Two a penny

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Just two hours before police took Tony Veitch back to Hamilton’s central police station for treatment yesterday after his latest suicide bid, the shamed broadcaster sent a desperate text message to .

“I am done,” Veitch said in the text to sports editor John Matheson at 1.01pm.

“I can’t do this anymore.

“This has now totally destroyed me.

A family friend told last night Veitch had been left distraught that many commentators and talkback callers had questioned his levels of remorse since his Auckland District Court appearance on Thursday.”

Veitch begged to publish an email he had sent to Kristin Dunne-Powell in November 2006 which stated his desire for his ex-partner to have a happy and successful life.

He pleaded guilty to assault with reckless disregard resulting in injury, and was sentenced to 300 hours’ community service and fined $10,000.

Veitch wanted the email which he refers to in the text as “my final statement” published in full by . Six other assault charges were dropped.

She said she wanted Veitch to say sorry.

On Thursday night Dunne-Powell told TV3 Veitch hadn’t shown any remorse after he attacked her in January 2006.

It all became too much for him at about 12. Veitch contends as per the November 2006 email he has apologised.30pm yesterday when he left his Remuera, Auckland, home in his car.30pm yesterday when he left his Remuera, Auckland, home in his car.

“The family were very concerned about his state.

“He went into a panic attack and disappeared.”

Police sources last night said that at 1. We called the police to find him and he was found about four hours later at Ngaruawahia.

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Half a dozen police cars were sent to the area to search for him.42pm officers picked up a Vodafone signal from his phone at Brownlee Avenue in Ngaruawahia.

By about 3. .

He was pulled over and taken to Hamilton Police Station.15 a drowsy Veitch was spotted driving in the opposite direction of a police unit.

Last night, Veitch’s distraught wife Zoe issued a plea for the media and public to “back off” her husband.

Last night, Veitch’s distraught wife Zoe issued a plea for the media and public to “back off” her husband.

“The inordinate amount of stress on Tony would devastate anybody, let alone someone who is suffering from extreme depression and suicidal thoughts,” she said.

“It has now reached a level where it is intolerable and now I am begging that both the media and the public back off.

“Enough is enough. Please let us at least attempt to move on and get Tony well.”

Veitch was last night in the care of family.

Yesterday’s suicide attempt is the third known time Veitch has tried to take his life.

In a letter to the judge overseeing his case, Zoe said there were at least another five times when she feared for his life.

The first attempt came in September last year when reported Veitch was rushed by helicopter from a remote Northland farm to Auckland Hospital after police were forced to smash into his car to free him.

And then in January this year, he was rushed to Thames Hospital after going missing late at night in Pauanui on the Coromandel coast.

Police discovered the ex-broadcaster in a “distressed state” among sand dunes and a paramedic found he had taken an overdose of tablets.

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Boot camp for 40 worst young offenders

Monday, 16 February 2009

The Government has unveiled legislation to deal with the 1000 worst youth offenders through tougher sentences and boot-camp style punishment.
The legislation was a key promise by National on the campaign trail.
The military-style camp programme would target the 40 most serious young offenders and consist of up to three months' residential training, using army type facilities or training methods.
Announcing details today, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett said the legislation would include:
* New powers for the Youth Court to issue a range of compulsory orders, including parenting, mentoring and drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes;
* Extending the jurisdiction of the Youth Court to include 12 or 13 year olds accused of serious offences;
* Doubling residential sentences available to the Youth Court to a maximum six months, followed by a year's supervision;
* New programmes incorporating military-style training.
"There is a small core of young people who have exhausted all of their options under the current system, or who are guilty of extremely violent crime.
It would be followed by up to nine months of intensive support, Ms Bennett said. . The impact of these 1000 offenders on their victims can be far reaching."

