One seriously injured after assault in Manukau city centre
Photo:
RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
One person has been seriously injured in an assault in the Manukau city centre.
Emergency services are responding on Manukau Station Road after being alerted about 8.15pm this evening.
The injured person has been taken to Middlemore Hospital.
Police are working to locate those involved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
14 hours ago
- RNZ News
Contractor fined $70k for safety breach after forestry worker loses fingers
By Shannon Pitman, Open Justice reporter of The hauler involved in the incident which left a forestry worker seriously injured. Photo / Worksafe Photo: Supplied / Worksafe A seasoned forestry worker lost four fingers in a workplace accident, which ended a 45-year career that was marked by pride, satisfaction and no intention to retire. Now, Kohurau Contracting has been ordered to pay $150,000 and must publish an educational article about the dangers of untangling cable snarls in forestry operations. In August 2021, the worker - who has name suppression - was at a forestry site near Waipu, south of Whangārei, helping clear a cable that had not been wound correctly on to the drum. The experienced crew were packing up to relocate to another location but the tail line had over-spooled on to the drum, creating a "bird's nest" similar to which can occur on a fishing reel. At least 1200m of cable had to be pulled out in order to clear the bird's nest. The victim was guiding the rope back on to the drum using a hammer while seated beneath the tower. Another worker was operating a grapple loader to keep the cable elevated. During the operation, the stabiliser ram supporting the tower fractured, and a broken section - known as the spear - fell on to the victim, seriously injuring him. As a result, the victim was hospitalised for six weeks and had to have four fingers amputated. Kohurau was charged by WorkSafe for failing to ensure the health and safety of its workers and pleaded not guilty. A five-day judge-alone trial was held in the Dargaville District Court in November 2024, where several witnesses gave evidence including the victim and industry experts. WorkSafe's mechanical engineer, John Mains, stated that winching without guy ropes was unacceptable and the accident would not have occurred had the tower been properly secured. Kohurau's expert argued that guy ropes were unnecessary for the task and the force involved was minimal - claims Judge Peter Davey found inconsistent. The court also heard that Kohurau lacked a specific safe system for clearing birds' nests and relied heavily on the experience of its crew. Judge Davey concluded Kohurau breached its duties under the Health and Safety Act and found the company guilty of exposing workers to serious risk. This week at the Whangārei District Court the company was sentenced in the presence of its owner, Hamish John Owen. Kohurau's lawyer Daniel Robinson argued the company was insolvent and had suffered a loss of $1.3 million because of the accident. "Where do you get that from?" Judge Davey questioned before noting the company still had assets of around $400,000 and $250,000 in its bank account. Judge Davey did not accept the losses were from the accident and stated the company had been downsizing prior to the accident. Judge Davey repeatedly expressed his concern around whether reparation would be paid, to which Robinson assured him any amount ordered would be met. "My instructions sir, is we will be able to be pay but that is limited to the reparation order," Robinson responded. Robinson also submitted the absence of any industry guidelines for winding cables was a mitigating factor that should be applied to the companies' overall sentence. Judge Davey noted the significant impact the accident had on the victim. "He hasn't been able to return to work, he enjoyed the work, he had no plans of retiring," Judge Davey said. "He clearly took great pride in his work, took great satisfaction in his work and he was good at his job. "Despite what's happened to him, he nevertheless tries to stay positive." Judge Davey said the price of an emotional harm reparation order was an intuitive exercise and there was no way to put a figure on the suffering caused. "No amount of money can compensate the emotional harm that he has suffered." Judge Davey said Kohurau should have had a process in place to clear birds' nests and there was "a real risk he could have been killed". Kohurau, which has already paid the victim $10,000, was ordered to pay him a further $50,000. The company was also fined $70,000 and ordered to pay legal costs of $30,000. The court also issued a project order with two key commitments to be completed within 12 months. Kohurau must work in collaboration with the Forestry Industry Safety Council (FISC) and Forestry Industry Contractors Association (FICA) to develop guidance on winding in non-working ropes. It must also publish an article in NZ Forestry magazine highlighting the case to raise awareness and promote safer practices across the industry. "This project order is a way for Kohurau to take the lead on delivering initiatives that create genuine sector-wide improvements in forestry. We look forward to seeing the benefits that this industry-led guidance produces," WorkSafe spokesperson Mark Horgan said. * This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
RNZ News
14 hours ago
- RNZ News
Former Gloriavale women say they were groped, kissed by leader Howard Temple
