Dargaville kūmara farm manager sentenced for assault on worker

The worker from Vanuatu could no longer work picking kūmara after the assault and had to be flown home. Photo / 123RF

A seasonal employee from Vanuatu had to cut short his annual kūmara picking work in Northland after his manager hit him with a fence post while he was taking a break.

Peter Terrance Snelgar, manager of Dunsmore Farms in Dargaville, appeared for sentence in the Whangārei District Court before Judge Philip Rzepecky on one charge of assault with a blunt instrument after the December 2022 incident.

The 65-year-old was manager and supervisor of several seasonal kūmara pickers from the Pacific Islands working to make money to send home.

The victim was from Vanuatu and came to Dargaville regularly for work.

On December 14, 2022, Snelgar and the victim were sorting kūmara in the main shed on the farm when the victim and another co-worker decided to take a break.

Snelgar said to them, “Stop being lazy and keep working,” and then handed the victim a bunch of kūmara plants before saying, “You better watch yourself.”

Judge Rzepecky said immigrant seasonal workers were vital to the agriculture industry and particularly vulnerable. Photo / NZME

The victim said something to Snelgar, who then picked up a fence post and started following the man around the shed.

The man stopped because he thought Snelgar was joking, but then Snelgar raised the fence post and hit the victim in the right arm, causing a fracture.

When questioned by police, he said the victim had been “winding him up and he had had enough”.

The victim could no longer work and had to be flown back to Vanuatu, resulting in a huge financial loss to his family.

Police prosecutor Ryan Cooper said the assault was brutal and the victim was fearful for his life.

“He continues to have ongoing pain and suffering he has endured from a broken arm.”

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Judge Rzepecky said Snelgar was in a powerful position as a supervisor of staff who were in New Zealand to contribute to the agriculture economy.

“Seasonal workers are here to help our primary industries and are particularly vulnerable. They are here because they need to work for money to send home to support their families and he had to go home which was a sign of huge loss,” Judge Rzepecky said.

“Hitting someone with a fence post is out of all proportion, especially because he was walking away from you. It shows a total loss of control by you.

“Although it wasn’t planned, it was serious.”

Snelgar was sentenced to five months of home detention and ordered to pay the victim $500 in emotional harm reparation.