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This page
last updated January 6 2005
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Tony Christiansen (right)
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Gail Neilson
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November
2004: Gail Neilson ordered to pay costs
for her failed action
2004-1116 - Dominion Post -
Claimant to pay costs
A
former Napier probation officer who claimed a judge sexually assaulted her
has been ordered to pay the Corrections Department $3560 costs for her failed
personal grievance case.
October
2004: Christiansen able to return to
work
2004-1020 - Dominion Post
- Judge in assault claim returns to court
High
Court associate judge Tony Christiansen, cleared of an indecent assault
allegation in August, has returned to in-court duties. Chief Justice Dame
Sian Elias announced in February that Judge Christiansen would not preside in
court while police investigated a former probation officer's claim. For
months he worked in chambers writing judgments and completing work. It is
understood he went on leave after police decided in August he would not be
charged. He resumed sitting late last month in Auckland
and is expected to return to his home court, Christchurch, next month
August
2004: Indecent Assault charges thrown
out
2004-0810 - Dominion Post
- High Court judge not to be charged
by
Kim Ruscoe and NZPA - No charges will be laid against a High Court judge
accused of indecently assaulting a former Napier probation officer three
years ago. The Napier police area commander, Inspector Kevin Kalff, said the
decision not to prosecute Master Anthony Christiansen was made after a
"thoroughly detailed" nine-month investigation. "The decision
was obviously not taken lightly and was made on the basis of legal advice
which had been independently peer-reviewed," he said
2004-0809 - Stuff - High Court
Master won't be prosecuted over sex accusation
New January 6 2005
NZPA - Police have decided not to prosecute High Court Master and former
Napier District Court judge Tony Christiansen after a long investigation into
sexual allegations. In a statement
today, Napier area commander Inspector Kevin Kalff said after a nine-month
detailed investigation into the allegations of indecent assault by former Napier
probation officer Gail Neilson against Master Christiansen, they had decided
against prosecuting.
2004-0809 - One News - Former
judge won't be prosecuted
New January 6 2005
Napier police will not prosecute a former district court judge accused
of indecent assault. Former Napier probation officer Gail Neilson claimed she
was sexually assaulted by the former judge, Tony Christiansen, at a Gisborne
motel in April 2001
2004-0809 - Newstalk ZB -
Judge's future not revealed
New January 6 2005
The Courts Department will not say whether Master of the High Court
Tony Christiansen will resume hearing cases now that he no longer faces
criminal charges…..Today through a spokesman, the Courts Department says
Master Christiansen continues to hold a warrant as a judge of the High Court,
but would not say if he would resume sitting.
2004-0809 - Newstalk ZB - No
prosecution in judge case
New January 6 2005
After a nine month investigation into allegations of indecent assault
against District Court judge Tony Christiansen, police have decided there
will be no criminal prosecution
2004-0727 - Newstalk
ZB - Ongoing investigation into complaint over judge
New January 6 2005
Napier police are continuing their investigation into a sexual assault
complaint against a district court judge. Tony Christianson has been stood
down as a Master of the High Court until the matter has been dealt with.
2004-0720 - Otago Daily Times
- Investigations into indecent assault claim continue
New January 6 2005
NZPA - Christchurch: Associate High Court Judge Anthony Christiansen, of
Christchurch, remains on full pay but with restricted duties seven months
after police launched an investigation into a claim he indecently assaulted a
Napier woman in 2001
2004-0720 - The Press - Judge
on full pay as assault claim examined
by
Anna Claridge - Associate High Court Judge Anthony Christiansen remains on
full pay but with restricted duties seven months after police launched an
investigation into a claim he indecently assaulted a Napier woman in 2001
June 2004: Gail Neilson loses grievance case
2004-0615 - Dominion
Post - Ex-probation officer to appeal against ruling
Former
Napier probation officer Gail Neilson, who last week lost her personal
grievance case against the Corrections Department, plans to appeal against
the decision
2004-0612 - Otago
Daily Times - Probation officer loses Corrections grievance
NZPA - The former Napier probation officer who claimed she was sexually
assaulted by a district court judge has lost her $50,000 personal grievance
case against the Corrections Department.