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The big sweat hits Auckland

By CLIO FRANCIS – Tuesday, 10 February 2009

Auckland locals hoping for a respite from the hot, sticky weather are out of luck, according to the Metservice.
The muggy weather which has clung to the Auckland region in recent days shows no sign of abating with a forecast of over 90 percent humidity predicted for the region this evening.
This morning the areas of Whangaparoa and Awhitu both recorded a very sweaty 100 percent humidity, with Auckland city sitting on an uncomfortable 91 percent.
“Generally for a person it will feel hotter if you have a lot of humidity – especially overnight as the humidity stays in the air”, he said.
Metservice forecaster Peter Smith said such high levels of humidity only occur a few times a year.”
While the regions on the East Coast had been experiencing soaring temperatures in the late 30s, areas like Auckland that experienced lower temperatures but a high level of humidity could also feel very warm, he said.
“For example in Auckland yesterday at midday it was 27 degrees with humidity of 60 percent, however last night you’ve got cooler temperatures but humidity round most of the Auckland area was up over 90 percent and that can make it feel very hot.
An Auckland Briscoes employee said anyone hoping for cool relief from their mega store was out of luck..
"We sold out of fans in December – even before Christmas . was finished.. It’s really hot, we’re boiling here even with the air-conditioning on.
"Everyone is still coming in screaming for them, but I think you’ll find that lots of other retailers have sold out as-well."
When contacted an Auckland branch of The Warehouse, an employee said that they were also running low on stocks of fans."
When contacted an Auckland branch of The Warehouse, an employee said that they were also running low on stocks of fans.
"It seems like everyday it gets hotter and today is so muggy- so lots of people will be coming in again I think. .
"It’s the humidity that is the big issue here (in Auckland); we don’t get high temperatures here – you just need to look at the television news to see that- but it’s the humidity that gets to people."
Roger from Accord Air-conditioning and Heating said he was seeing high demand from people wanting to cool down."

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Low-key Waitangi after attack on PM

By FLORENCE KERR in Waitangi – Friday, 06 February 2009

PETER DRURY/
SONG AND DANCE: The Aute Samoa Tyrell Family, including Analise Tyrell, foreground, were among the first stage acts at Hamilton’s Waitangi Day commemorations at Innes Common.

There was a peaceful dawn to Waitangi Day celebrations in Waitangi today and a low-key start to Hamilton's commemorations at Innes Common.
In stark contrast to yesterday's kerfuffle, in which Prime Minister John Key was attacked by two men as he prepared to enter Waitangi's Te Tii Marae, thousands attended the morning service at the Upper Marae today without incident. .
A karanga rang out at 5.
He gave thanks to those who signed the Treaty for their "hope and courage" for a better New Zealand, while Labour leader Phil Goff also gave thanks for a safe country.
Mr Key was asked to lead the thousands in prayer.
But not all were happy with the Treaty's status, with one Ngapuhi elder telling the crowd: "The Treaty was signed at 1."
In Hamilton a cultural showcase of music and dance performances, designed to celebrate the city's ethnic and cultural diversity, and hosted by Te Runanga O Kirikiriroa, was expected to attract about 4000.30pm on February 6, 1840 it died at 6pm that night.
Meanwhile a 19-year-old and a 33-year-old were remanded in custody until Monday after they appeared in Kaikohe District Court on assault charges against Mr Key.
Groups performing included those from the India NZ Global Association, Waikato Filipino Association, Scottish country dancers, African Children's Gospel Choir and Knights of the Dub Table.
"They grabbed my shoulder and my arm but it happened very quickly.
"I was confident the situation would get under control pretty quickly," Mr Key said. They pulled one guy off then the second guy came and tried to push me back. They pulled one guy off then the second guy came and tried to push me back.
Kingitanga spokesperson Tom Moana said King Tuheitia was enjoying his time in Waitangi as part of Tainui's first royal presence at the events since 1990 and the multi-denominational service was "interesting"."
One of the men told reporters he was angry that the Maori Party had formed a coalition with National.

. Mr Moana said the Kingitanga had not ruled out an appearance next year

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Wife thought Xue wouldn’t let her leave

Wednesday, 04 February 2009

NAI YIN XUE: Accused of strangling his wife.

The Age
DOMESTIC TRAGEDY: An An Liu, whose body was found in the boot of a car, and daughter Qian Xun Xue, who was found alone at a Melbourne railway station.
Nai Yin Xue, 55, appeared in the High Court at Auckland yesterday for legal argument ahead of his trial in June, including the admissibility of hearsay evidence.

