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ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, Friday, July 26, 2013
NEWS
www.guardianONLINE.co.nz
Soldier’s family feel ripped off By Edward Gay After Private Michael Ross went missing during an Army training exercise, his family clung to the hope he was playing with them and would turn up and surprise them. It was more than a week before his body was found on the bottom of Lake Moawhango, near Waiouru after he fell from a boat in September last year, weighed down by his gear. The Army has paid Private Ross’s family $241,000 in reparation and pleaded guilty at the Auckland District Court yesterday to a charge of failing to provide a safe working environment to the soldier. Sentencing will be carried out next week. As the Army acknowledged, the 29-year-old was let down by systematic failures in defence force equipment. Private Ross was flung from an under-inflated Zodiac as he was returning from a training exercise on the lake. The following day, his family gathered at the lake shore. “How do you explain our continued sense of hope that Michael was playing games and that any minute he would jump out from behind a bush and say ‘got ya’,” family spokesman Charles Hohaia said after today’s court hearing. In court, Private Ross’s aunt Marty Rogers read a victim impact statement on behalf of all of his cousins which spoke of their hurt. “We felt haunted by the thought of his body on the bottom of the lake,” she said. The family felt “ripped off”. “His life was taken - not by his own actions - he was robbed.” While the family were not angry at the army, they were deeply saddened by what had happened, she said. Today’s legal argument centred around whether or not the judge would make a finding of culpability. Army lawyer Craig Ruane said it was not possible for the judge to make such a finding but Department of Labour prosecutor Saar Cohen-Ronen said the court was the only place where such a finding could be made. “There were so many errors made that we can’t identify a person or an admission that led to the death of Private Ross. The errors are systematic. They cover different levels of people.” An Army Court of Inquiry find-
ing was damning and found widespread failures in safety protocols. The redacted version released to media today revealed that the soldiers had been given no training in the life jackets on loan from the Navy and the Zodiacs had not been maintained. Army head Major General David Gawn told reporters that he felt embarrassed when he read the report and felt that the Army had let down every parent who had entrusted their sons and daughters with the force. He said there were systematic failures but individuals could be held to account and could face a Military Police investigation. General Gawn said there were 33 recommendations in the report and the Army had already employed Australian Army personnel to carry out an audit of equipment. “Michael’s death was preventable. We, the New Zealand Army, did not follow procedures we have in place,” he said. Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman acknowledged the Defence Force’s guilty plea. “This was an absolute tragedy and my thoughts are with the Ross family as they continue to mourn Michael. I know today’s guilty plea will be little consolation for their devastating loss,” he said. “The Defence Force has apologised to the Ross family, and it takes full responsibility for the safety failings that led to his death.” The Defence Force’s external review of health and safety would report back in a few weeks, Dr Coleman said. Labour’s defence spokesman Phil Goff said the Defence Force had no option but to plead guilty. “The catalogue of errors that led to his death are appalling. Had any one of a number of critical mistakes been avoided his life may have been saved. His death was entirely preventable,” he said. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Health and Safety Group, which brought the prosecution, said its investigation identified systemic safety failures around the exercise. “This tragic accident simply should not have happened. Like any other employee, Private Ross should have been able to expect that his safety was paramount to his employer - in this case, the NZ Defence Force failed to meet its obligations to him,” said Brett Murray, general manager High Hazards and Specialist Services for the ministry. - APNZ
Michael Ross
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ARIES (Mar 21st Apr 20th) The Sun is now squaring with Saturn. This influence is akin to trying to drive a vehicle with the handbrake on. An awful lot of friction can be created and achievements probably won’t come without a great deal of effort. With Venus also clashing with Neptune, don’t believe all you hear, but do rein in on unessential spending. Be thrifty!
TAURUS (Apr 21st May 21st) Just at the point where you really have high hopes for someone, either they may disappoint you or people around you can be lukewarm in their reactions. This is not the best of times to think the best of people or to bare your soul. People may seem stingy and the best way to handle this is by resolutely refusing to seek approval.
Destiny Church’s charter school rejected By Kate Shuttleworth Destiny Church leader Bishop Brian Tamaki has criticised an Education Ministry decision to decline its application to change its South Auckland school into a charter school. Bishop Brian could not be reached for comment but on Twitter said: “If any 4 of the successful partnership schools chosen by Hekia Parata are weaker in critique than Destiny School then discrimination happened”. Bishop Tamaki’s spokesman Richard Lewis would not put questions to him, saying he was
school to a partnership school. The school is a year 1-13 school and 120 of its 150 student are Maori. Parents pay fees of up to $75 a week and the church also put resources into the school. Another school in Auckland looks set to be one of the few schools set up in Auckland. Mt Hobson Middle School’s academic manager Alwyn Poole said he was contacted by Mr Preddy this week and told him they were still in the running to be one of the first charter schools. The school has made three applications to set up a charter school in either West Auckland, South Auckland or Wanganui.