2004-0611 -
Dominion Post - Former officer weighs up options
A
decision on whether former Napier probation officer Gail Neilson will appeal
against a decision to dismiss her personal grievance case against the
Corrections Department is unlikely before next week
2004-0611 -
Newstalk ZB - Police still investigating judge
Napier police are still investigating allegations of
sexual assault against a District Court judge. Tony Christiansen has been
stood down as Master of the High Court until the matter has been dealt with.
Former Napier probation officer Gail Neilson alleges Mr Christiansen
assaulted her at a Gisborne motel in 2001
2004-0611 - NZ
Herald - Ex-probation officer loses grievance case
NZPA - A former Napier probation officer who claimed
she was sexually assaulted by a district court judge has lost her $50,000
personal grievance case against the Corrections Department……. In a decision
issued this week Employment Relations Authority member Paul Stapp dismissed
Ms Neilson's claim, saying Corrections bosses had tried to manage an
unexpected event the best way they could. The department was not only faced
with Ms Neilson's allegation but was also required to manage a "divisive
office environment".
2004-0610 - One
News - Former Probation Officer loses case
A former Napier Probation Officer who has lost her
case against the Department of Corrections for unjustifiable dismissal is
considering appealing against the decision. Gail Neilson claims the
Department treated her unfairly and ended her employment unnecessarily after
she alleged she was sexually assaulted in Gisborne by a District Court judge.
2004-0610 -
Dominion Post - Ex-officer loses grievance case
by Glen Prentice - The former Napier probation
officer who claimed she was sexually assaulted by a district court judge has
lost her $50,000 personal grievance case against the Corrections Department
2004-0610 -
Newstalk ZB - Probation officer loses grievance case
A former Napier probation officer has lost a
personal grievance case against the Corrections Department. Gail Munro, who alleges
she was sexually assaulted by a district court judge, sought $50,000
compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity and injury to feelings
2004-0501 -
Dominion Post - Motel incident with judge led to isolation
by Glen Prentice - ….Ms Neilson, in her written evidence, said she
woke in her motel room to find the judge "sexually violating me".
She recalled being phoned three weeks after the incident and told that the
judge had resigned and to "get on with it, it is all over now". On
her first day back at work, about five weeks after the incident, newspaper
clippings of a story about the judge resigning were put in every staff
member's cubby hole, including hers.
2004-0313 - The Press - Judges
under scrutiny
by
Warren Gamble and Harriet Jones - High Court Master Anthony Christiansen got
another shot at the judiciary after quitting his District Court job under a
cloud three years ago, but now he is the subject of a police complaint.
Warren Gamble and Harriet Jones look at the debate on his appointment.
2004-0303 - NZ Herald - Former judge 'worth a
second chance'
by Mathew Dearnaley - Attorney-General Margaret Wilson says she
believed a former district judge, Tony Christiansen, since accused of
indecent assault, was "worth a second chance" when she appointed
him to the High Court.
2004-0303 - NZ Herald - Revenge: a dish served
cold
by John Armstrong - …..By now, Mr Peters was on a roll. His next target
was National's Judith Collins, who had been probing Attorney-General Margaret
Wilson over her appointment of ex-judge Tony Christiansen - the subject of a
police investigation following a complaint of indecent assault - as a High
Court master. Mr Peters wondered which party had been in Government when Mr
Christiansen had been appointed a district court judge.
March 2
2004: Gail Neilson makes personal
grievance employment case
2004-0302 - NZ
Herald - Probation officer seeks $50,000 for indecent assault
A
former probation officer who accuses a High Court Master of ruining her life
by molesting her in a motel room is also taking legal action against the
Corrections Department
2004-0302 - NZ
Parliament - Questions for oral answer
Judith Collins - to the
Attorney General What
steps did she take to satisfy herself as to the appropriateness of appointing
Anthony Christiansen a Master of the High Court, in light of his earlier
resignation from the position of District Court Judge?
