Stephen Henare, Former Far North Māori Fund Trustee, Denied Supreme Court Appeal for ‘Cultural Shame’

A former Far North Māori fund trustee who was jailed for a $ 1 million fraud he perpetrated with his sister has been denied a Supreme Court appeal for “cultural embarrassment”.

Stephen Henare and Margaret Dixon practically bled the Parengarenga 3G (P3G) Trust to pay for the game and the luxuries, like a corporate box at rugby league games.

Both were prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and on the fourth day of the trial in Henare Superior Court last May, he pleaded guilty to five counts of robbery by a person in a special relationship and one count of pervert the course of justice.

Judge Matthew Muir, 62, was subsequently sentenced to five years and two months in prison, a term he unsuccessfully challenged in the Court of Appeal this year.

Despite dismissing Henare’s efforts, the Court of Appeal said that in an appropriate future case the courts could “explore the possibility of treating whakamā as a unique mitigating factor when sentencing a Maori defendant.”

So Henare took the case to the highest court in New Zealand with a request for a second challenge to his sentence. His sole ground for appeal was the effect of whakamā, a form of cultural shame for the Maori, which should have been recognized as a personal mitigating factor in his sentence.

A cultural report for Henare’s sentencing said that he “has expressed a disconnect with his broader whanau.”

As part of the report, his daughter also said in a statement that her father’s crimes had made him an outcast.

“Our mana has been stripped, our tikanga value is gone … We, as whanau, are broken,” he said.

Henare also argued that his ruling “has impacted all past, present and future lineage connections and with the earth itself.”

In its judgment delivered today, the Supreme Court said that it accepted that the relevance and potential effect of whakamā on the judgment is a matter of general or public importance.

However, he was not satisfied with the problem arising from the Henare case.

When sentencing Henare, Judge Matthew Muir referred to the “humiliation” felt by current and former trustees and the broader community of owners as a result of Henare’s crime.

The Supreme Court tribunal of Justice Joe Williams, Justice Ellen France and Justice Mark O’Regan said that whakamā was “clearly in [Justice Muir’s] contemplation”.

“But the logic in the suggestion that Mr. Henare should receive a discount because of the whakamā his offense caused to others is not immediately obvious,” the decision says.

“More importantly, however, there is little evidence that Mr. Henare himself is affected by whakamā,” the court said, dismissing the request.

A report from the Department of Corrections also recorded that, despite his guilty plea, Henare maintained that he has fulfilled his obligations in his role and did not steal funds from the PG3 Trust.

Judge Muir found that Henare harbored a sense of entitlement to funds for properties that he claimed had been “illegally taken from his grandmother and others.”

Henare’s crimes began after he was appointed P3G administrator with his sister and five other people in June 2012.

The trust, which helped disadvantaged people, managed more than 500ha of forest on Maori land in the Tai Tokerau district.

Henare and Dixon took control of P3G with about $ 1.08 million in cash assets in August 2012, but as of January 2014 only $ 13.41 remained in the accounts.

As a result of the depleted funds, there was a devastating financial, social, and emotional impact on P3G’s 400 current and future beneficial owners, who could no longer afford to maintain their forests.

The issues plaguing P3G had been brought to the Maori Land Court in January 2013, after one of the trustees submitted an application to remove Henare from office.

But at the court hearing, Henare perverted the course of justice by lying when asked about the health of the trust account, claiming there was just under $ 1 million in the accounts.

Still a trustee, he walked away and went on to steal the remaining $ 400,000.

Dixon, who was to testify for the OFS during her brother’s trial, was found guilty and sentenced to house arrest for her involvement in the fraud.

The court heard in his judgment that his personal gain was $ 130,836.

The brothers have been removed as trustees of P3G.