Eru Oakes (inset) is taken to the marae surrounded by his four brothers and whānau.
Eru Oakes (inset) is taken to the marae surrounded by his four brothers and whānau.
Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour is backing the petition of bereaved mother Sonya Oakes who is calling for tougher sentences and fewer discounts for those who commit violent crimes.
Sonya’s son Eru, 29, died in Tauranga Hospital in October having been found with a gunshot wound at his Te Pukehome. He was 29, a partner and father of two. He also leaves behind four brothers - one of them his twin.
Deputy Prime Minister and Act leader David Seymour is backing Sonya Oakes' petition.
While navigating her grief and supporting her four surviving sons through theirs, Sonya (49) has launched a petition she calls “Eru’s Law” calling for longer sentences for violent crimes, and removing or limiting sentence discounts.
Seymour said he sympathises with Sonya and all the parents hurt by prison sentences they consider too lenient.
“My thoughts are with Sonya. No sentence will ever fix the damage caused by a tragedy like this, but it is important that actions have serious consequences. I have heard too many stories like hers,” Seymour told the Herald.
Mum Sonya Oakes wants justice and accountability for her son Eru's death.
“This Government is taking violent offending seriously. Three Strikes is now back in place, (which was repealed in by Labour in 2022) meaning the worst recidivist offenders will receive the maximum sentences. We’re also increasing the number of prison beds in New Zealand.
“Under the last Government, more was spent on pre-sentencing cultural reports than on victim support. That approach has changed, this Government is no longer funding those reports and is focused on putting victims first.
“We need to keep making progress so that the underlying values of New Zealand change and fewer people suffer what Sonya and her family have gone through. Lawlessness is not an inevitable feature of life in our country.”
In 2023 under Labour, there were 9045 prison inmates - that government had a target of reducing prisoner numbers by 30%.
Since the coalition government took over, prison inmates numbers are nearing a record-breaking 11,000.
Eru Oakes loved hunting.
Community advocate and justice reformer Denis O’Reilly said Seymour’s reasoning doesn’t stack up.
“His Three Strikes law has not made one bit of difference,” O’Reilly, a lifelong member of the Black Power said.
“Sure they are locking more, mainly brown people up, but all that’s doing is sending young guys who have made a couple of mistakes to the school of gangs and when they get out, they will be hardened gang members.
“Hawke’s Bay prison is a megalopolis of a place and the money being spent there worries me.
“Surely there’s better use of taxpayer money than barbed wire?”
O’Reilly said he also shares aroha for Sonya and what she and her whānau are going through.
Sonya’s Justice for Eru Facebook page has attracted more than 6000 followers and her petition almost 6000 signatures.
Sonya said she has been overwhelmed by the support from every day New Zealanders and hopes more Kiwis sign her petition, which will remain on Parliament’s website until December 17.
Joseph Los’e joined NZME is 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and before joining NZME worked for urban Māori organisation Whānau Waipareira.
