Kaitaia’s Kids’ Drunken Night Of Rampage. Mob Rule

Gisborne

 Welcome to Kaitaia

Residents of the small Northland town of Kaitaia suffered $10,000 in damages after a ‘group’ of  10 tanked up kids rampaged through the town for three and a hlaf hours on Monday night last week.

Three and a half hours, where were the police all that time?

The Northern Advocate said:

“It is alleged the group involved in last week’s incident comprised 10 youths led by  a 16-year-old girl and included others aged 12, 13, 14 and 15.
Police have identified eight of the 10 suspected. Five are to appear in the Kaitaia Youth Court next month charged with burglary, receiving and shoplifting. Three others have been referred to the police Youth Aid section for their involvement.  Police are working to identify the other two.
Business owner Jack Rogers, of Rogers  & Rogers plumbing, said the alcohol-fuelled incident had left him with a $2600 repair bill for the window and another $1000 damage to items in the shop…
…Kaitaia police Detective Sergeant Trevor Beatson said the drama began about 7pm last Monday when the group targeted licensed premises. They allegedly drank the stolen alcohol and returned to the main street about 10.30pm and continued their trail of destruction until 2am the following day.
At one hotel they stole the entire “top shelf” and cleared out about 40 bottles of spirits, police said. They also made off with nearly 90 bottles of beer and 80 bottles of mixers.
“Where were the parents of these young people, and what were they thinking letting their  girls into town after 10pm on a Monday night?” Mr Beatson said.”

Good question, but where were the police?

“There is a lot of concern in our community about this type of offending. The businesses who were targeted have expressed their outrage to police, at the clear lack of parental control and ability of parents to look after their children.”
Mr Beatson said the community was angry about the damage and their stolen property, but were mostly angry at parents who failed to control their children…”

The real problem is that the adults are incapable of controlling themselves.

Kaitaia has already got a terrible reputation as a place not be once the sun starts to set.
It was a group of adults that hurled racist abuse and bottles at a family of Swiss tourists taking a short stroll into town on evening.  The editor of the Northland Age said it was time the streets were cleaned up:

“This is not the first time that something approaching mob rule has been experienced in Kaitaia. Some years ago an English visitor, a tank commander no less, abandoned a walk through the town’s streets on a summer’s evening after encountering numbers of young people whose demeanour was so threatening as to raise questions, in his mind at least, regarding his safety.

It is time the streets were cleaned up. “

Some of the locals live in fear and have been forced to leave the town. A  reader contacted the Northern Age to say she had been the subject of racial abuse from teenagers in Matthews Road whilst driving her two young grandchildren along the road. A gang of youths had battered her car and hurled insults. She reported the incident to the police but had heard nothing back:

“The woman added that she had thought Kaitaia was a “pretty threatening place” when she arrived in the town 13 years ago, but had now reached the point where she was encouraging her daughter and son-in-law to take their family and leave.“I’m not doing that just because of this incident, but because I don’t think this is going to be a good place to live,” she said.
The change that she believed had taken place over the last 13 years, she added, was that the racist attitudes that had probably always existed were now being openly displayed.”

In November a 70 year old grandmother was beaten to death in her Kaitaia home by an intruder. Before her death Barbara Julian had told her niece that she was thinking about leaving town because people in the street had been frightening her.
The sad truth is that Kaitaia suffers from the same problems that afflict many New Zealand’s socially and economically deprived communities, there are ‘Kaitaias’ all over New Zealand.
Take for example Gisborne, another small town on the mid-east coast of the North Island.  You may wish to read our post from 14 April 2010 “Armed Robbery and Drugs, 80% or more smoke weed in Gisborne” and read some of the comments readers made to the Gisborne Herald about their town’s drug problem:

Marijuana and the lost generation
“I am writing with regard to the recent drug bust in Gisborne. I know that probably 80 percent (or more)of the town smoke weed, or think there is nothing wrong with it.
However, you just have to look around to see the effects of the generational abuse of marijuana and other drugs around our area.

Dilapidated homes, no one caring enough to do anything, the kids roaming around with no parents who give a damn, generations of welfare recipients, crime at all levels, car accidents, general apathy relating to just about everything.
The mental health issues, people who fly into rages and can’t handle everyday reality because of constantly being stoned. Kids at school stoned, or not at school at all.

The experience of taking my child to a public toilet where before us a school kid (in uniform) had been inside getting stoned.
Going to town with my young children and walking past carloads of people parked up smoking weed.

The young mother all of 17-years-old in a store so stoned she could barely speak with her passed out baby in her arms . . . no doubt they had just been ‘toking’ in the car, too!

I don’t personally know the people involved in the recent drugs bust no, but I expect they had children who would have been exposed to it. Their drugs would be sold to people who are already dependent, or maybe young people just starting out. Home detention is a joke. Drug dealing is not OK, no matter how many times people try to justify it!

