 followed the election of an Indian majority government.Fiji’s population is split between the indigenous Fijian majority and ethnic Indians, introduced by former colonial power Britain in the 19th century to work on sugar cane plantations.”I believe that these critics are largely unaware of the extent to which politicians, in league with those who employ terror as a tactic to push a racial supremacy and corrupt agenda, had become a threat to the safety and security of our people,” he warned.Bainimarama did not conceal his contempt for his critics, at home or elsewhere in the South Pacific:”There have been critics of the events in Fiji since December 2006, when the military, with great reluctance, was forced to remove the then government of Fiji,” he said.

.Nowhere in his speech did he specifically name India, Australia or New Zealand

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Consumer resistance to paying for plastic bags has spread north, with New World and Four Square supermarkets in the upper North Island today removing a 5c charge.

The move follows the axing of the same fee at the same supermarkets in the lower North Island three days ago.

Foodstuffs Auckland’s general manager of retail sales and performance, Murray Jordan, said the charge had been removed in response to customer feedback.

It comes just four weeks after the stores, which are part of the Foodstuffs chain, introduced the levy in an attempt to get people to reduce their reliance on plastic bags.

“Our owner operators, who know their customers, have been receiving a lot of feedback on the floor and this feedback has been confirmed by a customer survey.

“Our customers have spoken and we have listened,” he said.

However, the 5c levy is remaining at New World and Four Square supermarkets in the South Island.”

Mr Jordan said there had been an “exceptional increase” in people using reusable bags and Foodstuffs would continue to put measures in place that recognised those customers.

As a result of the fee, $50,000 would be donated to five South Island environmental projects identified by the Department of Conservation.

Foodstuffs South Island’s general manager for retail operations, Alan Malcolmson, said there had been great support from customers and plastic bag use had dropped 60 percent over the past month.

“It’s a win-win for the environment – bags being saved and projects benefiting.

“This is just the first of what we envisage will be ongoing support for environmental projects,” Mr Malcolmson said. .

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Desperate criminals may kill police and victims in order to avoid arrest under hard-line “life sentences without parole” policies, officials have warned.

Confidential papers issued under the Official Information Act show that the Government was told the policies could also breach human rights, cause misbehaviour in prisons, clog courts, and lead to judges giving shorter sentences to avoid the no-parole policy. Justice Minister Simon Power has conceded it may not make it to law.

ACT’s “three strikes” policy, introduced as part of the Government’s support agreement, has been widely criticised for breaching human rights.

Both measures are before Parliament in the Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill.

But officials also advised in the Cabinet papers that National’s “no parole for the worst murderers” policy, an election promise, breached the Bill of Rights and several international human rights treaties.

National plans to abolish parole for repeat violent offenders, meaning murderers with previous serious convictions would never be freed unless it was “manifestly unjust”. The policies aim to improve public safety through deterrence and by locking up serious recidivists for longer.

The Justice Ministry also said that the list of violent offences that would result in no parole on a subsequent serious charge was “problematic” if the aim was to target the most serious violent offenders.

But the Cabinet was told that exception was “unlikely to prevent disproportionate sentences from being imposed”.

Several government departments also warned of unintended consequences of the no-parole and the three-strikes policies:

Te Puni Kokiri said violence may increase under three strikes.

For example, aggravated burglary involves having a weapon but may not involve violence, and indecent assault often involved minor touching and no force.”

Corrections said judges may try to avoid the policy by reducing sentences to under five years in borderline cases. “Criminals may seek to mitigate the risk of arrest by more seriously injuring or murdering their victims and police officers. .

The Treasury said sentences could increase overall, even in less serious cases, as judges brought them in line with increased penalties for repeat violent offenders.

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Mr Power said the Government had strived to deal with issues raised over the no-parole policy.

And life sentences with no parole would result in poor behaviour of prisoners who had no incentive to behave or undertake rehabilitative programmes.”

Regarding three strikes, the Government would enter the select committee process with an open mind. “We’re happy with the balance achieved.

-National’s ‘no parole for worst offenders’ policy

-The worst repeat violent offenders and the worst murderers will not be granted parole.

ON THE TABLE

The following measures are before Parliament in the Sentencing and Parole Reform Bill.

-ACT’s ‘three strikes’ policy

-This would see those convicted of a third serious offence sentenced to life imprisonment with a 25-year non-parole period. This means anyone convicted of murder who has previously been sentenced to five years or more will spend the rest of their lives in jail with no chance of release…. Such sentences appear to breach the NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990 and several international human rights treaties … because they do not provide for any consideration of a change in the offenders’ circumstances.’

