A Lake Okareka lodge owner has escaped a criminal conviction in part because it could stop him travelling overseas with his partner - former Magic netball coach Noelene Taurua.
Edward Goldsmith, 41, appeared in the Tauranga District Court yesterday after he was found guilty last month of two Department of Conservation charges - knowingly and without authority interfering with the natural features of the Lake Okareka Marginal Strip conservation area, and erecting a deck on it without authority.
Goldsmith was discharged without conviction by Judge Christopher Harding. However, he will have to pay $11,030 in reparation to cover the cost of reinstating land he excavated, aerial shots used to prosecute and surveying costs.
Goldsmith and Ms Taurua own the lakeside Black House on the Point lodge, where the offending occurred. Goldsmith's lawyer, Peter Wright, cited the impact a conviction would have on Goldsmith's role on several community trusts and his ability to travel overseas should Taurua successfully earn an overseas coaching job.
"A conviction may inhibit Mr Goldsmith's ability to travel to Fiji or South Africa with his partner, where she hopes to work in a coaching role," he said.