Editorial: Family's grief for Grace Millane shared by NZ

Editorial

The death of a sparkling, fun-loving 22-year-old woman strikes at the hearts of all of us. Grace Millane was about as far from her home in Britain as it is possible to be. She was travelling the world alone, as every young woman should be able to do. New Zealand was her second stop. After travelling in South America, she landed in this country three weeks ago. She and her family probably had less concern for her safety here than in South America. Their grief is shared by this country.

It was evident on the face of Detective Inspector Ross Beard on Sunday when he reported her body had been found. "I have a daughter in her 20s," he said. The discovery followed the arrest of a 26-year-old man who was identified from CCTV film to have entered an Auckland hotel with her on the night of Saturday December 1, the eve of her 22nd birthday. The man was given name suppression when he was charged with her murder yesterday.

We will not know exactly what happened until the trial takes its course but the details will not change the fact that a vulnerable young woman placed her trust in New Zealand and someone has taken advantage of that. This country is seen as a very safe place, thinly populated and remote, a refuge from the world's dangers rather than sharing them.

But the truth, as we know, is that crime can happen here as easily as anywhere. Quite a number of memorable murders have involved tourists and each time it happens it is not just a blow to tourism, it sickens the spirit to think a visitor was not safe here.

Grace's poor father, David Millane, flew here last Friday to lend his voice to police appeals for any sightings of his daughter. Every parent will have felt for him and his family at home in their anguish. Every parent would have shared their foreboding as police feared the worst and finally confirmed it.

Young people ought to be safer in this age of smartphones and social media. Though the technology makes it easier to meet strangers, it also makes it easier to keep in touch with trusted people. Grace Millane's farther said she had "bombarded us with numerous photographs and messages of her adventures" since arriving here. It was her failure to respond to their messages on her birthday on the Sunday, December 2, that began to raise their alarm.

Posts on social media describe her as one of those people who always seemed happy and her happiness was infectious. She was planning to take a year travelling the world, which is a trip more characteristic of young New Zealanders than their counterparts elsewhere. Grace sounds like someone who would fit in very well here.

We can only hope she felt the same, that she found the country as friendly and congenial as we think it is. It may be easier for dangerous individuals to exploit an environment such as this and it is hard to for amiable personalities to be always on their guard.

Grace Millane, like every other young woman, ought to have been safe here. It is devastating for her loved ones and sickening for New Zealand that we have lost her. We grieve with them.