Kiwi man David Ngatokotoru Martin was jailed for murdering Luke Hankey in Australia in 2007. He has now been released from prison on parole and is being held in immigration detention.
A Kiwi who murdered an aspiring professional surfer in a New South Wales pub carpark almost 20 years ago has been released from prison and is being held in immigration detention across the ditch.
David Ngatokotoru Martin, 45, has made a plea to the Australian Government from the detention centre to allow him to remain in the country, where he would be subjected to parole conditions until 2030 if he were released into the community.
Lisa Mackett, Martin’s partner and co-offender in the violent 2007 incident which led to his murder conviction, has supported his plea, stating she has remained in a committed relationship with him since he was jailed.
But the tribunal considering the appeal heard Martin lacked remorse and insight for his crimes, including the murder, had repeatedly breached prison rules by using drugs while inside, and had not engaged in rehabilitation to the extent recommended by the courts or prison psychologists.
Martin was found to be a “significant risk” of committing further violent offending if he were released into the community, leading the Administrative Review Tribunal of Australia to rule in favour of his deportation to New Zealand, where he has not resided since 1988, when he was 8.
According to the decision, released this month, Martin and Mackett went to the Bateau Bay Hotel in New South Wales on October 20, 2007.
They spent the evening in the hotel’s beer garden with friends before leaving around midnight.
They decided to drive home rather than leave their car parked at the venue, where groups of people were milling about, yelling and shouting.
As Mackett drove through the carpark, the car’s path became blocked by pedestrians, including Luke Hankey, who was directly in front of the vehicle when it stopped.
“He apparently turned his back on the vehicle, putting plant material down his trousers and, as described by his sister, ‘wiggled his bum’,” the decision detailed.
“Lisa Mackett was heard to yell out, perhaps with expletives: ‘Get out of the way; you’ll get yourself killed.’ The path of the car, however, remained blocked. Members of the crowd yelled at the occupants of the car.”
Martin, who had been in the passenger seat, and Mackett got out of the car and Martin picked up a “blunt instrument” believed to be a screwdriver.
He swiftly approached the group and struck one man twice in the neck with the weapon, leaving superficial wounds, before moving towards Hankey.
“With a thrusting motion, requiring moderate to severe force, he struck Luke Hankey twice in the chest. The blunt implement, on one of these occasions, penetrated eight centimetres through to the heart and aorta.”
As Hankey collapsed, Martin confronted a third man, who backed away while holding up his hands.
Martin did not harm the third man and returned to the car while Mackett assaulted two women before rejoining Martin.
“The whole episode took seconds rather than minutes. The vehicle then left at some speed, driven by David Martin. As it drove away, it was attacked by the crowd.”
A short distance up the road, Martin got out of the car and assaulted another man.
Meanwhile, Hankey was taken to hospital where he was declared dead, according to Australian media.
The 24-year-old was described in reports as an aspiring professional surfer who had been celebrating his niece’s birthday with family and friends on the night he was killed.
Martin went on to plead guilty to the common assault of one victim but denied murder and reckless wounding relating to his other victims.
Following a lengthy trial, he was found guilty and sentenced in October 2011 to 20 years’ imprisonment with a minimum parole period of 15 years for the murder, and two years and six months on the other charges.
Mackett was convicted of being an accessory after the fact to murder and two counts of assault.
According to the tribunal’s decision, Martin, whose visa was cancelled as a result of his serious offending, was released on parole in May this year and taken into immigration detention.
That same month, he applied to the tribunal to appeal his visa cancellation.
Martin has resided in Australia continuously for more than 36 years and has never returned to NZ, according to the decision.
He began using drugs and alcohol from an early age, did not complete school and ran away from home at 15, initially sleeping in abandoned trains.
Martin only occasionally worked and has an extensive criminal history, beginning in 1995.
While multiple reports stated Martin was not remorseful for his offending, he told the tribunal he was ashamed of his behaviour and that he regretted the damage he had caused.
However, the tribunal said he still sought to minimise his culpability, and denied the murder was unprovoked.
It said he has taken some steps to address his drug and alcohol use and his need for anger management but more work was required, and he has limited support in the community.
The tribunal was not convinced that Mackett, who is currently prevented by Martin’s parole conditions from contacting him, and others who offered to support Martin, would be a positive influence.
Martin said he has no family, housing, or support network in NZ but, in ruling in favour of his deportation, the tribunal said he would likely receive support as a returning prisoner under NZ’s Returning Offenders (Management and Information) Act 2015.
The Act enables the Department of Corrections to manage and monitor certain offenders, such as 501 deportees, returning from overseas.
Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 and is currently an assistant editor and reporter for the Open Justice team. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff covering crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.