RSE worker who drunkenly drove 10 mates on night out in Nelson convicted

A seasonal worker was caught drink-driving with 10 mates in a van after a night on the town. Photo / 123RF

A seasonal worker from Vanuatu who drunkenly drove a van-load of other workers on a night out has failed his bid to be discharged without conviction.

The police opposed the application and told the Nelson District Court on Monday that a noticeable number of workers employed as Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers were coming before the courts on drink-driving charges.

Brendon Simo, who was employed under the scheme, was picking fruit in the Nelson region, having moved from the North Island.

Yesterday he admitted a charge of driving with excess breath alcohol after a night out last month resulted in a mistake he regretted.

It was in the early hours of July 23 this year, when he was driving other pickers home from the nightclubs in central Nelson, that Simo’s van was seen swerving all over a busy main road.

He was stopped by the police, and a breath alcohol test showed he had a reading of 468 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol per litre of breath.

The legal alcohol limit for drivers aged 20 years and over is 250mcg.

The 24-year-old was in New Zealand for his third season on an RSE visa, and was due to return to Vanuatu later this month. He was among many workers from the Pacific who come here to work to support families back home.

The court heard that Simo was “pressured” to drive his friends to town and he later acknowledged it was a mistake, especially as there were 10 people in the van.

Simo sought a discharge without conviction to prevent any potential barrier to him returning to work in New Zealand.

Judge Richard Russell said police also pointed to the seriousness of what happened and Simo was obliged to tell Immigration New Zealand of any offending, and it was up to the agency to decide if it would grant another visa.

He noted that while Simo had breached the terms of his employment, he had not breached the terms of the RSE scheme in general, which provided a lot of benefit to this country.

In deciding whether or not to grant the application, Judge Russell noted there was no precedent over whether a conviction was a barrier to a worker’s return under the RSE scheme.

“This charge involves you driving a van at night on a busy road you were swerving over, and you had 10 people in the van.

“I regard these circumstances as serious offending of its type,” Judge Russell said.

He said Simo’s personal circumstances reduced the gravity of the offending to moderately serious, but when considering if the consequences of a conviction outweighed the gravity of the offence, uncertainty over this swayed the decision to refuse the application.

“In summary, the direct and indirect consequences of a conviction are quite uncertain.

“I have reached the view the threshold has not been met and the application is refused.”

Simo was convicted and fined $550 and disqualified from driving for six months.

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.