KEY POINTS:
Broadcaster Paul Holmes vowed yesterday at his daughter's sentencing on drugs charges that he will use his profile to campaign against the drug P.
Millie Elder, 19, had admitted charges of possessing methamphetamine, a pipe, and allowing her flat to be used for consuming drugs.
She was arrested after police raided the Grey Lynn flat last year and found two P pipes, plastic bongs for consuming cannabis and ziplock bags containing traces of methamphetamine.
Yesterday, as she was convicted and sentenced to 12 months' supervision, her famous father said he would spread awareness of the dangers of P.
"Through my writing and broadcasting I hope to get major community focus on this drug," Holmes said during an emotional speech in support of Elder at the Auckland District Court.
He hoped for better treatment centres for P users and said he believed there was no detox facility.
Millie was the "sweetest thing" who had gone to a "bad place" through her three-year P addiction.
"It is a scurrilous drug ... It's a scourge. The people who deal in it are hideous," he said.
"It's also an invisible drug. Family members don't really understand what's going on until it's too late."
Holmes asked the court to show compassion for Elder and not allow a conviction to wreck future career and overseas travel plans. "We're so proud of her; she's made such progress."
As he spoke, Elder wept quietly in the dock. Her mother, Dr Hinemoa Elder, also supported her daughter in court but made no comment.
Lawyer Chris Comeskey argued that a conviction would harm Elder's chances of working on cruise ships and prevent her from visiting her biological father in Greece. He said her level of offending was low and she had pleaded guilty early.
Crown prosecutor Kristin Lummis said Elder's offending was moderately serious rather than low-scale. An associate had been jailed last year for more than five years for drug dealing.
Judge Anne Kiernan said there was no evidence put forward that a visa to Greece would not be granted to Elder if she had a conviction and agreed with the Crown that the offending was moderately serious. The need to denounce drug offending and provide a deterrent outweighed pleas not to allow the conviction to stand.
Judge Kiernan also ordered Elder to continue drug rehabilitation.
