False passport guilt admitted

LOST AND FOUND: Tally Rowlands, from a police "wanted" photo in May 2004. He flew to Australia on a new passport in the name of a cousin.

A Hastings man has pleaded guilty to two charges relating to a false passport used to get through Sydney International Airport, just six weeks after being denied entry to Australia and sent back to New Zealand.

Tally Raymond Rowlands, now 37, made his admissions when he appeared before Judge Geoff Rea in the Napier District Court yesterday, 11 years after he forged a passport application in the name of a cousin and assumed the identity to fly back to Australia and stay there.

A Crown summary says Rowlands flew to Australia on September 16, 2004, using his own passport, but was denied entry by Australian immigration authorities and returned to New Zealand three days later.

On November 1 he confronted a relative and asked him to endorse a passport application using Rowlands' photo but the name of another cousin.

After questioning Rowlands, the relative had reluctantly agreed to sign, endorsing the photo and the name being of the same person.

Later that day, and again four days later, Rowlands submitted urgent passport applications to Internal Affairs in his cousin's name, and on November 13 flew from Wellington to Sydney, where he was allowed entry and assumed the identity of his cousin.

The offence was detected in New Zealand in 2005. Interpol was alerted and Rowlands was apprehended after further offending in Australia.

He was deported in February this year and was met by police on arrival in New Zealand and arrested.

Yesterday in court defence lawyer Philip Jensen said the cousin whose identity had been used was a "victim" and restorative justice was sought before sentencing.

Rowlands was remanded on bail for sentencing on December 11.