Rt Hon Winston Peters: When was
Anthony Christiansen made a District Court judge, and who appointed him?
2004-0301 - Stuff - Woman denies she
blackmailed judge
NZPA
- Former Napier probation officer Gail Neilson last night denied she tried to
blackmail a former district court judge being investigated for allegedly
indecently assaulting her three years ago….. "I asked him for $15,000 to
cover all the losses I incurred," she told TV One's Sunday programme.
When asked if she had threatened the judge with action or blackmail, she
answered: "No, absolutely not."
2004-0301 - NZ Herald - Woman denies payout
blackmail
by Mathew Dearnaley - A woman who received $10,000 from a former judge, whom
she accuses of molesting her, denies it was the fruit of any blackmail
attempt. Gail Neilson, a former probation officer now unemployed and on ACC,
told Television One's Sunday programme last night that she asked Tony
Christiansen for $15,000 to cover costs she had incurred from the trauma she
claimed he inflicted on her. She said he told her he could not afford that
amount, so they settled for $10,000 in the presence of a mediator.
2004-0229 - One News - Judge sex case
complainant talks
In
an exclusive interview with ONE's Sunday programme, the woman at the centre
of indecent assault allegations against a top New Zealand judge has described
how she lives with the trauma of him being in her room. Tony Christiansen, a
Master of the High Court in Christchurch,
has stood down from the bench while police investigate the assault that is
alleged to have occurred three years ago when Christiansen was a district
court judge in Napier. Gail Neilson told Sunday she can no longer keep quiet
and she has revealed details of a $10,000 cheque from Christiansen which she
claims was to buy her silence.
2004-0228 - Otago Daily Times - Court official
sex assault inquiry focus
Ms
Neilson last night told TV One she awoke to find "a district court judge
kneeling on the floor touching my private parts". She, Master
Christiansen and others had been drinking in Gisborne before returning to a
motel. "I did not invite him into my room, and I wouldn't have had such
a strong reaction if it was consensual," Ms Neilson said.
2004-0228 - Dominion Post - Judge paid me
$10,000
by Haydon Dewes and NZPA - A former probation officer who has
complained to police that she was indecently assaulted by a district court
judge says he later paid her $10,000.
Ms Neilson told One News last night that the incident happened after
they and colleagues returned from dinner at a restaurant. She said she was
asleep when Master Christiansen entered her room and indecently assaulted
her. "The district court judge was kneeling on the floor and touching my
private parts
2004-0228 - NZ Herald - Judge gave me cash
says woman
by Mathew Dearnaley - A probation officer claims she woke up in a
motel room to find a judge indecently assaulting her. Tony Christiansen, now
a Master of the High Court at Christchurch,
has denied any breach of the law in an incident in Gisborne in 2001 which is
under police investigation. The probation officer, Gail Neilson, has told
Television One that Mr Christiansen gave her a $10,000 cheque seven months
after the incident. She said she asked him for financial help after being
traumatised and leaving her Napier-based job on extended sick leave, which
the Accident Compensation Corporation is now paying for.
Feb 27
2004: Gail Neilson lays police
complaint of indecent assault
2004-0227 -
National Party - National issued warning about Judge's past last year
by Judith Collins MP - National Party Associate Justice spokeswoman
Judith Collins says she warned Margaret Wilson and the Government about the
appointment of Anthony Christiansen in February last year.
2004-0227 - One News - Allegations against top
judge
A woman who says she was indecently assaulted by a former judge claims
that he later paid her money. Former probation officer Gail Neilson says the
incident happened about three years ago, but she has only recently laid a
police complaint. Neilson claims that in April 2001 Christiansen, now a
Master of the High Court, entered her Gisborne motel room while she was
asleep and indecently assaulted her. She says she remembers a district court
judge "kneeling on the floor touching my private parts".
2004-0227 -
Newstalk ZB - Attorney General defends judge
Margaret Wilson says she appointed Tony Christiansen after gaining
assurance that no police complaint had been laid……..She says her concern now
is that he should not be subject to trial by media.
