Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Celebrity Gibberish

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  • Mike Havoc,

    Thanks Russell for your prompt but considered response to yesterdays article.
    I appreciate it.
    It was a beat up and a pathetic one at that . Obviously I am pissed off . Any sort of public audit sucks I suppose.

    I don't actually think its got anything to do with anyone other than the parties involved , but I feel I need to justify my shit since the desperate old Herald crones have cried that I have received a get out of jail free card and therefore am just another example of legal system double standards.

    What fucking losers . Note the lack of actual facts . The lack of research . How about the skewing of opinion in the piece itself ? The article , chocka block full of assumption , is bad enough but then as many on Public address have mentioned ....what fresh retarded garble is that Editorial ???


    So , just to ease the swelling of insinuation and to hold back the roaring tide of presumption here are a few of those vital things that David Fisher's sorry arse excuse for professional news journalism was woefully devoid of . Facts .

    Yes I have had a sizeable amount of fines converted to community service .
    Just how many and how much ? Didn't tell greasy old Fisher . Won't tell you .
    None of your business , frankly.

    Before you have a cry and scream double standards you may want to consider the following -
    I have paid for parking , lots and lots of it .
    I have paid THOUSANDS of dollars for parking fines . In fact it sickens me when I think of how much.
    (Spare me your judgmental opinions , so you are a smarter , more organised parker than me , congratulations . I have an issue with it obviously. )

    The point is I have spent an unfeasible amount of money on parking and parking fines .
    Amazingly , being Mikey Havoc does not mean I'm living large with heaving pots of cash !
    It was getting to a stage where I just couldn't justify the outlandish expense anymore .

    I have had ongoing major issues with the Ministry of Justice for over 15 years regarding fines and what I actually owe them .
    Don't get me wrong it s mostly a lot of money for a lot of unpaid parking tickets but for whatever reason somewhere along the way some things got all fucked up and numbers started changing.
    I'm talking stuff like payments not being recorded properly 10yrs ago , numerous reminder notices being sent to completely wrong addresses as recently as 9 months ago and on more than one occasion my file totally disappearing coming back then disappearing again !
    A ticket disappearing before you return to your car with reminder notices sent to the wrong address turns very quickly from $15 to $300 whilst you are none the wiser. Police fines were going one place , council fines another , letters another etc etc

    The details are private and quite boring unless you are me or the Ministry of Justice.

    If any of you have had the pleasure of trying to deal with the mighty Ministry of Justice you will understand that trying to tell them the system is at fault is not only pointless but foolhardy. They are not into that. They are pretty much accountable to themselves and they can really get heavy if they want.

    Part of my decision to convert the whole deal into community service was because I was freaking out that it would get beyond my control and i may not be able to prove that the MOJ was at fault in time and the situation would triple worsen .

    It was only after some serious argument and demanding that they review my file that they did in fact , only very recently , admit mistakes had been made and that the MOJ may have on more than one occasion been responsible for serious errors.

    I , as Chief Reporter David Fisher so desperately points out , have not had a fun year and after lengthy discussions with the MOJ I decided that instead of spending more time winding them up trying to unravel the sorry mess we should sort of meet half way , I should just take the hit , and get the whole thing over and done with .
    This was partly to keep me sane as I was trying to deal with the aforementioned other ' non parking fines shit ' that personally I thought as more important.

    At no time whatsoever did I receive the magical Celebrity Special treatment . You are kidding . Thats a myth that I am amazed the Hearld even went with . I mean please - comparing me to Boy George and Naomi Campbell?

    No special treatment each week at the Courts , certainly not from the sentencing Judge. In fact the head of Waitakere Collection s with whom I eventually was dealing with on a weekly personal basis trying to get this sorted out came up to me AFTER the case was presented to the judge asked for a signature for her daughter. Before that she had pretended to know nothing about what I did professionally or who I "was ".

    I never used a lawyer . Lawyers are expensive .

    Why the University ? Would it surprise you that since I finally have a carpark there it means less chance of accruing more fines? obviously , and because I am nearby daily I can be more useful more often .

    Final community service placement decisions are made by the Department Of Corrections and there are a lot of boxes that need ticking .
    To suggest that they fluff it up for certain people is complete nonsense .
    The AUSA were the ones who asked me to dj as part of my community service work for them . Yes its enjoyable but its still time I could be doing other things or out earning money - that I'm not .
    In fact , the AUSA and I spoke this morning and they are happy to continue on with the deal as is .

    The article in the Herald On Sunday was uninformed sensationalist shite .
    It wasn't news and I told David Fisher that when he rang.
    I never confirmed any figures or amounts to him . He made those up. REPORTERS AREN"T SUPPOSED TO MAKE THINGS UP .

    Was it because they couldn't do a story on "the well known celebrity with name suppression " or was it a reaction to my phone conversation earlier this year with gimpy editor Shane Currie highlighting the damage caused by the blundering efforts of poor simple Rachel Glucina ?
    Who knows ?

    I make mistakes . Wish I didn't but I do .
    People will decide what they want about me . People are awesome like that.

    What is more concerning is how come the Chief Reporter for a major national newspaper spent his weekend writing that crap and got paid for it ?...aaaannnd just who signed off on that ranting drivel of an editorial ?

    I wish our newspapers reported news.
    A pleasure , as always .


    mikey

    Since Nov 2006 • 3 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    FFS!

    Probably most people do do exactly what you seem flustered about there but neither was Havoc bleating, just the Herald. Havoc did what the law allows. Legal and correct in the situation he was in.

