Two of the articles are about high profile New Zealanders whose kids have descended into criminal company; one for tagging and one for drugs. Brought up in privileged lives and never wanted for anything material, but failed to gain any sense of values in their expensive lifestyles and educations...
I heard a passing reference on the radio from Michael Laws recently, another well known New Zealander, to the plight of Millie Elder and her family... Michael has broken marriages, a high profile career, young children of his own, one of which is currently fighting leukaemia, but he recognised that Millie's father, who adopted her when he married her mother, was certainly being seen to try to help her. Michael's comment: "there but for the grace of God go I". A very real fear that every parent can identify with,
Paul Holmes' troubled daughter Millie Elder is due to appear in court on Wednesday on the first of several charges of possessing methamphetamine.Police allege Elder was a passenger in a car she co-owns with her Headhunters gang member boyfriend, when the vehicle was pulled over in west Auckland on April 16.
The court appearance is 10 days before her TV and radio host father hosts a black-tie event to raise funds "to combat the P epidemic". Holmes will appear at the Stella Trust celebrity roast on May 16, fronted by One News anchor Simon Dallow in which the Newstalk ZB presenter will be "roasted". Other celebrities backing the $290-a-seat event at Auckland's Sky City include ex-politicians Jenny Shipley and Winston Peters, Auckland mayor John Banks and principal Family Court judge Peter Boshier.
Craig Norgate, who has been one of the country's highest paid executives... is now parent to a high profile tagger. Interesting that the son is now thought to be living in Christchurch attending university .... might have to take more notice of the local graffiti again.
One of Auckland's worst taggers is the son of millionaire former Fonterra boss Craig Norgate. The Sunday Star-Times has learned that Dylan Norgate, 19, is behind the notorious SPEKT tag which has been daubed across buildings in East Auckland, including Mission Bay, where his parents live in a house valued at $7 million.
After leaving Fonterra, Craig decided to remain in New Zealand..
"But I'd made the decision a long time ago that I wanted to bring my family up in New Zealand and so I decided if I could find the right thing to do that's what we'd do," says Norgate, who with his wife Jane has three children, Dylan, Jordan and Alexandria.
"That's where my heart lay."
I wonder how Craig feels about that now....
Are they born this way? Is it genetic at all? Is it just that their parent's busy, executive lifestyles leave the children unloved, ignored, friendless, riddled with low self esteem? Does access to high levels of money cause it?
I do remember a TV series looking at the children of the rich... and one son, who sought an adrenaline filled existence to fill meaningless days, reflected later that he had no self worth until he began to work for the company he would one day inherit. Working with real people, achieving positive feedback for honest effort created a much needed sense of self worth. The financial worth meant nothing to him, until he began to earn the respect of the company staff, and to care about working beside them.
So, how do you explain the next headline today!!!
Kittens face surgery after paws hacked off
Two tiny kittens are slowly recovering after having paws cut off - believed to be by children using a knife or scissors.The kittens survived their "horrendous" injuries, but are now facing major surgery to have a hind leg and part of a hip amputated.Giggled!!!!!!!!! Money has nothing to do with this... unless lack of money fits into some equation here. I have so many past students who now work with the RSPCA, Cats Protection League, Dog Watch and rescue organisations. I take my hat off to them and realise that the cases they deal with are harrowing. I can only hope they do track down the family that brought these kittens in... if the children are capable of doing this, then I despair of where they will turn their experimenting to next.
The children, both aged under 10, giggled when they left the kittens at a Wellington Cats Protection League foster home, saying that the kittens' "feet fell off". But a vet's verdict is that the feet were "traumatically removed".The children and their parents left the animal foster home without giving their names.
The committee member who runs the home has informed the SPCA, but a spokesperson says they cannot investigate without more information.
Parenting... we all make mistakes. We just hope not on this scale.... but deep down, I know where Michael Laws was coming from.
PS - later the same day, Cactus Kate answered a lot of my questions - and I strongly recommend you go and read her thoughts on this... The New Zealand Rich Kid
