Chinese Dairy Owner Stabbed In Napier

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Napier was buzzing yesterday when parts of the town were closed off following the stabbing of a dairy owner on Latham Street. People on the Trademe boards identified the business as the Vigor Brown Dairy, owned by a Chinese family:

“It was the Vigor Brown dairy. There is nothing to see, the shop is now shut. And if you look at the photo on the news online it is that one.
My sister near ran over the guy at Marewa as he was being chased by cops he slid off his bicycle and went under her car before she could get out to see if he was ok he had taken off again with cops chasing behind!
My thoughts go out to the man and his family. Last I heard he was in stable condition.”

Official news reports simply stated:

“Napier police are hunting a man after a dairy owner was stabbed during a robbery this morning.
The Latham Street dairy was robbed about 11am, Napier police said.
They would not confirm that a person had been stabbed but said a knife may have been involved.
A photographer at the scene told NZPA the dairy owner was taken away by an ambulance and a trail of blood was visible in the dairy.
Police were searching for a “skinny” Maori man wearing dark pants, a blue hoodie with white writing on the sleeves and white shoes.”

Reports today confirmed that the man was a Chinese national in his 40s and that he was stabbed in the neck and shoulder and cut on the head.

Our thoughts go out to the injured man and his family, we wish him a full and speedy recovery.
Unfortunately armed robbery has become a widespread problem in New Zealand, hardly a day goes by without one happening somewhere, a symptom of a society with a wide gulf between the haves and the have nots.

The attack came two days after a number of Asian people were held-up at knife point when a man went on the rampage in the Christchurch suburb of Riccarton see here for details

We keep a list of all the armed hold-ups we get to hear about, you can find it here

Despite propaganda to the contrary Crime rates in New Zealand are very high. Says who? well the OECD for one. They say “New Zealand is second only to Ireland in 26 OECD countries in internationally comparable data on vehicle, theft and contact crimes. 22% of New Zealanders experienced such a crime in a 12-month period, compared to an OECD average of 16%.”

You’re far more likely to experience this type of crime in New Zealand than in almost any other country in the OECD.

In 2009 crime in New Zealand rose by 3.5 percent, there were 9% more violent offences – over 65,000. There were 65 murders, up 25% over the previous year, the highest figure for 10 years 10 years.  Serious assaults were  up 6% and minor assaults increased nearly 12% source

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Dumb Down, If You Want To Get A Job In NZ

Edward Gay in The Herald is telling the story of a graduate who was allegedly told to by the Department of Work and Income ( WINZ) to remove her degree and experience from her CV if she wanted to find short term work.

"Work and Income staff told a woman with a university bachelor degree to "dumb down" her CV before applying for jobs.

Natalie Meehan hopes to join the Navy later this year and said she wanted to take on some short-term employment before the next in-take later in the year.

She went into her local WINZ office in Napier for help finding a job or a short-term allowance and was told to remove her Bachelor degree and any mention of her two administration jobs from her CV before approaching prospective employers at Pak'n Save and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Work and Income deputy chief executive Patricia Reade said the WINZ case manager was trying to help Natalie target her CV at the kinds of jobs available for short term periods...

Ms Meehan said

"They said in order to get interviews I would have to dumb down my CV.
She said she hoped to get some part-time temping work but the WINZ officer told her to apply for jobs that do not require qualifications including Pak'n Save and KFC.

"She said: Make it look like you're completely unqualified because otherwise employers in Napier will feel like they're less qualified than you," she said.

Ms Meehan is living with her parents before she joins the Navy but said she felt sorry for anyone who had to pay their own way.

"What are you supposed to do?" She said.

Ms Meehan emailed the Minister of Social Development Paula Bennett and told her what happened. She said she also asked the Minister to look into the practice of WINZ staff telling people to leave qualifications off their CV.

A spokeswoman for Ms Bennet told nzherald.co.nz the Minister did not approve of people "dumbing down" their CVs.