It’s about time people stood up and realised it, although I do know that in Gizzy it is a big call. I know that we have other “evils” such as alcohol and tobacco, too, but I personally think that marijuana is one of our biggest problems by far, especially on the coast.“

another reader added:

“Drug problem being handed down
Well spoken “Angry” regarding marijuana and the lost generation, The Gisborne Herald, March 24.
Most people have absolutely no idea just how much drugs in all forms are affecting a large percentage of our people right here in Gisborne.
If you know what to look for (most don’t) you will certainly see affected people all over the place, in the city, in supermarkets and at gas stations etc. As stated by “Angry” carloads sitting around smoking cannabis and “P” in public.
The saddest thing about this is that this behaviour is being handed down to children big-time.
If a couple have this problem then their four to six children will also and so to their children which collectively add up to about 24 persons and this has been going on for generations.
The money that is able to be made from drugs supports a large number of people in many ways right here in Gisborne.
The people I am talking about number in the hundreds and are so deep in the lifestyle that it is too late for them.
Far too much cheek-turning is going on and if this social tolerance continues, well who knows where it will end up?
But have a look at the lifestyles of the people who live in the ‘Bronx’ because that’s where it’s heading for sure.
Drugs, then large unemployment because of drug habits, followed by violence, along with all forms of abuse and family crises.
That’s where it’s headed.”

But that is just two towns out of the whole of the country! you say, you can’t judge a whole country by that.

But there are too many other places with the same problem for the pattern to ignored.

Places like Huntly, dogged by rampant crime. The small towns of Hawke’s Bay – Napier, Flaxmere and Hastings where in the latter a gang of kids smashed their way through the CBD at 4am. Small villages like Mapua where a brawl over the Easter weekend involving 30 people in the early hours of the morning prompted residents to call for a greater police presence.

There are no signs of it abating either, the once cohesive small communities that used to be the backbone of  New Zealand are rapidly falling apart, crime and disorder are out of control, drug and alcohol abuse are rife and the country lacks the resources to stop it.

Read also links sent by a reader:
Murupara - NZ's wild frontier towns populated with gangsters and bored hoodlums loitering on the streets.

Parents act over school plagued by violence -  Parents have been forced to take their children's education into their own hands at Rangitahi College, Murupara. The school is plagued by drug use, violence and the abuse of teachers and students.

Teachers face rise in class violence (2003) - Education Ministry figures  showed 395 stand-downs last year (2002) for attacks on teachers..."teenagers are more prepared to stand up for their rights these days."

Hundreds of teachers assaulted in NZ schools (2010) - 777 teachers were assaulted at work during 2008/9. 442 of them required ACC funded treatment for their injuries. This included a teacher who was stabbed in the back by a pupil during a lesson but doesn't include Lois Dear who was battered to death in her classroom.

"Some teachers were too scared to do lunchtime duty alone and had resorted to supervising in pairs."
 

Today's posts - click here

"Christchurch, New Zealand, Sucks"

In the Vox Pop series we look at posts from around the web where people talk honestly about living in New Zealand.

Todays entries are taken from the Christchurch forum on Topix. 

"Christchurch , New Zealand Sucks"

"Moved here 4 years ago from london,Used to be a happy young positive person, but living in the city where everyone is pessimistic and unhappy starts to grind at you after a while, Im starting to become more negative, being around such depressing people its hard to stay positive. I can safely say, I HATE THIS CITY"

- "Four years? I doff my hat to you. I wouldn't have lasted four months before the boredom killed me. Have you though about moving to Australia? It's warm and the people are friendly. Otherwise, Wellington is a bit more lively."

- "yeap its amazing here here, under-employment is just fan-friggin-tastic, not much else to do except get drunk or drink coffee when if you don't have work (if you have any at all). great times all round here.[/sarcasm]
Pessimism is at all time high, and not without reason, this is a hell-hole full of violence, alchoholism, and boredom."

But isn't this thread a 'one off' surely Christchurch can't be that bad, and one town doesn't define a country...does it? there's more:

"Drunkeness In Christchruch"

"What is up with all the young adults these days? Do they even remember what they did the night before? How can they handle beening seen vomiting/urinating?
It is like the young adults of 2day have no morals or self respect, what is your view??

-"The new NZ culture. Shoot them. Allow for us to get our safe rep back."

-"The real underlying problem is that NZ is very boring and people are in NZ society are conditioned to lack the confidence to find something out of the square to stimulate themselves.
It's also what's behind the boy-racing."

-"Its funny that since this thread has been started over 3 months ago no New Zealander has tried to contradict it. Everyone deep down knows that the young NZers have no morals, self respect, or brains.
My generation(Y) are a bunch of lazy dumbed down retards with nothing in their lives except alchohol. No-one my age (and even older,for that)in NZ seems to be very knowledgeable about anything these days. It seems their parents werent extremely intelligent to start with and their offspring have learnt even less from them and havent been bothered to learn any more.
Drunkenness is rampant not just in Christchurch, but throughout NZ. Alot of it probbibly does have to do with NZ being quite a boring place as Daniel has said. No-one seems to be motivated enough or have enough initiative to change the place abit though.
I grew up in a small town north of Auckland until I was 18 and have lived in Auckland itself for a short time and the level of astoundingly stupid drunken behaviour in both cities is disgusting. Couple the rampant alcoholism with high unemployment, pollution, obesity, suicide rates, crime statistics, and teen pregnancy and you have all the ingrediants to a recipe for disaster.
New Zealand has a very bleak future and im glad I wont be here for it."

-"Yea moteote I moved out more than 16 years ago and I am glad I am not there now thats for sure. Its just full of bogans."

 For more posts about Christchurch click here


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Hundreds Of Teachers Assaulted In NZ Schools

It's good to know that the days of investigative journalism aren't quite over, yet, in New Zealand.