Gloriavale's Overseeing Shepherd, Howard Temple is facing 24 charges of sexual assault and doing an indecent act. Photo: The Press/Kai Schwoerer Former Gloriavale members have told a court they were touched, grabbed and groped by the Overseeing Shepherd Howard Temple, on the second day of his trial in Greymouth. Temple has pleaded not guilty to 24 charges of sexual assault and doing an indecent act. Four complainants gave evidence and were cross examined by Temple's legal team, recounting similar stories of being touched on their breasts, bottoms and legs or grabbed around the waist. Temple became spiritual leader in 2018, after the death of Gloriavale founder Hopeful Christian, but was a senior shepherd at the time of much of the alleged abuse, which is said to have taken place between 1997 and 2022, when the complainants were aged between nine and 20 years old. At Gloriavale, young girls take on domestic duties from around the age of five, graduating from setting and clearing tables to serving to heavier kitchen chores and cleaning. The complainants all said Temple took advantage of them waiting tables and serving food or drinks to touch them, caressing them from their calves to their lower back, or holding them around the waist. Many of the women who gave evidence described trying to get to their chores early so they could be allocated to any table except Temple's. One woman said he would grope her while she was holding large, heavy jugs of non-alcoholic cider, leaving her without "any hands free to protect myself". "He would run his hand up and down my legs, and touch my bum, or put his arm around me. He would ask me if anyone had told me they loved me today." She would usually "just shrug" because she was scared, "but if he persisted, I would often lie and said yes, someone has told me they loved me, because I didn't want him to say he loved me". "If I tried to pull away he would ask me if I was scared of him and why I was scared of him." The woman said this would happen while Temple was flanked by his wife and daughter and in front of the entire community of more than 500 people, "but no one ever spoke up or said anything, so I didn't know that I would be allowed to. "I didn't know it was wrong, I just know it didn't feel right to me." Temple was also alleged to have frequented the kitchen to "hug" the young women from behind while they were cooking or washing dishes. Some claimed he kissed them on their necks, touched their breasts or made lewd remarks. All of the women have emphasised the "complete" power Gloriavale's leadership wielded, as well a certainty they would not have been believed, or would have been blamed, if they had told anyone. Asked why she feared Temple, one woman said it was because the leaders hold all the authority in Gloriavale, and "had the power to ruin your life". "Right from a baby you're taught not to speak against the leaders. As a woman you're supposed to be meek and quiet with downcast eyes. "When you do speak up about abuse that has happened, it was inevitably your fault because you seduced them somehow. "I knew nothing good would come of saying anything. I didn't have anyone to protect me because my parents hold the leaders in ultimate authority and they would listen to the leaders over their own daughter." One woman said when she did finally tell her mother about the abuse as she was leaving the community, her mother told her "she wasn't allowed to speak evil of the leaders and that they would never do something like that". Another woman said she feared saying anything because on a previous occasion when she raised an unrelated issue, she was called into a "servants and shepherds meeting", taken into a room and "accused", with seven to 10 men telling her she was not living up to the standards of the bible, and that she was a sinner. She said that would also result in a level of social shunning and wariness from other community members. The complainants also described an environment of strict patriarchy, which meant women would be blamed for tempting men by showing hair under their headscarf, pushing up their sleeves or tying their belts incorrectly. Temple's lawyers have accused the women of fabricating or embellishing their accusations. Micheal Vesty said Temple accepted he hugged and kissed young women, but rejected any indecency and said it was always short, appropriate touching to express gratitude. Judge Neave interrupted the cross examination several times, castigating Temple's legal team for some of the questions they asked the women. Further complainants, family members and police officers who worked on the case will give evidence over coming days. When the defence calls its witnesses, a number of Gloriavale members are expected to give evidence in support of Howard Temple. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
15 hours ago
- RNZ News
Graham Bloxham drops out of Wellington mayoral race
Graham Bloxham. Photo: Supplied Wellington mayoral candidate Graham Bloxham has announced he is quitting the race. It appears Bloxham has announced he is quitting before submitting his nomination, which has not appeared on the Wellington City Council website. Bloxham runs the Facebook page WellingtonLive and has faced controversy in recent months after being arrested for failing to stop for police , and being told by the Employment Relations Authority to pay a former employee $30,000 . In a LinkedIn post, Bloxham said he will not be running for the mayor of Wellington. "After much research 'talking to the neighbours cat over the fence', I feel I can do a much better job outside of council." He said his family did not want to deal with personal attacks on him. "I have looked back and tried to imagine what it might look like, and reflected on the impact on my family. Neither want to deal with the personal attacks on their father." Nominations for the mayoralty close midday on Friday. Other candidates include Andrew Little, Ray Chung, Diane Calvert, Karl Tiefenbacher, Rob Goulden, Josh Harford, William Pennywize, Donald McDonald, Alex Baker and Kelvin Hastie. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
