Latest news with #NZArmy
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Military panel drops two charges against soldier accused of filming during sex without consent
Corporal Manu Smith. Photo: Pool / Stuff / Kai Schwoerer Two of the charges against a soldier accused of taking sexual videos without consent have been dropped. Corporal Manu Smith was facing a Court Martial on three counts of making intimate visual recordings under the Armed Forces Discipline Act. In a Court Martial, a military panel make a decision on the accused's guilt or innocence. On Tuesday morning, Justice Tom Gilbert, who was presiding over the court, advised the military panel that he had granted the defence's request to drop two of the charges. The judge said the two charges were dismissed for legal reasons, because in light of the evidence, he ruled that a properly directed panel could not reasonably convict on those charges. That afternoon, the accused Corporal Manu Smith gave evidence for the defence. Defence lawyer Timothy Leighton asked Corporal Smith why he had taken out his phone and started recording during sex with the complainant, and if the woman had known he was filming. Corporal Smith said he saw it as a way of expressing their intimacy and that she had seen that he was filming on his phone, and did nothing to indicate she wanted him to stop filming. He said the pair's relationship had been sexual from the start, and they both shared intimate sexual images with each other. Corporal Smith said the pair had talked about boundaries. "Yes, I expected the same respect from her that she did with me, in terms of sharing content with a third party or anybody outside. "...It was a circle of trust, it should have been. I don't want images of me shared with her girlfriends, nor would she want me to share intimate images of her." He said the pair had discussed filming sexual encounters, while discussing their sexual likes and dislikes, and he believed she was open to it. Corporal Smith said he believed he did have consent to record the sexual encounter which is the subject of the complaint, and he said if she had asked him to stop he would have. The prosecution's captain John Whitcombe asked Corporal Smith about the nature of his relationship with the complainant and whether she had reason to assume it was a exclusive relationship. Corporal Smith said the nature of their relationship was not discussed, but he saw it as non-exclusive and he believed she did too. Captain John Whitcombe challenged Corporal Smith's assertion that the woman had consented to the sex being filmed, asking if there was ever an express discussion about him filming on the day in question. Corporal Smith said they had talked about it in a light-hearted jovial way. "There was no black and white, no written agreement," he told the court. The defence and prosecution will give their closing addresses on Tuesday afternoon. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
Soldier charged with filming women during sex treated accusations as a joke, court martial told
Corporal Manu Smith during the hearing. Photo: Pool / Stuff / Kai Schwoerer A soldier accused of filming women during sex without their permission laughed about the accusations when confronted about them, a court martial has heard. Corporal Manu Smith is facing three counts of making intimate visual recordings. He has pleaded not guilty. A hearing at the Burnham Military Camp began this morning and is expected to take three days. Smith has been accused of making the recordings of two civilian women, without their knowledge or consent. He has contended he thought he had permission. Prosecutor Flight Lieutenant Hannah O'Byrne told the court both women would say Smith recorded them without asking, and then sent the recordings via Snapchat. Smith treated it as a joke when confronted about the recordings, O'Byrne said. One woman complained she asked him if he had shared the images with others, which he also laughed off, O'Byrne said. One of the women - who had name suppression - gave evidence this morning via audio-visual link. Smith's lawyer Matthew Hague asked her about a chat group involving the woman and others who had dated Smith. The woman joined the group after she and the solider had broken up. She agreed the group's members did not like Smith. Hague asked if it was true the group discussed ways to cause trouble for Smith. The woman accepted the group had discussed it and she raised the sexual images as a way to get Smith in trouble. She wanted him to hurt as much as he had hurt her over the course of their relationship, she said. The woman consented to having sex with Smith, but not to him filming it, she said. Under questioning by Hague, she accepted she had worked with others in chat group on her complaint about Smith. But she said that was only because she was not very good with words. She denied making up the claims and said she thought if there were multiple complaints they were more likely to be believed. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
The Guardian
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Rhys Darby: ‘Luckily, no one's given me a full clay model of my nose'
