Two a penny

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Parliament tonight passed a bill that cracks down on boy racers by giving councils and the police stronger powers to deal with them.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce said people were being disturbed and intimidated by illegal street racers and he was sure the new measures would be welcomed.

The Land Transport (Enforcement Powers) Amendment Bill gives councils the authority to make bylaws to prohibit cruising – defined in the bill as repeated circling of the same section of road in a manner that draws attention to the power or noise of a vehicle. . At present impounding a vehicle is an option.Another provision says the police must impound a vehicle breaking the law by taking part in an illegal race.Police can also order a car to be inspected if they suspect it has been illegally modified or is unsafe.The bill also increases penalties for failing to stop when ordered to and gives police the power to force a car to undergo a metered noise test.The drugged driving law has been passed but benzodiazepines were excluded from its provisions.Mr Joyce used the bill to widen the scope of the new drugged driving legislation to include benzodiazepines, a prescription sedative that can lead to impairment.Labour supported the bill and it passed its third reading under urgency on a unanimous vote.

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Critical injuries suffered by two teens in
a crash in south Waikato early today could have been avoided if they
had been wearing seat belts, police say.

Waikato Road Policing manager Inspector Leo Tooman said a young man and woman were in a critical condition in Waikato Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit following the crash about 3.30am close to Kihikihi, 4km south of Te Awamutu.

“As the driver of the white Subaru WRX lost control two people were ejected from the rear seat of the car as it rolled, such was the speed involved one of the injured was thrown over 30m.

Excessive speed was a significant factor in the crash, Mr Tooman said.

The injuries suffered by a 16-year-old Otorohanga girl and an 18-year-old Raglan man were avoidable tragedies in that both rear seat passengers were not wearing seatbelts, he said.”

The car which had been carrying five people ended up coming to a rest in a ditch.

The other three occupants of the car, a 20-year-old male driver and two 19-year-old male passengers escaped with just minor scrapes and bruising.

Mr Tooman said there had already been seven deaths in the Waikato this year of people thrown from motor vehicles while not wearing their seatbelts.

They were interviewed by police this morning.

“In this case it may be that these young people could’ve been able to enjoy breakfast with their families, instead their loved ones are being put through a terrible ordeal as health experts try and save them.

“In every case, where there has been other people in the vehicle, those wearing seatbelts- though sometimes injured, have survived.

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After eight court remands without entering a plea, former fugitive William Alexander Stewart today finally pleaded guilty to 45 charges when he appeared in Christchurch District Court.

The man who spent the summer months playing cat and mouse with Canterbury police originally faced 70 charges. Police withdrew 35 charges and laid 10 fresh ones at today’s appearance.

At the scene of one burglary he left a message referring to himself as “Billy the Hunted One”.

Stewart, 48, showed an uncanny ability to get past a series of police cordons set up to catch him during the summer months.

The long manhunt began when a warrant was issued for Stewart to be recalled to prison for breaching his parole conditions. . He escaped across farmland at Tai Tapu on December 8, and camped out in Canterbury, committing a series of burglaries to get supplies, and taking eight vehicles.

The media reported him saying to the police, “I’ve had a good run” when he was arrested, long-haired and heavily bearded.

He was caught at Mayfield, inland from Ashburton, on May 27 when a farmer disturbed an intruder on his property.

But Judge David Holderness declined the request and said it could be done when Stewart was sentenced on February 5.

Defence counsel Glenn Henderson asked the court today for the indulgence of allowing Stewart to make an apology.

The judge called for a pre-sentence report and a reparation report even though Mr Henderson said Stewart was unlikely to be able to repay the victims.

He was handcuffed again during his court appearances today, and he will stay in custody for the crown sentencing.

He admitted 23 burglaries, unlawfully taking five vehicles, four thefts, unlawfully interfering with a vehicle, escaping from custody, three charges of dangerous driving, three of failing to stop for the police, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a pipe to smoke methamphetamine, and being unlawfully in an enclosed yard.

He admitted 23 burglaries, unlawfully taking five vehicles, four thefts, unlawfully interfering with a vehicle, escaping from custody, three charges of dangerous driving, three of failing to stop for the police, unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a pipe to smoke methamphetamine, and being unlawfully in an enclosed yard. All were recovered, but one was burnt out and all were damaged.

Stewart took eight vehicles while on the run.

His burglaries mainly targeted businesses in small country towns.

He was involved in three high speed chases and he twice rammed police cars to get away.

