Murderer Wins Right to Wear His Wig, Roving Gangs of Children, and Apple's Disappearing Tax Bill

One of New Zealand's most notorious murderers has won the right to wear a toupee to hide his bald patch behind bars. The High Court ruled last week that Corrections had breached the rights of Philip John Smith by not allowing him to wear his faux hairpiece in prison. Smith is currently serving a life sentence in maximum security for murdering the father of a boy he was sexually abusing, then fleeing to South America. He argued successfully that the toupee was covered by his right to freedom of expression, and prison staff had failed to treat him with humanity and dignity. The judge has given Corrections 14 days to come up with a new decision, and/or a better reason to deny the man his wig.

Syrian New Zealanders say they're being detained for hours, forced to give up passwords and having their underwear searched by customs officers when they enter the country. A number of New Zealand residents and citizens of Syrian descent spoke to TVNZ about their experiences. One man said he had been stopped and detained six times since 2015 as he returned home from visiting his 28-year-old son Martin in Sydney. Three of those occasions he was forced to hand over his electronic devices, and he says his wife was embarrassed and furious after border guards went through her underwear. Another man, who has lived in New Zealand for three decades, was held for five hours, and not allowed to call his children who were outside waiting to pick him up. In a statement, Customs said: "We use intelligence information and risk-based profiling to identify passengers that may need further questioning."
"Customs does not profile passengers based on religion or belief."

Tech giant Apple pays zero income tax in New Zealand, despite raking in billions from Kiwi customers. A new investigation from the New Zealand Herald's Matt Nippert found the company had paid no income tax over the past decade, and had sold $4.2 billion worth of electronics gear. If the company's profit margins in New Zealand resemble their overseas breakdowns, New Zealand's tax department could have collected $356 million since 2007—enough to fund 700 state houses. The company refused to answer specific questions about its tax bill, but in a statement issued to the Herald said it followed the law.

"Apple aims to be a force for good and we're proud of the contributions we've made in New Zealand over the past decade. Because our products and services are created, designed and engineered in the US, that's where the vast majority of our tax is paid."

Roving gangs of children have been roaming a Northland town, taking booze and attempting to rob a petrol station. Police say around 20 youngsters hurled rocks and tried to kick in the glass doors of the Mobil service station on Friday night. The same evening, 12 children walked into a liquor store on Friday night, walked out with boxes of beer, and took them to an adult party. The group were apparently aged between 14 and 16. Kaikohe community patroller Tony Taylor told RNZ only five police officers were working in the whole mid-north area that night, and they were busy elsewhere.

"These kids just run riot."

He said gangs of youths as young as 11 were stealing cars and breaking into properties.

"Nobody can do anything with them."

Deanna Yang runs a gourmet milk and cookie bar business Moustache in Auckland. The cookies are delicious. The business is successful, and Visa pay wave put her face on an ad. Then cat_fanatic_is_here made a comment about the ad on Instagram: "ASIANS ON A NZ AD. GOD HELP US" and Yang has responded with a powerful essay about the reality of being a New Zealand born Chinese and the racism she faces daily.

"I was born in Waitakere Hospital, West Auckland 26 years ago & since then have been conditioned to accept that being screamed on the streets by "Kiwis", "FUCK YOU ASIAN C***" is just a normal occurrence in my life."

Yang told Stuff she hoped sharing her experience would open up more discussion about an issue that is usually stigmatised within Asian culture. Race Relations commissioner told the NZ Herald, "Some New Zealanders need to be reminded that Kiwis come from many cultures, ethnicities and religions".

Scribe announced on Instagram yesterday that he'll be embarking on his "hardest crusade ever" over the next three months. "i will be in a Rehabilitation facility with no contact with the outside world," he wrote. The 41-year-old 'Not Many' rapper from Christchurch said "addiction is a symptom not a choice for me due to dysfunction and abuse both physically and mentally since I was born." In 2011 Scribe pawned music awards he won for his debut album The Crusader, which went five-times platinum. In his Instagram post, Scribe said he will "be back back a better and stronger me to take this world by storm."

Tourism is booming in New Zealand. That sounds like a great thing, but the hundreds of thousands of international holidaymakers coming for some downtime have stretched the country's infrastructure to breaking point. Accommodation is so hard to come by in Auckland that when a flight was delayed recently, a group of 53 American tourists had to doss down in Te Puea Marae.

The number of tourists jumped 12 per cent in 2016 and is predicted to reach 4.5 million in six years time, almost matching the country's population. Even with construction plans to build 5,200 new hotel rooms by 2025, Government research shows there will be a likely shortage of more than 4,500 rooms. With a shortage of short-accommodation, there are fears the squeeze is going to hit the already pressured housing market, with property owners preferring to Airbnb their apartments to short term stays rather than as rentals.