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The Government is defending its job-saving programmes in the face of rising unemployment.

Oamaru-based Summit Wool Spinners yesterday joined the taxpayer-subsidised nine-day fortnight scheme, saving 57 jobs, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said.

Bennett said that 117 jobs had now been retained under the nine-day fortnight, under which workers and employers agreed to a cut in hours in return for a $62 a fortnight payment from the Government.

Another small manufacturing firm not identified has also joined, retaining six jobs.

“Summit Wool is Oamaru’s second-biggest employer.

“The impact of retaining these jobs for at least the next six months should not be underestimated,” Bennett said.

However, the two were the first scheme entrants since Fisher & Paykel signed up the previous month.”

Bennett expected more companies to join the scheme, saying there had been about 60 approaches from mainly manufacturing and construction businesses.

The Government also faced a setback yesterday over another Job Summit initiative, with banks pulling out of a plan to provide some equity for firms hit by the recession.

Despite 57 positions being saved at Summit Wool Spinners, another 48 people would be made redundant at the mill.

He said it was too early to judge the success of the nine-day fortnight scheme, which was “one of those things that will build up over time”.

Prime Minister John Key said banks had decided it was not commercially viable.

He also planned to announce a widening of the nine-day fortnight scheme.

Key said there were other proposals from the Job Summit that Cabinet was considering, but these would not be announced until the Budget next month.

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Labour leader Phil Goff said the Government’s initiatives had flopped, and the public was being fed “gimmicks and slogans”.

Key agreed “unofficial” unemployment benefit numbers were rising and were now roughly 17,000 more than the same time last year.

“The economic crisis is moving faster than the Government’s responses, which have not been adequate.

“The limited success of the Job Summit initiatives to date will concern New Zealanders,” he said.

“Saving over 100 jobs in the present environment is a very worthwhile achievement and the Government should now look at expanding it to allow firms with fewer than 100 workers to apply,” president Robert Reid said.”

However, the Government’s scheme won praise from the National Distribution Union, which yesterday said the nine-day fortnight was a success, and should be expanded. .

The agreement at the woollen mill in Oamaru had resulted in fewer redundancies, Reid said.

Heatley said $23 million of extra work had been issued to the recession-hit building industry in the past three months.”

Meanwhile, Housing Minister Phil Heatley said 935 people were working on 613 state homes in March as a result of the $124 million in economic stimulus funding announced in February.

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No blood could be seen with the naked eye on rifle that killed the Bain family, the High Court in Christchurch has been told.

After days grilling police about their investigation of the Bain murders in June, 1994, the Bain trial turned a corner this afternoon to deal with scientific evidence.

The evidence started with former ESR scientist Peter Hentschel in the witness box.

Part of his job was to collect blood samples and with the help of fingerprint specialist Kim Jones he identified four fingerprints on the stock of the rifle.

He said he could not see blood on the wood of rifle with the naked eye but under a polilight, which changed the wavelengths of light, he could see blood on the stock.

The rifle was quite extensively smeared in blood but the area of the fingerprints were clear of smearing.

He took blood samples about 5 to 10mm away from the fingerprints to ensure they remained intact for other tests. The way they were deposited meant the hand that had touched the rifle had blood on it.

A sangur test was a pad containing chemicals which reacted with blood and luminol testing involved spraying a surface with the chemical luminol.

Hentschel, who retired in 2005 after a 40-year career working for Environmental and Scientific Research and its predecessors, outlined two tests for blood in the house.

He said luminol testing in Margaret Bain’s room found two partial footprints made by a stockinged right foot and two complete footprints leading into Laniet’s room and out of it. The luminol glowed blue or blue green in the dark when it reacted with blood.

Hentschel said he also examined a green jersey found in the Bain’s washing machine.

One of the complete footprints measured 280mm. The loose weave of the jersey could have made blood smears on two door frames in the house and on a post leading into the kitchen. The loose weave of the jersey could have made blood smears on two door frames in the house and on a post leading into the kitchen.

Weir was today accused of planting a spectacle lens in Stephen Bain’s bedroom.

A tense encounter in the morning session dealt with allegations of planting evidence against former Detective Sergeant Milton Weir, who was the officer-in-charge of the scene of the murders in Every Street Dunedin. The lens popped out of the frame in a fight with Stephen, the Crown alleges.The lens is crucial evidence as the Crown alleges it came from a pair of glasses worn by David Bain as he shot his family.

Reed showed Weir a series of photographs and referred to a gap by a wind jacket near where the lens was found.

