New Zealand Parole Board -

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Hendrix Vai ARIKI

Hearing: 9 July 2018

at Tongariro Prison

Members of the Board:

• Hon. J W Gendall QC – Panel Convenor
• Mr L Tawera
• Mr L Comer

Support Persons:

• [withheld]
• [withheld]

In Attendance:

• [withheld]
• [withheld]

DECISION OF THE BOARD

1. Hendrix Ariki is serving a sentence of five years and one month imprisonment for the crime of manslaughter.  He was sentenced on 16 December 2015, his parole eligibility date was 7 July 2017 and his sentence end date is 25 November 2020.
2. He was seen for the first time by the Board on 10 July 2017, and the Board noted then that he was motivated for the Drug Treatment Programme.  Since then, Mr Ariki has completed the Mauri Tu Pae treatment programme on 15 September 2018 and the Drug Treatment Programme (DTP) on 8 February 2018.
3. There have been some instances or incidents of abusive language and threatening behaviour on the phone, but in recent times there has been a marked improvement in his behaviour, no doubt because of the skills that he should have acquired from the programmes.
4. He has proposed accommodation with [withheld] which has been approved by Community Corrections.  He has the strong support of [withheld] who were present today.  He accepts that, if released on parole, he cannot be in or near Turangi.
5. He acknowledged that he saw his relationship with intimate partners as being a risk factor to him.  [withheld].
6. Mr Ariki has provided a comprehensive submission in which he expresses his remorse and the acknowledgement that he has gained considerable knowledge from both the Mauri Tu Pae programme and the DTP.
7. The panel advised Mr Ariki of the views of his victims who were seen today.  This included their stated opposition to his release on parole, concern over the relationship between Mr Ariki and [withheld] and concern that he not associate with [withheld].  He accepts that he cannot be within an eventual exclusion zone which would include Turangi, an association marae, and Palmerston North, without the consent of a probation officer.
8. Mr Ariki has completed all rehabilitation programmes and is now ready to move into the reintegration phase.  But he is not ready for release.  He has minimum security and we think he should be transferred to Spring Hill Corrections Facility with the opportunity of self-care and guided releases to accommodation and other facilities in the [withheld] area where he will no doubt eventually reside, whether at sentence end date or released on parole.
9. At the moment, Mr Ariki does not meet the statutory criteria for release on parole and there is considerable reintegration work which needs to be done to enable him to be safely released into the community.  Parole is declined.  He will be seen again in the month of February, that is before 28 February 2019, at which time we would like to see him, if possible, in self-care at Spring Hill Corrections Facility.