2004-0227 -
Newstalk ZB - Judge investigation in final stages
National says it has already raised question about reappointment of
former judge now subject of complaint. Police say they are in the final
stages of investigating a complaint made by a Napier woman against a former
judge.
2004-0227 - Hawkes Bay Today - Woman accuses
ex-judge of indecent assault
Napier police are investigating an indecent assault complaint against
former district court judge Anthony Christiansen made by a former Napier
probation officer, Gail Neilson. ….He had resigned as a district court judge
in 2001, after it was reported that he and a court worker were sharing wine
in his Gisborne motel unit when he made an advance which was rejected.
2004-0227 - Stuff - Court Master Christiansen
accused of indecent assault
Napier police are investigating an indecent assault complaint against
former district court judge Tony Christiansen made by a former Napier
probation officer, Gail Neilson.
2004-0227 - NZ
Herald - Woman's complaint to police sidelines court master
UPDATE - A woman's complaint to police prompted a Master in the High
Court in Christchurch to stand down, Attorney General Margaret Wilson
confirmed today. Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias said last night she had been
advised of a complaint against Master Tony Christiansen. Ms Wilson told
National Radio she understood the complaint related to an incident involving
Master Christiansen and a female court worker more than two years ago.
2004-0227 - NZ Herald - Police probe top High
Court officer
by Scott MacLeod - In June 2001, while working as a judge, Mr
Christiansen walked out of the Napier District Court during an adjournment
and abruptly quit. At the time he cited "private matters" and the
demands of a "tough job". Details later emerged of an incident
between him and a female probation officer in Gisborne. It is understood the
two were sharing wine in the judge's motel unit when Mr Christiansen made an
advance, which was rejected. A year later the probation officer was still on
ACC-funded sick leave.
2004-0227
- Hon Margaret Wilson - Master Anthony Christiansen
Attorney-General Margaret Wilson was advised two weeks ago that a
complaint had been laid against a Master of the High Court, Anthony
Christiansen. "I asked if he was stepping aside, and was told he was. My
understanding is that he did, in the next day or so." The Attorney
General has always followed the process for judicial appointments followed by
previous attorneys general. "It is a good process, but could be better.
2004-0227 - The
Press - Judge sidelined as police investigate complaint
by Martin van Beynen - Christchurch
judge Anthony Christiansen has been removed from full duties while police
investigate a complaint against him. ….Christiansen, who was appointed a
Master in February last year, will continue working but will not sit in
court. ….The appointment surprised many in the legal profession because
Christiansen, a highly regarded former Napier District Court judge, had
resigned his position in unusual circumstances in 2001.
2004-0227 -
Dominion Post - Complaint laid against judge
by Sue Allen and NZPA - A complaint has been laid with the police
against a Christchurch
judge. Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias said in a statement last night she had
been advised of the complaint against Master Tony Christiansen. "In the
meantime, with his agreement, he will not be sitting. That is appropriate
while the matter is being investigated," she said. It is understood that
the complaint relates to an incident involving a female court worker and Mr
Christiansen at a time when he was a district court judge. Mr Christiansen
resigned from his job as a Napier District Court judge in 2001 after an
alleged incident in a Gisborne hotel room involving a young female court
worker.
2004-0227 -
Newstalk ZB - Police investigate top court officer
Senior High Court officer Master Tony Christiansen, stands down after
becoming subject of police complaint A member of the judiciary is under
investigation. The Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias has been advised by Master
Tony Christiansen that he is the subject of a complaint to the police. Tony
Christiansen was appointed a Master in the High Court at Christchurch more than a year ago.
