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I
am not really one for crime stories but this is a really ugly
situation that lays bare the results of government policies over 30
years that have impoverished and alienated large numbers of people.
Perhaps
the timing was wrong and so it seems insensitive but it is true what
long-time campaigner for the unemployed and ex-Green Party MP, Sue
Bradford said”
'the
Government's "brutal policies" led to today's attack on
Ashburton Work and Income staff'.
6 years of a brutal government and a crime like this and further threats of violence of this sort become inevitable.
Having just heard news of further polls whereby neither Labour nor the Greens have made much progress I am more convinced than ever that despite their crimes this government is going to be returned to power by a gullible population.
They have turned the population against the Left which, although not correct, are still rational. Truth doesn't come into it.They've done their job.
We are indeed sleepwalking towards fascism.
---SMR
Extra
security guards are being ordered in and the police are clamping down
after a rash of threats against Work and Income since the Ashburton
triple shooting
3
August, 2014
The
offices have received at least 17 serious threats since the shooting
and seven arrests have been made and police are warning they'll come
down hard on silly outbursts at the offices, like they do against
bomb jokes at airports.
Deputy
police Commissioner Viv Rickard said they have had to deal with
threats from throughout the country.
"Anybody
in that sort of work environment would feel vulnerable so we've asked
that these threats be clearly given to us so that we can act on
them."
He
said that a number of the threats made reference to the incident in
Ashburton.
"Some
of them we've dealt with them we've found out are stupid, there's
been some silly and stupid comments made, inappropriate comments."
But
he said that police take all threats seriously.
"At
the same time there's been people saying they'd blow people away."
The
Work and Income office in Rotorua was the latest to close as a result
of a threat. A call was received at the office about 11.30am and the
police were alerted.
Senior
Sergeant Chris Money of the Northern Police Communications Centre
said the police were investigating the source of the threat.
He
said the office was closed this afternoon following the incident.
Ministry
of Social Development (MSD) announced it would post 100 extra
security guards at Work and Income offices nationwide, following the
Ashburton shootings and ongoing threats.
MSD
chief executive Brendan Boyle made the announcement a joint press
conference with police in Wellington.
said as well as the extra 100 security guards, police would also have a presence at Christchurch offices.
The
incidents at Work and Income offices have come since the Ashburton
shooting on Monday, which claimed the lives of Peggy Noble and Leigh
Cleveland. A third woman, Lindy Curtis, was seriously injured and
remains in Christchurch Hospital.
Earlier
today, all Canterbury Work and Income offices were closed after a
threat was made against staff, this time at a branch in Christchurch.
A
ministry spokesperson earlier could not say what time the threatening
phone call was made but said it came through one of their contact
centres.
Apolice officer guards the cordon in central Ashburton. Photo: RNZ
/ Alexander RobertsonAll Work and Income offices had been due to be open today, excluding Ashburton due to the ongoing police investigation into the fatal shooting of two women and injuring of a third, on Monday, and Kaiapoi, which is closed for staffing reasons.
Today's
threats follow the arrest of a 38-year-old man in Marlborough
yesterday after he allegedly made a threatening phone call to Work
and Income's Blenheim office.
On
Monday, a 38-year-old man was arrested after police were called to
the Hastings Work and Income office after reports a man armed with a
knife was threatening an employee.
WATCH
video from above Ashburton, showing the scene of the shootings
A Public Service Association spokesperson said the continuing threats against Work and Income staff were a disgrace and must end.
It said all workers should expect to be able to do their jobs without putting themselves at risk, and it urged the police to act swiftly.
Two
shot dead at Work and Income office in Ashburton, New Zealand
Extra
security guards are being ordered in and the police are clamping down
after a rash of threats against Work and Income since the Ashburton
triple shooting
1
August, 2014
POLICE
dogs have tracked down and bitten a gunman during a massive manhunt
in a small New Zealand village, after he shot dead two people and
injured a thirdperson in a shooting rampage at an unemployment
office.