The Dom post has used the Official Information Act to find out how many school staff received ACC funded treatment following an assault at school and put that together with Ministry of Education figures for 2008, to reveal that at least 777 teachers were assaulted whilst at work during 2008/9 (that's without the figures for non-treatment assaults in 2009):

"Hundreds of teachers have received ACC-funded treatment after being assaulted at school.

Principals are shocked by the figure and are demanding immediate action to make schools safer.

Some school staff now fear breaking up fights in case pupils have weapons, and others refuse to do lunchtime duty alone.

A teacher injured during a school attack says that staff will always be at risk from "nutters".

Figures issued to The Dominion Post under the Official Information Act show that 442 teachers needed ACC-funded treatment after assaults at school during 2008 and 2009, costing about $413,000.

Latest Education Ministry figures show there were a further 335 pupil assaults on teachers in 2008 that did not require ACC-funded treatment.

The most expensive individual claim was for a 2008 assault, worth about $124,000. ACC refused to provide details about the incident.

The two largest assault claims last year were about $40,000 and $45,000.

A secondary school teacher seriously injured in a classroom attack last year fears he will never make a full recovery. He has spinal injuries, suffers constant pain and tires easily."

We suspect that this teacher may be the one who was stabbed in the back whilst teaching at Avondale College in March 2009 (see link)

"I am able to work only part-time hours because of the injury I sustained to my spinal cord. I have a pronounced limp in the leg that was paralysed and my neurosurgeon cannot say for sure that I will ever make a full recovery. Some situations still trigger flashbacks of the incident.

"As an avid sportsman, my lifestyle has had to undergo many changes which I am having trouble accepting.

"I think anyone in a job that fronts the public is at risk from the nutters that exist in our society, people who lack awareness of the damage they can inflict or lack conscience."

The report's figures don't go back far enough to include Lois Dear who was battered to death and sexually assaulted in her classroom in 2006 (link)

The Post Primary Teachers Association, a union representing about 18,000 teachers and principals, says that unless classrooms are made safer, teachers will leave the profession.

"It is a serious issue and I can't see the problem going away, but there are no easy answers," spokeswoman Jill Gray said.

Solutions are rarely easy but that doesn't mean they can't, or shouldn't, be tackled. 

"Some teachers were too scared to do lunchtime duty alone and had resorted to supervising in pairs.

"I find it very sad that it has come to this, but hopefully these figures really highlight the issue and get some action started..."

How long has this been a problem for? Search for our posts under the tag School Violence.

A golden opporunity to so something about bad behaviour in schools was passed up on at the Behaviour Summit in March 2009. Some of you may remember that we said in September:

"At the end of the summit a number of priorities for action were agreed on:

• Ownership of the issue and improve collaboration between families, communities, government agencies and schools.
• Early intervention – working with children in the early stages of life and in the first stages of things going wrong in their lives.
• Initial teacher education and sustained teacher professional development to provide the skills required to manage extreme behaviour.
• Stronger emphasis on getting it right for Maori students.
• More support for successful evidence based programmes such as Incredible Years.
• Share the evidence about what works.

Earlier this month (September) the Minister of Education - Ann Tolley announced that the Taumata’s cross-sector planning group had handed her a draft Behaviour and Learning Action plan and that she was discussing it with them. She said "The potential impact is great - for kids, families, teachers and our communities. The Plan is based on better use of current funding and re-aligns current funding and services to evidence of what works."

So, it's now five months after the summit and the plan has still to get any further than the discussion stage.

Meanwhile acts of school violence have been continuing, culminating in two school invasions this week - the ultimate disruptive classroom behaviour. What a pity that the issue of bullying - both in schools and in the wider community - seemed to have been dismissed during the summit. A golden opportunity has slipped away and the issue seems to be destined to be skirted around ad nasuem."

Who'd be a teacher in NZ?

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Are Girls Safe At School?

From the Bay of Plenty Times by Carly Undy:

"An alleged beating at a Bay school is a reflection of a rising trend in violence among young females, experts say.

A Western Bay parent is challenging Katikati College's zero-tolerance stance on bullying,
claiming her daughter was beaten up at school by other girls and the culprits only given lunchtime detentions. The  allegation comes as Bay social agencies say they are seeing  more violent offending among young women...

The incident at Katikati College on November 3 was said to have been filmed and  seen by "most" of the school, although college principal Peter Leggat said  incident  had not been as severe as claimed..."

Since when was "Zero Tolerance" dependent on perceived severity? we were unaware that there was a range for the value 'Zero'. What message is this sending out to kids?

Read the full article here.

For other blog posts about school violence and bullying please see other entries under the tag of School Violence. Also:
Another school attack, this time in Fielding
Stabbing brings calls for school security
Practical solutions needed to address violence in schools - Says PPTA president
School violence blamed on corporal punishment removal
Racial sensitivity may have caused classroom stabbing
Ryotaro Wright attacked at Forest View High School
Mairehau School goes into lock down as shots fired
NZ schools put children on path to crime
Gang fight at a Wellington school - Hutt Valley High School
Violence In New Zealand's Schools: Delay In Acting Upon The Behaviour Summit

Today's posts - click here

Another School Attack, This Time In Feilding

This is thought to be the fourth such attack this week in what is turning out to be an alarming increase in school violence and disorder in New Zealand. Feilding is approximately 20 km north of Palmerston North :

View Larger Map

By Jonathon Howe- The Manawatu Standard 4 Sept

"Feilding High School principal Roger Menzies has applauded the actions of two students who staved off an attack by a group of outsiders on a fellow pupil.

