A man who was formally cautioned by police for an alleged "minor assault" on a three-year-old child at a rural Auckland tavern has defended his actions.
By Torika Tokalau for Local Democracy Reporting.
Maurice Hall's actions were the subject of a District Licensing Committee (DLC) hearing on Wednesday for the on-licence renewal application for the Huapai Tavern.
The application received opposition from a lone objector, Blair Shaw, who gave evidence of how his grandson was allegedly "assaulted" in a "completely unprovoked" incident by a patron.
Shaw said that he and his family were at the tavern for dinner in 2024, and claimed that Hall came up to their table, struck his grandson, and told his wife to "control your kid".
CCTV footage of the incident showed a patron standing two tables over, walking across to Shaw's group, and making contact with a child's bottom.
The patron later picked up a spoon from the floor and handed it to the group before walking back to his table.
Hall said he would not have stepped in had the child's family not supervised him better from running around the pub.
"I never hit the kid, I tapped them on the bum with the back of my hand just to get his attention," he said.
"It was not a smack ... I was very cautious of what I did."
He had gone to the pub that day to watch his friend's horse race on the big screen, and had had one beer.
He said before the incident, the child was running around, throwing toys around the bar, with very little supervision from his family.
"He was out of control. All they did is drag him around the bar and try to get him to behave, and he wasn't.
"So I tapped him on the bum to get his attention, wave a finger at him. He (child) sat down and all of a sudden started behaving.
"The mother started screaming at the top of her voice that he's assaulted my child."
He said Shaw confronted him after the incident and told him he had assaulted his grandson.
"I said, 'no, I haven't. Your grandson is out of control. You need to look after the child better'."
Shaw said he didn’t think it was appropriate to comment any further when the DLC was still deliberating its decision on the on-licence renewal.
"Only thing I would say is that it is inappropriate to hit a child, no matter how hard or soft you think it is, especially when it’s in the grandmother's arms.
"Anybody trying to justify that needs to look at themselves."
Following the incident, and upon advice from police, tavern management took extra steps to ensure disputes were better dealt with, including 111 being the first point of contact for future incidents.
They also put up signs stating children had to be supervised at all times, and restricted children in the pub after 8pm.
At the DLC hearing, management said they wanted to ensure the pub could be enjoyed by all.
Hall said the tavern was a family bar and popular amongst locals. He took his own children there and loved the community. He commended the management for their handling of the incident.
When asked if he had been back at the pub, Hall said he stayed away for more than a month.
"I used to frequent there quite a bit, probably lucky to go there once or twice a week, and I'm usually only there for 10, 15, 20 minutes.
"I've actually curtailed going back because I don't want to be deemed as a person who beats up children when that's not the case."
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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