Fines go when man turns life around

A man who owed more than $31,000 in fines has been let off the debt.

In the Hamilton District Court Judge Anne McAloon rewarded Aaron Pace, 25, for turning his life around by wiping the $31,352 he owed.

Two years ago Pace owed $39,000 in fines, was jobless and had no full driver's licence.

He was often ticketed by police for speeding, carrying passengers while driving on a restricted licence, and driving an unwarranted and unregistered car.

When fined he would say "just put it on my tab".

From the age of 16 to 23 he had ignored fines for his 60 traffic offences and his debt skyrocketed.

The court was told that a warrant for his arrest in December 2002 jolted the father of two into making an effort to clear his debt.

"I used to panic because I owed so much. I couldn't sleep. The court said it would take me until 2010 to pay it off," Pace said.

He was told that if he stopped offending, got a full driver's licence, got a job and paid fines back at $75 a week for two years remittance of his fines would be considered.

He said outside the court: "It is not about the money. It's about behaviour change. I have bucked up my ideas."

- NZPA