A 13-year-old boy who was not a Feilding High pupil confronted a Year 9 Feilding High School boy outside the school about 3.20pm on Wednesday.

The 13-year-old turned up at the school with a group of older males, some believed to be in their 20s.The year 9 student was assaulted but two Feilding High boys stepped in to stop the attack.

"Basically there was an assault of a student and our kids went to support him, which was pretty good, I think," Mr Menzies said."It's good to see students helping other kids. Our kids did well to defuse it."

No-one was seriously injured in the after-school brawl, despite one of the outsiders brandishing a tyre iron. Mr Menzies said the reason for the attack was "beyond him" but the Manawatu Standard understands the incident was related to a similar fight at the school on Tuesday afternoon.

Mr Menzies said he had given the two boys "a pat on the back" for their efforts.

Staff on duty outside the school grounds before and after school would be keeping an eye out for further trouble, he said. A 17-year-old girl, who saw the fight but did not wish to be named, said the "outsiders" appeared to be a group of skinheads.

The fight took place at the North St bus stops but she said the buses were unable to pull in because the crowd watching the fight was so dense.

"As soon as teachers showed up, it started dispersing. Then police arrived and people were being pulled away."

The 13-year-old assailant has been spoken to by police and will be referred to Youth Aid services. Senior Sergeant Nigel Allan said a 23-year-old Feilding man connected to the incident had been arrested and charged with the possession of an offensive weapon.

He will appear in the Feilding District Court on September 16.

Mr Allan said about 150 students were milling around during the fight but only four or five were involved in it.

"It seems to be an isolated incident and we've had some discussions with the school."

For details on the other attacks see:
Another schoolgirl brawl in Wellington Mall
Bishop Viard College: Second attack in a school this week
Armed teenagers storm Lynfield College and attack student

See also:
Stabbing brings calls for school security
Practical solutions needed to address violence in schools - Says PPTA president
School violence blamed on corporal punishment removal
Racial sensitivity may have caused classroom stabbing
Ryotaro Wright attacked at Forest View High School
Mairehau School goes into lock down as shots fired
NZ schools put children on path to crime
Gang fight at a Wellington school - Hutt Valley High School

For today's posts click here

Lynfield College News Video

Social networking sites to blame?

Mother is angry that the youths were able to get onto the school grounds.

See also: Toran Henry and Hutt Valley High School

For today's posts click here

Another Schoolgirl Brawl - In Wellington Mall

yahoo.co.nz

"There has been another ugly incident involving two groups of school students in Wellington.
Police say they attended an incident at Westfield mall in Lower Hutt yesterday afternoon because of reports of fighting between two groups of girls. One witness described seeing some of the students from rival schools in the Hutt Valley having blood on their school uniforms.
Police made no arrests as the 30 to 40 girls involved in the fight ran off as officers arrived."
No word yet about the schools that were involved.
Update: One report on Huttnz.co.nz alleged that the schools involved were Hutt Valley High School and Wainuiomata High School. This has yet to be confirmed officially.
Residents of Wainuiomata were recently banned from a hotel in Palmerston North for 'bad behaviour' and HVHS was involved in a stoush in February after which 9 people were arrested for unlawful assembly.
See also: "Schools may leave pupils to brawl - Teachers who feel unsafe breaking up fights may leave brawling pupils to it, as schools try to cope with a surge in incidents involving weapons."
For today's posts click here

Violence In New Zealand's Schools: Delay In Acting Upon The Behaviour Summit

In March of this year a Taumata Whanonga - 'Behaviour Summit' was held at Te Papa in Wellington to discuss student behaviour in schools.

The conference needed to focus on bullying and intolerance because a major international report released in December last year ranked New Zealand second worst (to Tunisia) among 35 countries for bullying in primary schools with rates more than 50 percent above the international average. In New Zealand 33% of children answered yes to three or more questions on bullying compared to an international average of 18%.

At the time (December 08) Auckland paediatrician and former Children's Commissioner Ian Hassall said the high rates of bullying reflected a "punitive culture".

Inquiries into school bullying were already underway by the Children's Commissioner and the Human Rights Commission and briefing papers had been issued which assured that a Behaviour Summit had been scheduled for March 2009.

The Summit went ahead as scheduled and was organised by the New Zealand Principals Federation, Secondary Principals Association, New Zealand Education Institute, Post Primary Teachers Association, New Zealand School Trustees Association, Early Childhood Council, NZEI Principals Council, NZ Secondary Principals Council and the Ministry of Education. It also involved principals, teachers, unions, government agencies, school boards, parents, police, early childhood services and community organisations.
The event concentrated on the 4-7% of students (from all ethinicities and of both genders) whose dysfuctional behaviour presented huge challenges for society. At the end of the two days it was agreed that no-one seemed to be in charge of the issues dysfunctional children presented for families, schools and the community. Despite all the calls for coherent approaches to these issues nothing had ever been achieved.
The Office of the Children's Commissioner went ahead and launched its 'Child Safety Inquiry' at the summit but the Minister "noted that the meeting was not about bullying". The delegates were given a copy of the document but it was considered to be "a distraction from the more systemic issues the behaviour summit was set up to address" and was therefore probably unread by many of the attendees.