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Weir spent yesterday in the witness box being grilled on the Bain investigation and denied deliberately misleading the jury in David Bain’s first trial in 1995 about where he found the lens.Weir categorically rejected the allegation, saying he did not know how the gap had emerged but it was not a result of him planting the lens. He maintained the gap had widened from previous photographs, and put it to Weir that he had put his hand through the gap to plant the lens.Weir agreed and said: “I was sick of the constant investigations.Reed told him his credibility was in issue in the trial and, quoting from an application Weir had prepared for a cash payment when he left the police under early retirement provisions, he said Weir had himself said he was distrusted by fellow officers and constantly under suspicion. . He agreed he had also begun to distrust his own superiors and when he had a performance appraisal with a senior officer before he left the police, he had secretly taped the discussion on a hidden dictaphone.He did not remember his application containing information about a Christchurch officer who had wanted him off an inquiry because of his reputation for dishonesty.Re-examined by Kieran Raftery, for the Crown, Weir said the space between the “real” lens and an optical illusion which he had identified in David Bain’s first trial as the location of the lens was only a “matter of centimetres”. He said other items had also moved slightly between different photographs.He told Raftery he had “perfed” from the police in 1999 and a psychological report was prepared for him based on information he told the psychologist.

In the confidential report he had talked about two police operations where he was the subject of what he regarded as adverse comment.

On the Scott Watson inquiry he was told to keep a low profile by the inquiry head Rob Pope and an officer had joked about him planting evidence. He did not take it as a joke.When doing a review of the Wicked Willies murder investigation originally conducted by the Christchurch police, he had been the subject of a complaint from one of the Christchurch officers who had initially investigated the alleged murder.

Weir said he and his Dunedin team had found shortcomings in the Christchurch police investigation and that had made relations with Christchurch police difficult.

As a result of his review charges were dropped against the murder accused in the Wicked Willies case. ‘HANG BAIN’ In earlier evidence Weir admitted painting “Hang Bain” on his house after he left the police.Weir said he had painted the slogan on plaster in 2002 at his house in Dunedin.”I accept it was inappropriate of me to do that,” he said.The slogan originated at a function he held after the Court of Appeal decision rejecting David Bain’s appeal, he said. He had been under a lot of stress, had given evidence in the Court of Appeal and thought the appeal court decision “could be the end”. Other police officers may have been at the function but he could not remember which ones.Weir was today also referred to an inquiry made by a detective in 1997 of two prostitutes in Dunedin in response to issues raised by Bain’s advocate Joe Karam.Reed told Weir one of the prostitutes called Petra had given the detective, according to the detective’s job sheet, a pair of socks and a private note for “Milton”.Weir told Reed he did not know a prostitute called Petra and was mystified by the socks. He had instructed the detective to make the socks an exhibit. He could not recall the private note.

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Itinerant’s secret nest-egg under scrutiny

The Thursday, 19 February 2009

An occasional itinerant thought to have nearly $1 million invested under an alias risks losing his grip on his tightly held nest-egg.
Robert Erwood, also known as McDonald and perhaps Wood, was declared bankrupt not because he could not pay his debts, but because he would not.
Now thought to be living in Auckland, but having stayed in Nelson and Wellington, Mr Erwood had sometimes claimed he was destitute with only a welfare benefit as income.
While Mr Erwood dug in his heels over paying about $220,000 to a family member and his former lawyer, two more creditors have stepped up saying he also owes them $100,000.
Mr Erwood was one of the investors who lost money in the collapse due to fraud of Upper Hutt law firm Renshaw Edwards in 1992.
"The extent of the assets that he apparently owns might come as something of a surprise to those who have been dealing with him," a Court of Appeal judgment said this week.
He still disputes he owes his former lawyer and that case is back before the High Court next month. It led to lengthy court action with the Law Society and eventually his own lawyer. .
The Official Assignee, which administered bankruptcies, had collected or identified more than $900,000 apparently belonging to Mr Erwood, though it was held under the name Robert Wood, the court said.
His failure to pay and the emergence of the two new creditors meant the public interest now required that the bankruptcy follow the usual course so any other creditors could be identified, the Court of Appeal said. It was previously thought he had only two creditors and if he had paid his debt to them about $220,000 the bankruptcy would have been annulled.

