The first person to be jailed for sabotage in New Zealand, Graham Philip, has been denied parole for a second time after a prison psychologist said there was “a reasonable risk Mr Philip would take further disruptive action to force others to listen to his views”.

The written Parole Board ruling also noted his Parole Assessment Report says he believes his offending is the result of a “rational thought process”.

Philip was jailed in December 2022 after he plotted to bring down the entire power grid across the North Island in protest at Covid-19 restrictions.

Suppressions remain on reporting specifics such as how Philip conducted the sabotage and the extent of the damage, though it can be reported the repair bill was in excess of $1.2m.

The report noted Philip had declined to engage with a psychologist whilst in prison, but that his case manager was able to draw on a report prepared without his input.

“The Department psychologist is of the opinion that Mr Philip is unlikely to engage in violent offending as he has no history of violent behaviour,” the report says.

“However, there is a reasonable risk Mr Philip could take further disruptive action to force others to listen to his views.”

The Parole Assessment Report also claimed the 63-year-old “is an individual who has evidenced his willingness to put into action criminal offending which was harmful, likely to arouse fear amongst the general public and cause distress”.

The report also claimed there was “no evidence Mr Philip has ever taken into consideration that vulnerable members of the public and agencies/hospitals etc are dependent upon uninterrupted power supply”.

However, the report also noted Philip and his supporters “accept that he made a serious mistake in embarking on the offending which he undertook”.

“In contrast to views he has previously expressed, he was prepared at this hearing to accept that ‘all New Zealanders’ were the victims of his offending.”

The Parole Board declined his parole request, noting “at this point we are not satisfied that no undue risk to the community would arise if Mr Philip was released now on parole”.

The Board recommended he engage with the prison psychologist ahead of a next appearance in December.

-Benn Bathgate/Stuff.