She said the Minister was looking into Ms Meehan's case.

Ms Reade said WINZ did its best to help Ms Meehan. She said the Hawkes Bay Regional Manager will meet with Natalie to discuss her concerns."

Back in May WINZ  struck up a deal with global fast food giant McDonalds to provide 6,000 new jobs in New Zealand over the next three years.

The arrangement was later changed to allow for 7,000  McDonalds jobs to be advertised and trained for by the Department of Work and Income over the next 5 years. The Dom Post told its readers that “McDonald’s restaurants will receive up to $16,000 a year of taxpayers’ money every time it recruits a beneficiary under a partnership with Work and Income".

That's a $112 million bill for the tax payers (see "Would You Like A Future With That? The Burgerization of McZealand, Up To $16,000 A Head (updated) for the full story")
At the time MP Jacinda Arden asked the minister of youth affairs Paula Bennett this question across the floor of parliament:

“Will the Minister adopt any ideas other than those generated by McDonald’s, such as those ideas generated by the Youth Jobs Summit I hosted last week, including greater investment in skills and training, lifting the cap for tertiary education, and introducing a guaranteed employment or training scheme for the long-term unemployed under the age of 25 years, given that the Minister sees the power of working together to create creative solutions?”

Was this the best they could come up with? Is a job with a fast food company a career for life which will give all Kiwis higher wages and a brighter future? and was this THE initiative that will give “young New Zealanders a country that they’ll want to stay and work in” or just a cynical (and expensive) attempt to hack a few digits off the unemployment figures?

On 20 May 2007 John Key promised:

“If I have the great honour of becoming Prime Minister of this country then I want to leave a legacy too.
My legacy will be a strong New Zealand economy with higher wages, lower taxes and greater competitiveness. My legacy will be a country that young New Zealanders want to stay and work in.That’s what a National government will give you.”

What we're getting is a country where a government department  is telling job seekers to dumb down their CVs to get low paid, unskilled work. Looks to us like a gradual de-skilling of New Zealand is well underway.

Interestingly, today it was announced that unemployment fell to 6% in New Zealand over the last quarter, in a country where engineers, teachers and radiographers are driving taxis  it makes you question in which sectors the employment has been created doesn't it.

Update
This story generated a massive readers' response on the Yahooxtra.co.nz webpage. Here's a selection of their comments:

"I can understand the frustration the lady has with her qualifications, my husband has been told many times he is 'over qualified' for the positions he has applied for, having been out of work for many months(being made redundant) we have lived off our savings and not gone 'cap in hand' to the dole office pleading for a hand out, we have worked all our lives but it seems if you have no debts are not drugs dependent, not a 'overseas visitor' or are not from a ethnic..."

"Our case sounds a lot like yours - when my husband was made redundant they told him numerous times he was to overqualified and they wouldn't suggest him to employers for jobs. He would have done any job, and done it well, rather than getting the benifit but they wouldn't help us out on that front at all. Makes me so mad!"

"like many other people out there in newzealand. I have worked hard to get myself into better positions with companies this has now been a waste of time as alot of companies do not want to employ me as i have too much experiance and skills. i was also told to DUMB down my cv by winz."

"Work and income treat everyone out of work like f#cking morons, My husband has never previously been out of work, but was recently made redundant. He went to a "seminar" provided by W&I and came home demoralised and angry, He was treated like a desperate pauper, this "service" is neither productive or in any way helps jobseekers, I think a review is desperately needed"

"When I lost my job due to government cuts I went to WINZ to help me find a job, I was told to dumb down my CV in order to get a job as well. reading other comments on here I see that this is a common this. Its a sad thing that to get ahead in life we are told to hide who we are and pretend to be stupid."

"I was also asked to dumb down my CV by WINZ, so its nothing new. The few companies that have ever bothered to get back to me when I sent my CV have said that I am far too experienced, and this includes several so called Recruitment agencies. I have got the same comments when the job I have applied for is exactly the same as the last two jobs I had. Age discrimination is also rife, given that WINZ supplied me with a list of jobs where there were age restrictions, even though this is in..."