Who did you look up to when you were starting out?I had an obsession with BBC comedy, mainly sitcoms and Monty Python. The Goodies was a big one for me. It was all sketch, absurdity, silliness. I didn't get into standup until my university days because I just didn't think it was a vocation, especially not in New Zealand. You served four years in the New Zealand army when you were a young man. Did it inform your career in comedy at all?I grew up watching Dad's Army with my mum, and that's one of the reasons I joined up. I thought all the action would be fun. I brought my sense of humour with me so got told off a lot. Turns out, it wasn't really Dad's Army but it was the New Zealand army, so it wasn't too far off. We had moments where we were literally rescuing sheep. I've taken some of the skills with me into my career: self-discipline, drive, getting up on time. Can you recall a gig so bad, it's now funny?I did a gig on an aeroplane just after 9/11 for a brand-new airline. They wanted to have me on the inaugural flight as an entertainer. It was at 8am. People started looking at me like I was a threat. I did some weird stuff about clouds and some of the airline upholstery. One thing you'd never do as a standup is go and sit with your audience if it goes badly. But I had no other choice. One guy said to me, 'Why'd you do that?' I said, 'I got paid.' No one believed it. What has inspired your latest show, The Legend Returns?It's about me fighting against artificial intelligence. Back in the day it was fun when robots were robots, but now it's actually getting quite scary. The future doesn't look good – especially in creativity. AI should just leave us alone because all it's doing is plagiarising us, stealing our stuff, and people are then taking advantage of that. It's a huge subject matter, but I do it in a very silly way, a very human way. I think there's no robot that could do what I do, and that includes all the flaws. When I screw up, when I break the fourth wall, take the mickey out of myself or laugh at myself or what I'm doing, that's very human. Do you have any pre-show rituals?I stretch because I do a lot of physical comedy. Drink water. I normally have one beer to make me remember the good old rock'n'roll days. What's one of the strangest encounters with a fan you've had?I've had a lot of things made for me. Depending on my material, they'll find something in the stories I tell. Back in the day, I said I was the freestyle dance champion of a small town called Ohakune in New Zealand. So someone knitted me a woollen jacket that had 'dance champion' on the back. Also, someone made a small bust of me once. I remember with Flight of the Conchords, Jemaine Clement once received a plaster impression of his lips. I don't know how they did it, but to present something to you that is of you is insane. Luckily, no one's given me a full clay model of my nose or anything like that. Did you have any idea when filming that Flight of the Conchords would have such lasting cultural impact?I don't think we did. And that was good, because we really felt like we were making this thing for ourselves. Because we were young and it was our first time in the States making something with their money and their brilliance, we got caught up in it all. We just concentrated on how could we be so funny that we're cracking each other up and have to redo the scene? As we had some control over the show, we could improvise and do seven or eight takes. And that was really the key, because I got funnier every take. I know that for a fact. I still say this to people when I do shows. I say give me a couple more because I'll peak on the sixth take. With Our Flag Means Death, you went from 'that guy from Flight of the Conchords' to a Tumblr sex symbol overnight. What was that like?I'm a comedy guy, not a sex symbol. [Pirate character] Stede wore some very attractive attire but is still a very insecure, bizarre, weird little man who has to try and find himself. The character was perfect for me because I like dressing up, being the captain, and I do overcompensate with authority because I really have no idea what I'm doing. There were definitely some similarities there, but I was not expecting anything on a sexual note from fans. The audience are amazing. They really come to the table, but it was a little bit too much for me. You've long had a passion for cryptozoology. What draws you to creatures like Bigfoot and Mothman?It's the mystery of the unknown. I think I've always thought of myself as someone that mysteriously shouldn't be here. I was a mistake as a child, as I was born nine years after the rest of my siblings, so I think I've always had this belief in what else is out there. I think these things are real. Not all of them, but I love the idea that we don't really know and we can search. The search for stuff that we don't know yet – I think that's one of our purposes here. Rhys Darby: The Legend Returns is on tour in the UK and Ireland until 29 June, and at Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh, 1-10 August
NZ Herald
16-05-2025
- General
- NZ Herald
Joan McGrail turns 103, credits faith and natural food for longevity
