Domestic abuse organisations react to Veitch guilty plea

Heather Henare. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A domestic violence expert says he has concerns over whether broadcaster Tony Veitch has fully accepted responsibility for his actions.

National Network of Stopping Violence Services national manager Ryan Gardner told NZPA there were aspects to Veitch's behaviour since the sentencing that suggested he did not fully accept responsibility for his actions.

Like many men he had treated for violence problems, Veitch's reaction appeared to be mixed, Mr Gardner said.

"Part of them will front up and take responsibility for the behaviour and then there's another bit of them that sort of minimises it or puts it outside of themselves," Mr Gardner said.

"They want to keep saying to people 'I'm a good guy, I'm a good guy', and actually that's not the issue, about whether you're a good guy or not, the question is what are you going to do to make sure it doesn't happen again."

Mr Gardener said Veitch's constant references to "wanting to have his day in court" were also a worry.

"I got really concerned in this instance when I heard the lawyer talking about 'there'll be blood on the floor',' he said.

"That kind of really aggressive language doesn't suggest to me that this is someone who is saying 'no, this is totally my responsibility, violence is never okay and I'm going to sort this out - you're going to see it in my actions not just in my words'."

Mr Gardener said he had not spoken to Veitch and could not say if he was sorry for what he had done.

"What I know from lots of men that I've worked with is that there's an element of feeling remorseful for what they've done. There's often quite a big element of feeling quite sorry for themselves and what they've lost."

Mr Gardner said it was common for men in Veitch's situation to end up focusing on themselves as victims.

"What I'm looking for is the ability to stand in the other person's shoes and really understand what it was like for them."

He did not believe people who did not accept their behaviour could fully move on from violence.

"I think what you end up doing is making what you did smaller and smaller, and the things that they did becomes the bigger part of the story."

A silver lining could be seen in the high profile nature of the case, Mr Gardner said, in that it showed how domestic violence was present across society.

"It's a great opportunity for people to see it's not just a Maori issue, it's not just a poor issue, actually it's an issue that goes across the board," he said.

"Violence thrives in silence. If it's not talked about then it just continues on."

Domestic abuse organisations have commended the broadcaster's early guilty plea, saying it showed some consideration and spared his former partner from the distress of giving evidence

A Women's Refuge spokeswoman acknowledged Veitch's accountability, especially because she felt Kristin Dunne-Powell had been "re-victimised" by the publicity around the case. She feared a full trial would create further misery for her.

Chief executive Heather Henare said: "We are relieved for Kristin Dunne-Powell that she has been spared ... giving evidence. The whole situation has been played out very publicly and been an extremely painful experience for all concerned.

"Although the remaining charges were dropped and may never be answered, at least Tony has had the sense to plead guilty, showing consideration for his victim and ownership of his actions.

However, the executive director of Preventing Violence in the Home said Veitch should have made the plea months ago. Jane Drumm said "it has been a long time coming ... he could have spared his ex-partner months and months of public scrutiny and private anguish".

She felt that Veitch's comments when leaving court showed a lack of remorse.

"[He] made it clear his focus is still on his own suffering ... "

Doctor Bill Hodge, associate professor of the University of Auckland's Faculty of Law, said when comparing it to a range of similar cases, Veitch's sentence "appears not to be on the harsh side, it would be on the light side".

Jigsaw, a network of organisations which aimed to prevent violence in the home, said Veitch had made a step in the right direction by owning up, but he needed to show real accountability by changing his behaviour.

Chief executive Tau Huirama said he looked forward to seeing evidence that Veitch had fully rehabilitated.

Ms Henare said she hoped Veitch saw the rehabilitation programme as an opportunity rather than a punishment.

"We are pleased to see the recommendation for Tony to attend a specialised stopping violence programme. This will be an important step in seeing him re-emerge in a public role.

"Tony Veitch has made a start today. From here on the ball's in his court."

Meanwhile, prominent Auckland defence lawyer Gary Gotlieb says that plea bargains are a pragmatic way of simplifying and speeding up the judicial process.

Mr Gotlieb said the fact that six charges were dropped did not necessarily Veitch was given a lighter punishment.

"It makes the judicial process quicker than it otherwise would be."

While Mr Gotlieb could not comment on the Veitch case specifically, he said generally offenders facing multiple charges ended up serving concurrent sentences anyway.

He said that plea bargains were decided upon by the judge in an open courtroom under guidelines in the Sentencing Act which advised the "least restrictive" outcome for an offender. Judges took into account the views of the victim, the Crown and police, and defence lawyers when making decisions.

Plea bargains were also a chance to ensure the most appropriate charges had been laid.

- With NZPA and Isaac Davison