Two a penny

.

A man who stabbed an Auckland father as he supervised his daughter’s 16th birthday party has been found guilty of attempted murder.

A jury of nine woman and three men found Raymond Tonumaalii, 32, guilty of the charge at the High Court in Auckland this afternoon. .

“I wanted to know why he had stabbed me, I wanted him to look me in the eye and know what reason he had to kill me.

On Monday Mr Matamata told the court he learnt why Tonumaalii attacked him after sitting next to him at an earlier depositions hearing at Waitakere District Court.”

Mr Matamata said Tonumaalii said he had mistaken Mr Matamata for the man that had beaten him up at the party earlier.

“My children could have lost their father that day.

“I said, no mate, I was one of the guys that saved ya.

Crown prosecutor Warren Cathcart said Mr Matamata had been at home “minding his own business” about 2am on April 6 last year when he was attacked with a knife.”

Tonumaalii then apologised to him, Mr Matamata told the court.

Mr Matamata said he could remember little of the struggle.

The stabbing was seen by several teenagers, including Mr Matamata’s children, Mr Cathcart said.”

Tonumaalii suffered minor injuries in the scuffle.

“He had a knife, I was unarmed, I was just doing the best I could to stay alive.

The court was told he confessed to the stabbing when interviewed by a police officer in hospital the next day.

The court was told he confessed to the stabbing when interviewed by a police officer in hospital the next day. I was calm and collected and ready to take his life,” Tonumaalii said to the officer.

“I walked up to him and he laughed at me so I stabbed him in the chest.

.

Tonumaalii had later denied he stabbed Mr Matamata

.
War veterans missing out on pensions

By ROB STOCK – Sunday, 15 February 2009

They served their country and now, it seems, many are being short-changed.
A welfare adviser is calling for veterans to come forward and claim entitlements, with estimates that up to 15,000 of those who served in wars and emergencies are missing out.02 a week, depending on their level of disability.
Their New Zealand Super income could be boosted by a war disablement pension of $182.
Many could also switch from NZ Super to the veteran's pension, which offers extra help with costs like medical bills.
That's money which would go a long way towards helping the oldest, those who served in World War II, cope with rising medical bills.
Currently just under 15,000 are receiving the extra help and Auckland RSA pension and welfare adviser Matthew McMillan says that's not good enough. .
McMillan advertised in a local paper calling for veterans to come to him to have their pensions assessed. Overseas experience shows for every veteran claiming entitlements, there are two or three who don't.
Some cases shocked McMillan.
Over two lunchtimes at Auckland's New Lynn RSA last week more than 200 war veterans, mostly WWII veterans, took up the offer. He's riddled with cancer and he's getting bugger all, just NZ Super. "We had a nuclear test veteran come in.
McMillan says it isn't just as a result of ignorance that veterans are missing out."
One 88-year-old McMillan helped recently was managing on NZ Super alone, despite being eligible for a war disability pension, and despite being the main caregiver for his even more disabled wife. They don't want to be seen as bludgers. "A lot of them are hugely proud, and hugely stubborn. It is just what veterans are entitled to."
But he says: "These aren't handouts.
Two years ago Winz started asking retirees applying for NZ Super whether they served in the forces, but only after a three-year battle, McMillan says."
McMillan says little is being done to ensure veterans are getting the entitlements and there is not even a reliable record of who they are. "We are trying to catch them before it is too late," McMillan says.
Now the largest cohort of veterans – those that served in World War II – are dying at a rapid rate.
The commission is reviewing war pensions legislation, but believes the number of those missing out on entitlements may be lower than overseas predictions.
The commission is reviewing war pensions legislation, but believes the number of those missing out on entitlements may be lower than overseas predictions.
Collins says the onus is on veterans to claim war pensions. "If you don't ask for it, you don't get it."