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Injured Kiwis ready for more Aussie fires

and Tuesday, 10 February 2009

BACK INTO THE BREACH: Nelson fireman Nick McCabe suffered in 2006 after his group had to hide in a ditch as a wall of flames swept over them. He remembers the pain but will volunteer to go again. .
Both men said yesterday they would gladly return if their services were needed.
Memories of being in hospital with bad burns to their hands, arms and faces have not stopped Nelson fireman Nick McCabe and his Wairoa colleague Tim Allan from volunteering to return to the tinder-dry Australian bush. Yesterday Mr Rudd accepted the offer, but Mr Key did not think they would leave for a week or two.
Prime Minister John Key offered his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd the use of 100 firefighters.
"We have the manpower and the military capability to get them there immediately," he said. They have still got quite a lot of backup in Australia at this point but they anticipate that, down the track, they will require it. "It's at the request of the Australians that they don't go immediately. "We're standing ready, willing and able."
He said timing was in the hands of the Australian authorities. Until that happened, Mr Dudfield could not confirm who could be called upon."
National Rural Fire Officer Murray Dudfield said Australian firefighters had not formally requested Kiwi support at this stage.
However, Mr McCabe said: "If they call for volunteers I'll be putting my hand up.
However, Mr McCabe said: "If they call for volunteers I'll be putting my hand up.
"We all just went into survival mode really.
They hid in a ditch as a wall of flames went over the top of them. It all happened so fast," Mr Allan said. We didn't have time to be scared. Six members of the group, who were all wearing protective gear, were taken to hospital, including Mr McCabe and Mr Allan.
The group suffered further burns when they ran toward a clearing.
Mr Key said he had expressed his sympathies to Mr Rudd, who was "pretty cut up" by the fatal bushfires. Both have recovered from burns, mostly to their hands and faces.
New Zealand also faces an extreme fire risk problem in areas such as Central Otago, Canterbury, Hawke's Bay and the East Coast of the North Island. He was "touched" by New Zealand's offer of assistance.
MetService spokesperson Bob McDavitt said there had been reports of a pinkish smoke haze over New Zealand on Sunday and Monday caused by bushfire smoke pushed across the Tasman by westerly winds.
MetService spokesperson Bob McDavitt said there had been reports of a pinkish smoke haze over New Zealand on Sunday and Monday caused by bushfire smoke pushed across the Tasman by westerly winds. The haze had dissipated as a result of winds turning southeasterly over Victoria and South Australia yesterday.

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Tot found wandering alone in Kaikoura

Mum left 16-month-old home alone to go ‘socialising’

Sunday, 01 February 2009

A 16-month old toddler has been found on the frontyard of a Kaikoura property after being left home alone overnight.
The boy was found outside a Beach Rd business property by members of the public about 2.45am.
He was placed into Child Youth and Family care until a family member could be found. Inspector Michael Coulter said the boy was taken to the Kaikoura medical centre for a check-up and was found to be in good health.
"The mother admitted leaving the child unattended for approximately four hours while she went out socialising.
"At approximately 4:12am, police were contacted by the distressed mother, who was visiting Kaikoura from the North Island," Mr Coulter said."
Mr Coulter said the boy had woken overnight and left the house he was staying in, possibly through the front door being left open.

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The child will remain in care until the matter has been fully investigated

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Lakes overflow but power bill relief ruled out

– Thursday, 08 January 2009

Power-price cuts are being ruled out despite generators spilling vast amounts of water from over-full South Island hydro lakes.
The glut of water was highlighted yesterday by the first spill at the Benmore power station on the Waitaki River in nearly five years.
Continuing spills from Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki further up Meridian Energy's Waitaki River hydro scheme have fed downstream into Lake Benmore, lifting it above its maximum operating level and forcing a massive release of water yesterday afternoon.
Household power prices are predicted to almost double this decade and are already two-thirds higher than in 2000.
The state-owned power company last spilled at Benmore, the biggest station on the Waitaki chain, in March 2004.26c a kilowatt hour (kWh) (including GST) in 2000, to 21.
Average residential power prices have risen 66 per cent in the past eight years from 13.97c a kWh last year.
South Island hydro lakes are brimming over after weeks of heavy north-westerly rain, just four months after low lake levels raised fears of spring power shortages.
Politicians were fired up about electricity prices late last year, demanding answers after Contact Energy increased prices by more than 10 percentin some regions.
As a result, wholesale, or spot prices have tumbled to the point where the water is effectively worthless. With more north-west rain on the way and low demand for power as a result of summer holidays, spilling is likely to continue from Benmore, Pukaki and Tekapo.001c a kWh.
Yesterday, spot prices at Benmore bottomed out at 1c a megawatt hour (MWh), or 0. During last winter's power shortage, spot prices peaked five or six times higher than average at almost 50c a kWh, or $500 a MWh. During last winter's power shortage, spot prices peaked five or six times higher than average at almost 50c a kWh, or $500 a MWh.
Meridian and Contact Energy, which is also spilling from Lake Roxburgh and Lake Dunstan, said the increased residential tariffs had already allowed for the possibility spot prices might fall temporarily. However, there is no sign the reverse is true.
"It is like swings and roundabouts.
Meridian spokeswoman Claire Shaw said commercial customers that bought power on the spot market would be "reaping the rewards".
"So the tariff people are paying takes this kind of occurrence into account anyway."
The residential customer tariff had considered the likely behaviour of the spot market.
"Some people are saying they've never seen the lakes so full."
Contact spokesman Jonathan Hill said that the spilling and the low spot prices made for a "pretty unusual situation". This is a pretty rare and unusual set of circumstances.
"The way we set out retail tariffs is to shield customers from the fluctuations in the spot market by setting a price path."
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee could not be contacted last night."
Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee could not be contacted last night.
Yesterday's spill at Benmore began at 4.30pm. Meridian is now spilling 200 cubic metres a second (cumecs) of water, the equivalent of 4GWh a day of electricity, enough to power about 200,000 homes. .
Shaw said Lake Benmore reached its maximum control level about 4pm, forcing operators to start spilling into the Waitaki River.
"We're getting about 200 cumecs more into Benmore than we can push through the station. We should be spilling for days."
There were no plans yet to spill from Lake Aviemore and Lake Waitaki further downstream but that could happen , she said.