"I was told a similar thing after I left my husband 10 years ago - I was studying at Uni and I was told to give up the study as, and I quote "it wont get you any where, look at me, [The WINZ person] I did the same degree and now I work here." I was encouraged to stop study and get a cleaning job! I didn't listen, I found a job on my own and continued study and now have a great career."

"Well, our eminent Social Development Minister Paula Bennett is on public record saying in Parliament, that there is a 'job available for everyone.' Perhaps she should get her well-paid backside out of Wellington and direct her staff to find these elusive jobs for the unemployed, including those public servants who were recently sacked by this caring Government."

"I have recently been told by WINZ not to tell a future employer about a medical condition that I have that would affect my ability to do the job. WINZ said leave it out until I were asked. I was also told to dumb down my CV. Nobody wants to employ somebody over quilified because they will only be there until something better comes up. Edwin, I used to think a wee bit like you, but after being fully employed for 35 years and being made redundant I have changed my views somewhat. Better go pubs..."

"I did an unemployment thing with WINZ a couple of years ago. The most depressing thing I have ever done in my life. I have sworn that I would rather become a wino and live under a bridge than ever repeat that experience. I have a Masters degree and they thought the appropriate job for me was cleaning. When I get my doctorate next year, there is no way I am takeing that off my CV."

"Nothing new for all immigrants. We have to do this to run our families. Though NZ immigration requires qualified people (with master/bachelor degrees) but do not (can't) offer jobs of their profession. It is pity that it has come up in news now."

"I have been told to omit the fact that i have had back problems by acc. While it is not the same as taking a degree out of your cv, it does show that these people are basicly dishonest!"

"I got the same treatment twice, once from Winz and once from an independent agency. However, I don't know whether the recruiters or employers are at fault. I was told to remove astronomy from the interests in my CV in case, an employer thought I would not be able to, "talk to workmates during smoko." Laughable or ridiculous?"

"I agree regarding the seminars provided by WINZ. I went to one years ago and was disgusted how they treat you like a dole bludger straight off the bat. The guy giving the seminar told everyone that the unemployment benefit was a privilige not a right. In my books it is a right, I pay higher taxes here than in other countries who don't provide unemployment benefit simply as an insurance in case I need, making it a right as far as I am concerned."

"This seems to be the standard case manager bs line at Work & Income: "You're obviously not going to get a job in ______ (your trained field), is there any reason why you aren't working at McDonald's?" or cleaning?"

Today's posts - click here

Huntly Is A "Dead Beat Town," Crime "Rampant"

 After we wrote our post last week about the rise in violent crimes and robberies in Huntly, a fairly typical Kiwi town in the Waikato, the Waikato Times has today put together an article which reveals that crime is ruining local shops.

Some shops have been burgled close to 40 times in the last few years and the cost of crime is now so high that some insurance companies have said they can no longer afford to insure businesses there.

Retailers have been quite blunt in saying what they think of the town, calling it "dead beat" and saying every shop has been touched by "rampant" crime.

And what's causing this crime epidemic - the breakdown of social adhesion, unemployment, lack of facilities, boredom, poverty, drug and alcohol abuse, lax/absent policing? No, according to Huntly Community Board chairman Frank McInally it's the victims' fault for not paying $1,000 each to install security cameras. He said:

"retailers were "their own worst enemies..."They won't put their hand in their own pockets to contribute towards the cameras."

Does he honestly believe that cameras will reduce crime in the town? Cameras in banks, gas stations and dairies throughout New Zealand haven't deterred armed thieves one iota. Big Brother is obviously sleeping on the job, or out to lunch.

Some businesses do see some merit in having the cameras though, even though they don't seem to work:

 "The Essex Arms manager Gale Mackay supported security cameras, but said it wouldn't stop offending completely.

