Latest news with #Rolleston
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Christchurch fraudster Diane Baumann used stranger's driver's licence to claim $30,000 in payments
By Al Williams , Open Justice reporter Diane Baumann used the driver's licence details of a stranger in a different city to create a fictious carer and receive payments while collecting ACC benefits. Photo: RNZ / Kate Newton A mother of five used a stranger's driver's licence details to create a fictitious carer for herself so she could get nearly $30,000 in payments, while also collecting Accident Compensation Corporation benefits. Diane Marie Baumann's deception only started to catch up with her when the real owner of the driver's licence, who lived in a different city, received correspondence from Inland Revenue. Soon after, the woman also discovered she had a poor credit rating score because of the multiple debts Baumann had run up in her name. Now Baumann, 39, also known as Diane Cox, has appeared for sentencing in the Christchurch District Court on multiple charges of using documents for pecuniary advantage. Between November 2020 and April 2021, Baumann received an Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) benefit while receiving regular payments from Custom Care Nursing Limited. She used her Rolleston address and her sibling's phone number as part of her client details. Baumann used another phone number as the contact for the fictitious carer she had created for herself, using the victim's driver's licence details. Over the next several months, Custom Care Nursing Limited deposited $26,957 into a bank account number allocated to Baumann under her alias, Diane Cox. At the same time, Baumann opened accounts with Spark New Zealand, One New Zealand and Zip Co, using the victim's driver's licence details. She received $3680 in services and products, which were never repaid. The deception continued when she spoke to police and Oranga Tamariki on multiple occasions in 2024 with concerns about a family member she said was in a relationship with an older teen, known as Male A. Baumann completed an unsupported child's benefit application form for Male A, requesting that benefit payments be made to an account named D. Cox. On the application, she said Male A had come into her care and that she was "fully supporting" him and denied having had any contact with a social worker from Oranga Tamariki or other authorised agencies. She then texted Male A's mother, saying she needed to meet her to get his medication. His mother replied, telling Baumann she would be getting the cops at her door and that it was not funny that she had not informed her that Male A was at her residence. Again, she completed an unsupported child's benefit interview form, recording that the arrangement for Male A to live with her had become permanent. The pair then attended a face-to-face interview with an assessor from Barnardos regarding the application, with Baumann claiming Male A would be staying in her spare bedroom, which had just been left vacant by her son. She said she had tried to get Male A's birth certificate and clothing from his mother but was unsuccessful. Baumann's son had not been living with her prior to the interview. At the end of the 2021 financial year, the woman who owned the driver's licence received correspondence from Inland Revenue regarding her employment at Customer Care Nursing Limited. She had never worked for them. In 2022, the victim's bank manager printed off her credit score, which showed debts accumulated in her name that she was not responsible for. The woman then conducted her own investigation using three debt collection agencies. Through them, she discovered that the addresses and phone numbers used in the accounts under her name were unknown to her. It turned out Baumann had managed to set up employee contracts, opt out of KiwiSaver and fill in tax code documents, all signed in the victim's name. She also used an email address with the victim's name which had no association to the victim. It remains unclear how Baumann got the woman's driver's licence and personal details as she declined to comment on any of the offending. She also refused to provide the Pin number to her cellphone. Judge Gerard Lynch said Baumann's offending had caused significant financial implications for the victim. "She was upset to find out she had a bad credit rating," Lynch said. "The victim says, 'I wish she would put this amount of effort into getting a real job'." The judge said Baumann had two previous convictions for theft and deception in 2017. She had used methamphetamine as a daily coping mechanism with regards to access to her children and there had been relationship issues. Judge Lynch said there was an ongoing need for rehabilitation and that he would impose home detention to promote her rehabilitation. "Given the personal background and drug misuse, I will adopt rehabilitation over a punitive approach. "When we deal with government departments, we can't expect them to drill down and check every application, if they did, things would ... grind to a stop." Judge Lynch said there were remorse, addiction and personal factors. "The reality here is there was no defence to these charges. "Nothing is going to be gained by sending you to prison, you are on notice now, if you offend again, you won't be bailed." The judge said there was no realistic prospect of reparation and partial reparation had been offered. He ordered that $7500 reparation be paid and sentenced Baumann to six months' home detention. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
7 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
New commuter train from Rangiora to Rolleston proposed
environment transport 37 minutes ago Environment Canterbury is proposing a new commuter train from Rangiora to Rolleston, which it says the region's booming population needs. Councillor Joe Davies spoke to Charlotte Cook.
