Rotorua Daily Post
  • Rotorua Daily Post home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Residential property listings
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Rural
  • Sport

Locations

  • Tauranga
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales

Weather

  • Rotorua
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Tokoroa
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Rotorua Daily Post

Step closer to new law that would automatically jail people who attack paramedics

By Carla Penman
Multimedia journalist, NZ Herald·NZ Herald·
19 Sep, 2018 06:06 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Australia has brought in a similar law & this week the UK doubled jail time for people who attack emergency service staff.

A new law could strip judges of the power to decide on anything less than jail time for people who attack paramedics and other first responders.

NZ First MP Darroch Ball's Protection for First Reponders and Prison Officers Bill, which was plucked from the ballot in May, proposes a mandatory minimum sentence of six months' jail for people who assault emergency services staff.

Victoria in Australia brought in a similar law earlier this year after a backlash over two women who were discharged for assaulting a paramedic. And, just last week, the United Kingdom passed a new law, doubling jail time for people who attack emergency service staff.

Lisa Buckingham has been a paramedic for the past 17 years. The south Auckland St John manager has had close shaves with attackers on the job but mostly cops verbal abuse.

She says her staff are "often assaulted" which she thinks is "really sad" and in some cases, has cut their careers short.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Earlier this year, one of her paramedics was assaulted after attending a synthetics-related call-out. "She was punched in the side of the head. After the job had been completed, someone came to find her and punch her in the side of the head," she says.

Buckingham supported her traumatised colleague in court last Thursday where restorative justice was talked about as punishment. She believes a harsher sentence is warranted.

So far this year, there've been more than 1,200 attacks on paramedics. Photo / NZH Focus
So far this year, there've been more than 1,200 attacks on paramedics. Photo / NZH Focus

"This is a horrendous act that somebody has committed against one of our officers that's absolutely trying to do the best for our community."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

So far this year, there has been more than 1200 attacks on paramedics.

Of those, 36 per cent involved alcohol, 13 per cent were mental-health related and 13 per cent related to drugs.

St John CEO Peter Bradley told the Herald most of the assaults and abuse happen in the major centres and at night. "Whether it's been spat at, bitten, punched, kicked, so a range. We've even had one recently of indecent behaviour on a staff member."

A 69-year-old man was sentenced in May to 12 months intensive supervision for groping a paramedic who had been caring for him.

Buckingham believes it's about time attackers were sent a clear message.

"It's just about highlighting that you will be put in prison if you touch us and I think everyone agrees that that's fair enough."

The Police Association "generally" supports the move to increase penalties as a deterrent to attackers but its president, Chris Cahill, thinks it's unlikely the Government will support moves to further add to the prison population.

He says experience shows judges don't like having their sentencing discretion interfered with or removed, so there could be some resistance from them.

"I do have concerns about the definition of "injury" given the variety of possible injuries inflicted or suffered by police on the job.

"However offending at the more serious end of the scale would meet the bill's proposed definition."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand declined to comment on the bill.

A Corrections spokesperson wouldn't comment on its stance either, but said the department did everything possible to minimise the risk of violence to its prison staff.

"Our frontline staff are well trained and have more safety equipment than ever before.

"We have invested significantly in training and tools to keep our people safe," a spokesperson said.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Rotorua Daily Post

Police search for suspect after man shot in leg

06 Jul 10:51 PM
Rotorua Daily Post

Kāinga Ora axes housing project, reveals new plans

06 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

Balancing power: What the employment law changes mean for you

06 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Rotorua Daily Post

Police search for suspect after man shot in leg

Police search for suspect after man shot in leg

06 Jul 10:51 PM

Information sought about man in green coat and gumboots on Pine Drive, Murupara.

Kāinga Ora axes housing project, reveals new plans

Kāinga Ora axes housing project, reveals new plans

06 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Balancing power: What the employment law changes mean for you

Balancing power: What the employment law changes mean for you

06 Jul 05:00 PM
Caught on tape: Identity finally revealed of Jaguar-driving teen behind CBD rampage

Caught on tape: Identity finally revealed of Jaguar-driving teen behind CBD rampage

06 Jul 06:00 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Rotorua Daily Post e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Rotorua Daily Post
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP
search by queryly Advanced Search