The tavern was broken into twice recently despite their premises being equipped with cameras and an alarm.

What is the solution to Huntly's crime? "

 The solution for Huntly will be the same as for the rest of New Zealand.

And, if you're wondering what Huntley looks like take a look at this YouTube video:

 

The day this post was published the town of Nelson was hit by a crime spree. Vandals ran rampant down Main Street smashing shop windows, causing thousands of dollars of damage, some of which was uninsured.  It's very similar to a 4am rampage by a gang of teens in Hastings in January.

In that attack 11 businesses were targeted and the damage is thought to have run in to thousands of dollars. Police arrested four youths, including two 15 year old girls,  a boy of 15 and another age 14. Does Hastings have security cameras?

Police say they are going to look at security camera footage of the Nelson event, which isn't much consolation for the shop owners who are left to foot the bill for the damage, nor does it stop the same thing happening again. This is an excellent example of how security cameras do not protect communities.

 Update 19 March
A day later a home crime fighter in Huntly's neighbouring city of Hamilton was praised by city councillor, Dave Macpherson, for defending himself during a home invasion. Mr Macpherson said that communities were taking the law into their own hands because of police inaction. Police advised victims of crime to take the details of offenders and let them respond. On his blog Mr Macpherson said in an "ideal world" that would be fine.

"But lack of police resources, and an all-too-frequent disorganised police response, often force the community to take the law into it's own hands.

"If you can't rely on the police to stop criminals, then many Kiwis will rightly choose to take on the crims rather than letting them get away with the proceeds of their crimes."

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Napier Erupts In Violent Crime

 

What is going on in Hawkes Bay? there's been an explosion of violent crime in the Napier and Hastings area in the past last few days, is gang violence making a resurgence in the towns and why are throngs of young teenagers roaming around looking for trouble, have they nothing better to do?

A 22 year old male was beaten and robbed in broad daylight in Napier yesterday. His injuries were so severe he was placed in an induced coma overnight until he regained consciousness this morning. He was savagely attacked in Kennedy Park at around 4pm by young thugs who took his backpack (was this man connected to the nearby William Colenso College or was he a tourist?) containing CDs, and iPod and mobile phone. Police would like to talk to a group of youths aged 14-20.

The same day there were two more attacks. One was on Massey Crescent where a 20 year old male was robbed and there was a possible stabbing around 3am on Roberts Terrace.

The day before a group of teens rampaged through Hasting's central business area smashing windows at 4 in the morning. 11 businesses were targeted and the damage is thought to have run in to thousands of dollars. Police arrested four youths, including two 15 year old girls,  a boy of 15 and another age 14.

A reporter from Hawkes Bay Today spoke to some of the businesses involved:

"Spokeswoman Kay Howes said it was not the first time the property had been struck by vandals.
"I think I've almost become immune to it," Ms Howes said. "It's just a continual hassle. You just wonder where mum and dad were. For me, it's just sad." Queen St East business Transfield Worley was also struck.  A company spokeswoman said the vandalism was ridiculous. "They've obviously got nothing to do."

We agree, when there's 'nothing to do' in towns like these kids are going to gravitate toward gangs in all their manifestations. Parents should be forced to take a share of the responsibility for this and made to pay for the damage. Why are they letting their kids roam the streets in the early hours of the morning?

But it's not just the young kids that are causing mayhem in Hastings.  Barney Huriwaka, age 79, was woken at 3am on Sunday by the sound of every window in his Flaxmere home being smashed. Police eventually caught a 20 year old man in connection with the crime. This was the second time Mr Huriwaka had had his windows broken, he'd been away on holiday the last time it happened.

