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Source: Radio New Zealand

A landlord has been accused of subjecting tenants at two rental properties to racist messages, including telling one couple to “go to Mumbai”.

Darren Williams has appeared before the Tenancy Tribunal twice this year, both times for the way he has treated tenants at two Auckland properties.

Tenants Niral Dedhia and Jagdev Sinder rented a property Williams owned in Birkdale. They told the tribunal the relationship between the parties soured towards the end of the tenancy in April last year.

Dedhia and Sinder said Williams tried to demand money for items in the house they had not broken and, when they refused, he applied “psychological pressure”.

They told the tribunal he made baseless accusations and racist comments, such as “go to Mumbai”, “why did you vote for National?”, “now go to Winston Peters”, along with other derogatory remarks about the tenants’ parents and their nationality.

The tenants also claimed Williams came to the house without permission, took a pair of expensive slippers and potplants, and threatened to enter the property when they were not home.

In defence, Williams said the potplants caused the deck to rot in winter and denied taking the slippers.

Dedhia and Sinder provided the tribunal with evidence of all the communications between the parties, which contained references to several nationalities.

In a decision released in September, tribunal adjudicator Joon Yi said the messages from the landlord “can be best described as rambling accusations and conspiracy theory-type remarks”.

Despite this, Yi said he didn’t order Williams to pay compensation to his tenants for the messages, because he was suffering from a “somewhat evident mental condition” at the time.

Yi did order him to pay $500 for the potplants and slippers for what he called a “serious invasion to the tenant”.

‘Bizarre’ remarks

In another decision from the tribunal, released this week, Williams was found to have made remarks with a racial undertone to a tenant at a property he owned in Beach Haven.

The tenant moved into the rental in August 2024 and paid $700 a week. In March, Williams advised the rent would increase to $765 per week.

When the tenant told him that was illegal under the Residential Tenancies Act, he agreed to delay the rise until August.

In April, the power tripped at the property. The tenant left for safety and told the landlord, who – according to the decision – then accused the other man of causing the damage and made “bizarre” remarks that caused him distress.

When the tenant requested an invoice for a water bill he had paid his landlord for, Williams responded with “more strange comments, including one implying racial undertone”, according to the tribunal’s decision.

Williams sent the tenant a picture of a screw and demanded an explanation, demanded money and then threatened to take his dishwasher away.

After his tenant reminded him that a landlord must give 24 hours’ notice before entering a property, the decision said Williams sent more derogatory and racially suggestive messages.

Within a week, Williams entered the property without permission and allegedly threw the tenant’s belongings out, including a $4000 computer.

The tenant applied to be released from his fixed-term contract at a hearing last month. He provided photos of his belongings on the street, along with Williams holding his desktop computer.

The tribunal adjudicator said Williams didn’t disagree with his tenant’s version of events. He instead said he wished to apologise and was suffering mental health issues at the time.

Yi, who handled both tenants’ applications, said while he took into account the landlord’s mental health, it didn’t completely excuse his behaviour.

“Although this explains his bizarre acts, it does not do so to the extent of it completely excusing his actions,” Yi said.

“The effect of the acts of the landlord had made the tenant fear for continued stay and had personal belongings thrown out through an extreme invasion of privacy. The perplexing messages and emails with reference to the tenant’s race were such that it amounted to harassment.”

Yi ordered Williams pay his tenant $1500 for exemplary damages for breaching the tenant’s quiet enjoyment and $3000 for disposing of the tenant’s goods.

In 2020, Williams was ordered to pay more than $6000 to two tenants, after unlawfully entering the Birkdale property, and taking away the front door, damaging or causing the tenants’ possessions to be wilfully damaged, and serving them with an unlawful trespass notice.

This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A search and rescue mission is underway for a person missing in the water near Cape Reinga – the northern-most tip of the North Island.

Police say they received a report of a person needing help in the water about 3.30pm, after falling from rocks near Tapotupotu Bay Beach.

They say they’re still searching.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Trampers are warned that upgrades to the Pouākai Tarns boardwalk in Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki – the final phase of the Taranaki Crossing project – could mean they are delayed and may not get that special photograph they are after.

Department of Conservation Hauraki-Waikato-Taranaki regional director Tinaka Mearns said the tarns were a sensitive and significant wetland feature within Te-Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki, offering visitors dramatic views of both the Pouākai Range and Taranaki Maunga.

“For many enjoying the walk, it’s a chance to get the iconic image of the maunga reflected in the tarns’ water. It really is a fabulous peaceful location, which makes it so popular with visitors.”

Mearns said about 120 metres of boardwalk across the tarns would be replaced. At 1.2m wide, the new boardwalk would be nearly twice as wide as the existing structures and would be elevated above the sensitive tarns at heights between 20-90 centimetres.

Construction would take about nine weeks – weather allowing – and would mean staged closures of different sections of the boardwalk, while work was completed.

No detours would keep visitors off the sensitive plants, which were found across the tarns, and people enjoying the walk were asked to alert contractor staff to their presence.

“We do want to acknowledge the replacement of the boardwalk will mean some delays and visitors may not be able to get that special photograph they’re after, but we’re confident the investment and this part of the project will deliver a memorable experience for visitors, who’ll be out naturing when the work is completed – and we’d encourage them to come back another time.”

