Latest news with #BrettWilson
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Ricky Jones case should not be compared to Lucy Connolly
The now-suspended councillor, surrounded by cheering supporters in Walthamstow, east London, on August 7 2024, was filmed stating: 'They are disgusting Nazi fascists. We need to cut all their throats and get rid of them all.' Jurors deliberated for just over half-an-hour and found him not guilty on Friday. This caused Conservative and Reform politicians to brand the decision 'two-tier justice' – with shadow home secretary Chris Philp comparing the case to that of Mrs Connolly, who was jailed for 31 months after she posted a tweet calling for 'mass deportation' of asylum seekers and to 'set fire to all the f****** hotels' on the day of the Southport attacks. Former home secretary and Tory leadership candidate Sir James Cleverly also called the jury's decision to clear Ricky Jones 'perverse' in an X post, adding: 'Perverse decisions like this are adding to the anger that people feel and amplifying the belief that there isn't a dispassionate criminal justice system.' Lawyers have said the cases should not be conflated as Connolly and Jones faced allegations of a different nature – and Jones faced trial where Connolly, having pleaded guilty, did not. Peter Stringfellow, a solicitor at Brett Wilson, told the PA news agency: 'Both (Jones and Connolly) said pretty unpleasant things. 'However, I'm afraid the conflation of the two after that is a problem. It comes from people who've got some sort of political agenda, in my view. 'They were facing completely different allegations and a massive part of those different allegations is the racial element. 'If you look at the Connolly case … her intention is of a racial nature.' Connolly pleaded guilty last year to a charge of inciting racial hatred by publishing and distributing 'threatening or abusive' written material on X. On July 29 last year, she posted: 'Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the bastards for all I care … if that makes me racist so be it.' 'She directs everybody to the fact that this was a racial comment,' Mr Stringfellow said. 'She pleads guilty to that intention … she accepted that she had intended to stir racial hatred. 'The Jones case is different because one, he's facing a completely different allegation: he's facing encouraging violent disorder. 'And the difference with him is he's saying: 'That's not what I was intended to do'.' Mr Stringfellow added that, in the case of Connolly, racially aggravated discourse on social media did translate into real-life violence across the country – whereas Mr Jones' comments at a rally did not cause a violent disorder. 'What she (Connolly) did, what followed her comments about threatening to burn people in hotels, is that that's precisely what then happened – and people were attempting to burn people in hotels.' Ernest Aduwa, partner at Stokoe Partnership Solicitors, said comparisons between Jones' and Connolly's cases were 'misplaced'. 'We need to be honest about what is going on here. The verdict in the Ricky Jones case was not political, it was legal,' he said. 'A jury listened to the evidence, tested it and decided unanimously he was not guilty. 'That is not bias or 'two-tier justice' – it is the justice system doing what it is supposed to do: separating facts from noise. 'Comparisons with the Lucy Connolly case are misplaced. 'Lucy Connolly pleaded guilty. There was no trial, no cross-examination, no jury. She admitted the specific offence: stirring up racial hatred online. 'Ricky Jones faced a different charge … with a high burden of proof. 'The jury decided the Crown had not met it. 'That does not mean the protest was not passionate or loud – it means there was not enough evidence to prove intent to incite violence. That distinction matters. 'I understand why emotions run high. But flattening two different situations into one misleading narrative does no favours to justice. 'The fact that a black man at a protest can receive a fair trial and be acquitted should be seen not as an injustice, but as proof the system can still get it right.' He added: 'The law is not perfect, but it must rest on evidence – not opinion, pressure, or politics.'