Epidemic of unreported crime
A little further down the coast is the small community of Waimarama where the residents are suffering from an "epidemic of unreported crime" (a lot of crime goes unreported in NZ) which was only uncovered when police investigated an arson attack:

"Investigations into an arson attack at Waimarama just before Christmas have uncovered an epidemic of unreported crime in the seaside settlement. Burglaries, vandalism, assaults and traffic offences are going unreported in the beach community. But if locals came forward it could help them solve the mystery of who burnt down the former Catholic church, Hastings police Detective Martin James said."

See also
Parents leave kids to manage on their own. Kids dumped in a Hastings McDonalds restaurant.  Aggressive parents are refusing to keep an eye on their children, putting pressure on lifeguards at the Hastings Aquatic Centre and Flaxmere Waterworld,.

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Woman Killed On SH2 South Of Napier

A woman in her sixities was killed this morning when her car collided with a truck on SH2 south of Napier at around 7am. The cause of the crash has yet to be established. We are saddened by another death on a New Zealand road and our sincere condolences go to her family and the truck driver.

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State highway 2 between Napier and Hastings is ranked 1st nationally for High Collective Risk (or crash density) by KiwiRAP - the New Zealand Road Assessment Programme. SH2 north of Napier to Bay View is ranked 3rd.

The measure for Collective Risk is the total number of fatal and serious injury crashes per kilometre over a section of road.

Stuart Martin Assault - Second Youth Jailed

Another young thug has been sent to prison for the vicious beating of Scottish tourist Stuart Martin in Napier last February. From HawkesBay

"Hamish Bowman, 17, appeared in the Napier District Court yesterday and was sentenced to three years, nine months jail for his role in bashing 29-year-old Stuart Martin, in February, The Dominion Post reported.

Joshua McConville, 17, was given the same sentence in July.

A third youth, Darrin Wright, has pleaded not guilty."

For background see blog posts tagged Stuart Martin

Stuart Martin Assault, Man Jailed.

The UK Sun newspaper is reporting that a 17 year old youth, Joshua McConville, has been jailed for three years and nine months at Napier District Court yesterday for the assault on British tourist and pilot Stuart Martin.

Mr Martin was viciously beaten in Taradale (between Napier and Hastings) in February, so badly that the imprint of a shoe was left on his face and he was placed into a coma. See Battered Scottish man flies home.

The Sun is reporting that Mr Martin may not be able to get his flying licence back due to the lasting effects of the beating.

For more about the incident and reaction to the attack see: British tourist in coma after Napier attack and Battered Scottish man flies home

For today's posts see: latest posts

Armed Sieges and Gun Politics in New Zealand

An armed stand-off in Chaucer Road South, Napier that started yesterday morning continues into today.

There street where it's happening : Chaucer Road South

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YouTube link: Napier gunman a 'one-man army'

A routine cannabis bust went horribly wrong when the suspect, Jan Molenaar, shot dead policeman Len Snee, 53 and critically injured 3 other people yesterday in the small tourist town of Napier, famed for its art deco architecture.

Len Snee was the fifth police officer to have been shot dead since the Aramoana massacre of 1990 and one of 29 officers to have died as a result of a criminal act in New Zealand.

Among the wounded are Senior Constable Bruce Miller, dog handler Senior Constable Grant Diver, 50, and a neighbour.

Molenaar is thought to have been a NZ Territorial army solider and is armed with a number of high powered weapons, said to be guns of different calibres, large stocks of ammunition, and possibly explosives. But he doesn't have a firearms licence. He has been described as a fitness obsessed, self styled Rambo who never fully recovered from the suicide of his brother.

As yet medical services have been unable to retrieve Len Snee's body, who is lying where he fell on the pavement.

160 people have been evacuated from the vicinity, Napier Central School, Nelson Park School and Nelson Intermediate have been closed as the town goes into lockdown.

Police have draughted in reinforcements and armoured vehicles to assist in bringing the siege to a resolution.

