TE NUPEPA O TE TAIRAWHITI MONDAY, MAY 3, 2021 HOME-DELIVERED $1.90, RETAIL $2.20 STARTUP WEEKEND HOMECOMING TAIRAWHITI: ‘A DO-EY NOT A HUI’ it was an emotional return to his hometown for Brisbane-based PAGE 4 Ross Gladwin after the trantasman bubble was confirmed. Ross was able to fly to Gisborne to reunite with family and visit the grave of grandfather Hubert Wolter at Taruheru Cemetery after he died shortly after the New Zealand borders shut in March 2020. Ross could only see the funeral virtually. Inset, Ross (left) and partner Kamra Norouzi wave goodbye at Gisborne Airport. The pair have headed to Queenstown before returning to Australia. STORY ON PAGE 3 Pictures supplied VATUVEI ON METH CHARGES: ‘I WILL BE ‘FIGHTING FOR MY INNOCENCE’ PAGE 3 NZ’S TRUANCY CRISIS: THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS ‘OUT OF REACH’ PAGE 8 Jail for sex assault ‘Particularly predatory and depraved offending’: prosecutor LOCKED out of a party, a 14-year-old Atkins pleaded guilty to sexual to their legal representation. Each were and played loud music. girl was grabbed by a stranger and taken violation rape of a girl aged 12 to 16 eventually assigned more experienced But the girl came back. She was unable to a nearby house where he and a mate (she was 14), and two counts of unlawful counsel (Vicky Thorpe for Atkins and to get inside and could not make herself sexually violated her, Gisborne District sexual connection. Matthew Phelps for Waa). heard above the music. Court was told. Waa pleaded guilty to indecently According to an agreed summary, the While she was knocking on a door, Abe Junior Kareti Atkins, 31, and Hiku assaulting a girl aged 12 to 16, unlawful attack happened after the victim had Atkins grabbed her from behind. Patrick Waa, 48, appeared together in the sexual connection, a breach of supervision been drinking alcohol with a relative and She screamed but no one heard her. dock last Friday and were jailed by Judge and a breach of bail. her flatmate at their house. Fearful she might be killed, she stopped Warren Cathcart — Atkins for seven Mr Manning said the decision to Grossly intoxicated, the teenager kept struggling. years, four months; Waa for four years, 10 abandon the party liability aspect of arguing with her relative and eventually Atkins carried her to the house where months. the case helped achieve its resolution the pair got into a physical fight. he was drinking and took her inside to a Both men received three strike and avoided the need for a trial, which Atkins and Waa, who were not known couch. He made her perform oral sex on warnings and will be added to the “would have been an extremely traumatic to the group, were drinking outside that him, then performed it on her. national child sex offender register. experience for a very vulnerable victim”. day at a nearby house. Atkins then raped the girl, pinning Prosecutor Steve Manning said it was The development had not changed the When the fight broke out, they went to her down with his weight. Waa who was “particularly predatory and depraved context of the case, he said. see if they could intervene but were told it watching, touched the girl’s breasts and offending”, which the Crown regarded as The fact the men acted in concert made was not necessary. stomach, then made her perform oral sex extremely serious. their individual culpability more serious The girl was taken home by her on him. While the men were originally charged — a consideration in sentencing. relative’s flatmate. The girl eventually fled and told friends as equal parties to the offending, the Also prompting their guilty pleas The flatmate then went home herself and police about the ordeal. Crown later agreed to charge them for was scientific proof of their sexual and not expecting the girl to return, went CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 their individual roles. involvement with the girl and changes inside for the night, locked all the doors GISBORNE RUATORIA WAIROA Local News ...... 1-5 Business ............11 Racing ................16 Sport ............ 20-24 Births & Deaths ...4 Opinion ..............12 Television ...........17 Weather .............23 9 771170 043005 TOMORROW National .......... 6-10 World............ 13-15 Classifieds ... 