NZ's high and mighty- a bit suss?
An interesting article on the long history of "prominent New Zealanders":
Heiress kidnapping, "Little Britain", and Sovereign Individuals
Or, a short exploration of the crimes of the New Zealand elite
This year has seen much discussion about the phenomenon of the “prominent New Zealander” headline. Those who have followed me for a while may have seen my on former ACT Party president Tim Jago. However, instead of another op-ed about name suppression or the infallibility of the justice system, I wish to present a short history of “elite misbehaviour” in New Zealand. This piece is a triptych, ranging from before the Treaty of Waitangi, to a (nowhere near exhaustive) history of the New Zealand elite’s crimes, to the new “investor class” now increasingly calling Aotearoa home. This is an attempt at answering why the “prominent New Zealander” keeps on ending up in court, and why it seems like they keep on getting a slap on the wrist.In 1826, Edward Gibbon Wakefield kidnapped 15 year old heiress Ellen Turner in an attempt to steal her family fortune. The subsequent trial was tabloid fodder in Britain, with newspapers and books covering every turn. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison, and began plotting other get rich quick schemes while incarcerated. He turned his attention to recently established colonies in the Antipodes.