At the end of the summit a number of priorities for action were agreed on:

• Ownership of the issue and improve collaboration between families, communities, government agencies and schools.
• Early intervention – working with children in the early stages of life and in the first stages of things going wrong in their lives.
• Initial teacher education and sustained teacher professional development to provide the skills required to manage extreme behaviour.
• Stronger emphasis on getting it right for Maori students.
• More support for successful evidence based programmes such as Incredible Years.
• Share the evidence about what works.

Earlier this month the Minister of Education - Ann Tolley announced that the Taumata’s cross-sector planning group had handed her a draft Behaviour and Learning Action plan and that she was discussing it with them. She said "The potential impact is great - for kids, families, teachers and our communities. The Plan is based on better use of current funding and re-aligns current funding and services to evidence of what works."

So, it's now five months after the summit and the plan has still to get any further than the discussion stage.

Meanwhile acts of school violence have been continuing, culminating in two school invasions this week - the ultimate disruptive classroom behaviour. What a pity that the issue of bullying - both in schools and in the wider community - seemed to have been dismissed during the summit. A golden opportunity has slipped away and the issue seems to be destined to be skirted around ad nasuem.

Bullying and intolerance certainly seems to have been major factors in both of the school invasions and the assault on a Thai student from Avondale College and the Korean student who was attacked at a school bus stop and every teacher's nightmare - to be stabbed by one of their own students which is what happened to David Warren at Avondale College. It can only be a matter of time before there is another fatality at a school, the last being the death of 66 year old Lois Dear in her classroom at Strathmore primary school

See also:"a sad record - school fights and brawls"

For today's posts click here

"Everyday 'Race Hate' Rife in Christchurch"

By JO McKENZIE-McLEAN - The Press, 3 September 2009

"An attack on a Thai girl, who was beaten up by fellow pupils on a bus, is part of everyday "race hate" in Christchurch, a homestay parent says.
Paul Stratford said the Avonside Girls' High School pupil arrived at his house distressed and covered in blood after being beaten up on the bus after school on Monday.

The assault comes after a South Korean pupil had a knife held to his throat and was kicked to the ground in an unprovoked attack at a Christchurch bus stop last week.

In the latest assault, the year 13 pupil was beaten by two younger girls in Avonside uniforms as she left the bus. She had never spoken to the pair, Stratford said.

"They were punching her in the head as she was getting off the bus," he said.

"They were telling her to 'f... off back to her own country'. She is horribly upset."

Stratford said the bus driver reported the incident to the school, which notified the police.
Avonside principal Theresa Shaughnessy last night confirmed there was an incident involving three pupils, but there were "no racial overtones".
She said the incident was being dealt with "very seriously" and declined to comment further.

The victim was a girlfriend of one of Stratford's two homestay pupils, both of whom had been beaten up.

One had had a tooth knocked out when he was punched in the face in June at The Palms Shopping Centre, Stratford said.
The attacks had left the pupils feeling vulnerable and too scared to leave the house by themselves, he said.

"I know a lot of Asian girls who don't like catching the bus because they often get bullied."

Stratford, a New Zealander married to a Thai woman, with whom he has two young children, said his wife was regularly the victim of racial abuse.

"It's not just students. My wife has been spat at while she's out walking the pram," he said.

"I don't think many people are aware that these race-hate incidents and violent attacks are everyday occurrences," he said.

Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres said race-hate crimes were a problem not just in Christchurch but around the country and were occurring more often than was reported to police.
"It's becoming more and more urgent for police to gather data of racial abuse," he said. "The Government does agree but has said it's not a priority."
People needed to report their experience and schools needed a culture of tolerance and respect, he said."
See other posts about NZ's racism problem here: Racism
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Bishop Viard College: Second Attack In A School This Week

The New Zealand Herald is this morning reporting another violent invasion of a school - Bishop Viard School in Porirua.

It's too early to say whether this is a copycat of Tuesday's invasion of Lynfield College, or whether it's a manifestation of the rising violence in New Zealand's schools. It comes just weeks after a massive brawl at an Auckland Grammar School v. Kelston Boys rugby match in which up to to 100 students and drunken spectators took part.

In March 50 year old teacher David Warren, a teacher, was stabbed in the back by a student whilst teaching a class at at Avondale College, Auckland and in July 2006 66 year old Lois Dear, a teacher at Strathmore School was sexually assaulted and murdered in her classroom.

Bishop Viard School describes itself as "an integrated co-educational Catholic school providing a Christian learning environment for Forms 1-7 (Year 7 - 13) students and encompasses the parishes of Elsdon, Plimmerton, Porirua, Tawa and Titahi Bay, Viard reflects the community view that its young people should be educated in a particular and special environment."

Thursday Sep 03, 2009
By Alanah May Eriksen with Newstalk ZB, From NZHerald.co.nz

"Police are investigating another incident at a secondary school.
About 20 boys, believed to be from Mana College in Porirua, allegedly went to Bishop Viard College at lunch time and threatened students on the rugby field. It is understood they were armed with a baseball bat.
The incident follows two attacks at two other secondary schools this week.
A student was attacked while he was attending class at Lynfield College in west Auckland and a Thai home stay student was beaten up on a bus in Christchurch by fellow Avonside Girls High School students.
The Lynfield College student who led a group of armed teenagers to a classroom where they beat up a 14-year-old boy has been suspended from school."