18-19 > 2 SATURDAY SPORT The Gisborne Herald • Monday, May 3, 2021 TWO-HANDED TAKE: Ritana Senior A centre Alexander Campbell Ratapu gets both hands on the ball despite the close attention of Whangara Old Girls wing defence Morgan White in a premier netball grading game at Victoria Domain. Whangara ran out 39-19 winners, having earlier beaten F45 High School Old Girls 28-23. REACH FOR THE SKY: Ritana Senior A wing defence Lordhana Puketapu and Whangara Old Girls goal defence Pourewa Sydney contest a high ball during their premier netball game. Story on back page. STAY IN, BRO: YMP player Shyann Wyllie is taken by Ngatapa’s Ricardo Patricio in a full diving tackle watched with interest by the YMP sideline contingent in a Poverty Bay premier club rugby game at Barry Park. Competition leaders YMP took charge in the second half to win 38-10. Story on page 22. GREEN FOR GO: Ngatapa’s Anthony Karauria eyeballs YMP halfback Quinton Pari- Collins as he charges upfield in Poverty Bay premier club rugby action at Barry Park. WELCOME BACK WAITUHI: Waituhi’s Ana Te Kani challenges YMP’s Moelani Tureia-Siataga in the opening week of Poverty Bay senior club hockey on the turf at Harry Barker Reserve. It was a baptism-by-fire return for Waituhi women to senior AT THE OCHE: Top players from competition, with YMP dishing out a 19-0 welcome back. Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay pitted skills at a Clubs NZ Darts Association regional tournament hosted by Gisborne 2NZEF Pictures by Liam Clayton club. Taking aim are Dylan Brown (above), Corey Kaio and Mihi Awatere. These and other photos are available for sale at The Herald or online at — photo-sales.gisborneherald.co.nz The Gisborne Herald • Monday, May 3, 2021 NEWS 3 Welcome home ‘As soon as that bubble was announced I wanted to come and get some family time’ by Sophie Rishworth or nervous “because you just don’t know what can happen with the borders, they MANY tears have been shed and can shut down at any point”. reunion scenes enjoyed at Gisborne They also had to plan for an Airport over the past two weeks as unexpected stay if borders did shut while international travellers from Australia they were in New Zealand. touched down to see family and friends. But finally getting on that plane was Ross Gladwin, 34, hadn’t seen his “exciting” and the couple toasted the Gisborne family in almost two years. occasion with bubbles. “As soon as that bubble was announced Travelling internationally again I wanted to come and get some family was “comfortable”, said Ross, with time. We said, ‘let’s just do it’. I wanted to temperature checks and masks the only see my family, my grandmother and visit add-ons. my grandfather’s grave.” He was surprised the 300-seat aircraft Shortly after the borders closed in was only one-third full. March 2020, Ross’s grandfather Hubert The couple will be back again in July Wolter died and he had to attend the when Ross’s brother gets married. funeral virtually. For now, they were off to Queenstown Being able to touch base with family for a few days. again in person after the loss was very “My partner’s birthday is on May 4 so important, he said. we going to Queenstown. Neither of us Ross and partner Kamran Norouzi has been there before and we want to arrived in Gisborne last Tuesday as support the tourism industry.” some of the first people able to fly from Then it’s back to Brisbane on Friday. Australia in more than a year without BUBBLES TO CELEBRATE: Ross having to quarantine for two weeks on Gladwin (left) and Kamran Norouzi toast either side. being able to head back to New Zealand The air traffic bubble opened between to see Ross’s Gisborne family after the Australia and New Zealand on April 19. trantasman bubble was implemented. It Ross lives in Brisbane but grew up in was the first time the couple had been Gisborne. back in almost two years. In the lead-up to their travel dates, Picture supplied Ross said he tried not to get too excited, Retailers on the comeback Driver killed at after Covid-19 lockdown hit GISBORNE retailers look to be spending through Paymark in April 2020 bouncing back from heavy losses for all core retail merchants with the suffered during last year’s exception of supermarkets. Patutahi one of Covid-19 lockdown. “Come June 2020, the core retail Latest figures from electronic group, now with the exception of payment processor Paymark, which accommodation merchants, tracked processes the majority of debit and around 7 percent above 2019 levels for credit card transactions show retailers the rest of the year. lost more than $7.4m during the Easter “Meanwhile, spending at several crashes period last year. accommodation merchants remained However, over this year’s Easter well below 2019 levels. period $7.4m was processed on the “By the March quarter of 2021, the POLICE have not yet released the name ■ THERE was a log truck crash on the Paymark network — 111 percent more national accommodation sector spend of the driver who was killed in a crash on Moonlight Station road at Mangatu this than the same period last year and up at $415 million was down 29.7 percent Friday night on Lavenham Road at Patutahi.