ACC protester pleads guilty
A man who live streamed protest action against ACC on Facebook has pleaded guilty to charges related to the incident.
Yesterday, Paul Martyn Smith pleaded guilty to wilful damage and intimidation, which were laid following his arrest last month outside the national insurer’s New Plymouth branch on Molesworth St.
Sergeant Lewis Sutton told the New Plymouth District Court that about 9.20am on December 20, Smith went to the office and asked a receptionist if he could speak to his case manager.
When told the worker was not available, the 50-year-old got upset and said he would be back.
Sutton said Smith went to a nearby hardware store and bought a set of bolt cutters before returning to the ACC office.
He used the tool to remove a bollard and then drove his car into the office’s front entrance.
Sutton said Smith then live streamed the incident.
‘‘He said no-one was listening and he wanted media coverage.’’
Following his arrest, and prior to entering guilty pleas, Smith told Stuff how he had regretted the action he took but felt like he had no other options and had been ‘‘backed into a corner.’’
While he knew he ran the risk of being arrested, Smith said the reality when it happened had been scary, as at one point he feared he might get tasered.
At the heart of Smith’s beef with ACC has been his belief that he qualified for weekly compensation from ACC due to a back injury he says he suffered in 2012.
However, the Crown entity, in response to questions asked after Smith signed a privacy waiver allowing it to share details with media about his case, said there was no medical evidence to support the claim.
It said the cause of Smith’s current health complaint was due to a diagnosis of osteoporosis. This finding had also been backed by an independent review panel in March 2018.
In November, Smith sought a further opinion from a spinal surgeon and this report was passed onto ACC. However, Smith was later advised this information did not change its position on the matter.
An ACC spokesman previously said Smith had a right to seek a further review of the decision and if unsuccessful could head to the District Court as another means of appeal.
Following Smith’s guilty pleas, Judge Lynne Harrison convicted him and asked for a pre-sentence report to be completed. She also referred the case to restorative justice. Smith will reappear in court on March 12.