Read more of the report here: Police investigate another incident at secondary school
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Lynfield College Attack - Police Deal With Teens

Yahoo.co.nz
"Three teenagers have been referred to Police Youth Services after a group of youths stormed an Auckland high school classroom and attacked a pupil.
A further five have been reported to Police Youth Services following the attack on Monday at Lynfield College.
One of the attackers reportedly yelled out the name of an Afghani youth gang during the attack, which was possibly sparked by comments on the social networking website Bebo.
Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said police were called about 1pm on Monday to the attack on a student, who did not suffer any serious injuries but required medical treatment for cuts and bruises.
" Police located the group -- all aged between 14 and 16 -- off the school grounds," she said.
"Three have since been referred to Police Youth Services for aggravated assault and for unlawfully being on a property, with a view to holding family group conferences. Five have been reported to Youth Services in relation to the incident.""
Read the rest of the report here
Other blog posts about this incident : Armed teenagers storm Lynfield College
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Armed Teenagers Storm Lynfield College And Attack Student

Stuff.co.nz

"A group of teenagers has stormed West Auckland's Lynfield College and attacked a pupil, apparently after a war of words on the social networking website Bebo.
Witnesses say one of the attackers yelled out the name of an Afghan youth gang during the attack yesterday afternoon, One News reported.
Principal Steve Bovaird said a group of teenagers – not from Lynfield – burst through the door and attacked the pupil in front of other students and their teacher.
The student was punched a number of times and possibly kicked as well but escaped serious injuries.
One of the group had a softball bat and the conflict may stem from harsh words exchanged on the social networking site Bebo.
New Zealand's Afghan community leader Siraj Salarzi said the incident was very disappointing.
The youth should do something better to give the community and the Afghan people a good name, he said.

Up to five of the teenagers involved are students at Mount Roskill Grammar but yesterday was a term holiday and they were not under the school's care.

Officials say the school is limited in how it can punish them."

But it's up to the police to take investigate and take action. How on earth can a group of kids storm a school, attack a pupil in a classroom and be allowed to get away with it? How long before a video of the attack makes its way onto YouTube (as the video of the 'best fight of 2009' at Lynfield did a few days ago - worryingly the teacher seems powerless to stop it)

- Watch more
This recent assault is bound to re-kindle debates over teen violence and school security and it has already drawn appalling racist comments from people, some of whom can't resist making remarks about the Taliban - see the thread on Yahoo News Boards - "Afghani youth gang attacks student": which has comments like this one. "Who wants these raaaaaagheads in New Zealand let them go back to crushing rocks in their homeland and mutulating women"

This incident has similarities to a brawl that broke out at Hutt Valley High School in February of this year, when a group of adults and young people suspected of belonging to the "Wax Assassins" (a youth gang from Wainuiomata) invaded the school to settle a score with one of its students. Immediately after the fight security at the school was beefed up.

The recent spike in school violence in New Zealand has perversely been attributed to a lack of corporal punishment in schools, rather than an issue which needs to be addressed by the community as a whole.

Kelston Boys and Auckland Grammar Schools Students and Spectators In Punch Up

A truly disgusting display of violence from two of New Zealand's top high schools when over 100 people including students and spectators (some of them drunk) clashed in a mass punch up.

The cause was said to be racial insults and other taunts. It's time to send a message that violence will not be tolerated in NZ, neither will racism, and that a sense of fair play and sportsmanship still exists even at a junior level. Some of these kids may well be tomorrow's All Blacks.



Some public reactions to the brawl. These are of the very many answers to the question posed by the NZ Herald:

Schoolboy rugby brawl: is this reflective of our society?

Ashley (Auckland central)


Of course it is, but we've always been a violent society. It's pathetic really, at primary school the kids that are respected/feared are the bullies, and it's tolerated, even celebrated. Boys need to be tough and all that drivel. Once we change this mindset, from the primary level up, and make violence deplorable, then and only then will things change. Thuggery and machismo, what an unsophisticated and uncultured combination, and we have it in NZ in spades.

Nathan (St Lukes)

The school match spectator behaviour is becoming worse every year. What are we teaching our young people?
There used to be a word called sportmanship. If we cannot control the spectator behaviour adult spectators must be banned from the matches. Only the school students from participating should be allowed. The students behaviour should be monitored by school prefects and teachers. If parents cannot behave then I see no other alternative.

Doctor Don (Auckland)

I note in the video/pictures there was a young lady who was caught up in the brawl. While it appeared she was trying to separate players, one of the Kelston players struck out at her. This is disgusting and this player needs criminal charges to be placed against him.

What we saw is the reason why Auckland rugby are no longer the dominant force in NZ rugby. You have some lads of Pacific origins who are first twice the size of their European counterparts, and they are violent and resort to using their fists when things go wrong and they start losing.

The children from the Pacific have a natural talent, the kids with European backgrounds can analyse and run the game.but more and more leave the sport before they hit their physical maturity due to losing the desire, through being knocked out of the game.