Aramoana Massacre, 13 Dead
New Zealand's most notorious gun related outrage was the Aramoana Massacre in Nov 1990 when unemployed gun collector David Gray went on the rampage with a scoped semi-automatic rifle in the small coastal hamlet of Aramoana. See also The Raurimu Massacre of 1997

"RAURIMU, New Zealand (CNN) -- Stunned residents of the New Zealand hamlet of Raurimu on Sunday struggled to cope with a shotgun massacre that left six people dead and five seriously wounded, shattering their peaceful community.

Stephen Anderson, 24, who was arrested stark naked a few hours after Saturday's slayings, which local residents said began at a family reunion, was charged in court Sunday with the murder of one of the victims, Hendrick Derek Young Van de Wetering.

An unemployed man from Wellington, Anderson showed no emotion as he appeared barefoot and in police overalls in Taumarunui district court, 34 km (21 miles) from Raurimu.

The bearded man with cropped hair was remanded in custody to appear in Hamilton District Court on Wednesday.

A psychiatric report was ordered. No application was made for bail or suppression of his name.

In Raurimu, the horror of the killings had not yet sunk in.

"For this to happen, it's just devastating," said Julie Hurley, who was in the small North Island town near the active volcano Mount Ruapehu at the time of the murders. "It's such a nice, quiet little place."

Families of the dead huddled in a classroom at the tiny local school, too traumatized to face hordes of camera crews and journalists descending on their home in the wake of the carnage.

String of violence

The Raurimu gunman started his rampage Saturday morning at the Raurimu Lodge, used by skiers frequenting Mount Ruapehu's ski slopes during the winter season, police said. New Zealand is now in mid-summer.

Bodies were strewn in a 200-meter (yard) radius as the killer blasted his way from the lodge to the main road, police said.

From Raurimu Lodge, the gunman moved on to a neighboring property, where he shot Van De Wetering, a respected member of the community.

With the help of helicopters and planes, police tracked him through rugged bush outside the small North Island town of Raurimu near volcanic Mount Ruapehu. There they found Stephen Anderson naked and unarmed, Holloway said.

Residents told CNN the suspect's first victim was his wife. New Zealand Radio quoted local residents as saying that two of the victims were the man's parents. Local residents said he had a history of psychiatric problems. Police, however, would not confirm those reports.

"There are indications that they are not necessarily all family members," Inspector Jeff Holloway told reporters at a news conference Sunday morning.

The proprietor of a nearby motel, who declined to be named, said he understood one of the dead was a young woman who had been walking along the roadside trying to hitch a ride.

"One guy was going to pick her up, then he saw the guy with the shotgun and kept going," the motelier said. "He looked back and saw the woman getting shot to pieces."

One of the first to raise the alarm was Gordon Stewart. He came across a victim who had been shot in the head but had still managed to flee the scene.

"At first it was thought to be hunters out in the nearby bush," Stewart said. "But then a car drove up with a man inside pleading for help. He had been shot in the head."

The victim told Stewart "someone had gone berserk with a shotgun and was shooting at random."

Phil Walter said he stopped to assist at what he thought was an automobile accident.

"We got out to check it, and the shots were firing," Walter said. "So we got back into the car and the man by the car told us to go and get to the police."

Unsure of where the gunman was, people sped away in cars and farm trucks and gathered several kilometers (miles) up the road before police arrived.

The wounded were ferried by helicopters to hospitals in the district. Helicopter pilot Guy Beange said the scene was "like Vietnam," with police and helicopters everywhere.

"It's not the sort of thing you expect to happen in a place like this," one man said. "The locals are all stunned because it's such a quiet place. People come here just for rest and recreation, to get away from things, and for this sort of thing to happen is an absolute tragedy."

Gun laws under review

An inquiry into New Zealand's gun laws is already under way in the wake of the Port Arthur and Dunblane massacres in Australia and Britain last year, but it is not due to report until June.

New Zealand has 11 times as many guns per capita as Britain and 60 percent more than Australia, possibly reflecting a high proportion of people living in the countryside and keeping guns for pest control and game shooting.

Police Minister Jack Elder said he would review the situation.