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    A pleasure , as always .
    mikey

    As always ,word :)

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov,

    Or maybe Teh System did it when you weren't looking...

    no no, the drugs are working...first version was better. Gotta agree 100% with Rich of Observationz.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    Was it because they couldn't do a story on "the well known celebrity with name suppression "

    I suspect that is most certainly the angle that Fisher came from. Very bizarre story all in all, I thought. Good luck to you Mikey H - and good for you for speaking up.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    no no, the drugs are working...

    LOL

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov,

    Good luck to you Mikey H - and good for you for speaking up.

    Yeah, all things considered, it's a pretty cool answer.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    @ Jackie
    I text you. You no answer. ??

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • mark taslov,

    She's driving.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    She's driving

    She could pull over and park! Oh wait a minute...

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • vangam,

    You are too cool for school Mike H.

    Why dont ya poke the naysayers in the eye and have some fun doin yer community service?

    Rangiora • Since Jun 2007 • 103 posts Report Reply

  • Morgan Nichol,

    fresh retarded garble

    Can I just get confirmation from the judges that this is as awesome as I think?

    Auckland CBD • Since Nov 2006 • 314 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Andrew,

    9.7 from the Hamilton judge.

    Hamiltron - City of the F… • Since Nov 2006 • 900 posts Report Reply

  • tim,

    best solution? get rid of the fckng car! (or at least save it for out of town use) You live in a city of over a million people, surely there is a ubiquitous public transport system that makes owning a car redundant on more levels than just parking it? oh.... right....

    Wellington • Since Sep 2009 • 21 posts Report Reply

  • dubmugga,

    well good for you mr havoc...

    ...i 'm just pissed they didnt afford me the same luxury

    the back of your mind • Since Nov 2006 • 257 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    @Sofie I sorry, I get text, I say yes in mind cos you has special powers. See? Other person in relation to msg 50/50 si ou non. Fish swim okay. Little person with fab legs probly come alone alone. Send txt tomorrow day. xx

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Just thinking,

    dubmugga, I take it you're using luxury in the Monty Python Four Yorkshiremen sense :)

    Putaringamotu • Since Apr 2009 • 1158 posts Report Reply

  • Peter Ashby,

    What is probably underlining a lot of the perceived difference in courts' willingness to convert fines to other punishments is that you have to be credible to the judge that you will complete and abide by the proposal. It is a fact of life that professional people with a public profile have a lot of incentive to live up to things like that. Joe Smith not so much. When you make a proposal to a judge it helps if you are credible. It's as simple as that.

    We would be first to criticise a judge who let some no hoper evade a fine like that who then gave two fingers and sloped off. This is the flip side of that.

    Moral of the story, be credible. But preferably, don't do the crime. I have never in my life got a parking ticket, and yes, I do drive. I also do that walking thing and I am not too proud to ride buses to places where parking is a nightmare.

    Dundee, Scotland • Since May 2007 • 425 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    If you don't want to pay fines, park where it's legal, don't drive in bus lanes, register your car, etc. It isn't a human right to plant your car where you want and how you want. If you can't afford to drive a car legally, then sell it and move somewhere with public transport.

    Which leads into one of my favourite rants: ACTING LIKE A DANGEROUS COCK WITH AN ENGORGED SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT BEHIND THE WHEEL OF A CAR IS NOT A FUNDAMENTAL, INALIENABLE, HUMAN RIGHT.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Clarke,

    ^
    This.

    (Sorry, always wanted to sat that on a forum.)

    -36.76, 174.61 or thereab… • Since Nov 2006 • 164 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    When you make a proposal to a judge it helps if you are credible.

    Where credible = from a background and lifestyle that the judge approves of. Hard to see how that might favour white folk from well-off, connected families..

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Where credible = from a background and lifestyle that the judge approves of. Hard to see how that might favour white folk from well-off, connected families..

    Yes, sure, being articulate and employed will help your case, a lot. But the story I linked to upthread indicates that very many non-middle-class folk in Northland have negotiated the same sort of arrangements.

    To put it mildly, I think it's a risky assumption to declare that people convince judges because they come from "well-off, connected families". (Especially in the case of Mikey, who lost his father when he was a kid -- the Roberts were nothing like a wealthy establishment household.)

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd,

    Mikey's comment on the procedural problems with fines ring very true to me (although I think it's Corrections, not Justice who do the collection). A few years ago, my ex amassed a sizable number of speeding tickets in the jointly owned car while I was out of the country.

    The first I knew of this was when IRD got in touch with my employer to deduct money from my pay. Horror! Embarrassment! Notices had been piling up at our old address, where the ex had been shoving them down the back of the fridge, and though I had re-registered the car with my new address, no notices ever went there.

    I went through an orgy of declarations and evidence to have the fines waived, only to have to do this twice more over the next couple of years, as whatever process I went through didn't "take". The actual people I dealt with were professsional and helpful, but nonetheless something in the back office appeared to be quite broken.

    Which causes to me wonder sometimes how much of the huge sums we hear are uncollected are in fact double-counted, or unrecorded.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    Yes, sure, being articulate and employed will help your case, a lot. But the story I linked to upthread indicates that very many non-middle-class folk in Northland have negotiated the same sort of arrangements.

    Christ, that could improve the quality of our radio programmes no end.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    I think it's a risky assumption to declare that people convince judges because they come from "well-off, connected families".

    I think it's riskier to say that it doesn't have an impact. Not saying anything about Mr Roberts' situation, more picking up on the reasoning from Mr Ashby. Should have thrown in the phrase "social capital" - which can apply beyond class or wealth, especially when it comes to knowing your way through the legal system.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

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