Another Schoolkid, Mohammad Akif, Injured In Racist Attack. This Time At Linwood College, Christchurch

Mohammad Akif is 15 years old, he was beaten up by a group of unsupervised thugs in a corridor at Linwood College on Tuesday, the assault was said to have been captured by security cameras. He suffered a fractured cheekbone and various cuts and bruises in the attack. See Cameras capture racist attack

He'd only attending the Christchurch school for for two weeks and perhaps hadn't yet honed the skilled avoidance tactics that many immigrant children adopt. Racist taunts such as "curry chicken", "black Indian", "Indian boy" were also hurled at him but this probably wasn't the first time he'd heard those words spoken by those children.

His mother told The Press that this wasn't the first time her son had been the victim of racist abuse at the school and that other children in the Indian community had been bullied too.

The ironic thing is that Mohammad Akif and his family had moved to New Zealand to escape the violence of Suva where their home had been broken into several times by people with weapons. What on earth lead them to think that New Zealand was any safer? Only last month Ryotaro Wright was dumped on his head by 4 racist bullies at Forest View High School and needed surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain. He'd been called a "whale muncher".

Attacks on Indian people have happened many time in New Zealand, the situation got so bad for Indian students in Invercargill last year that mayor, Tim Shadbolt and chief executive of the Southland Institute of Technology Penny Simmonds arranged a meeting with local skinheads in an attempt to smooth things over. See Indian students subjected to racial abuse in New Zealand

Indian nationals in Auckland have also suffered from racist attacks: Nitesh Khanna was attacked on his way to work and Sunil Sharma (named changed) told DNAIndia that he often suffered racial abuse but felt powerless to do anything about it. See Now Indians face racism in Kiwiland. and "members of Indian community face far too much abuse"

A few days ago a study by Debbie Kohner was published and it showed that a staggering 90% of non-European people surveyed in the Nelson and Tasman area had suffered racial abuse of one form or another. See Survey on racial abuse in Nelson and Tasmin.

School bullying second worst in world
For some time now it's been acknowledged that New Zealand is the second worst country in the world for school bullying and that is reflective of a "punitive culture" within the country. See NZ scores second worst in world for bullying in schools. Combine that culture with overt, pig headed and insensitive racism in kids and it's a recipe for disaster, as Ryotaro and Mohammed have found out to their cost.

Our sympathies go out to Mohammad Akif, we hope he makes a full recovery from his ordeal.

Ryotaro Wright Attacked At Forest View High School

A number of news outlets are this morning carrying a story about another kid getting a beating - Ryotaro Wright a student of Forest View High School, Tokoroa who was actually attacked whilst at school.

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Google Street View: Forest View High School

"Whale muncher"
The allegations are that Ryotaro was dropped on his head by four bullies and his father told the NZ Herald yesterday:

"his son had been racially abused by four students over the past few weeks, including being called "whale muncher".
"I think they just think Asians are physically smaller than average Kiwis so it makes them easy targets. He's the type of boy who doesn't react normally, he sort of brushes things off."
On Tuesday morning, however, Wright believed his son was defending a friend.
"This big guy turned around and picked up Ryotaro and dropped him. I was told that these boys have been trying to bait Ryotaro for a while."

Forest View High School, whose motto is "Courage Knows No Defeat", recently honoured Ryotaro in its Premium Student Achievement Awards. He achieved the Year 9 JCEA with excellence having achieved at least 40 credits of the minimum 70 credits at the Excellence Level.
The attack left him with a potentially fatal blood clot which required surgery to remove, he may also suffer long term effects from a brain injury.
All Blacks members Richard Kahui and Ian Foster are both ex students of the school.

NZ second worst in world for school bullying

New Zealand recently scored second worst in the world for school bullying, ranking 34 out of 35 countries in a major international study.
Auckland paediatrician Ian Hassall said the high rates of bullying reflected a "punitive culture". Mr Hassall used to be the Children's Commissioner

"It's not just children who are bullied; adults bully as well," Hassall said. "We do have a punitive society that rather believes in punishing people and threatening them, so it's not surprising that children pick up on this and go punishing one another."

Other recent incidents

The attack comes just days after two sisters aged 13 and 14 were arrested after a mob attack at Fairfield College, Hamilton which took place last Wednesday.

There was a spate of seemingly random attacks on teenagers in June, see: Brutal attacks on teens. One of the attacks was on a 15 year old Thai student from Marlborough Boys' College who was punched repeatedly in the face.

In February two particularly disturbing incidents occured:

• A 10 year old boy threatened to commit suicide by jumping from the roof of the Ascot Community School, Invercargill after he was bullied.

• An alleged gang fight involving members of the "Wax Assassins" broke out at Hutt Valley High School.

In August 2008 2 year 9 pupils from a Lower Hutt College were suspended after luring a 15 year old boy to a train station where he was beaten and left for dead.

See also:
news reports on the death of Takapuna Grammar School pupil Toran Henry


For today's posts see: latest posts

Mairehau School Goes Into Lock Down As Shots Fired

Mairehau High School went into lock down at around 11.30am today after reports of shots heard in the vicinity of a property on Hills Road, Christchurch. There were no reports of casualties and both the lock down and police cordon were lifted shortly after.
Update: According to NZCity two 19 year olds were later arrested for discharging a firearm near a dwelling.

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The incident may have caused alarm to many of the residents because the school is approximately 7 km from Wadhurst Place, the street where paraplegic man Shayne Richard Sime went on the rampage with a shotgun and rifle on Sunday night.