. Several of them were committed with a co-offender who was still to be identified, police said

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Prime Minister John Key leaves today for a politically high-octane week in New York meeting US President Barack Obama, world leaders, the head of the United Nations and appearing on a TV show watched by more than three million people.

Mr Key will be front and centre on the international stage, with a one-on-one meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and a speech to the General Assembly, but most interest will focus on an opportunity to meet United States President Barack Obama.

The pair have talked by phone but the chance to chat and shake hands at a function the President is hosting will be the first meeting.

“That I think it is improving and that’s a positive sign I think for both countries.

“I will reaffirm to him to him that we are very pleased with the way the relationship is going,” Mr Key told .

Mr Key’s week kicks off with a UN event on climate change hosted by Mr Ban as he tries to galvanise political will to make serious commitments so a meeting in Copenhagen in December can progress.”

If he has the chance he will remind Mr Obama of the importance of a trade agreement and the outlook in Afghanistan, where New Zealand has troops.

He has also been invited to attend a Clinton Global Initiative event which Mr Obama and former president Bill Clinton will attend followed by a meeting..

“It’s an economic focus. ..

“But it will be interesting to see what ideas are presented.

“I think we get a sense that around the world confidence is emerging albeit that it’s on a very fragile base. In particular what the attitude is towards trade, and potentially resolution towards (the Doha trade round). In particular what the attitude is towards trade, and potentially resolution towards (the Doha trade round).

“It’s been quite useful because he’s tended to give an Australasian perspective, and also a debrief after the meeting so he’s been a good friend in that regard.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is attending that meeting, and will have a quick talk with Mr Key beforehand.

In his address to the General Assembly at the end of the week Mr Key would focus on New Zealand’s continued commitment to the UN, multi-lateral diplomacy, and climate change.”

New Zealand would urge progress on the Doha round of trade talks and progress on climate change.

“I think this is a great area where New Zealand can punch above its weight.

Mr Key will also attend a UN Security Council meeting on disarmament and non-proliferation, chaired by President Obama.”

. We’ve been a leader in being a non-nuclear country and it’s an area President Obama raised with me

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The Government’s legislation setting up Auckland’s new super city council was passed by Parliament today
on a vote of 64 to 58 after a long debate under urgency.

Ministers had hoped to get it through last night but a 9am to midnight sitting wasn’t enough, with Labour, the Greens and the Maori Party opposing the bill.

Local Government Minister Rodney Hide launched the debate on the bill’s third reading, its final stage, this morning.

He acknowledged there had been strong debate about the structure and powers of the council.

The new council would deliver decisive leadership, robust infrastructure and the facilities and services of a world class city, while local boards would ensure communities could deal with local issues, he said.

Super city mayoral candidate and current mayor of Manukau Len Brown said it was a mistake to not have included a provision preventing the sale of council assets.

“We listened to what people had to say and responded to their ideas and concerns,” Mr Hide said.

“Generations of Aucklanders have invested in our public ports, airport and water company. They provide an asset base upon which we can build the infrastructure needed to turn Auckland into an economic and cultural hub for the South Pacific. They are owned by the community.”We must make sure the new council protects and develops our assets for all Aucklanders. They must not be sold,” he said.

He said the establishment of local community boards should be a priority once the new council was up and running.”

Mr Brown welcomed the dumping of proposals for councillors-at-large and the retention of the original northern Rodney boundary, however, he said splitting up Franklin district was a mistake, calling it a “slap in the face” for the district’s residents.

“As an advocate of empowering local democracy I was in favour of these roles being outlined in the legislation, however as mayor I will be work to make sure that local communities have their voices heard.

“As an advocate of empowering local democracy I was in favour of these roles being outlined in the legislation, however as mayor I will be work to make sure that local communities have their voices heard.

“This is critical to New Zealand’s future and this will give us an opportunity for the first time ever to sing from the same song sheet the same tune, get on and build the economic infrastructure to make us a truly internationally competitive super city.”

Auckland mayor and fellow super city mayoralty aspirant John Banks said the legislation had been 95 years in the making and “the challenge now is to make it work”. .”

He said it had been a long convoluted process and said he was looking forward to trying to make it work.”

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An Australian man raped his daughter almost daily for 30 years and fathered her four children, in a case that echoes Austria’s Fritzl incest horror, according to reports.

The revelations of the Latrobe Valley man’s reign of terror have rocked Victoria, a day after the Ombudsman slammed the state’s record on child protection.

The Age has learnt the man, who cannot be named, was initially charged with 83 offences, most of which have been withdrawn by police, but now faces 13 charges – five of incest, five of rape, two of indecently assaulting a girl under the age of 16 and one of assault.

