Millie Elder gets 12 months supervision

CHRIS GORMAN/Dominion Post

THOROUGHLY MODERN: Millie Elder has been sentenced to 12-months supervision in the Auckland District Court

CHRIS GORMAN/Dominion Post

OUR PEOPLE TODAY: Broadcaster Paul Holmes had no comment as he left the Auckland District Court, where his adopted daughter Millie Elder was sentenced on various drug charges.

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Millie Elder, the adopted daughter of veteran broadcaster Paul Holmes, has been sentenced to 12 months supervision for drug offences.

Both Holmes and Millie's mother, Hinemoa Elder, were in Auckland District Court today to witness the sentencing.

Elder, 19, pleaded guilty to three drug-related charges last year, including possession of methamphetamine and drug utensils, and permitting her Auckland flat to be used for drugs.

Holmes made an emotional plea to Judge Anne Kiernan, saying Millie was a sweet girl who had gone to a bad place.

"It [methamphetamine] is a scurrilous drug. The people who deal in it are hideous," he said.

"It is also an invisible drug. Family members don't really understand what is going on till it is too late."

Holmes said he would use his position as a broadcaster and columnist to raise awareness of the drug and campaign for better detoxification and treatment facilities for "P" users.

Elder's lawyer, Chris Comesky, argued that she should be discharged without conviction, to allow her to pursue her plans to work on a cruise ship and visit her biological father in Greece.

A drug conviction would seriously impede those goals and hinder her chances for employment in New Zealand.

Judge Anne Kiernan said there was no evidence before her to suggest a conviction would be out of proportion to the level of her offending.

- © Fairfax NZ News