RNZ News
20-05-2025
- RNZ News
Man behind armed pub robberies denied parole for third time
File photo. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook The Parole Board has refused to release serial masked robber Douglas Roake from prison, saying it remains in the dark as to the reasons for his offending. The 30-year-old carried out six armed pub robberies in Canterbury over a month and a half in 2017, before invading a rural home in Rolleston and shooting a mother and her daughter. He was jailed for 13 years and eight months with a minimum non-parole period of six and a half years. Roake, who was 23 at the time, was arrested in April 2017. He pleaded guilty to six charges of aggravated robbery, as well as two of wounding with intent to injure and two charges of presenting a firearm. He committed the home invasion after robbing the Ashburton Hotel, and it later became known that he had robbed several other bars at gunpoint in Canterbury including the Brickworks Bar - which he hit twice - the Springston Hotel and Trevinos Bar and Restaurant. Roake appeared before the Parole Board last July, where concerns were raised about his different accounts of the offending, as he accepted his initial explanation had not been truthful. Parts of the decision released on Tuesday were redacted, but showed that Roake had provided some further information about the offending which indicated he had not been acting alone when he committed the robberies. He told the board he had lied when he was first arrested because he did not know how to tell the truth. He said he received a cut of the proceeds of each robbery and was hopeful of receiving a cut on subsequent occasions which influenced his decision to agree to further robberies. Roake also said he used some of the proceeds to buy more guns. At sentencing, Judge Jane Farish said Roake's offending was "inexplicable" and the police, lawyers, his family and the victims were all baffled as to why he acted in such a serious violent fashion, with this lack of clarity raising issues around risk of reoffending. The board said it still did not have a complete understanding of why the offending occurred, "nor are we confident of which explanation we can rely on". It said the psychological reports before the board did not provide a complete picture of Roake's personality features and how they could contribute to any future risk of further violent offending. "Given the very serious nature of this offending, we also struggle to understand how we can be confident that Roake will not develop misplaced beliefs or perceptions in the future or rely on fantasy movie scripts to enact further violence. "Nor are we confident that [withheld] he would not be vulnerable again to taking extreme actions when pressured." When asked how the board could be satisfied nothing like this could happen again, Roake said if he felt threatened or pressured in the future he would contact police. The board declined parole as it did not have the necessary information to assess future risk. It requested another psychological report focused on his personality features and neurodiversity related issues and how they may be relevant to his risk of reoffending. The board said it did not require further exploration of Roake's explanations of his offending, as that had been well traversed, unless the psychologist considered it to be important. "With five and a half years left on his sentence and the uncertainties around his risk, we consider that a lengthy period of reintegration is required." Roake has been in self-care for seven months at the Otago Corrections Facility, has been working in the external grounds and on occasion has worked in the dairy farm. He will appear in front of the parole board again next April. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
New Councillor Aims To Prove Value Of Tauranga Māori Ward
Article – Alisha Evans – Local Democracy Reporter Hemi Rolleston sworn in as Tauranga Mori ward councillor after byelection win Tauranga's Māori ward councillor Hemi Rolleston plans to prove to the community that having a Māori ward is a 'good thing'. Rolleston was sworn into his Te Awanui ward seat on Thursday after a pōwhiri at Hangarau Marae in Bethlehem. He won the recent Māori ward byelection with 543 votes, taking up the seat his nephew Mikaere Sydney was unable to fill. The byelection was triggered after Sydney resigned from his position in January. Sydney was elected to the council in July 2024 but was unable to take up his position due to illness. Sydney was one of many of Rolleston's whanau and friends at the pōwhiri. More than 100 people attended. Rolleston said he had come full circle being a councillor because he previously held leadership roles at Tauranga City Council. The 56-year-old, who has whakapapa to Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Whakaue and Te Arawa, lives in Matapihi. Rolleston said he brought energy, connectivity, passion and authenticity to the table. There were 'big challenges' around retaining the Māori ward, he said. 'My job is to do a good job, to prove to both our Māori community and our wider Tauranga community that it's a good thing. If I do that, I believe the rest will take care of itself. 'Some brave decisions were made to create this seat, against a lot of resistance and those decisions will continue to have to be made.' Mayor Mahé Drysdale congratulated Rolleston on his win. Establishing the Te Awanui ward in Tauranga in 2020 was a milestone for the city, he said. 'The Māori ward was created to provide a dedicated voice for Māori electors and to reflect their community interests within the council's decision-making processes.' In becoming a councillor Rolleston was committing himself to make good decisions on behalf of the whole community, Drysdale said. 