Born April 21, 1922, in Ohakune to parents David and Maud Bolstad, Joan was 18 months younger than brother Andrew, nicknamed 'Dig'. The centenarian was nearly named Wilhelmina by her mother. 'But my father didn't like it, so instead he named me after a boat – my middle name became Alma.' Joan's early life saw her sail through much adversity. Her father David served in and survived World War I, only to be left stranded in England for months because there were no boats to get home. 'He very much wanted to get home so he could get married,' Joan said. David was a soldier at Gallipoli and in the Middle East. 'He looked after the horses. He'd take them up to the front line, and bring them back and have to find a safe place for them. Then he'd have to go back up to the front line and fight.' When her father returned from war he eventually found work in a quarry/cement works in Warkworth, with the dust not helping his lungs post-war. 'He was badly gassed in the war – and after four years [serving New Zealand], they wanted him to return his greatcoat in exchange for £5. The Government was strict back in those days.' Her father's death, which was exacerbated by war wounds, left her mother penniless. Joan, aged 14 months, and 'Dig' were placed in a home called The Nest in Hamilton, 'because she didn't have enough money', so Maud could work and save up to start her own business in Ohakune. Niece Mary described it as a 'bakery-come-dairy-come-tearooms'. Maud sold the local baker's bread, and she did all of the cooking. Joan returned to her mother's care at age 3, and 'Dig' at 5. Joan's early years were full of tennis and cricket matches at school. She was brought up with her cousin Elsie Wood, who was three weeks younger, and they were inseparable. Her working life began in retail, side-by-side with her mother and Elsie in the tearooms. 'We would serve food, and do the cleaning.' Then she met Harold McGrail, who'd come to work in Ohakune, at a table tennis tournament. They married on April 27, 1942, at the town's Presbyterian church. 'Born in Ohakune, grew up in Ohakune, worked in Ohakune and married in Ohakune,' Joan joked. 'But I waited until I was 20 to marry.' Harold signed up with the NZ Army intending to serve in World War II but didn't get there. 'He was in training at Waiouru when he and another man had a bomb go off and it blew half of his calf muscle off,' Joan said. He instead served with the army in Ohakune as a quartermaster. After World War II ended, the couple moved to Whanganui. 'When Harold asked me to marry him, I told him: 'Well, I do want to go overseas … ' and he told me: 'Well … I'll take you in 40 years' time'.' Harold McGrail clocked up 42 years at the NZ Railways Corporation, then he and Joan headed for England. 'We bought a campervan and travelled around England for two years. We also went to France and all the countries you go to over there. We got to see a lot of the world together.' She and Harold had four children – Julia-May, Paul, Clive and Ken – and with her husband being an avid gardener, Joan's family put her longevity down to eating natural food all her life, and nothing processed. 'My favourite dinner was corned beef, and lots of vegetables.' Advertise with NZME. Today Joan has two children alive, 11 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. Harold died in 2004 but Joan still shares his enthusiasm for sport: 'I love tennis – and cricket too – but tennis was my favourite. Cricket was my husband's.' She still follows the All Blacks, the Black Caps, and names Novak Djokovic as her all-time favourite tennis player. Joan lived at Mount Maunganui's Ocean Shores for 19 years, before moving to Katikati's Lexham Park in late 2023 to be closer to Mary. Most of her family lives in Australia. If you ask Joan, the secret to her happiness and longevity is her faith. 'I love the Lord Jesus with all my heart. He's taken care of me.'
Otago Daily Times
14-05-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Drill to prepare for threat of Alpine Fault rupture
NZ Army medics learn how to work in different environments during a training exercise in the Pisa Conservation Area. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Imagine the scenario. New Zealand's largest fault line, the Alpine Fault, has just ruptured in Central Otago's Pisa Conservation Area. A man, hypothermic and barely conscious after being found in a creek bed, is carried to a New Zealand Army medical detachment for treatment. While specialists begin treatment, others prepare a tent to stabilise the man before emergency services arrive. Luckily, this is only a training exercise conducted by about two dozen New Zealand Army medical personnel. The mountain rescue drill took place at the Snow Farm Nordic Ski Area. Perched high in the Pisa Range, the site was chosen for its remoteness and existing infrastructure. Though only a drill, it reflected a genuine threat, as scientists estimate a 75% chance of a magnitude 8.0 or stronger Alpine Fault quake within 50 years. Most participants were part-time Reserve Force medics with civilian experience alongside a small number of Regular Force personnel. In a statement, Deployable Health Organisation commanding officer Lieutenant-colonel Glen Whitton said alpine exercises offered a unique chance to adapt to altitude and isolation. "Medical training is normally focused on combat scenarios. "However, we assist in humanitarian and disaster relief in New Zealand and the Pacific. "The likelihood is we will be called on to respond potentially to humanitarian and disaster emergencies," he said. The teams, each made up of a commander, doctor, nurse and two medics, practised two response methods. One method used a mobile detachment that drove a New Zealand Army Pinzgauer vehicle to reach casualties quickly. They erected a portable 11m x 11m tent and delivered treatment under basic conditions. The second detachment used existing hard-standing buildings, operating from a remote alpine hut. Senior medic and training facilitator Sergeant Danny Freestone said the medical detachments were designed to triage and stabilise a patient on or near the location of their injury, giving them a higher rate of survival. "Once stabilised, ideally emergency services would extract them from the location to the nearest hospital." — APL