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Drunk teen mob terrifies campers

By RICHARD WOODD – Thursday, 08 January 2009

CAMERON BURNELL/
GET OUT: Constable Danny Giles with a youth after a mob rampaged through a campground terrorising and abusing other campers.

A mob of drunken youths went on the rampage, terrifying campers at Opunake Beach early yesterday morning.
Camp lessee Craig Russell was punched in the head when he asked them to leave.
Police yesterday arrested one 16-year-old and charged him with assault and disorderly behaviour.
He and three campers held off the mob of up to 20 youths until the police arrived.
The youths, who had been at a party in Eltham Rd, were text-called to the beach by their mates after Mr Russell asked a noisy carload to leave about 1am.
Three others are being interviewed and are likely to be charged also.
They scattered into the hills and scrub when two carloads of police arrived.
More than 500 people have been staying at the camp this summer and most were still there when mayhem erupted yesterday.
The South Taranaki District Council, which owns the camp, is supplying night security patrols for the next week.
"We know who these guys are and we will catch them all.
Opunake police officer in charge Constable Danny Giles played down the confrontation, calling it an isolated incident and not typical of Opunake. We do not expect any further problems. There has been talk around the camp of possible retribution but that will not happen."
Mr Russell said that just after 1am a black Subaru wagon with a noisy exhaust roared up with four males and three females
"They were all drunk and had come from a party on Eltham Rd."
Mr Russell said that just after 1am a black Subaru wagon with a noisy exhaust roared up with four males and three females
"They were all drunk and had come from a party on Eltham Rd. I said my campers wanted a quiet night," he said. I went out with a torch and suggested they go to the next bay and have their fun there.
"I took one around the corner to try and talk some sense in to him and next thing I'm hit in the forehead.
The Subaru drove off, but they left two guys behind and others arrived from the party. They were examining for trouble, they were well fonged up. I looked up and saw another dozen guys walking down the road towards us. They started throwing bottles everywhere.
"They kicked a couple of wheelie bins over, full of bottles.
"There was no further assault on anyone and they didn't try to go into the camping area. One guy picked up a big rock and threatened to smash my head in. There was a lot of smashed glass around. There was a lot of smashed glass around.
"My main concern was to stop them getting into the camp. We have some very good people staying here, a lot of kids, and I didn't want their holidays ruined."
He said the incidents were caused by a minority local group fired up by too much liquor and testosterone and he was concerned the publicity might discourage campers and affect his business.
"This is a fantastic camping ground and we want people to come back. This sort of incident is not going to help our bookings for next season. I don't want to see it blown up as a major event."
Lars Mathiasen, of Wellington, was camping with his wife and two small children.
"Last night we thought it was all too scary and maybe we shouldn't come back but then we thought if we didn't then these bastards are dictating where we can go. .
"This was our first visit. We love the place and we love the kind of people who camp here. A lot of them are local farmers."
His wife Marnie, who is seven months' pregnant, said it was a terrifying hour for campers.
"It just suddenly erupted, but it had been brewing for a while. There had been incidents of swearing and shouting from visitors on a couple of other nights.
"They were screaming abuse, they said they'd kill him. They said things like: `We'll bring the shotgun and f…… kill you, we'll bring our pit bulls. We'll put you in a coma.'
"They abused the campers as well. We could hear everything.
"They made haka-like challenges at the manager.
"It was a very personal attack on him."