‘I have to keep this place open’
Peters says Thursday’s deadline for decision can be met
Adairy owner was grabbed by the neck and dragged through her store during a violent robbery in which three masked men armed with a gun and an axe stormed into the shop.
It was the second time armed robbers have targeted Janine Burrow in the past month. She had a gun pointed at her head in September.
The Mt Roskill store she has owned since May has been attacked four times in the past year, sparking calls for tougher sanctions against violent offenders who are routinely targeting cash and cigarettes from small stores.
Close to tears yesterday, Burrow told the Herald she had to continue operating, having put all of her money into what had been her dream business. “I haven’t got a choice, really. I have to keep this place open.”
She was shaken but unhurt after her Parau Street Dairy was robbed about 1.40pm on Saturday. The robbers stole the till, tobacco, her phone and a BB gun she kept behind the counter for protection.
Police yesterday recovered the attackers’ getaway vehicles. Officers were analysing CCTV footage but had yet to make an arrest. Meanwhile, Burrow reopened the store yesterday. Despite working long days, seven days a week, her business is only just breaking even.
“The first time I was robbed, I yelled at the guy that all we try to do as normal people is try to earn some money, and to have someone else try to take that from you . . . I said the karma would get him one day.”
In Saturday’s attack, Burrow was just returning from the back of the shop, where she was working alone, when a man came at her, shouting.
“I actually thought he was one of the regulars, until I clocked he had an axe.” To her confusion, he demanded to know if she was “Diana”, then yelled for her to hand over her phone. “I said . . . it was behind the till, and he showed me the handle of a gun tucked in his pants.
“Then he grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and sort of dragged me to the front of the shop.”
The three men left in a yellow Mazda 3 that she’d noticed driving past earlier. “They got, maximum, $120, if that,” Burrow said. “And around 20 packs of cigarettes.”
Although the main attacker was wearing a hoodie and a bandanna across his face, Burrow told police he was a light-skinned Maori, having seen the skin of his stomach as he showed her the gun.
She’d also caught sight of the driver as he peered in the window, describing him as darker-skinned.
After the latest robbery, Burrow admitted she felt “palpitations” whenever she saw someone in a hoodie.
“The locals have been great. One guy asked to see the CCTV footage so he could see if anyone knew them, and pay them a visit.”
She said police had not offered any advice on avoiding further robberies, other than recommending she look into some DNA spray.
In a statement last night, police said they had visited the store after the most recent attacks to provide support and offer prevention advice.
Talks to form the next Government will continue all day today and “into the night”, Winston Peters says — with NZ First aiming to make a decision in four days.
Teams from National and Labour met with NZ First at Parliament yesterday, with each meeting shrouded in secrecy and stretching out over two hours. Peters’ verdict on both was “very constructive”.
“[We] got a lot of work done. We will be back tomorrow morning . . . all day tomorrow and into the night.”
Peters said there was nothing to suggest NZ First’s self-imposed deadline for a decision by Thursday would not be met. He said negotiations were proceeding “policy by policy”. There had been no discussions about possible ministerial roles.
“Let’s sort out the things that really matter. Policy is everything. Otherwise it’s just about personalities, isn’t it? And that is your guys’ game.”
In scenes unusual for a Sunday, exit points and key passageways in the Parliamentary precinct were filled by media, and security was ramped up around the room set aside for talks on the Beehive’s second floor.
Changes were made to swipe cards held by media to keep reporters and cameras further from the negotiating room. A security guard assigned to Peters tried to move reporters away as the veteran politician left for lunch on Lambton Quay.
The final vote announced on Saturday evened up the two alternative governments, with National on 56 seats and the Labour-Green bloc on 54 — and both needing the nine votes of NZ First.
Labour and National are avoiding making any detailed comment on the talks, although Jacinda Ardern went further than Bill English in making a short statement after Labour’s meeting. “I can say that we have had an excellent, productive meeting. “Negotiations will continue for Labour with the parties that we are looking to form a stable, durable coalition government with. We have nothing further to say though as we undertake these important and sensitive negotiations. Thanks.” Ardern then walked away with her team. Asked how it went, former MP Annette King gave a thumbs up.
English’s sole appearance before the cameras came as he left Parliament and hopped into his ministerial limo. Asked why he was smiling, he said: “Oh, you know, negotiations went fine.”
The various negotiating teams were largely unchanged, although National’s deputy leader, Paula Bennett, was included in the Blue Team after being excluded from the first meeting because of a presumption her presence could displease Peters.
On Labour’s team, Annette King subbed in for Sir Michael Cullen, who has continued with a planned trip to the Galapagos Islands.
As well as policy concessions and possible ministerial positions for NZ First members, another factor in the party’s decision-making will be its preferred governing framework.
Possible options open to the party include a full coalition inside Cabinet, a support agreement offering confidence and supply in return for some ministerial posts outside Cabinet, to sitting on the cross benches offering support on a case-by-case basis in return for minimal policy gains.
Peters has previously said his party had identified nine possible permutations, and yesterday said they all remained on the table.
“I can’t answer your question now. I genuinely cannot. I’m not trying to be difficult with anyone in the media. But if you don’t keep your eyes wide open as to all the possibilities, you may have missed a great chance for your country, for the country’s social and economic progress.”
Oh, you know, negotiations went fine. Bill English