KEY POINTS:
Raised voices, allegations of racism and a debate over the meaning of the word "ho" marked the start of a hearing to have Mt Albert's alleged tenants from hell evicted from their Housing New Zealand property.
Numerous complaints have been made against Sharon Salt, after her family's alleged reign of terror in Range View Rd. The allegations include that her out-of-control children vandalise property, assault others and cause disturbances.
Yesterday's Tenancy Tribunal hearing at the Auckland District Court began with affidavit evidence from HNZ manager Villy Coetze, who said neighbours had lodged a variety of complaints about the Salts, including family members urinating on fences to fireworks being aimed at other residents.
Mrs Salt's lawyer, John Foliaki, dismissed Mr Coetze's evidence as hearsay. However, adjudicator Amanda Elliot said the tribunal often relied on hearsay evidence as the standard of proof was determined "on the balance of probabilities".
Her stand led to several fiery confrontations with Mr Foliaki.
A string of Range View Rd residents - none of whom can be named - gave evidence yesterday, all of it unflattering to the Salts.
One woman said her 13-year-old son had only ever known misery from the Salt children and the stress of dealing with her neighbours had compounded her own chronic illness.
Mr Foliaki accused the woman of racism, after she admitted having told Mrs Salt she should move "back to Mangere", but she told the court she was good friends with several Pacific Islanders living in the street.
He also accused the woman of calling a Samoan friend of Mrs Salt a "ho", which triggered a response from Ms Elliot who asked as to the relevance of the questioning. After an exchange with Mr Foliaki, Ms Elliot said she believed "ho" was an abbreviation of "whore".
Another resident said the Salt children were "largely unsupervised and ran wild" and were "drunk, drugged and noisy most nights of the week".
But Mr Foliaki's cross-examination triggered another exchange with Ms Elliot, who believed he was trying to bring up questions about Mrs Salt's abilities as a mother. "The issue is not whether Mrs Salt is a good mother or not ... this is a tenancy tribunal."
She also refused to formally record Mr Foliaki's objection to her questions as to relevance. "When you say note things on the record, I don't have a record to note things on."
Another resident came in for cross-examination about the breed of dog she owned, how well she knew some former tenants and whether she had offered condoms to a boy named Khan.
Mr Foliaki told Ms Elliot the questioning was designed to probe the witness' credibility, which could be at issue if it turned out the woman was lying or "if she happens to be mentally ill".
Seventeen witnesses are due to give evidence at the hearing.