"We've had the problem for a long time, and we have let it get out of control," he said. "I want to see it (a review) done as quickly as possible like everyone else, but I'd prefer to get it right than rush into something and not get it right."

Reports after the incident revealed that Grey used an SKS 7.62X39 Semi-automatic and a Norinco AK47 copy, chambered for a .223 cartridge. He also owned 4 .22LR rifles - 2 semi automatics and 2 single shots.

Gray shot his next-door neighbour and the neighbour's daughter, before opening fire indiscriminately. In total Gray killed 13 people, including local police Sergeant Stewart Guthrie who first responded to the calls of a shooting. The dead included 4 children, two other children were also shot and survived their injuries.

Two years later New Zealand made an amendment to its firearms regulations which was supposed to tighten up on gun control in the country. This latest incident is bound to lead to fresh calls for further controls and for restrictions on the sale, type and number of weapons that can be kept in a domestic situation. It will also reignite calls for police officers to be armed.

230,000 licensed owners, 1.1 million firearms
According to Wikipedia, NZ has an estimated 230,000 licensed firearms owners using approximately 1.1 million firearms, enough for 1 in 4 of the population. There are no figures for the number of weapons illegally owned by unlicensed individuals.

Weapons Available on "TradeMe"
Along with kid's toys, used clothes and automobiles NZ's online auction site is used to buy and sell weapons. New Zealand is thought to be the only country where weapons are traded in such a way.

Despite David Gray using semi-automatic rifles and an AK47 copy in the Aramoana massacre almost 19 years ago there are similar items still being offered for sale in New Zealand. This is a brief list of some of the weapons currently available for sale on TradeMe

• 340 listings under the category of "Rifles" including scoped weapons, semi-automatics and an "immaculate Saiga AK47"
• 246 listings for "Ammunition"
• 171 listings for "Shotguns", some of them semi-automatic
• 654 listings for "hunting knives", including items such as Tomahawks described as throwing axes
• 130 listings for "Archery" including Military Style Compact Crossbows.
  

"Gun Politics in New Zealand" (source Wikipedia)
"Guns are not currently a major political issue, but have been immediately after the Aramoana massacre in 1990, and the Scottish Dunblane and Australian Port Arthur massacres in 1996.

New Zealand's gun laws are notably more liberal than other countries in the Pacific, focusing mainly on vetting firearm owners, rather than registering firearms or banning certain types of firearms. Firearms legislation is provided for in the Arms Act and its associated regulations, though stricter unofficial police and government policies also apply.

Firearms in New Zealand fall into one of four categories:

• Pistols are firearms shorter than 762 mm (30 in).
• Restricted Weapons include machine guns, selective-fire assault rifles, grenades and rocket launchers. This category also includes some non-firearm weapons such as pepper spray.
• Military-Style Semi-Automatics (MSSAs) include semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that have one or more of the following components:
  • A folding or telescopic butt
  • A bayonet lug
  • A free-standing "military-style" pistol grip
  • A flash suppressor
  • A magazine that holds (or looks like it could hold) more than 15 rounds of .22 rimfire ammunition or 7 rounds of any other calibre.
• A Category firearms are those that do not fall into any other categories.

Registration is not required for "A Category" firearms, but firearms in any other category require both registration and a "permit to procure" before they are transferred.

Except under supervision of a licence holder, owning or using firearms requires a firearms licence from the police. The licence is normally issued, under the conditions that the applicant has secure storage for firearms, attends a safety lecture and passes a written test. The police will also interview the applicant and two references (one must be a close relative and the other not related) to determine whether the applicant is "fit and proper" to have a firearm. The applicants residence is also visited to check that they have appropriate storage for firearms and ammunition. Having criminal associations or a history of domestic violence almost always lead to a licence being declined.

A standard firearms licence allows the use of "A Category" firearms. To possess firearms of another category they are required to get an endorsement to their licence. There are different endorsements for different classes of firearm but they all require a higher level of storage security, stricter vetting requirements and the applicant must have a 'special reason' for wanting the endorsement."