.
TAB chiefs face inquiry as bribe claims surface

By TONY WALL and STEVE KILGALLON – Sunday, 15 February 2009

Senior TAB employees are under investigation over allegations they used community money to bribe publicans to secure poker machine money for horse racing. .
The racing board is an independent statutory body which runs the TAB throughout New Zealand, is politically appointed and reports to the minister of racing, John Carter.
He appealed for the Sunday Star-Times' sources to assist their investigation.
Internal Affairs' national manager of investigations, Geoff Owen, confirmed they were investigating racing board employees, Rotorua-based pokie trust First Sovereign and the Waikato Racing Club, and "irregularities in the [racing board] invoicing system".
It is alleged that in some of those cases TAB and pokie trust staff or agents have approached pubs with in-house TABs and offered inducements -including full refurbishments of the premises -if they switch allegiance to the racing-friendly trust.
While the latest inquiry focuses on the Waikato, the Star-Times understands Internal Affairs has spent months investigating cases around the country involving senior TAB figures and other racing-friendly pokie trusts.
A leading pokie industry source said he witnessed such a conversation involving a senior TAB employee.
Sources familiar with the Waikato investigation say it will focus on grants by First Sovereign to the Waikato Racing Club.
Such attempts to influence the flow of pokie money are illegal under the Gambling Act.
The chief executive of the NZRB, Graeme Hansen, said the board discovered a "transaction that looked as though it was out of the ordinary" several months ago and alerted Internal Affairs.
It is understood the inquiry will also look at at least one Hamilton pub, which switched to First Sovereign in 2007 and gained a refit of its TAB. "We're keeping out of the way to allow [Internal Affairs] to go through the proper process, and if there has been anything by our employees we'll respond accordingly.
He said no staff had been stood down."
Hansen said it would be concerning if staff were trying to bribe publicans, but he had seen no evidence of a wider problem."
Hansen said it would be concerning if staff were trying to bribe publicans, but he had seen no evidence of a wider problem."
There is fierce competition between pokie trusts to secure as many pub venues as possible so they can award more grants. I am very keen to determine whether or not there has been any improper application of gaming funds in this case. In that time First Sovereign gave more than $9m -over 50 percent of its total grants -to racing.
Problem Gambling Foundation research shows the racing industry has benefited from $58 million of poker machine grants since 2006.
Mike Brosnan, of Bendigo Valley, said two of his trust's biggest venues, both with TABs, were approached by a a senior TAB employee and a representative of a racing-friendly trust (not First Sovereign) and offered rebuilds, complete with plasma screen TVs, as well as increased commission.
In Otago, two pokie trusts, the Southern Trust and the Bendigo Valley Foundation, have laid complaints with Internal Affairs about approaches to their publicans.
He said the publicans were reluctant to testify about the incident.
"They were quoting refits worth $100,000," said Brosnan."
He said the benefit for a rival trust of taking over a venue could be huge. "The TAB is such a powerful organisation, the publicans are running scared because they could lose their TABs. If the TAB gets four or five of those venues, that's a lot of income going into racing, which in the long run means the schools miss out, the kindies miss out, other sports miss out. If the TAB gets four or five of those venues, that's a lot of income going into racing, which in the long run means the schools miss out, the kindies miss out, other sports miss out."

.
Booze laws not working

Shame drivers and crush cars, say police

Saturday, 14 February 2009

Desperate police are proposing radical measures to curb an increase in drink-driving, including publicly shaming repeat offenders and crushing cars. .
Details of the proposals are included in documents obtained by The under the Official Information Act and hint at an expected crackdown on motorists who continue to drive drunk.
The steps emerged from a police brainstorming session, and come alongside calls by police to lower the drink-driving limit, raise the driving age and increase sentences for drink-drivers.
The strategy is designed to improve road safety, setting out an action plan for reducing the number of deaths and injuries.
The proposals will be considered as the Transport Ministry moves to write a new road safety strategy for the next decade, ready for implementation next year.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce said all potential solutions were on the table "all these things have got to be thought through". It will look at the major causes of serious road trauma, including drink-driving, speed and unsafe roads. "It's appropriate to consider as many things as we can.
He was aware of the proposals stemming from the brainstorming session. They are the people on the frontline. We've got to listen to what the enforcement officers think.
Justice Minister Simon Power said last week the strategy would review the legal limit of 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood."
The Government is tipped to lower the blood-alcohol limit for drivers as part of the strategy.
They also support a zero-tolerance drinking policy for drivers aged under 20 on learner and restricted licences.
Police support lowering the limit to 50mg of alcohol for every 100ml of blood, the same as many other countries, including Australia, Argentina, France, Germany, South Africa and the Netherlands. " I think we need to have a debate.
Mr Joyce said he had an open mind about whether the alcohol limit should change.
Police brass are concerned that the drink-driving message is not getting through."
A discussion document is expected to go to the public this year.
A Transport Ministry report last year painted a picture of more crashes, more casualties and a drink-drive culture that continues unabated despite millions of dollars being poured into enforcement and education. The number of alcohol or drug-related road deaths increased for the third year running in 2007. "As a wealth of research demonstrates, one of the chief mechanisms by which the goal of improved road safety can be achieved is through a reduction of existing blood alcohol content levels," he wrote in a 2007 report.
Road policing researcher John Locker recommends lowering the alcohol limit.

