Police were led to the site with the help of one of Phillips' children. Video / NZ Herald
An urgent suppression order was granted in relation to specific details of the Tom Phillips case.
Jayda, 12, Maverick, 10, and Ember, 9, were in hiding for four years in the rugged Waikato backcountry with their fugitive father before things came to a dramatic head yesterday.
Although many details ofthe case that gripped the country have surfaced since his death early yesterday, certain aspects cannot be published.
Phillips was finally cornered on a quad bike with one of his children following a burglary at a farm supplies store in Piopio. The incident escalated into an armed stand-off with police, which ended in his death. A police officer was also critically injured.
Tom Phillips, top left, and his children first came to national attention when they disappeared in September 2021. Photo / Supplied
The remaining children were found safe after a frantic search and are now in the care of Oranga Tamariki.
The High Court granted an injunction following an urgent application from top lawyer Linda Clark on behalf of Julia Phillips, the mother of Tom Phillips.
The order was issued for 48 hours, and the matter will be heard in court further on Thursday.
What is an injunction?
An injunction is an order made by a Court, usually to stop someone from doing something.
Initially, news media companies could not report that the injunction existed – a non-publication order that is sometimes referred to as a “super injunction”.
Clark is a former journalist who left the profession in 2006 to study law.
She even had a high-profile stint as political editor for TVNZ.
Clark has also represented various other well-known clients on a range of matters, including helping negotiate Duncan Garner‘s contract for the AM show and Clarke Gayford in a defamation case against the NZME radio station Kick.
Clark declined to comment on the Phillips case when approached by the Herald.