British Tourist in Napier Attack is Named

Source: Telegraph, UK
By Paul Chapman in Wellington

"A British tourist left fighting for his life in a New Zealand hospital after being assaulted so viciously that police say his attackers' boot marks were left imprinted on his head and face has been named.

Stuart Martin, a 31-year-old from Scotland, is in a coma in Hawke's Bay Hospital with a severe head injury.

His condition is described as critical.

Mr Martin, who has been living in Australia, had flown to the North Island seaside resort of Napier to attend the wedding on Saturday of a friend, Rory McBrearty.

He had been at a stag party when he became separated from the others, and police say he was set upon while walking past shops in the suburb of Taradale about 1am on Friday.

Mr McBrearty, also 31, has been keeping vigil at his comatose friend's hospital bedside.

He said: "I'm pretty upset about it all. It's overwhelming.

"I'm on the verge of a breakdown to tell the truth," he told Wellington's Dominion-Post newspaper.

He said that hospital staff were "not saying much about his condition, but it's pretty serious".

The two have been good friends for more than six years.

He described Mr Martin as "a small, friendly guy who makes friends with everyone".

A badly shaken Mr McBrearty told the newspaper that he and about 20 friends had spent much of Thursday being driven on a pub crawl.

"It was just your normal stag do. It was good. We finished up at a friend's place in Taradale."

No one in the stag party had noticed that Mr Martin was missing until they saw a police cordon around the scene while walking home through the suburb's town centre.

Detectives say they are "appalled" by the extent of his injuries.

They said a witness saw the victim being stomped on the face and head after he was knocked to the ground. The attack left him unconscious in the street.

Detective Sergeant Brian Schaab said: "The witness was unable to intervene but called police as the attack was in progress."

Three 17-year-old local youths have appeared in Napier District Court on Friday and were remanded in custody to reappear on March 4.

The three, named as Darrin Peter Wright, Hamish Glenn Bowman, and Joshua McConville, have all been charged with assault.

Police say further, possibly more serious, charges may follow"

British Tourist in Coma After Napier Attack

Source: NZ Herald
NZPA

"A British tourist is in a coma in Hawke's Bay Hospital after a vicious Napier attack left him with boot marks on his head and face.

The man, whose condition is described as critical, was set upon by three men as he walked past Taradale's main shopping area in Gloucester St just before 1am today.

He was knocked to the ground and stomped on with such ferocity there were boot imprints on his head and face.

The severity of the attack appalled police.

The man was taken to hospital after a passer-by alerted emergency services.

Police have arrested one man and were looking for another two.

The victim, who was visiting from the UK, had attended a stag party in Napier during the evening.

He had become separated from his friends before the assault said police, who were keen to speak to any witnesses."

The British citizen was later said to be 31 year old Scottish man Stuart Martin. According to Mail three local 17 year old youths were arrested and appeared in court today

Darrin Peter Wright, Hamish Glenn Bowman, and Joshua McConville, all from Taradale, appeared in the Napier District Court today charged with assault.

The 30-year-old English tourist, due to attend a friend's wedding tomorrow, was beaten as he walked past Taradale's main shopping area in Gloucester St just before 1am, Napier police said.

His attackers allegedly stomped on his head and face several times.

The man, who was living in Australia, was in a coma in critical condition in Hawke's Bay Hospital.

He would be named once police had contacted his family in Britain.

The three attackers were remanded in custody to reappear in the Napier District Court on March 4."

Shocked Taradale residents have left a number of messages on the paper's website :

"I always walk down this street at night, it is in a very nice are of napier, there are always young wannabe "gangsters" mooching around but I never take any notice. What a wake up call that no one is safe anymore."

"What is happening to our country? I dont even get on it that much anymore cause im scared im going to get jumped.The tourists are getting targeted hard aswel"