“What we have heard is good news, rather than being told that we haven’t got an opportunity, like others clearly some other groups have. We understand that we are still progressing - but that’s the only information that we have and we’ve been promised more information in the near future,” Mr Poole said. He said he expected any acceptance would involve a scaled back version of its proposal. The Government will announce the sponsors of the schools in August. It received 36 applications from organisations wanted to set up charter schools. - APNZ
An Ahipara man was lucky to survive an early morning jog in the Far North. Just after 6am on Wednesday a car travelling on along Takahe St crossed the centre line, forcing a jogger, who was wearing a fluoro jacket, to move on to the grass verge. As the car kept approaching he moved on to the footpath, then leapt over a bush and fence as it kept coming towards him. The car struck a shallow drain and flipped end for end, coming to rest on its roof. -APNZ
• Reporting lauded The actions of a farmer who reported one of his employees for breaking the tails of 40 cattle have been applauded by farming organisations and the Veterinary Association. Saul Jacob Beaumont of Taranaki broke the 40 tails out of the 200 cattle he harmed. He is due to be sentenced in Hamilton District Court in September. -APNZ
• Gang HQ raided Members of the Armed Offenders Squad stormed the Outlaws Motorcycle Gang pad in Napier yesterday, executing a search warrant in which police found methamphetamine, cannabis and three firearms. Detective Senior Sergeant Dave de Lange of Hawke’s Bay CIB said the amount of methamphetamine and cannabis found had yet to be determined. Three firearms - a handgun and two shotguns were also found during the search. -APNZ
• Car in lake
Photo tetsuro mitomo 250713-TM-011
Parachute games see kids take to air Hair, feet and arms flew during parachute games at the Active Kids school holiday programme yesterday at the Ashburton College Gym. The programme will wrap up with a prizegiving today, after two weeks of sports, games and activities aimed to promote a healthy, active lifestyle for local children.
Coroner makes recommendations By Kurt Bayer A coroner has made a series of recommendations to the Government to help crack down on butane substance abuse after looking into the deaths of three Christchurch youths who died while huffing the gas. Coroner Sue Johnson says the first step is to raise awareness of the issues of butane misuse among specialists who have dealings with young people. There have been 63 butanerelated deaths in New Zealand between 2000 and 2012, with 87 per cent of victims aged under 24. The issue was highlighted last year, after 12-year-old Darius Logan Claxton became the youngest huffing-related fatality, and was followed soon after by the death of Poihaere Eru, 17. They both died accidentally in
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GEMINI (May 22nd Jun 21st) This can be one of those times when the harder you try to be productive, the less effective it can seem. In fact, by trying to cover absolutely every angle you may end up totally wearing yourself out and achieving far less than you wanted. Then again, if you are wanting to go and have fun, unforeseen demands can close in and pinch the moment.
on the road. The church was told on Tuesday its application had been unsuccessful, Mr Lewis said. Destiny had not received an explanation for the decision but was invited to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of its application with Ministry of Education procurement officer Drew Preddy. Destiny was told in June it had been short-listed and was invited to Wellington to give a presentation to the government review team. The church applied to transition its Destiny school in Wiri, South Auckland from a private
• Lucky escape
separate incidents after using the gas while out with friends in Christchurch. Samuel John Gold, 19, died after abusing the substance at his parents’ home in November 2010. All three cases were looked at by Coroner Johnson at a joint inquest earlier this year. Now, the coroner has recommended that the Government leads a “well organised approach” to butane, and other volatile substances, abuse as a priority. Local councils and Safe Communities Foundation NZ need to work with retailers and educate them on how they can sell the substances responsibly, she says in her findings out today. The Ministry of Social Development should include the issue of butane substance abuse in the Children’s Action Plan it’s currently working on. Coroner Johnson says that
department should also work with Ministry of Health to convene a high level summit or hui to come up with an evidence-based, consistent approach to lowering butane misuse across the country. They should also look at whether there needs to be support for Maori communities to develop their own solutions to the problem of butane and other volatile substance abuse, in the same way they are being supported in relation to suicide. “This is because statistics have shown that 30 out of the 63 butane related deaths between 2000 and 2012 were of people of Maori ethnicity,” the coroner says. All three youngsters in the recent inquest died of acute cardiac arrhythmia after huffing butane. Forensic pathologist Dr Martin Sage gave evidence that there was
a risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm “each time” butane is used. “It could happen any time it is used to anyone who uses it. The risk is there every time,” the coroner heard. Dr Sage said butane is so difficult to predict whether it’s going to be safe to use or not, making it “a real wild card... compared to some of the other recreational substances that are being used in the community.” Ross Bell, executive director of the New Zealand Drug Foundation, told the inquest that reducing the harm from all volatile substance abuse is a “very complex” issue, given that they are cheap, legal, and readily available. There’s also a low awareness of butane misuse right across the society, including by parents, teachers, young people themselves, even health professionals, Mr Bell said. - APNZ
LEO (Jul 24th - Aug 23rd) This week has seen the Sun relocate to your sign and just as you have got a head of steam up Saturn angles sharply with the Sun to make life a lot more complex. Something that you want to achieve and have set your heart on may run counter to the opinion or needs of someone close. This may be a parent or offspring.
