Kuka's parole location a secret

Lisa Kuka, the mother of Nia Glassie, was released on parole yesterday. Photo / File

The mother of Nia Glassie is out of prison, but authorities are refusing to reveal where she has been released to.

Lisa Kuka, 41, was sentenced to nine years' jail in 2009 for failing to protect and provide the necessities of life for her 3-year-old daughter, Nia, who died in 2007 from head injuries.

Kuka was released on parole yesterday, the Department Corrections citing privacy issues on why the area she was moving to was confidential.

There had been a backlash on social media this month when it was known she would be let out five years into her nine-year term.

According to the Parole Board decision, Kuka will be subject to the standard conditions but also 10 special conditions, including: not to have contact with her children without the permission of the probation officer; not to reside with any child without approval; not to stay away from her residence overnight; and to notify the probation officer before entering an intimate relationship. She was also not to have contact with Michael Curtis, Wiremu Curtis, Michael Pearson and Oriwa Kemp - who were also jailed over Nia's treatment - without written consent, and was prohibited from talking to the media.

Brothers Michael and Wiremu Curtis are serving life sentences for the toddler's murder. Before release, the parole board approved Kuka's accommodation, saying it "appears to be highly suitable and supported". It also spoke to her about re-engaging with whanau.

"The clear view is that matters need to be taken cautiously and that will be a step along the pathway once Ms Kuka is well settled into the community," the board said.

Kuka's mother, Polly Kuka from Rotorua, told the Rotorua Daily Post yesterday she still refused to have contact with her daughter and had no interest in her release. "That's the sort of thing I don't want to know. She's caused me enough trouble as it is," she said.

Kim Workman, a former Rotorua director of Maori Affairs and now spokesman for the Rethinking Crime and Punishment project, said research showed parole could help prevent someone from re-offending.

He was the head of the prison service from 1989 to 1993.

"I understand the reaction of some people wanting to see them [criminals] punished to the limit, but if we think about it the chances of them hurting someone else again increases if they are released without the proper supervision and support," he said. "It really depends on the quality of supervision. There are two approaches - you could monitor the hell out of them, make them feel like they're under strict scrutiny which can have negative effect. Intense supervision without support, then the likelihood of re-offending is likely to increase."

He said it was a good idea to keep Kuka's address confidential.

"I think it is. The difficulty is there are vigilantes out there, who if they know where she is living will make life difficult for her rehabilitating. It's really important that she has whanau or a group of people committed to help her especially in the first six months," Mr Workman said.

"I don't know the full history but we're not talking about a paedophile or someone who will be a present danger in the community. Over 50 per cent of people in prison who committed that sort of behaviour, it was against a family member.

"It is very unlikely for them to re-offend. She poses no real danger. It's not like she was a serial offender."

Sensible Sentencing Trust Rotorua spokesman Peter Bentley said he didn't think people needed to know where Kuka was but hoped she no longer had contact with children.

But child abuse was an issue the community needed to take responsibility for, he said.