RNZ News
15-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
NZ Police not concerned about Australian efforts to recruit officers
New Zealand police say they are confident they are going well in recruiting 500 more officers. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Patrice Allen Australian efforts to recruit Kiwi police officers are ramping up again, but NZ Police say it is nothing new and they are focused on their own recruitment drives. A recruitment officer for Northern Territory Police told Checkpoint they would be coming here on a roadshow this month to talk about the higher salaries and housing allowances on offer. Northern Territory recruitment officer Brett Wilson said they were not trying to steal Kiwi officers, but ensuring the officers knew their options. "We're looking at making sure people know the options, that there's more to Australia than just the East Coast, the Northern Territory is a place out there to also look at an option should they want to come to Australia." First year constables in the Northern Territory earn a salary of $111,000, compared to $83,000 here - the salary quoted on the new cops website in New Zealand. After five years in the force an officer would get $121,000 in Northern Territory, compared to $91,000 here. On top of that there is also a housing allowance of up to $34,000 for officers who hop the ditch. NZ Police assistant commissioner Tusha Penny told Checkpoint that pushes to recruit Kiwi officers were not anything new, and was not only being done by the Northern Territories. "Northern Territories have been looking and actively looking and coming over here for about the past decade to look at potentially recruiting our officers." "This is not just isolated to Northern Territories. We have a number of Australian jurisdictions who come over here and regularly looking at our officers." Penny said although they did not have the exact numbers, it was only a small proportion of NZ police who were going to Australia, adding that many Kiwi officers also returned from over the ditch. "We've got about 140 officers in our rejoin pipeline, who actually want to come back into New Zealand please and a healthy cohort of those from Australia." She said the police force here was continuing to see increasing application rates. "In the last 12 months we've had on average 735 applicants a month to come into New Zealand Police. If we compare that to 12 months previous, it was 440. "We've still got so many good and great New Zealanders who really wanna sign up and put on a police uniform to work in our community." Officers who return from overseas do have to go through a rejoin process. "Their previous experience gets looked at, and where they want to go. So we have staff who are full time really looking at the rejoin policy." Penny said the policy takes into account a number of factors. "We look at the previous experience in New Zealand police, we look at what they've done since they've been away - that's for the internal pipeline and our rejoins coming back." She said while New Zealand police were confident they were going well in recruiting 500 more officers, there was no set time-frame, and they are instead focused on the quality of new officers. "We've been really clear that we're not giving a time frame... when we get the 500, we will get the 500" Penny said she was confident the NZ police force would continue to grow, despite the push for overseas recruitment. "We're all about supporting our Australian cousins, but I need to be really clear that well, you know we are, we are growing our police officers. "We're really proud of our people who in every single town across the country we've just got the most amazing front-line who are stepping up to police in our communities."
RNZ News
14-07-2025
- RNZ News
'Policing is policing': Australian recruiters say they're just making sure Kiwi cops know they have other options
First-year constables in the Australian police earn a salary of $111,000, compared to $83,000 here Photo: 123RF The Australian police force is coming for New Zealand officers with the lure of more money and housing allowances. Police recruiters will be in Christchurch and Auckland this month to host jobs and information sessions for the Northern Territory. First-year constables there earn a salary of $111,000 compared to $83,000 here, the salary quoted on the New Zealand new cops website . After five years in the force that increases to $121,000 in Northern Territory, compared with $91,000 here. On top of that there is also a housing allowance of up to $34,000 for officers who hop the ditch. Northern Territory recruitment officer Brett Wilson told Checkpoint they were not trying to steal Kiwi officers, but instead ensure they knew their options. Wilson said this approach had been around for 10 years, and this year alone they had recruited one squadron of accelerated recruitment programme officers. "We had one kick off in March that had 21 officers on it, and probably 80 percent of that were from New Zealand." The accelerated recruitment programme is for experienced police from within Australia as well as New Zealand. Wilson said in the second intake, coming up in August, they were expecting similar numbers of Kiwi officers to jump the ditch. Officers that do choose to make the move have to undertake a four-month training programme. "They do learn obviously the new legislation, firearms and things like that," Wilson said. "When they are interviewed, they're asked - and they're told that we do carry firearms - and their personal opinion, whether or not they'd be up to carrying a firearm - because for some people it's a big issue." During these four months of training, officers receive a salary over $70,000. Wilson said although there were slight differences to the way policing was done in the Northern Territory, most things were the same, with members who had made the shift saying "policing is policing." "The big issues are domestic violence, youth crime - that's going to be everywhere, and that's what most people are dealing with." He said it did not feel as though they were taking New Zealand officers, given the size of Northern Territory's police force in comparison to New Zealand's . "The Northern Territory, we have a police force of about 1600 people compared to you guys who have 10,000-plus." As for why Kiwi police should be tempted to make the move, Wilson said the lifestyle change was the main thing to consider. "It is just a lifestyle change… whether people are looking for something different, the Northern Territory is unique." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