VIRGO (Aug 24th Sep 23rd) With Venus in your sign there is very real potential for attracting greater attention romantically. But if you do like someone you may become crestfallen if a friend tells you something about them that is uncomplimentary. Try not to be swayed too much by gossip but equally don’t ignore what you are told completely, just be mindful of it.
LIBRA (Sep 24th Oct 23rd) Over the last ten months Saturn has urged you to cut down on those little treats that Libra people love so much: those slices of luxury that make life more bearable! To the end of this week, if you have been going through a sustained period of cost cutting, you may feel pessimistic. But think long term and savour the things that cost nothing.
SCORPIO (Oct 24th - Nov 22nd) If you readily take on responsibilities, the sharp right angle that shapes up now between the Sun and Saturn may just be another hurdle to jump and you’ll take satisfaction from doing so. If, however, you’ve never felt under so much intense pressure, this can be a tough time. You may take solace with someone alluring, but are they for real?
• Body found An armed police operation in the Hutt Valley yesterday morning came to an end with the recovery of a body. The Armed Offenders Squad locked down an area of Whitemans Valley Rd after receiving a call about a “potential armed incident”. Shane Cotter, acting area commander for Hutt Valley, said a body was found inside a property. Police did not fire any shots. Police were not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. - APNZ
• Seal shot dead The Department of Conservation is appealing for help after a critically endangered sea lion was shot dead on Stewart Island. The young female sea lion was shot with a .22 rifle and found dead at Port Adventure on June 11. DOC staff sent the carcass to Massey University for necropsy where a vet team determined it had been fatally shot in the head by a .22 calibre rifle. A DOC investigation has so far failed to identify the killer. -APNZ
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CANCER (Jun 22nd - Jul 23rd) The Sun is now asking you to take your resources and how you look after them really much more seriously. This doesn’t mean just money. It could be your time, your talents or even your generosity. With Saturn laying in wait, if you don’t measure everything out just so there can be a very quick pinch point. For now, be cautious.
A car carrying four people crashed into a lake near Rotorua yesterday. Emergency services were at the scene on Hamurana Rd near the State Highway 33 intersection. The car was submerged to its doors. Two adults and two children were in the vehicle but were able to get themselves out and were uninjured. -APNZ
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SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23rd - Dec 21st) If ever anyone asks me to characterise each zodiac sign in one word, for you that word is FREEDOM. Now that doesn’t mean you won’t turn up to work on time, help others or do other virtuous deeds, but generally you like the freedom to do this on your terms. That may prove harder going now as psychological undercurrents bubble up.
CAPRICORN (Dec 22nd - Jan 20th) By nature, Capricorn people are often some of the most cautious members of the zodiac, but in an entirely positive way. You understand the need to plan, to carefully research and to think about the ups and the downs before you truly commit yourself. If this rings true for you, keep this going, especially if someone is pushing you to make a snap decision.
AQUARIUS (Jan 21st - Feb 19th) Getting firm information on a financial proposition may prove trickier than is ideal. Someone may be making all the right noises but facts and figures may be thin on the ground. In love, things can also seem to shift like the sands. As much as you might want to tell it how it is and wrestle things into your control, this may not prove easy.
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PISCES (Feb 20th Mar 20th) Try to attend to the things you least want to do and then it will create the emotional and physical space to go and focus on the things you do want to do. Freedom isn’t coming without any effort at this time, nor is new knowledge, improving your skills or expanding your world. Yet with dedication, the rewards will eventually flow.