.
Smelly attacker detained man at house

The Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Police search for sex attacker with BO, bad breath

Detectives believe the man who attempted to abduct an Australian tourist in broad daylight has targeted other men and women walking along Nelson's Haven Rd in recent weeks, and also held another man against his will at a close toby house.
Detective Aaron Kennaway said a man contacted police yesterday and said that on Saturday evening, he had been approached by a man who matched the description of the man who attacked the tourist.
The offender has been described ashaving foul breath and bad body odour.
Mr Kennaway said the man who contacted police had voluntarily agreed to go to a close toby house with the other man, but he would not comment on whether police knew where the house was. .
Mr Kennaway would not say how the man was stopped from leaving, but said he escaped a short time later by jumping off a porch, which was about 2 metres from the ground.
Once there, the man tried to leave, but Mr Kennaway said he was prevented from leaving.
Mr Kennaway said the man had been able to give police valuable information that had now become the focus of their investigation.
Police were concerned that those people had not come forward at the time those approaches were made.
He said at least two other people had come forward and told police that they had been approached by a man in the same area in recent weeks.
Police had been "inundated" with information from the public since Sunday's attempted abduction of the Australian tourist.
He urged people in Nelson to be cautious but not frightened when walking in the Haven Rd area.
Mr Kennaway said there had been "sexual overtones" to the attempted abduction of the tourist.
Mr Kennaway said there had been reports of the man being seen around Nelson, Havelock, Kaikoura and Timaru, and these were also being investigated.
Police yesterday interviewed another man in relation to the attack, but he was no longer the focus of the investigation, Mr Kennaway said.
Police yesterday interviewed another man in relation to the attack, but he was no longer the focus of the investigation, Mr Kennaway said.

.
Gang show of force at court

By LYN HUMPHREYS – Friday, 16 January 2009

BRADLEY AMBROSE/
BACKED IN BLACK: More than 30 Taranaki Black Power members turned out in support of five of their gang members facing charges of murder.

Five Black Power gang members accused of murder will stay behind bars because of fears of witness intimidation.
The five have been in custody since being arrested in December.
Peri Niwa, 31, a scaffolder, was stabbed to death on November 16 in the New Plymouth suburb of Moturoa.
Judge Roberts said that on the night of the alleged murder, the five had travelled across town, as members of Black Power, literally to confront another group.
In the New Plymouth District Court yesterday, Judge Allan Roberts declined Adrian Fenton and Rangi Rick Brown release on 24-hour electronic bail, saying the risks to witnesses were too great.
It would be much easier for the gang members to track down and intimidate witnesses if they were out on bail, the judge said.
"There was a shotgun and a knife or other sharp object utilised to stab Mr Niwa," he said.
The judge replied, "Won't that intensify activity to find out who they are?"
Judge Roberts said police had now charged Fenton with illegal possession of a sawn-off 12-gauge pump action shotgun and a knife.
For the two men, defence lawyer Barry Henderson argued that there could be no fear that his clients would intimidate witnesses because they had no idea who the witnesses were.
"I do not consider e-bail will prevent this person (Fenton) from avoiding his obligations.
There was also a risk that Fenton and Brown would not turn up to court if released on bail, the judge said."
"(Brown) can walk out the door. I'm not prepared to grant bail even on the most stringent terms. E-bail doesn't keep him there. If he walks out and scoots he's gone.
All five faced new charges yesterday, including possession of weapons and participating in a criminal group that was reckless in their criminal activity. It doesn't act as a GPS," the judge said.
The five gang members return to court on March 10 for a hearing during which the Crown will argue for the court to give full anonymity to prosecution witnesses. .
Outside court, Taranaki Black Power turned up in force to support the five accused.
All four defence lawyers stated yesterday that they intend to challenge the Crown's application.
During the court hearing, large numbers of police filled the courtroom after the front benches of the public gallery were cleared. Many wore patches and blue bandannas covering the lower part of their faces.

