Family faces deportation
Immigration New Zealand has begun the deportation process of an unruly travelling family.
Police received reports of the family causing trouble at a Burger King in Te Rapa, Hamilton, yesterday afternoon, Senior Sergeant Simon Cherry said.
It reportedly involved an ‘‘incident with staff’’, Cherry said. Six police staff and two uniformed Immigration officers were at the scene at the corner of Te Rapa Rd and Wairere Drive shortly before 3pm.
INZ has confirmed that Deportation Liability Notices (DLN) were served on individuals involved in the incident at the restaurant.
‘‘Section 157 (5) of the Immigration Act 2009 provides for temporary visa holders to be issued with a DLN on a number of grounds, including matters relating to character,’’ Peter Devoy, Assistant General Manager INZ said in a statement.
‘‘Immigration officers advised the individuals of their appeal rights and provided the relevant documentation for them to appeal if they choose to do so.’’
Those issued with the DLN notice have 28 days to appeal the notice. They are also allowed to leave of their own choice before the notice period.
The Burger King manager, who didn’t want to be named, said they called police because the family were ‘‘causing problems’’.
‘‘They were walking through the drive-through,’’ the manager said as police spoke with family nearby.
‘‘They were just here causing problems for other customers.’’
It is understood that the group were at the restaurant earlier in the day for quite some time before returning again in the afternoon.
A male customer, who didn’t want to be named, was having a meal at Burger King said he saw the family sitting outside on a large concrete table when he arrived at around 2pm.
‘‘They were sitting out the front being a bit intimidating. Then when police arrived they started to walk off.
‘‘I heard them talking and knew it was them, the young girl sticks out. I had heard they were here in Hamilton.’’
He admits he doesn’t really want them here in New Zealand and said they seemed a bit obnoxious and were causing trouble.
Another customer, who was also inside Burger King with his children, saw the family hanging around outside.
‘‘I didn’t see them causing any trouble but when police turned up they started walking off before police caught up with them.
‘‘I have heard about them, I had a funny feeling it was them – I recognised the guy.’’
Cherry couldn’t yet confirm whether it was the same family that caused a number of issues in Auckland recently.
The travelling family were accused of trashing a beach and threatened to assault people who complained.
Immigration NZ (INZ) confirmed that two Immigration officials accompanied the police to Burger King.
‘‘INZ and the NZ Police are working together in relation to this matter,’’ a spokesperson said.
News of the travellers’ presence in Hamilton had spread widely on social media, with reports that the family had stayed at the Le Grand Hotel on Victoria Street on Monday night.
It prompted Hamilton resident Joseph Hansen-Ripia to head on down to the hotel in the hope of speaking to them about their behaviour.
However, a spokesman for the hotel said they had stayed without incident and had checked out at 10.30am. Hansen-Ripia said he wanted to explain to the family that their behaviour was not acceptable in New Zealand.
When Hansen-Ripia saw the mess the tourists left in Auckland ‘‘I thought to myself, your parents raised you to leave that? The next thought that went through my head was, How can somebody show that much disrespect?’’
He said he was angry at the standover tactics the group employed towards locals and elderly people who challenged their behaviour.
‘‘What if my nan was there? And that scared the absolute crap out of me.’’
It motivated him to wait outside the hotel to seek a dialogue with the family.
Krista Curnow described the group as an ‘‘Irish family’’ of about 12 people, including two babies.
She said they left beer boxes, bottles and baby wipes at Takapuna Beach on Sunday afternoon.
Curnow, 28, filmed the group which showed a young boy – part of the family – telling her he would ‘‘knock your brains out’’ .
‘‘We approached the family to ask them if they can please not leave without picking up their rubbish, their response was basically if we have a problem then we can pick it up and that that’s what the council is for,’’ she wrote in a post on Facebook.
The group were also labelled ‘‘rude’’ and ‘‘ready to fight’’ after they threw food on the ground at an Auckland hotel and cafe.
It is understood the family stayed at the Ibis hotel in Auckland for three nights, and checked out on Monday.
Yesterday morning, a witness from the hotel, who asked not to be named, told he saw one of the family members eat at the breakfast bar and ignored a receptionist who asked for his room number to check if he had paid for the food.
The man refused to tell the receptionist his room number, the witness said.
‘‘He was eating toast and he threw it on the ground,’’ he said.
‘‘He behaved rudely.’’
At the neighbouring cafe, The Coffee Club, the same family ordered breakfast on Saturday at 10am.
A staff member said the family had breakfast, paid and left.
However, two women returned and demanded a refund, she said.
The women wanted a refund on baked beans, sausages, and toast, saying the food was cold.
‘‘They came in like they were ready to fight,’’ the staff member said.
‘‘They were so rude and acted like they owned everything.’’
This was the first time the staff member had experienced this type of behaviour from customers, she said.