On
Sunday, following a tense six-day standoff, 16 prisoners
involved in protesting appalling conditions at New
Zealand’s Waikeria Prison surrendered to authorities. Five
of the 21 men who started the protest had already given
themselves up. The men had climbed onto the roof of a prison
block and caused significant damage, including by starting
fires. Hundreds of inmates were relocated due to the
fires.
Authorities responded with brutal measures. On
December 31, three days into the protest, Newshub cited an
anonymous source who said negotiators from the Corrections
Department were “withholding food and water in a bid to
starve out” the prisoners a claim echoed in other media
Prison chaos: A riotous history of New Zealand jails
3 Jan, 2021 05:17 AM
5 minutes to read
Waikeria Prison rioters surrender after six-day stand-off; jail conditions not reason for unrest, says Kelvin Davis.
Waikeria Prison rioters surrender after six-day stand-off; jail conditions not reason for unrest, says Kelvin Davis.
Prison reform groups and inmate advocates call it a protest. Authorities are more likely to call it a riot.
Either way, this week s mayhem at Waikeria Prison was the most prolonged and destructive stand-off at a New Zealand jail for decades.
The Waikeria disorder dwarfed a 2013 Spring Hill riot, when inmates drunk on home brew ran rampant and set fires but were brought under control in barely nine hours.
Russell s Patu Sigley is Ministry of Health s Volunteer of the Year
1 Jan, 2021 04:00 PM
4 minutes to read
Patu Sigley accepting Hone Hohepa s wero at her marae, Haratu, before receiving her Ministry of Health award as Volunteer of the Year. Photo / Angela Maioha
Northern Advocate
Russell identity Patu (Patricia) Sigley has been named by the Ministry of Health as the Health Volunteer of the Year, in recognition of her outstanding achievements within the community.
She was nominated by Haratu Kororareka Marae for her work over more than 50 years, often in small and sometimes isolated communities.
The career nurse has spent a large part of her so-called non-working life busy as a volunteer, helping set up hauora clinics, volunteering for the rural ambulance service for 20 years, assisting people into pensioner housing or community living.