Awoman who was stuffed into the boot of a car after her husband allegedly strangled her with his tie believed he would hunt her down no matter where she ran to, a court has been told.
Crown prosecutor Aaron Perkins said the evidence revealed the "attitudes and actions" of the accused in the leadup to the killing and suggested Xue, more than anyone else, was responsible for the murder of Ms Liu.
Xue is accused of strangling his 27-year-old wife, An An Liu, in Auckland in September 2007 then stuffing her body in a car boot before travelling to Melbourne and dumping his three-year-old daughter, Qian Xun Xue, at a train station. On one occasion, she went to a "safe house" and on another she fled to Wellington.
Ms Liu told several people that she feared Xue and had tried to leave him several times.
While Ms Liu did not see Xue in the house, she believed it was him.
Having found out where she was living, Xue drove to her Wellington address but was chased out of the house by the landlord, who had a gun, Mr Perkins said.
His ability to find her wherever she went made her decide it was probably safer for her and her child to live with him, Mr Perkins said. That Xue was captured by a speed camera just out of Levin that same day supported her belief. Rather, he hoped the union would produce a son for him. .
Justice Hugh Williams reserved his decision but granted media permission to publish some information.
His lawyer, Chris Comeskey, argued that none of the evidence should be admissible as it was unduly prejudicial.
Xue did not oppose the order, which would be carried out on February 13.
The Crown also sought a suspect compulsion order that would force Xue to provide a dna blood sample.
Having received no money from Legal Aid Services for Xue's defence for more than a year, Mr Comeskey had threatened to withdraw his services and leave Xue, who does not speak English, to defend himself.
Meanwhile, Mr Comeskey said Xue had dropped his bid for bail, as he had been granted legal aid and no longer needed to work to cover his legal bills.

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$1.9m for historic Sounds homestead

Saturday, 31 January 2009

Ahistoric villa in Queen Charlotte Sound has sold for $1.9 million and the new owners are planning to restore it.
But as they entered their late 70s, Margaret Gould and Gwen Hounslow, daughters of founder Joseph Hebberd, fielded more and more inquiries about the property, while other family members wanted out.
The Hebberd family homestead in Onahau Bay was built in the 1880s and has been in the hands of the original owner's family since."
Their mother, Ida, lived in the house for close toly 80 years, bringing up the children alone after Mr Hebberd died in 1942.
"We're just getting too old now and we can't look after it like we used to.
Just 10 minutes by runabout from Picton, the property was as coveted for its rare patch of flat land on the waterfront as it was for the three-bedroom house.28-hectare cow paddock were each valued at $940,000 and fetched just over that when they went under the hammer yesterday.
The 4460-square-metre section and an adjoining 6. "We've sold it for $1.
Bayleys agent Glenn Dick said about 60 bidders crowded into the company's Blenheim offices for the auction..9 million … They would also keep the cow paddock as it was, instead of subdividing it."
The new owners were a Wairarapa family who planned to bring in native timber and restore the homestead, he said. .
Mrs Gould, who lives in Renwick, close to Blenheim, said her family still had to remove things from the house and would say goodbye to it in March.. I've been there all my life . but if they're going to restore the house, well that's all fine by us..9 million windfall, Mrs Gould simply said the family was "quite pleased"."
As for the $1."
When she and her seven siblings were growing up, they rowed to Picton for supplies, hunted pigs and possums, and sold butter from their cows."
When she and her seven siblings were growing up, they rowed to Picton for supplies, hunted pigs and possums, and sold butter from their cows.

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Rabbi’s autopsy appeals unsuccessful

By KEITH LYNCH – Friday, 30 January 2009

An autopsy has been carried out on an Israeli tramper despite a request by a Christchurch rabbi that it not be done.
The Christchurch coroners' office confirmed yesterday that the autopsy on Ohad Dotan, 27, who died after an apparent fall near the Mueller Glacier in the Southern Alps this week, went ahead.
The coroner had contacted Dotan's family through the Israeli embassy in Australia, and it had consented to an autopsy, a spokeswoman said.
"We asked them to avoid any unnecessary incisions in the body if at all possible," Goldstein said.
Rabbi Menachem Goldstein, director of Chabad Lubavitch of New Zealand, had asked regional coroner Richard McElrea to avoid a full autopsy as incisions were deemed a desecration in Jewish law. We made a request and advised them of Jewish tradition. "This wasn't a fight; this wasn't an action."
Dotan's body has been taken to the John Rhind funeral home in Christchurch.
The embassy in Australia could not confirm yesterday when Dotan's body would be flown home. Goldstein said he wanted to clean the body, as is Jewish custom, to purify it before burial. If the family's appeal is unsuccessful, it may appeal to the High Court.
In New Zealand, a family has the right to object to an autopsy unless the death involves a criminal offence, if any law requires an autopsy, or if an autopsy has to be performed immediately as a delay might limit the ability to determine the cause of death.
AUTOPSIES
Maori: Believe an autopsy is a violation of the body of the deceased.
The coroner must take into account a family's cultural or spiritual beliefs when deciding whether to carry out an autopsy. The Coroners Act allows individual coroners flexibility to decide whether an autopsy is necessary. The Coroners Act allows individual coroners flexibility to decide whether an autopsy is necessary. .
Islam: Muslims want the dead to be buried as soon as possible. Examination is permitted after a religious leader says the soul has left the body.
Buddhism: Believes that after death the soul remains near the body, and an autopsy damaging the the body could distract the soul.

