'Low-risk' inmate refines escape art

By Tony Wall

A long-time offender, who once escaped custody while watching a film he starred in about prisoner rehabilitation, is on the loose again after being let out of New Zealand's toughest jail to bag compost.

Peter Anaru Matahaere, aged 31, who has numerous armed robbery convictions, escaped yesterday afternoon from an Auckland Prison work party near Paremoremo.

He was under supervision at the prison's compost enterprise, asked for a toilet break and never returned.

Despite two previous escapes, Matahaere was classified a low to medium security inmate. He has three years to go on an eight-year sentence for armed robbery.

He made headlines in 1992 when, four years into another eight-year term, he escaped from a film premiere about Auckland prison rehabilitation worker Ana Tia.

He and three other inmates who featured in the documentary were escorted by prison staff to the screening at the Maori Cultural Centre in Fanshawe St, and were part of a 200-strong audience that included senior Justice Department officials.

When the lights dimmed, Matahaere bolted. He was rounded up nine days later.

He was at it again in 1996, this time busting out of a police van with three other prisoners into rush-hour traffic near Mt Eden Prison. That taste of freedom lasted only a few hours.

The regional manager of Auckland Prison, Bret Bestic, said he was concerned by Matahaere's latest "breach of trust." But he did not believe it was a bad decision to classify him a low to medium security threat.

"Maximum security is not just to do with propensity to escape. Maximum is whether or not you're a danger to the public, a danger to other inmates, the severity of the crime - all those sorts of things."

Mr Bestic said Matahaere's behaviour had been good.

"He was doing all the right sorts of things ... participating in programmes ... so he worked his way down to low-medium classification."

That would probably be reviewed when Matahaere was caught.

Mr Bestic said that after Matahaere was noticed missing about 2 pm, local residents were notified immediately through the new electronic warning system.