.

.
‘Air NZ family’ gathers at Canet beach

– Wednesday, 03 December 2008

Fairfax
SAD GATHERING: Families of the crash victims and Air New Zealand staff hold a simple ceremony, including a waiata, on Canet beach. ‘This will be a special place for the rest of our lives,’ airline chief executive Rob Fyfe said.

Wait for answers may take years

It wasa poignant piece of New Zealand on a Mediterranean beach. All seven people on board died, five of them New Zealanders.
Just five days earlier, an Air New Zealand Airbus A320 had smashed into the Mediterranean Sea seven kilometres off the coast of France. For a short time it was ours.
Canet beach, beneath the snow capped Pyrenees, is better known for its summer influx of the rich and famous.
Relatives of the crash victims and Air New Zealand officials arrived at the beach by bus yesterday afternoon. Citizens paused along the foreshore and on the breakwater to respectfully watch the sad huddle of people. A big squad of gendarmes were there. Remains of three people have been recovered, but hope is slim that the others will be found.
In an eerie moment, an A320 plane flew across, going over the site on the horizon in which the remains of the aircraft, and most of the dead, lie. "This will be a special place for the rest of our lives.
Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe told the gathering they would all now be connected to the beach."
Cultural adviser Andrew Baker spoke briefly in Maori and then, alone, sang a waiata."
Cultural adviser Andrew Baker spoke briefly in Maori and then, alone, sang a waiata.
As the "Air New Zealand family", as they now like to call themselves, moved from the beach up to the port, some scooped Canet sand into bags. We were all tangata whenua on that beach. The lifeboat crews had been among the first to reach the wreckage last week.
They boarded two volunteer lifeboats and were taken out to sea, to the spot that is now officially a crime scene, to cast flowers on the water.
Earlier, Mr Fyfe and two family members spoke of the losses.
Air New Zealand staff members performed a haka at the site. "I feel I really needed to do it for myself and him, I wanted to bring Murray home," she said, and then her voice trailed away, "but perhaps not".
Emma Gould, of Auckland, who lost her partner Murray White, began to say how important it was to bring Murray home. "I have come to that reality.
Bill Marsh, of Invercargill, whose engineer son Noel Marsh died, said he was accepting that they may return to New Zealand with nothing."
His son had just built a new home in Christchurch and Mr Marsh and his wife were ready last Friday to help the family move."
His son had just built a new home in Christchurch and Mr Marsh and his wife were ready last Friday to help the family move. Then they heard of the air crash and knew Noel had probably gone.
Now their main aim was to take their son home if they could.
Noel's pregnant wife, Tracey, was examining after the couple's two young children and could not come to Canet beach.
"It was her wish that we visit the site."
Mr Marsh said the flight to France had been the longest of his life. It was comfortable and he slept, but like other members of the families "you still have your moments, and at one point we all woke up blubbing our eyes out".
Often, in the past, as others experienced tragedy, he had reflected on how lucky his family was. Then this.
"Losing a son is something different again – you never expect to bury your own children, and that is the hardest thing in our lives."
Last year, Noel had written a long list of things that needed to be done before his family was ready to move into their new home.
At the top he wrote that when he died he wanted his organs donated and his body to be cremated.
Mr Marsh praised the way Air New Zealand had looked after the families.
Ms Gould said she had not hesitated about getting on a plane and coming to France. "What's happened to our guys is a freak accident. On our journey, we did have a few laughs. That was important to me because Murray and I felt the funny side of life. Murray was always smiling."
Most of the photos she had of Murray and herself had been on his laptop computer which went down with the plane.
"As my brother pointed out, the photos have gone with Murray. .
Like the Marsh family, she and her partner had been building a home and were close toly ready to move in.
"I've lost parents, but I did not expect to be on my own at 34 like this. I've got a long and lonely road ahead … I am gutted that I've lost my soul mate, that my stepson has lost his father, who was his ultimate, my kids have lost out on a step father.
"Murray's parents have lost a special part of their unit. I am not angry, yet. I probably will be, at some stage."

