14-year-old Rawinia was last seen in the Whangārei area on October 17.
Tag Archives: oceania
Operation Blanco: Police, customs seize cocaine worth $63 million at Auckland port, four men arrested
The cocaine was worth $63 million, police say.
Celebrity Treasure Island: Losing finalist Turia Schmidt-Peke hopes new doors will open
Celebrity Treasure Island finalist: ‘No one deserves it more than James’
Ruthless-Empire death: Birth of killed toddler was never registered after name rejected
Police are still hunting who was responsible for the violent death of Wellington toddler.
Neo-Nazi leaders spared further jail time over hiker attack
A neo-Nazi group leader who admitted attacking a group of hikers in a Victorian state park now claims he's innocent of the charges and that he was the real victim.
Thomas Sewell and Jacob Hersant were both convicted on Friday after pleading guilty to a violent affray in the Cathedral Ranges State Park in May 2021.
They were among a group of far-right National Socialist Network and European Australian Movement members who set upon a group of friends hiking in the national park.
But outside the Victorian County Court, where he was sentenced to one month and seven days of prison time already served, Sewell claimed the organisations had always been respectful to members of the public.
There are two sides to every story, he said, claiming he and two other young members of the organisations had been run over by the group of friends first.
"We have behaved honourably at all times," he said.
"We are a law-abiding organisation, we're looking for political change in this country and we're not looking to harm or hurt anyone."
Judge Kellie Blair said Sewell, now 30, was leader of the European Australian Movement at the time, while Hersant, now 24, led the National Socialist Network.
Despite pleading guilty to violent affray charges, Sewell told reporters outside court that they were not guilty and had been forced to accept a deal that would keep their prison time to a minimum because police had refused to provide some of the evidence against them.
He denied that there were knives involved in the incident, claiming it was a fabrication by hostile witnesses.
"There's no way these gay, Jewish, communist witnesses are going to be reasonable," he said.
"They're going to exacerbate, and they're anti-fascist so they've got a political motivation to make false accusations."
He also claimed the group was not violent but when asked about Hersant's previous conviction for assaulting a security guard, said the judge in that case was "politically motivated".
Sewell was joined by supporters outside the hearing, including one who shouted "Australia for the white man" and provided support for Hitler.
Blair, in sentencing Sewell and Hersant to time served, said the group of friends hiking in the park had seen stickers on their walk with the "Australia for the white man" phrase.
They also saw men wearing black shirts emblazoned with a white Celtic Cross, the emblem of the European Australian Movement.
The friends speculated that the group may be neo-Nazis.
When they crossed paths again in the car park, one of the group googled neo-Nazi symbols and took a video of the other men.
Blair said 10 to 15 men from the group ran toward a car, concealed their identities and threatened the friends, including one with a knife.
Prosecutors claimed Sewell injured his arm on a broken window, either by breaking it himself or reaching into the car.
Hersant was said to have reached through the driver's side window to either turn off the car or grab the keys.
Blair said while the offending arose from their association with neo-Nazi groups she didn't consider it to be related to their political views.
Hersant was sentenced to three days' prison time, already served, and ordered to perform 200 hours of community work over 14 months.
Sewell was sentenced to one month and seven days, with Blair taking into account the difficult conditions he spent in custody over six months to be sufficient punishment.
Hauraki District Council to establish Māori wards, joining eight other Waikato councils
The council voted against the wards in 2018, but councillors now ‘committed to the mahi’.
Christchurch man sexually assaults ex wife recovering from surgery, unconscious on hospital medication
The woman drifted in and out of consciousness and tried to push him away.
Esther Osborne death: Calls for improvments as inquest hears 50 per cent of forensic in-patients in greater Wellington region are Māori
Whānau concluded the inquest with moving waiata, haka and karakia.
Manukau apartment murder: Jury rejects self-defence bid by Susana Leota-Lu, who stabbed Samantha Whitehouse 94 times
Jurors rejected Susana Leota-Lu’s claim the 94 stab wounds were in self-defence.
Lawyer X victim sues for damages over police misconduct
After years behind bars for a crime he should never have been convicted of, Zlate Cvetanovski is going after the State of Victoria for damages over the embarrassing conduct of Victoria Police officers and disgraced barrister Nicola Gobbo.
He's filed a damages claim in the Supreme Court after his 2011 conviction for drug trafficking was overturned on the basis that Victoria Police knew and didn't tell him that Gobbo – his barrister – was informing on him while also defending the key prosecution witness against him.
The evidence of that witness – known only as Mr Cooper – was pivotal to his conviction, the trial judge found.
READ MORE: Lawyer X Nicola Gobbo admits she wanted to 'belong' in underworld
Cvetanovski was jailed for 11 years and ordered to serve at least nine after a jury found him guilty of trafficking a large commercial quantity of methamphetamine.
He had initially been arrested and interviewed in 2006 and was charged in 2008.
In a civil suit filed this week, Cvetanovski is seeking damages for wrongful deprivation of liberty and psychiatric injuries, medical and legal expenses, a loss of earning capacity plus interest and costs.
Cvetanovski is also seeking exemplary or aggravated damages, claiming the misconduct of four particular officers was a disgrace of the highest order.
The officers are named as Jim O'Brien – who led the gangland-busting Purana Taskforce – Craig Hayes, James Coghlan and Dale Flynn.
"It was scandalous and constituted and egregious breach of their duties as officers and contumelious disregard for (Cvetanovski's) rights and liberty," the suit says.
"The conduct was an affront to the court and criminal justice system, brought the justice system into disrepute and was an embarrassment – the extent of which is not capable of definition."
The statement of claim says Mr Cooper made 45 statements to police against Cvetanovski, and that while representing both men Gobbo conducted welfare checks on Mr Cooper, edited drafts of his police statements and requested police look after him while he was in custody.
READ MORE: Sydney terrace has a $3m asking price… but you'll have to go outside to use the toilet
Between September 2006 and Cvetanovski's trial she and others provided financial assistance to Mr Cooper in custody, including regular payments into his prison canteen accounts and one-off payments for a computer and child support.
It also claims that between January 2006 and April 2008 she informed on him to Victoria Police, recommending he be targeted by investigators and suggesting that he be charged with additional offences.
The statement, filed by solicitors at Robinson Gill Lawyers, says the four officers knew Gobbo was informing on Cvetanovski, that she was acting for him when he was arrested, and that she had been instrumental in influencing Mr Cooper to give evidence against him, and that they did not disclose that to him.
It alleges the conduct of the officers was "malicious and intended to cause harm to (Cvetanovski)" or was recklessly indifferent to the harm that was likely to ensue.
Cvetanovski's case was one of a number examined as part of a royal commission into Victoria Police's use of Gobbo as an informer, known as Lawyer X.
Mr Cooper gave evidence at that inquiry.
A judge-alone trial has been requested to consider the claim.