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April 01, 2016 at 8:15 AM

Judge on Opotiki five: 'We all make mistakes, the question is how big is the mistake?'

A judge has described the behaviour of a group of young men who had sex with underage girls as "human nature" and said the law may need to be revisited for cases of this kind.

Judge Louis Bidois yesterday discharged the five young Opotiki men without conviction - and also permanently suppressed their identities - saying it would be too harsh a punishment for their offending.

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Richard Wood: Saving lives beats saving money:

The Herald recently ran an article on child abuse and invited comments on what needs to happen to stop it.

A range of initiatives could be taken that would have a major impact on the level of abuse. But their success relies on a commitment by the Government to strategies that are as much about prevention as they are on action after the event, and a serious investment in both.

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No closure for family as Ross Merrick found guilty of killing girlfriend Marika Ninness:

Marika Ninness was "brave, funny, kind and clever". Beloved by those who knew her.

Her sister Charnie Braz said Ninness, 35, was the last person one would expect to die at the hands of her partner. 

But the Australian mother-of-three suffered severe head injuries inflicted by her boyfriend, Ross Merrick, that would kill her. 

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Marae justice panels get strong backing:

An expansion of a radical pilot that allows adults to avoid court and criminal convictions for low-level offences has strong backing, including from Police Commissioner Mike Bush.

Three pilot iwi justice panels - also known as marae justice panels - have been running in Manukau, Gisborne and Lower Hutt since July 2014. A similar community justice panel operates in Christchurch.

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Corrections pays for non-existent counsellors:

Care NZ is contracted by Corrections to run drug treatment programmes in eight prisons around the country and is the largest provider of such services in prisons.

According to drug and alcohol counsellor and Howard League spokesperson Roger Brooking, when Care NZ accepted the Corrections contract to run the drug units it took on more than it could handle.

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