Homeless
man Russell Tully, known as John, 48, was found on a property near
Lake Hood, The
New Zealand Herald reports.
Tully
was found by a police dog unit according to Canterbury District
Commander Superintendent Gary Knowles, who said no shots were fired
and no officers were injured upon his arrest.
Tully
was tracked for some distance by dogs, and police are still trying to
located his weapon.
“We’re
still searching for his weapon,” Knowles said.
He
was arrested and taken into custody at Ashburton police station. No
charges been laid yet.
Mr
Knowles said Tully would be medically examined before being formally
interviewed and charged.
Farmers
were home when he was found by police.
Tully,
who was wearing a black balaclava entered the Work and Income office
(WINZ) in the South Island town of Ashburton just after 10am and
started firing a gun.
He
was seen leaving on a bicycle afterwards and is still on the loose.
New
Zealand Ministry of Social Development chief executive Brendan Boyle
this afternoon confirmed the victims were staff members. A third
staff member is in a critical condition in Christchurch hospital.
The
New Zealand Defence Force also assisted in the hunt.
“The
NZDF is providing helicopter transport support to NZ Police involved
in the Ashburton shooting incident,” a spokesman said.
John
Tully is a person of interest sought by Police following the
Ashburton shooting. Do not approach him. Call
111.pic.twitter.com/ZYvC2m55KF
— New
Zealand Police (@nzpolice) September
1, 2014
Earlier,
heavily-armed police raided a Housing NZ house in the town but the
house was empty.
Police
let off a smoke grenade at the rear of the house and smashed the door
but came out saying the house was “all clear”.
It
is believed Tully “may have been in the possession of a sawn-off
shotgun”, police said.
Only
last month Tully appeared in a series of articles published by
the Ashburton
Guardian newspaper
highlighting his struggles with homelessness. In the series he
reveals he had returned to Ashburton following a career in the
Australian mines. He said he had “come home to die” from a
mystery skin disease which caused boil-type lumps if untreated and
tightened the joints causing limited movement. The
stories have been republished in full.
Sightings
of Tully should be reported immediately to Police. Next media
conference at 5pm, Ashburton Police
Station.pic.twitter.com/BgXMGOQGyZ
— New
Zealand Police (@nzpolice) September
1, 2014
Lawmaker
Winston Peters said in a statement that Tully had emailed his
political party on August 14 about the difficulty of finding a house
to live in.
“We
replied immediately and also followed up,” Peters said.
“However,
the emails kept bouncing back.”
ONE
News reporter Donna-Marie Lever says she has been told by residents
that the man is a local and that he “did have an axe to grind with
the WINZ and had been trespassed from the office in the past.”
Police
confirmed Tully had been issued a trespass notice to stay away from
the Ashburton Work and Income office after exhibiting “intimidating
behaviour” in another incident.
Lever
said she understands the man was very calm when he entered the
office, but that there was a lot of screaming after the shooting and
that he was yelling as he fled the scene.
A
witness who was in the building at the time said the gunman shot two
women, one of whom was interviewing him at the time.
“It
was incredibly loud, I could feel the air whoosh past my head,” the
witness said.
He
followed the man outside.
“He
must have broken the gun down because he put it in his back pack,”
he said.
One
witness, who didn’t want to be named, said he saw a staff member
from Work and Income run from the shop after the shooter yelling “You
bastard, you’ve blown her to bits”, The
New Zealand Herald reported.
A
postie at a business across the road heard the man screaming and
swearing as he left the building.
The
Ministry of Social Development Chief Executive Brendan Boyle said all
their offices in Ashburton, Timaru and Christchurch would be closed
until further notice.
Mr
Boyle said in a statement: “We are all shocked by the news of this
morning’s incident at the Ashburton Work and Income office.
“The
Police are handling this serious situation. What I can say is that we
will be there for our colleagues to support them as they come to
terms with what has happened.
“Until
we know more, we have closed all Ministry of Social Development
offices in Ashburton, Timaru and Christchurch.”
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