The man, in his 60s, is charged with multiple counts of rape and incest in a case that echoes Austria’s Fritzl incest horror.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman would confirm only that charges had been laid against the man. He is due to appear in a Melbourne court in November. . She would not say what or how many they were, or when police had become involved in the case.

An ”extremely appalled” Community Services Minister Lisa Nevillesaid she had no knowledge of the case until today’s reports and her department would immediately investigate. A News Limited paper claimed authorities had been warned of the man’s activities years ago but had failed to investigate.

“They are only allegations and are before the courts at the moment and we need to be very careful about how much detail we go into.

”I do not know what or if there has been any involvement of the police, the department or any other agencies over that 30-year period,” Ms Neville said.”

The News Limited newspaper reports the alleged rapes started in the 1970s when the victim was about 11 and continued until 2007.

“This will be a priority to look into. One of the children later died.

It reports all the victim’s four children were born with birth defects in major Melbourne hospitals.

However, she went to police again in June last year and gave a statement against her father, the newspaper reports.

The woman reportedly spoke to police at Morwell, in Gippsland, eastern Victoria, in 2005 after a neighbour intervened, but she declined to cooperate because she feared for her safety.

Child welfare advocates are demanding a full inquiry, with claims authorities failed to investigate the alleged abuse. Police conducted DNA tests on the father and, in February, laid 83 charges of sex abuse against him.

The newspaper says the accused man’s wife had denied knowing of any assaults or who fathered her daughter’s children.

The victim’s mother claims she was unaware of any abuse despite sharing a house with her daughter, husband and grandchildren until 2005.

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Convicted double murderer John Barlow has lost his final bid to have his convictions overturned, as the Privy Council in London ruled against his appeal today.

The five law lords that heard Barlow’s appeal tonight announced that while he had an arguable case, on the evidence he was properly convicted by the jury. ….that, while the introduction of the misleading evidence..Barlow’s lawyer Greg King appealed to the council in February to have the murder convictions quashed.was indeed a miscarriage, no substantial miscarriage of justice actually occured,” the judgement said.The Privy Council said while the introduction of the “misleading evidence” was a miscarriage “no substantial miscarriage of justice actually occurred”.Mr King rubbished FBI forensic evidence that led a jury to send his client to prison.Mr King’s first victory was for the law lords to hear the petition for special leave to appeal, and to consider evidence the New Zealand Court of Appeal would not hear when it denied Barlow an appeal in March last year.After twice going through trials that ended in hung juries, Barlow was jailed for the murder of Wellington father and son Eugene and Gene Thomas, who were killed in 1994.Mr King told the law lords that crucial evidence relating to the weapon and bullets that killed the Thomas’ had been falsely linked to Barlow, a former antiques dealer, who is serving 14 years in Upper Hutt’s Rimutaka Prison.Mr King told the law lords that crucial evidence relating to the weapon and bullets that killed the Thomas’ had been falsely linked to Barlow, a former antiques dealer, who is serving 14 years in Upper Hutt’s Rimutaka Prison.The Crown case in all three trials hinged on proving that Barlow’s CZ27 pistol, and related bullets and a silencer, was the murder weapon.The tests have since been discredited worldwide for providing a high number of false matches.

Mr King said he would make a comment after reading the full court ruling.Mr King would not comment on the Privy Council’s verdict tonight.

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The future of Michael Jackson’s children was thrown into question Thursday when his ex-wife emerged and won a delay in a custody hearing while she decides whether she wants to raise her two offspring.

It was the first legal move from Deborah Rowe since the entertainer’s death. Jackson’s will asks for his mother, Katherine, to get permanent custody of all three of his children. She is the mother of his two oldest children and received US$8.

Rowe, who met Jackson as a receptionist in the office of his dermatologist, has characterised their relationship as strictly for the purpose of birthing Jackson children. His youngest child was conceived with a surrogate.5 million in their divorce, according to court records.

She has spent very little time with her son Michael Joseph Jr, known as Prince Michael, 12; and daughter Paris Michael Katherine, 11.

Rowe’s attorney, Eric M George, said Thursday she had not decided whether to seek custody. But Rowe also has opposed the idea of Katherine Jackson getting custody of her children when it came up in the past.

The identity of the surrogate mother of the singer’s youngest child, 7-year-old son Prince Michael II, has never been revealed.

Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff rescheduled a guardianship hearing for July 13 at the request of attorneys for Rowe and for Katherine Jackson, 79, who has temporary guardianship of her son’s children.

Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, which owns the Staples Center and was Jackson’s promoter, said tickets would be free.

Jackson’s public memorial was set for 10 am Tuesday at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, according to a press release from the office of the Jackson family’s publicist. . He was not sure how they would be distributed.

“If you can imagine 100,000 people show up and you have 20,000 capacity (at the Staples Center), there is not sufficient room. A week after the singer’s death, the location for a memorial has not been finalized and the cash-strapped city doesn’t have the money to pay police overtime. With the July Fourth holiday weekend “it’s the worst time . Now you have a crowd-control problem,” he said…”

. to work something out

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Police have stepped up uniformed patrols in Levin and Foxton to clamp down on violence sparked by a gang power struggle in the wake of the death of Nomads gang leader Dennis “Mossie” Hines.

Molotov cocktails were thrown through a window of a rental house in Levin on Monday night.

Police said the blaze was linked to the shooting of Hines’ stepson, Nomads gang associate Tony Cootes, on the day of the gang leader’s tangi.

Police said there had been five violent incidents, including an assault and a firearms incident, since the death in prison of Hines, the founder of the Nomads in Horowhenua and Otaki.

Mr Cootes was wounded in the leg while attending the funeral of Hines in Foxton on Thursday.

Police stepped up patrols to curb any more violence and there were no further reports of unrest overnight.

About a dozen gang members were believed to be involved.

Hines’ intention was that upon his death the gang was to disband. .

Violence was the result of a leadership struggle and conflict between junior and senior gang members, Detective Senior Sergeant Marc Hercock said.

However, they were “rigorously” investigating incidents and were taking a zero tolerance to criminal activity, he said. Police had received no formal complaint over anything apart from the arson.

“It’s within the one gang and it’s been limited to gang members against gang members.

Mr Hercock said there was no explicit threat to public safety.

“There’s no indication that any members of the public are any greater threat than they ordinarily would be.

“There’s no indication that any members of the public are any greater threat than they ordinarily would be.

Mr Stevens’ family was not home at the time of the arson.30pm on Monday.

“We heard a big smash, smelled smoke, looked out and saw the flames,” one woman said.

Terrified neighbours say they fear reprisal attacks and some are vowing to move out. It was scary.

“It only took a matter of seconds before most of the house was engulfed. It’s the kids I feel sorry for the babies. I’m packing up, moving out.

A Levin supermarket owner said gang members marched into another local supermarket the day before the tangi, grabbed armfuls of meat and walked out again without paying.”

The incident has revived memories of Wanganui toddler Jhia Te Tua, who died when shot in the chest during a gang-related drive-by shooting in May 2007.

“He was a leader.

“He was a leader. The trouble will stop if the person who takes his position commands the same respect.”

Police are still investigating the shooting, which family members believe was self-inflicted.

Detective Senior Sergeant Marc Hercock urged the community to come forward with information.

“The people in this gang are mainly born and bred in Horowhenua and are not likely to be going anywhere anytime soon.

“If anyone has information we urge them to come forward.”

– with

– Next Crime story: –
Two more arrests over Hamilton murder

– National Homepage -

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A jury has found Waitara truck driver Marcus John Russ not guilty of rape following a two-day trial in the New Plymouth District Court.

Russ, 32, had denied raping the woman in her Inglewood home in November, 2007. .
The Crown had alleged he had raped the woman as she lay in bed with her two-year-old son. She wanted it, we both wanted it, it was consensual sex.
Mr Wright said he then arrested the accused who immediately said: “I know what this is about.
He said he was “not too sure” how they ended up having sex but “she never said no”.”
After agreeing to a video interview, Russ told the detective the complainant had let him into her house where he looked in the cupboards for food while she went to bed.
Russ then admitted to the detective that he had sent apologetic text messages to the complainant within a week of the alleged rape.
After a confrontation between the complainant, her boyfriend and Russ, the accused said he told his partner that he had had sex with the woman, to which she told him “don’t go there again” and left it at that.
Russ denied direct allegations put to him that he had held the woman down while she had her infant son in the bed and forced her to have sex.
He said the only reason he apologised was because she knew the woman had a boyfriend and he felt guilty about sleeping with her.
“As far as I’m concerned I never raped her.
“I didn’t hold her down, no way,” he said.
Ms Hughes pointed out that there were no injuries to either party, despite the violence alleged in the rape.”
In her closing address, defence counsel Susan Hughes, QC, told the jury that the complainant’s story was incredible and needed to be put to one side.

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. She also said the complainant’s story was not consistent with someone who had been raped, rather someone who regretted what she had done