2003:
Christiansen Appointed Court Master
2003-0825 - Otago Daily Times - Privy council
(Letter to Editor) by Suzanne George - Tony Christiansen has been
reappointed as a Master of the High Court after quitting the bench in June
2001 as a High Court judge for allegedly making inappropriate advances to a
female court worker
2003-0213 - Auckland District Law Society -
Christchurch for new Master Christiansen
He graduated from Wellington’s Victoria University and practiced in
Napier and Taupo. In 1990 he moved to Auckland,
and in 1992 joined the Crown Solicitor's firm, Meredith Connell and Co,
becoming a partner in 1995. That same year he was appointed to the District
Court bench and in 1998 took on the role of Executive Judge for the Napier
and Central Region. Master Christiansen has been with the Legal Services
Agency, Wellington since 2001 leading work on legal policy development
2003-0205 - Otago
Daily Times - Judge's reappointment defended
NZPA - The reappointment of a judge who quit the bench after he made
inappropriate advances to a female court worker is being downplayed by the
Government. Tony Christiansen has been made a Master of the High Court in Christchurch. He will
deal with pre-trial, company and insolvency matters.
2003-0205 - The Press - Indiscretion not a bar
to Master's role
by Martin Van Beynen - Minor indiscretions are no longer a bar to a
career in the judiciary, judging by the example of Anthony Christiansen. The
highly regarded former Napier district judge has been appointed a Master of
the High Court at Christchurch despite blotting his copybook in May, 2001,
with an inappropriate advance to a female court worker
2003-0205 - Waikato
Times - Govt backs judge
NZPA - The reappointment of a judge who quit the bench after he made
inappropriate advances to a female court worker is being downplayed by the
Government
2003-0204 - Waikato Times - New
court master
NZPA - Anthony Christiansen has been appointed a master of the High
Court, Attorney-General Margaret Wilson has announced
2003-0204 - Stuff - Judge returns after
quitting over behaviour
NZPA - In June 2001, the well-regarded judge abruptly quit after suddenly
walking out of Napier District Court during an adjournment. At the time he
said a combination of "private matters" and the demands of a
"tough job" were behind his decision. However, it emerged that he
resigned after an incident involving a female court worker in a Gisborne
motel.
2003-0204 - Hon
Margaret Wilson - Re-Appointment of Master of High Court
The normal process for judicial appointments was followed. Accordingly
the Master’s position was advertised. Anthony Christiansen applied. The
Solicitor-General and Chief Justice evaluated all applications against the
established appointment criteria
2003-0203 - Stuff - High court
master and justice appointed
NZPA
- Anthony Christiansen has been appointed a Master of the High Court,
Attorney-General Margaret Wilson announced today
2002:
Christiansen starts new job
2002-0217 - Sunday Star Times - Fresh
start for former judge
by
Rachel Grunwell - A judge who left his job after an incident involving a
woman in a motel room is working in another legal agency. Tony Christiansen
has sold his $600,000 Napier home and is now based in Wellington, providing specialist legal
advice at the Legal Services Agency. The government agency is responsible for
distributing legal aid
2001-0715 - Sunday Star Times -
Probation officers called to account
by
Sarah Catherall - Two probation officers who witnessed an alleged incident
between a former judge and a female court worker are under investigation for
alleged excessive drinking with the pair in a Gisborne motel. The two
Probation Service employees have been off work on full pay for about a month.
The court worker has also been off work
2001:
Christiansen Resigns as Judge
2001-0618 - Otago Daily Times - Judge resigns
amid speculation
NZPA - Wellington:
A district court judge's belief he had behaved inappropriately prompted his
resignation, Acting Attorney-general Phil Goff said last night…..Mr Goff told
NZPA Mr Christiansen "resigned because he felt that his behaviour had
been inappropriate". He would not elaborate. …..The Sunday Star-Times
yesterday reported Mr Christiansen resigned after an alleged incident
involving a female court worker in a Gisborne motel. However, Mr Goff would
not confirm that was what prompted the resignation.