Sime, who held a firearms licence, was later shot dead by police after a 4 hour siege, during which over 100 rounds of ammunition were discharged and a member of the public and a police officer were injured.

Almost 2 months ago the town of Napier hit the world news headlines when gunman Jan Molenaar holed up in his house and killed a police officer and seriously injured 3 other people.

There are an estimated 230,000 licensed firearms owners in New Zealand, the number of weapons in circulation is unknown but is thought to exceed 1.1 million. For background see: Armed sieges and gun politics in New Zealand.

For today's posts see: latest posts

Armed Robbery At Girls High School

The story couldn't be sat on any longer and press reports were buzzing today with news of an armed hold up just after the lunch break two days ago (Wednesday, can this be news when it's already two days old?) at Epsom Girls Grammar School in the centre of Auckland.

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An Armourguard employee was threatened with a gun by two men who stole a security box that contained the week's takings from the school.

The guard gave chase in his van but the getaway vehicle (a stolen Nissan Elgrand) was later found abandoned in a nearby Almorah Road, a quiet residential street. It's frightening to think that an armed robbery occured in such a densely populated area in broad daylight. There are some reports that two students were narrowly missed by the stolen van as it sped away from the school, which then went in to lockdown.


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Armed hold-ups have been prevalent in New Zealand for some time but this is thought to be the first time that a school has been targeted during the day.

Security guards and police officers do not carry firearms in New Zealand.

Bullied Boy Tries to Jump From School Roof

From ODT

"A full-scale emergency response was sparked when a 10-year-old boy threatened to jump from the roof of a school building in Invercargill yesterday.

Senior Sergeant Dave Raynes of Invercargill Police said police, fire and paramedics were called to Ascot Community School at 11.45am after the boy threatened to jump from the roof of a single-storeyed building.

He was coaxed down by police investigators and taken to Invercargill police station, where he was to meet with mental health services.

It was understood the boy had been a victim of bullying about burns he had suffered in a house fire two years ago."

Comment:

Its appalling that a child as young as 10 was so repeatedly viticimised at school that he was driven to suicide.
In March of 2008 teenager Toran Henry, 17, died suddenly after he was beaten up in a fight videoed by Takapuna Grammar students.

Gang fight at a Wellington School

More evidence that gang activities and violent behaviour in New Zealand's schools are getting out of control:

Source NZ Herald

"A 23-year-old man has pleaded guilty to a charge of unlawful assembly, following a brawl in the grounds of Hutt Valley High School yesterday.

Police said a series of fights broke out shortly before 3pm after a group of three adults and six youths arrived at the school and confronted a student about a previous fight.

The school field erupted into a brawl when about 30 students went to aid their schoolmate.

About a dozen police were needed to quell the fighting and arrest the nine members of the group, who the school's principal said were wearing gang colours.

All nine were charged with unlawful assembly."
One of the 2,000 students at the school has published a video of the incident, believed to have been started by gang called the "Wax Assassins", on YouTube but it was removed soon afterwards.
However, there was an independent account of the stoush on topnews.net by Kohia Dennison which included the photograph shown above:

"After a Hutt High School student was attacked on a college sports field, nine people have been arrested.
It should be mentioned here that the three adults and six youth aged 14-17, who were not associated with college and have been charged with unlawful assembly. They will appear in court tomorrow.
Following a series of fights, which broke out just before 3pm, more than a dozen officers arrived at a spot.
During the violent fight, a cut was received by one female student after a rock was thrown at her.
It was confirmed by inspector Geoff Gwyn; Lower Hutt Police Response Manager that group confronted a student about a previous altercation involving a friend.
Mr. Gwyn said, "The group had been told to leave the college grounds earlier this morning but returned this afternoon and sought out the student. Scuffles broke out after 30 or so students went to aid their schoolmate."

The "Wax Assassins" are a youth gang from Wainuiomata with links to the Mongrel Mob

Human Rights Abuses at the school

An article on the Asia Pacific Forum.net website recently highlighted human rights abuses and bullying at the school, whereby boys were dragged onto the school field and violated by their classmates.

Concerned parents reported the incident to the Human Rights Commissioner and calls were made for a national enquiry into pupil safety and school violence:

"The Human Rights Commission is to investigate schools' anti-bullying policies to see whether children's rights to safety are being protected.
The move follows calls for a national inquiry by parents of bullying victims at Hutt Valley High School. The investigation is linked to a study by the children's commissioner into pupil safety and school violence.
Chief Human Rights Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan agreed to analyse children's human rights concerns after meeting Hutt Valley parents. Her report will focus on "the right to safety and security of the person, the right to education and the rights of victims".
It will consider how human rights are addressed by schools' anti-bullying policies and make recommendations in situations in which policies are not protecting children.
The Government unveiled anti-bullying initiatives this year after a spate of school violence.

Documents issued under the Official Information Act show Education Minister Chris Carter called for urgent action amid fears that schools were not treating bullying as a priority.

Last December nine Hutt Valley High School boys were dragged to the ground and violated by a pack of six classmates.

The victims' parents wrote to the Human Rights Commission alleging a "systematic failure" by state agencies responsible for protecting children. They asked for a national inquiry into violence and human rights abuses in schools.
The commission has agreed to assist Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro's school safety investigation, which is due to be issued in February.
The Hutt Valley parents' spokesman welcomed the investigations, saying playground violence was "a much broader issue than one school ... We're talking about child abuse".