Taranaki iwi representative Jacqui King said the start of the final stage of the Taranaki Crossing infrastructure upgrade was an exciting milestone for all partners involved.

“Mana whenua have been working tirelessly with our DOC and Kānoa teams to ensure each project – within the broader Taranaki Crossing project – is focused on protecting ngā maunga, and providing manaaki [support] for manuhiri [visitors] throughout their journey.

“As kaitiaki [guardians] of this whenua, we hold a deep responsibility to care for this special place that sustains us all. This unique wetland is a taonga – a treasured ecosystem, rich with life and meaning.”

King said, over time, the growing number of visitors had placed stress on the delicate environment and ensuring it remained healthy for future generations was important.

“The extended and renewed boardwalk will allow people to continue to experience the beauty and mauri [life force] of this special place, without harming the fragile Taiao [water, soils and habitats] that lie beneath.”

King said the project partners looked forward to welcoming visitors, who shared their respect of this unique landscape – those who walked gently, who listened and who understood that true connection to the natural world came with care.

“Patience and support from manuhiri [visitors] during this time of rebuild will help us improve the infrastructure to protect this special place, so it can continue to thrive and inspire all who visit for generations to come.”

The Taranaki Crossing project was a partnership involving DOC, Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit, Ngā Iwi o Taranaki and hapū, which involved several tracks across Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki being upgraded and the Pouākai Hut replaced.

It was funded by the Provincial Growth Fund ($16.4 million), which was administered by Kānoa, with additional funding provided by DOC ($5.2m).

A Taranaki Crossing feasibility study in 2017 identified the project was expected to generate $3.7m annually for the region’s economy.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Warning: This article discusses sexual abuse and may upset some readers.

It was not the sexual violence or years of trauma that finally broke a victim’s silence, but a chilling moment in adulthood, when her perpetrator stood in her kitchen, boasting of being “proud” of his life.

The remark felt so brazen, it ripped open the locked boxes of pain she carried and gave her the courage to report Geoffery Miller to the authorities.

Now, Miller, 53, has appeared in the Whangārei District Court for sentencing on historical sexual abuse charges relating to two victims in separate decades.

Earlier this year, he was found guilty by a jury of 12 charges, including rape and supplying methamphetamine to one of his victims.

Miller’s first round of offending occurred when he was 14 years old and repeatedly sexually abused a girl.

The court heard he violated her with objects and, on one occasion, he plied her with alcohol, until she passed out, and then raped her.

Decades later, Miller’s sexual offending continued, but he had a new victim.

Miller repeatedly touched that girl sexually and gave her cannabis. He also supplied her with methamphetamine and smoked it with her.

Miller touched her inappropriately and spoke to her sexually, as a form of payment for the drug.

Both victims, now adults, read their victim impact statements to Miller, while he stood in the dock at his recent sentencing.

The first victim said that, when she was younger, she was scared of Miller’s dark moods and he was intolerable to be around.

She said she felt safer on the streets, in the dark.

“I had to grow up real fast to survive you,” she said.

For years, she lived with post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse and had more than 20 clinical bouts of depression, as a result of his offending against her.

When she encountered Miller in her adult life, she became triggered by something he said.

“You stood in my kitchen one day, in front of my teenage kids, and said, ‘I’m really proud of my life’,” the woman recalled.

“Those words triggered me and sickened me. How could you be proud of what you did to me?

“All the locked boxes in my brain, all the tucked-up pain came out, piece by piece.

“That event is what brought us here today. Your words set me free.

“I finally felt the courage to stand up tall and do the right thing.”

The second victim also lived a life with mental health challenges linked to Miller’s offending and battled a drug addiction, which took hold, after he had supplied her with drugs when she was younger.

“I’m constantly living the same thing, repetitive memories take over my mind that I never asked for,” she said in her victim impact statement.

“I had so much more potential than what I’ve been and what I am now. I don’t remember ever feeling happy or, let alone, good enough.

“Instead, I felt like a worthless piece of meat.”

Her statement had some parting words for Miller.

“I hope you f****** rot in sh**.”

Continued denial of offending

Crown lawyer Danette Cole said both victims had reported Miller was also physically violent towards them.

“Both victims came forward and said how they thought their life would turn out differently, but because of the offending, their lives have taken a turn for the worse,” Cole said.

Miller’s lawyer, Chris Muston, made no oral submissions at the hearing.

Judge Keith de Ridder noted Miller had denied the offending, when speaking to pre-sentence report writers.

“You make no admission whatsoever of any offending and deny any offending of any sort,” the judge said.

“The report touches briefly on your upbringing and your employment history with some sense of self-pity arising from, what you say, were the actions taken against you by the victims’ families.”

Judge de Ridder said the offending, particularly with the first victim, was premeditated, violent and intrusive.

“There were threats made to her, in particular, if she told anybody about this offending. The jury obviously also accepted her evidence that you would become physically and verbally abusive towards her.”

The judge considered the act of supplying drugs to a child to facilitate offending against the second victim as an aggravating feature.

He sentenced Miller to five years and seven months for the rape of the first victim, and imposed an additional cumulative four‑year term for offending against the second.

Miller was sent to prison for nine years and seven months.

This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.

Where to get help:

Sexual Violence

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand