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Weekly Media Roundup

September 10, 2021 at 3:31 PM

Stuff: Heartbreak and support from Muslim, Sri Lankan, Pākehā and Māori communities after terror attack 

Imam Gamal Fouda , of Christchurch’s Al Noor Mosque, says “all terrorists are the same” and is calling for solidarity in the face of the attack in an Auckland supermarket. 

Communities across Aotearoa were left heartbroken and shocked following a terror attack, which targeted supermarket shoppers in Auckland and injured seven people. 

Mohamed Nalar , former president of the Sri Lankan Society, said its Muslim community leaders had been talking since the attack, as they tried to comprehend what had happened. 

“We’re gutted,” he said. “It’s reminded us of 2019, and like we did then, the country needs to come together because it is a great place.” 

  

Stuff: More victims are reporting family violence, but abusers aren't facing court. No-one knows why 

For the last 10 years, family violence prosecution rates have dropped and dropped. Now, if police are called there’s only a 10 per cent chance an abuser will go to court. What is going on? 

 

Stuff: Judge dismisses Oranga Tamariki's bid to remove Māori girl from Pākehā couple 

Famiy Court judge has ruled that a traumatised and neglected Māori girl will remain in the care of her Pākehā foster parents, and has slammed Oranga Tamariki for putting ideology ahead of a child’s best interests. 

The case concerns a 6-year-old girl, who for nearly three years has been living with the couple in a safe, healthy, loving environment in rural Hawke’s Bay. 

Oranga Tamariki/the Ministry for Children and the girl’s iwi wanted her removed because they did not think the couple could meet her cultural needs. 

 

Newsroom: Children’s Commissioner concerned about restraint under-reporting 

A move away from restraining children in schools must continue as part of an 'evolution', the children's watchdog says after expressing concern over under-reporting of restraints at special schools 

 
 
1 News: Domestic abuse in lockdown prompts concern over alcohol 

Concerns that alcohol deliveries during lockdown are fuelling family harm in Tairāwhiti have been raised with the Government. 

 

RNZ: Helpline calls increase from people worried about family members' drinking 

The lockdown has some people reaching for the bottle, with helplines seeing an increase in calls about loved ones drinking too much. 

Alcohol sales spiked on the eve of level 4, and an advocate says the ease and speed of alcohol delivery since then is making a tough time even harder for some. 

The stresses of lockdown had South Island man Jason turning to the tipple. 

 

Stuff: Covid-19: Languishing, burnout and stigma are all among possible psychological impacts as Delta lingers 

As New Zealand remains under different levels of restriction, the psychological toll of the Delta outbreak may start to show, even as lockdown eases for everyone outside Auckland. 

We know that stress and isolation associated with a lockdown can exacerbate underlying mental illnesses. But even for people with no existing concerns, the impact can show in more subtle ways, on a continuum between flourishing and languishing. 

Imagine a t-shaped cross with symptoms of mental illness on the horizontal axis ranging from severe to none, and mental health on the vertical axis, ranging from high (flourishing) to low (languishing). 

Under this model, it’s quite possible to experience a mental illness but still be flourishing or to have no symptoms of a mental illness, yet be in a state where life feels dull and meaningless. 

 

StuffChildren spend a lot of time on screens - here's why experts think we need to rethink the guidelines 

Only one in eight New Zealand children are believed to be meeting the Ministry of Health’s guidelines around screen time. 

In a new report, experts have recommended a more “family-centric” approach to screen time in Kiwi households, arguing it’s more practical than blanket time limits. 

Former chief science adviser professor Sir Peter Gluckman, who is one of the authors of the report, has also highlighted the importance of lockdown habits not creeping into everyday life once restrictions lift. 

 

The Spinoff: How to help during the delta outbreak 

Many people in Aotearoa are doing it tough right now. If you’re keen to lend a hand but aren’t sure how, here are a few places to start. 

 

RNZ: Whangārei murderer Samuel Hemuera Pou sentenced to life in prison 

Warning - this story includes distressing details of domestic violence. 

Whangārei murderer who struck his partner more than 100 times has been sentenced to life imprisonment. 

In June, a jury found Samuel Hemuera Pou guilty of murdering mother-of-two Bridget Simmonds. 

She was reported missing in March 2019 and her buried body was found in a shallow grave last year. 

This morning, her family members held hands and cried as Pou was given a life sentence for her killing. 

 

Stuff: Horrific path to woman's eventual murder revealed in court documents 

Warning: contains descriptions of graphic violence 

Details of the horrific domestic violence suffered by Samantha Shaylani Reid in the lead up to her murder can now be revealed after her partner, Darkie Thomas Cable, pleaded guilty to the crime. 

Cable was due to stand trial for the killing at the start of August, but on what was meant to be the first day of a two-week trial instead opted to plead guilty to the murder, committed in Taupō on January 25 last year. 

Cable also entered guilty pleas to two charges of intending to cause grievous bodily harm and injuring Reid. 

Stuff can now reveal details of the violence Cable unleashed against his partner of 13 years, and the mother of his two children after obtaining the police summary of facts. 

 

NZ Herald: Man jailed for beating partner after a jury cleared him of previous violence charges 

Cory John Wayne Ferguson cried with relief when a jury cleared him of serious violence charges last year. 

The tears in the dock of the Dunedin District Court were understandable — the verdicts meant he dodged a potentially lengthy prison term. 

But now he is behind bars after repeatedly assaulting the woman the jury refused to believe. 

 

NZ Herald: Napier mother admits murdering daughter with juvenile Huntington's disease 

A Napier woman has today pleaded guilty to a charge of murdering her 28-year-old daughter, who had been terminally ill. 

The plea was made when Cherylene May Lawrence, now 49, appeared before Justice Cheryl Gwyn in the High Court at Napier. 

Lawrence was remanded on bail to appear for sentence in the Court on November 5. 

She was charged with murdering Chevana Marie Fox, who was rushed by ambulance to 
hospital critically ill after an incident at a house in Napier suburb Pirimai on February 1. The daughter died in hospital on February 28. 

 

NZ Herald: Family sided against sexual assault victim - eight years later she has justice 

In 2013, a teenage girl told police her uncle had sexually abused her. 

When the South Otago man denied the allegations and the entire family sided with him, she told officers she had no interest in pursuing the matter. 

Eight years later, he has been found guilty. 

The defendant — aged in his 50s — was jailed for 17 months yesterday when he appeared in the Dunedin District Court. 



Category: News Media