'Decisions that will help achieve our vision that Tauranga becomes the best city in New Zealand.' Drysdale also acknowledged Sydney and said it was great to have him at the pōwhiri and see he was improving quickly. Speaking after the meeting, Rolleston said the powhiri at his marae was humbling and uplifting. 'It fills me with so much pride and so much passion to make a positive difference for this moana. 'I know there's lots of hard work in front of me but I'm excited and I'm up for the challenge.' Asked if he had any goals as a councillor, Rolleston said he didn't enter the election with any promises other than to work hard, listen and bring the community with him. 'I come here to work hard, build strong relationships around the table, and make a positive difference for this beautiful city, Tauranga, that we're all proud to be part of. 'If it's good for Māori, it's good for Tauranga. And if we do good things in Tauranga, they'll be good for Māori as well.' Drysdale told Local Democracy Reporting it was very exciting to have a full team of councillors. The council hoped Sydney could have joined them but seeing him at the powhiri was 'pretty emotional', Drysdale said. The biggest challenge for Rolleston was he had to hit the ground running. The rest of the councillors had been doing the job for eight months already, Drysdale said. 'We've got to work with him to ensure that he's up to speed and that he can start adding immediately to our decisions.' This could be the only term with a Māori ward after the Government directed councils to rescind Māori wards established after 2021 or hold a binding referendum on them. The council must decide on the future of the Māori ward by November 30, 2026. If the council votes to retain the Māori ward, a referendum must take place by March 28, 2027. – LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Scoop
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
New Councillor Aims To Prove Value Of Tauranga Māori Ward
Tauranga's Māori ward councillor Hemi Rolleston plans to prove to the community that having a Māori ward is a 'good thing'. Rolleston was sworn into his Te Awanui ward seat on Thursday after a pōwhiri at Hangarau Marae in Bethlehem. He won the recent Māori ward byelection with 543 votes, taking up the seat his nephew Mikaere Sydney was unable to fill. The byelection was triggered after Sydney resigned from his position in January. Sydney was elected to the council in July 2024 but was unable to take up his position due to illness. Sydney was one of many of Rolleston's whanau and friends at the pōwhiri. More than 100 people attended. Rolleston said he had come full circle being a councillor because he previously held leadership roles at Tauranga City Council. The 56-year-old, who has whakapapa to Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Whakaue and Te Arawa, lives in Matapihi. Rolleston said he brought energy, connectivity, passion and authenticity to the table. There were 'big challenges' around retaining the Māori ward, he said. 'My job is to do a good job, to prove to both our Māori community and our wider Tauranga community that it's a good thing. If I do that, I believe the rest will take care of itself. 'Some brave decisions were made to create this seat, against a lot of resistance and those decisions will continue to have to be made.' Mayor Mahé Drysdale congratulated Rolleston on his win. Establishing the Te Awanui ward in Tauranga in 2020 was a milestone for the city, he said. 'The Māori ward was created to provide a dedicated voice for Māori electors and to reflect their community interests within the council's decision-making processes.' In becoming a councillor Rolleston was committing himself to make good decisions on behalf of the whole community, Drysdale said. 'Decisions that will help achieve our vision that Tauranga becomes the best city in New Zealand.' Drysdale also acknowledged Sydney and said it was great to have him at the pōwhiri and see he was improving quickly. Speaking after the meeting, Rolleston said the powhiri at his marae was humbling and uplifting. 'It fills me with so much pride and so much passion to make a positive difference for this moana. 'I know there's lots of hard work in front of me but I'm excited and I'm up for the challenge.' Asked if he had any goals as a councillor, Rolleston said he didn't enter the election with any promises other than to work hard, listen and bring the community with him. 'I come here to work hard, build strong relationships around the table, and make a positive difference for this beautiful city, Tauranga, that we're all proud to be part of. 'If it's good for Māori, it's good for Tauranga. And if we do good things in Tauranga, they'll be good for Māori as well.' Drysdale told Local Democracy Reporting it was very exciting to have a full team of councillors. The council hoped Sydney could have joined them but seeing him at the powhiri was 'pretty emotional', Drysdale said. The biggest challenge for Rolleston was he had to hit the ground running. The rest of the councillors had been doing the job for eight months already, Drysdale said. 'We've got to work with him to ensure that he's up to speed and that he can start adding immediately to our decisions.' This could be the only term with a Māori ward after the Government directed councils to rescind Māori wards established after 2021 or hold a binding referendum on them. The council must decide on the future of the Māori ward by November 30, 2026. If the council votes to retain the Māori ward, a referendum must take place by March 28, 2027. - LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
