Gillard Pulls A Shipley And Becomes Australian Premier

Julia Gillard took over today as the first female Australian Prime Minister, in a move that has been likened to the rise to power of the first female Kiwi Prime Minister, Jenny Shipley.

Shipley ousted Jim Bolger in December 2007, gathering support for her nomination whilst he was away at a Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. Despite good economic growth her government became unstable and she lost the support of NZ First after Winston Peters was sacked from cabinet.

The NZ press was today speculating whether Gillard will be taking Kevin Rudd’s place on an official visit to New Zealand next week, when he was due to speak in Parliament.

Gillard, who was born in Barry, Wales, is the daughter of a coal miner and suffered from broncopneumonia when a child. Her family moved to Australia in 1966 for the warmer climate, settling in Adelaide.

Australia currently has two female state premiers – Anna Bligh, who was born in Queensland and Kristina Keneally, who was born and educated in the USA and only became a naturalised Australian in 2000.

New Zealand has had two female Prime Ministers, both born and bred Kiwis. The last of which was Helen Clark, who won three consecutive terms in office. On loosing the election in 2008 she promptly left the country and became the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme on April 17, 2009.

A description of Ms Clark was given in a biography written by Denis Welch

“Ms Clark, who had no children, also fought the construct that her unconventional lifestyle was not ordinary enough for New Zealanders.
In a 1995 interview she once baulked: “I saw a line in a Christchurch Press editorial that New Zealanders like their leaders to be ordinary like them.”
“For God’s sake, I am not prepared to make myself ordinary.”

It’s great to see a British woman do so well as an immigrant in a far land, we think it will be a long time before a female immigrant is able to do the same in New Zealand.

We wish Ms Gillard the very best for the future.

See also: Women’s rights slipping in New Zealand – written on International Women’s Day

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Possible Fatal Stabbing In Ngongotaha, Rotorua

Posters on the Trademe boards are this morning discussing a possibly fatal stabbing overnight at Hood street, Ngongotaha.

“Not sure if it fatal, I was woken at 4.45 this morning to a big yelling match going on, I thought I heard a gun shot at 5 and a car took off like the clappers. Police arrived shortly after and had some woman on ground for awhile. They took her away in 1 car and I think took the wee kids that live in the house an hour later.
The place has been blocked off by Amourgaurd all morning with police detctives going in and out, Police photographers and daily post.
My neightbour was told by a friend at police that it was a stabbing. I have not seen an ambulance at all so am wondering if a body is in house.”

As yet the news organisations have yet to publish anything about the incident, nor has there been any confirmation that a fatallity has occured.

New Zealand has an appalling record for its murder rate – having the fifth highest rate in the OECD, much of it arising from domestic violence.

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Another Old Person Injured In A Home Invasion

Another elderly person has been beaten-up in a home invasion in New Zealand, this time in The Avenues, Tauranga, a town that is popular with retired people.

Police were called to the man’s home by a concerned relative. He is thought to be in his 80s, and has serious head injuries. He was taken to hospital today where he is now said to be in a critical condition. We wish him well and hope he makes a full recovery.

Two weeks ago a 93 year old grandmother, Gwendoline Samson, was attacked in her home in Papakura, but fortunately she managed to successfully fight off her assailant without suffering any major injuries but it was the second time she’d suffered such an assault.

Police have yet to catch the thugs who smashed the face of another Tauranga grandmother. 65 Year old Mary Loader was severely injured when a half full beer bottle was thrown at her from a passing car one morning. She was out picking fruit at the time and the attack was completely unprovoked. See Tauranga grandmother in coma after bottle attack.

Update:
Later news reports are that the injured man has died and a man has been arrested in connection with his death. A homicide investigation is currently underway, read more here. Our deepest condolences go out to the victim's wife and family.

We’ve said before that one may judge the character of a society by how it treats the weak, the vulnerable, the most easily forgotten. Abuse of the young and the old is widespread in NZ and may not be such a great place for older people to retire in. Other recent attacks on elderly people include:

• A Racist attack on elderly man in Hastings

• Gaynor Alice White, 62, battered to death with a hammer by an intruder in her home in Parkland, Christchurch

• A 72 year old man left shaken and bruised after being robbed at gunpoint at his home in Beerescourt Rd Road, Hamilton

• An 82 year old woman kidnapped and robbed whilst shopping on W.Tamaki Road, Auckland

• Grandmother Barabara Julian, battered to death by an intruder in her Kaitaia home

• Lois Dear, 66, murdered and sexually assulted in her classroom at Tokoroa primary school

• An elderly woman was physically and sexually assulted in her Eltham home

• Retired teacher John Rowe, murdered by two teenage girls in his Opotiki home

• An 83 year old woman who was assaulted and her home set fire to in Howick

• An elderly couple who were hopsitalized after a home invasion in New Plymouth

• An elderly man kicked to the ground and assaulted by a truck driver in Manukau

• An 85 year old man badly beaten during a home invasion at his Bethesda Village retirement home in Wiri.

• 86 year old Patricia Burrows was left with a fractured pelvis, cuts and bruises after she was mugged in a Christchurch shopping mall

• Yin Ping Yang, 80, died following a savage attack during a home invasion in Manurewa East that lasted for several hours.

• A 99 year old woman who was sexually assaulted in her Palmerston North home and died in hospital

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