2001-0618 - Hawkes
Bay Today - Former judge asks for 'space and privacy'
Former Judge Tony Christiansen has pleaded for "space and
privacy" in the wake of his sudden resignation. The popular former judge
quit last week, about a month after he left the Napier District Court suddenly
during the morning adjournment
2001-0618 - NZ Herald - Hawke's Bay judge
right to quit over incident, says Goff
by Eleanor Black - Acting Attorney-General Phil Goff believes a judge
who resigned over an incident involving a female court worker did the right
thing. Mr Goff confirmed yesterday that former Napier-based circuit judge
Tony Christiansen believed his behaviour towards the woman was inappropriate
and had chosen to step down after five years on the Bench
2001-0618 - Dominion - Judge quit over his
behaviour, says Goff
NZPA - The Sunday Star-Times reported yesterday that Judge Christiansen had
resigned because of an alleged incident involving a female court worker in a
Gisborne motel room. However, Mr Goff would not confirm that was what
prompted the resignation.
2001-0618 -
Waikato Times - Judge quit over actions
NZPA - A district court judge's belief he had behaved inappropriately
prompted his resignation, acting Attorney-General Phil Goff said last night.
Hawke's Bay judge Tony Christiansen, 53, left Napier District Court suddenly
on May 16 and did not return
2001-0618 - The Press - Judge right to resign,
says Goff
NZPA - Mr Goff said Mr Christiansen "resigned because he felt
that his behaviour had been inappropriate". He would not elaborate on
that behaviour. Mr Christiansen, believed to be out of the country, could not
be contacted last night
2001-0618 - Stuff - Judge
believed he acted inappropriately - Goff
NZPA
- district court judge's belief he had
behaved inappropriately prompted his resignation, acting attorney-general
Phil Goff said last night. Hawke's Bay judge Tony Christiansen, 53, left
Napier District Court suddenly on May 16 and did not return. He said last
week he was leaving after six years on the bench due to a combination of
personal reasons and the strains of a tough job.
2001-0617 - Sunday Star Times - Judge quits
after motel incident
by Rachel Grunwell - A judge has resigned over an incident involving a
female court worker in a Gisborne motel room. The government says the
resignation avoided "bringing the judiciary into disrepute".
Hawke's Bay judge Tony Christiansen, who had been on the bench for five
years, left the Napier District Court suddenly on May 16, and had been absent
until he resigned on Wednesday. He has said he resigned because of personal
reasons and the strains of the job.
2001-0615 -
Dominion - Departing judge unlikely to work as lawyer again
It is unlikely the Hawke's Bay judge who quit his job on Tuesday will
work as a lawyer in New
Zealand again, according to judiciary
appointment rules. District Court Judge Tony Christiansen, 53, who says he
has had enough, leaves on July 6 after five years on the bench. Personal
reasons and the strains of a tough job had prompted his decision, he said on
Tuesday.
2001-0614 - Dominion - Strain of tough job
prompts judge to quit
NZPA - Hawkes
Bay judge Tony
Christiansen has quit, saying he has had enough. Judge Christiansen, 53,
leaves on July 6 after five years on the bench. He said yesterday that a
combination of personal reasons and the strains of a tough job had prompted
his decision
2001-0614 - The Press - I've had enough, says
Hawkes Bay judge
NZPA - Hawkes
Bay judge Tony
Christiansen has quit the job, saying he has had enough. Judge Christiansen, 53,
leaves on July 6 after five years on the bench in Hawkes Bay.
Yesterday he would say only that a combination of what he said were personal
reasons and the strains of a tough job had prompted his decision.
2001-0614 - Otago Daily Times - Judge quits
'tough job' after five years
NZPA - Hawkes
Bay judge Tony
Christiansen has quit the job, saying he has had enough. Judge Christiansen
(53) leaves on July 6 after five years on the Bench in Hawkes Bay.
Yesterday, he would say only that a combination of personal reasons and the
strains of a tough job had prompted his decision to step down.
2001-0613 - Hawkes
Bay Today - Napier judge quits saying he's had enough
High-profile Hawke’s Bay judge Tony Christiansen has quit the job,
saying he has had enough. Judge Christiansen, 53, leaves on July 6 after 5½
years on the bench in Hawke’s Bay. Today he would say only that a combination
of what he said were personal reasons and the strains of a tough job had
prompted his decision. Judge Christiansen left the Napier District Court
suddenly on May 16 and did not return.
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