14-07-2025
- RNZ News
Australian Police recruiters scouting Kiwi cops
The Australian Police force is coming for New Zealand officers with the lure of more money and housing allowances. Police recruiters will be in Christchurch and Auckland this month to host jobs and information sessions for the Northern Territory. First year constables there earn a salary of compared to $83,000 here - the salary quoted on the new cops website in New Zealand. After 5 years in the force that increases to $121,000 in Northern Territory, compared with $91,000 here again. On top of that there's also a housing allowance of up to $34,000. Recruitment officer Brett Wilson spoke to Melissa Chan-Green. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
11-06-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Landlord let 'uninhabitable' property to sister-in-law
Photo: Supplied / MBIE A landlord who rented a property that was "never intended for anyone to live in" to his sister-in-law has been told to pay $5900 in exemplary damages. The identities of the landlord and tenant have been suppressed. The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment's tenancy compliance and investigations team (TCIT) opened an investigation after it received a complaint in August 2023 from a social assistance provider. The woman was living in a dwelling on the landlord's property and the person making the complaint believed her serious health issues were made worse by her living conditions. The tenancy had not been intended to be permanent but little action had been taken on plans to build a fit-for-purpose cabin. TCIT said there was visible mould, no underfloor insulation, holes in the walls and ceilings, damaged windows, roof damage, visible vegetation in the gutters and electrical cables exposed to the weather. The tenant told TCIT the floor was uneven and flooded in the lounge in a cyclone. She said she had a tenancy agreement but had not paid bond. The landlord did not inspect the property and had not followed through on promises to address problems. The landlord admitted the property was not fit for human habitation and had been empty for years and was not intended to be lived in. The Tenancy Tribunal issued an order after mediation, in which the landlord accepted breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act. TCIT national manager Brett Wilson said landlords had obligations they must meet under the Residential Tenancies Act, which included ensuring the property was provided and maintained in a reasonable state of repair. Photo: Supplied / MBIE "These obligations are not optional; they are a legal requirement. It is not an excuse for the landlord to say they had not intended to rent out the premises, the fact is they did and that means they have a responsibility to comply with the Act. "Despite raising multiple issues with the landlord, who is also a family relative, these matters were either ignored or not fully resolved. In one instance, on being advised there was a large gaping hole in the end room, the landlord said he told the tenant to close the door and not to use the room as a living space," he said. The tribunal adjudicator was satisfied the unlawful acts were committed intentionally and ordered the landlord to pay $5900 in exemplary damages to the tenant and reimbursement of the application filing fee. Photo: Supplied / MBIE In another case dealt with by the tribunal recently, tenants wanted to remain in a property that the landlords argued was uninhabitable. The landlords have been told to pay $1800 in compensation to their tenants over the way they handled repairs to the property. The tenants reported a leak in the laundry floor in March. A water pipe was found to have split and water was spraying on to the underneath of the floor. Access was difficult and a plumber had to put a rag over the pipe so the leaking water went to the ground instead. To fix it properly, the floor in the laundry and bathroom needed to be lifted, and pipe work replaced. The bathroom vanity and shower had to be replaced and there was also damage in the kitchen. The work was estimated to take two weeks. Photo: Supplied / MBIE The tribunal adjudicator accepted it would be difficult for the tenants to live in the premises for that time, and it would be hard for contractors to do the work. But the tenants did not agree to leave. The landlords gave them a 14-day notice to terminate on the basis the premises were uninhabitable. When they did not comply, the landlords issued a trespass notice but police told them it was a case for the Tenancy Tribunal. The tribunal adjudicator said the premises were habitable - a builder's reference to them not being "livable" referred to while the work was being done, when someone could fall through the floor. "The landlords' pressure on the tenants was persistent and I have no hesitation in finding that it amounted to harassment. It followed an invalid termination notice and so it was an interference with the tenants' quiet enjoyment of the premises. That is an unlawful act. "Because the landlords had some reason to think that their notice was valid, I find that the unlawful act was not intentional. But the tenants are entitled to compensation. "I accept that this has been an extremely unpleasant experience for the tenants. The process began with an unlawful notice and things went from bad to much worse when the landlords employed 'self-help' methods to resolve the situation in their favour instead of coming to the Tribunal for a resolution. I find that an award of $1800, being six weeks rent, is appropriate."