.
Quick action saves toddler

By ALICE COWDREY Monday, 01 December 2008

MARTIN DE RUYTER/
LITTLE HERO: Ciarna Epiha’s alert saved Degan Broker from drowning.

The actions of a quick-thinking Nelson five-year-old girl helped to save a toddler's life.
Ciarna said she quickly ran inside to alert Degan's mother Cindy Broker, who had gone indoors to answer a phone call.
Ciarna Epiha, who attends Stoke School, was playing outside at a friend's house on Saturday when she found 18-month-old Degan Broker in an old bathtub used as a tadpole pond in the garden.
She pulled him out of the water and hit him on the back, and he vomited and started screaming and coughing.
Mrs Broker ran outside to find Degan on his back with water covering his face, his body floppy and his arms "flailing around". . Mrs Broker rushed him to Nelson Hospital's accident and emergency department, where he was checked and given the all-clear."
She hoped that other parents would realise just how quickly things could happen.
"He would have been dead if (Ciarna) didn't tell us.
She had talked to Ciarna about accidents, and said she had good common sense.
Ciarna's mother Letitia Friend said her daughter did not seem too fazed by her heroics and was more interested in telling her about Saturday's Richmond Santa parade.
"She is my little hero.
"I had told her, `If you see something bad happening, you find an adult and tell them straight away'."

.
Fire leaves woman homeless

Monday, 17 November 2008

Investigators are still trying to determine what started a fire that gutted an 80-year-old house, leaving the tenant homeless and incinerating all her possessions.
Perched on the top of the western hills in Maungaraki Rd, Korokoro, overexamining Hutt Valley, the house was ravaged by the fire on Saturday afternoon.
Her brother, Daniel, 21, was surveying the burnt-out shell yesterday, and said that she had no idea as to the cause.
Tenant Paula Carswell was out when it started and returned home to find the building ablaze."
Most of her belongings had gone up in smoke and she was staying in a hotel provided by her insurance company, Mr Carswell said. "Nothing was on, no ovens or anything. "These things happen, you never know what is around the corner.
Owner Ron McMillan said he was upset at the loss of the house but thankful no one was hurt."
The three-bedroom house was built in the "late 20s or early 30s" by Mr McMillan's grandfather. It's just one of those freak things, who knows what [the cause] was. . "I was born and bred there, and so was my father.
The fire service was alerted just before 2.
"The fire spread through the interior [of the house] and caused extensive damage," a firefighter said.
Seven fire engines and police attended the fire, which was brought under control by 4pm.30pm on Saturday and the fire was "well involved" by the time firefighters reached the scene, a spokesman said.

.
Second arrest over tourist robbery

– Tuesday, 04 November 2008

Police have arrested a second man in connection with the gunpoint robbery of four tourists in the Far North last week.
A 23-year-old Auckland man was arrested in Dargaville yesterday, and will face a charge of aggravated robbery.
The rental van belonging to the Irish tourists was stolen in Dargaville by two men allegedly armed with a long-barrelled firearm, and possibly a pistol at about 12.
A 26-year-old man was arrested in Auckland last Thursday, and appeared in the Manukau District Court on charges of aggravated robbery and arson on Friday.
Police said the Irish men were "absolutely terrified" when the weapons were produced and their van was taken.30am on October 27.
The two male offenders drove off in the van which had a substantial amount of property inside, including generators and water blasters.
Sergeant Jonathon Tier said the four men initially refused to hand over the keys but changed their minds when the weapons were produced.
Police said an attempt to destroy the rental van by igniting the driver's seat was made, but the fire failed to take hold. .
The New Zealand Herald reported that the Irishmen may have been connected with Australian-based traders selling questionable goods from rental vans
The tourists have left New Zealand.
Police say some of the property has been found, and they are not examining for anyone else in relation to the robbery.