An alleged thief ‘blatantly lied’ about being Aboriginal so as to avoid jail under Victoria’s softened bail laws for indigenous people.
Haley Terei, 32, was granted bail in the Supreme Court of Victoria in May and June on eight charges related to a lucrative burglary, The Herald Sun reported.
The mother-of-four is accused of stealing seven firearms, ammunition, $470,000 in cash, gold nuggets and other valuables from a home in Hastings, south-east of Melbourne, in December.
In an affidavit submitted to the court, Terei stated she was an Aboriginal woman of the Yorta Yorta nation and following her Aboriginal mother’s death when she was three, her cultural heritage had been ‘whitewashed’ by her father.
Terei’s bail was opposed by prosecutors, who argued she was an unacceptable risk to the community amid concerns she was aware of the location of the stolen firearms and could access them.
However Justice Rita Incerti overruled the objections and released Terei, citing new bail laws which require judiciary members ensure ‘incarceration rates of Aboriginal peoples are not further compounded unless there is good reason’.
The judge described Terei as ‘a woman who has been denied access to her cultural heritage, who is expressing a desire for cultural support to turn a corner in her life, and with significant personal struggles’.
In an affidavit to the court, Terei stated she was an Aboriginal woman of the Yorta Yorta nation
In court on Friday, Terei’s claim of Aboriginal heritage was revealed as a lie.
A police officer monitored phone calls she had made while in prison, and they revealed her supposedly dead mother is not Aboriginal, but alive and living in New Zealand.
Terei’s bail was revoked with Justice Incerti admitting the deceit was ‘troubling’.
‘It is alleged that Ms Terei claimed her Aboriginality from her maternal line, knowing it was untrue, in order to have the Court consider section 3A of the Bail Act when she was not entitled to do so,’ Justice Incerti said.
‘The Arunta (prison) phone recordings provide strong evidence that Ms Terei is not an Aboriginal person and sought to gain some benefit in the bail application on the basis of identifying as an Aboriginal person.’
A warrant was issued for Terei’s arrest and she faces charges of perverting the course of justice, which have a maximum 25-year prison sentence.
Terei was granted bail in the Supreme Court of Victoria (pictured) in May and June on eight charges related to a high-end burglary
The bail reforms to reduce the incarceration of Aboriginal people was one of the recommendations of the coronial inquest into the death in custody of Veronica Nelson in 2020,and the Parliamentary Inquiry into Victoria’s criminal justice system.
Opposition spokesman Michael O’Brien said it was predictable that some criminals would seek to use the new bail laws to their advantage.
‘This case raises serious questions as to how courts and others are meant to apply laws intended for Aboriginal Victorians when it relies on the honesty of those claiming that ancestry,’ he said.
Justice Incerti maintained that the current system in which Aboriginal heritage was asserted by the accused, without objective evidence, was sufficient despite the deceit in this case.
‘I can see no reason why this should change or that an applicant or their legal representative should be required to do anything more than set out the basis of a person’s Aboriginality as was done in this case,’ Justice Incerti said.
The bail law reforms addressed key recommendations of the coronial inquest into the death in custody of Aboriginal woman Veronica Nelson (pictured) in 2020
