New Zealand Parole Board -

Parole Hearing

Under section 21(2) of the Parole Act 2002

Ziggy Stardust BUCKERIDGE

Hearing: 27 April 2022

at Otago Corrections Facility via MS Teams

Members of the Board: Sir Ron Young - Chairperson

Ms M Kleist

Ms Tiumalu

Dr J Skipworth

In attendance:                                   [withheld]

DECISION OF THE BOARD

1. Mr Buckeridge, who is 60 years of age, was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder in 1992.  He had two pages of convictions for dishonesty prior to that.  He has had recalls in 2005 and 2011.  He lasted in the community on both occasions for relatively short periods.
2. We last saw him in October 2021.  At that stage he had completed all of his rehabilitation and the proposal was that he would be ultimately released to [withheld].
3. Mr Buckeridge has been working his way through a [withheld] apprenticeship and was close to completion.  Overall, it was thought he had a good plan for release.
4. As to the current position, Mr Buckeridge continues to do well.  He is in [withheld] at the Otago Correctional Facility.  He is doing [withheld] there; he is on self-care; he has extensive reintegration support; he has had a number of guided releases to [withheld] and elsewhere and is familiar with [withheld].  He has now finished his [withheld]; he has reviewed his safety plan and a further review will take place immediately prior to any release.
5. Essentially, Mr Buckeridge is ready to be released on parole but, unfortunately, he does not have a date for [withheld] accommodation.  It is difficult to know how long that will take but, in the meantime, he remains an undue risk.  We will see him again in six months’ time by the end of October 2022 but, if a date comes up earlier, then of course we would be sympathetic to an application under section 26 of the Parole Act 2002.