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Christianity: Allows autopsies on almost all occasions but asks that the body be treated with respect and the family's permission obtained

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Crater lake crash hearing begins

The Tuesday, 09 December 2008

A witness giving evidence in a depositions hearing on a helicopter crash on Mt Ruapehu crater lake said she had a "gut feeling" something had happened when the craft did not return as expected.
Conservation Department biodiversity ranger Nicki Hughes told Taupo District Court earlier today how Taupo pilot Bruce Lilburn had made the decision to fly to the crater lake late in the afternoon on December 11, 2006 to pick up two DoC staff members.
She told the court the weather conditions were windy and overcast and the operation was restricted to 1100 metres.
Ms Hughes said the department had been using Mr Lilburn to help in a broom eradication operation on Tongariro National Park during the day.
They then launched a rescue operation.
When she had not heard from the helicopter an hour after it had left, she had a "gut feeling" something had gone wrong. .
Lilburn, 37, has been charged under the Civil Aviation Act with operating an aircraft in a manner that caused unnecessary danger to his passengers.
They were winched to safety by another helicopter.
He climbed an ice wall and called for help on a cellphone while the rest of the passengers huddled together for two hours by the crash site to keep warm.
Crown prosecutor Chris Macklin told the court Mr Lilburn had gone to pick up DoC staff members George Taylor and Ross Martin from the crater around 5pm on December 11 2006 when the accident happened.
Mr Lilburn has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Also on board were Mr Lilburn's loader driver, Adrian Tetherbridge and another DoC staff member Melissa Vedder.

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Outrage over students using park for sex

By AARON LEAMAN – Monday, 01 December 2008

Allegations of high school students using a Hamilton park for sex during school hours were heard at a meeting of concerned residents yesterday.
About 50 people attended a community meeting at the Hillcrest Scout Hall to discuss ways of curbing anti-social behaviour at the adjourning Hillcrest Park.
One elderly resident told the gathering that she and her husband had seen teenagers dressed in Hillcrest High School uniform having sex on a park bench.
The woman, who did not want to be named, told the she had lived next to the park for 46 years and was shocked by the teenagers' antics.
On another occasion, students were seen having sex under a park tree. If I'd been there I would have put the hose on them," she said.
"Earlier this year my husband told me he saw two students having sex on a park bench in broad daylight when they should have been at school.
The "lovebirds" didn't make any effort to hide their behaviour, she said.
Residents said they were also concerned about binge drinking and drug use in the park, as well as tagging, rubbish being set on fire and young people doing "burnouts" in the carpark.
Yesterday's meeting was organised by resident group Hillcrest Park Guardians and was sparked by the recent assaults on two 11-year old girls. .
Senior Sergeant Lance Tebbutt urged people at the meeting to report all suspicious or inappropriate behaviour to police.

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The residents group plans to meet with Hamilton City Council staff later this month to identify ways to make the park safer

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Students in tears after binge drinking

Wednesday, 26 November 2008

University students have been phoning a drug and alcohol helpline in tears following their binge drinking experiences. .
ADA chief executive Cate Kearney said calls received by the Alcohol Drug Helpline included a 19-year-old woman at a South Island university.
It found a third of students had blacked out during binge drinking, and 37 per cent reported binge drinking at least once in the past week.
"I can't recall what I've done or who I've done it with.
"I just can't do this any more," she said. You should see all the bruises I've got. I'm feeling sick with embarrassment and shame. You've no idea what it's like.
"I don't know how I got them. There's no such thing as having a few drinks. Everyone does it.
"Man, it's so hard because weekends are drinking time," he said."
A 22-year-old male North Island university student was in tears during his call and said he had seriously injured himself without knowing how and was worried about it occuring again. Look how can I possibly get out of this? It's lonely enough being away from my family.
"But I'm going to have to stop drinking if I don't want to stuff this up too.
"What is particularly concerning is that a third of students surveyed reported blacking out during their binge drinking, and that 37 per cent reported one or more binge drinking episodes in the past week," she said."
Ms Kearney said the results of the survey came as no surprise given the calls that came in on a regular basis.
Alcohol regulation and misuse needed to be an important issue for the new government.
Ms Kearney said young people were reflecting New Zealand's culture of binge drinking.
The web-based survey covered the drinking habits over a four-week period of 2548 students from five universities.
The Helpline calls suggested it was alcohol rather than methamphetamine that was the scourge of New Zealand, Ms Kearney said.