T@ranakiSFT, Author at Taranaki Safe Families Trust

25 Jun Allegations of domestic abuse sees mongrel mobster removed as survivor advisor in inquiry into state abuse

Posted at 12:53h in Uncategorized

A high-profile gang member has been stood down from his role within the Royal Commission of Inquiry into historic state abuse months after multiple allegations of domestic violence were raised. Harry Tam, a long-time member of the Mongrel Mob, was the facilitator of the inquiry's Survivors Advisory Group,...

24 Jun Wardrobe arrest follows hundreds of text messages to ex

Posted at 13:27h in Uncategorized

A Taranaki man who breached a protection order by sending his ex-partner hundreds of text messages was found in her wardrobe at the time of his arrest. Peter Thomas Vedder was located by police on June 12 hiding in the wardrobe of the woman's New Plymouth...

24 Jun The other side of the Oranga Tamariki baby uplift story

Posted at 13:22h in Uncategorized

OPINION: You've probably seen it – the video of the young Hawke's Bay mother with the week-old baby that Oranga Tamariki is attempting to uplift. I watched it, but my reaction was likely different to yours. It's hard watching, but it didn't leave me wondering how Oranga...

20 Jun Teen’s violent attack on father caused two brain bleeds

Posted at 12:43h in Uncategorized

An angry teenager repeatedly hit his father during an attack in the family home, knocking him out and leaving him lying in a large pool of blood. As a result of Ezekial Karne O'Leary's unbridled violence last year, his father suffered two brain bleeds and a fractured eye socket and...

17 Jun Budget boost ‘validation’ for stopping violence service workers

Posted at 13:43h in Uncategorized

The multimillion-dollar Budget package aimed at tackling family and sexual violence is a "huge validation" for people working in those services, says Labour MP Poto Williams. "It's a recognition of their passion and commitment, I think, and I do hope that they do realise that's what...

17 Jun Man smiles and waves at girlfriend as court hears how he kicked and stomped her head

Posted at 13:18h in Uncategorized

While the court heard how he stomped and kicked his partner in the head, Jeremiah Sua was busy smiling and gesturing to her as she sat in the back of the court. Sua's appearance in Napier District Court was marked by so much gesticulating that Judge Geoff...

14 Jun More domestic violence victims expected to come forward as new law dawns.

Posted at 14:20h in Uncategorized

Some are "intimate terrorists" making home lives a violent hell for the people they claim to love. Others quietly sabotage their partners in ways that make them fail at work. A new law aimed at tackling the impact of these domestic abusers takes effect on Monday 3rd June...

14 Jun Once Were Warriors opened my eyes to New Zealand’s real problems.

Posted at 13:26h in Uncategorized

OPINION: Of the 18 charges sheets at Auckland's Manukau District Court one Monday morning, 11 were related to family violence. Some of the men had threatened to kill their partner - one with a kitchen knife, one with a hammer, one with a frozen chicken - and some...

14 Jun Stepdad’s resentment: ‘The hardest thing was looking at him and not seeing me’

Posted at 12:48h in Uncategorized

Baby Lincoln was quiet when his mother Samantha Heyworth got him up on that final day. "He loved looking at his hands," she said in court, recalling how her first-born was entertaining himself when she went in to see him. At nearly five months old he would reach...

11 Jun The struggle to forgive my father: ‘The emotion I associate with him is dread’

Posted at 13:06h in Uncategorized

OPINION: The last time I spoke to my father, he said "good for you". I was 32, and it was only the second time I recall him giving me any kind of praise. The first had been at my wedding the previous year. "It's the only worthwhile...

Author: T@ranakiSFT