PM's 'heart goes out' to family of uni friend missing in suspicious fire

Wednesday, 17 May 2023

171109 News. Photo: Phil Reid/The Dominion PostL to R, Rimutaka MP Chris Hipkins and Liam Hockings, students involved in a protest outside parliament 12 yrs ago and have received apologies from the police and speakers office, and compensation.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says his heart goes out to the family of his university friend missing after the suspicious fatal fire at a hostel in Wellington.

Liam Hockings, 50, hasn’t been heard from by his family since the blaze broke out at Loafers Lodge about 12.25am Tuesday.

Are you affected or know someone who is? Email blair.ensor@stuff.co.nz

Six people have been confirmed dead following the blaze, which is being treated as suspicious. Police are yet to release any details about the victims, with Chief Coroner Judge Anna Tutton saying the identification of bodies could be a painstaking, slow, complex process that would take time.

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Liam’s sister is BBC presenter Lucy Hockings.

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Both Hipkins and Hockings received compensation after they were arrested by police following a student protest.

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On Wednesday, a member of Hockings’ extended family confirmed to Stuff he was still missing after the fire.

His sister, Lucy Hockings, is a well-known BBC presenter and journalist who has her own show. She previously worked for TVNZ.

Liam Hockings trained as a journalist at Massey University, graduating in 2004, and previously received a bachelor of social sciences from Waikato University majoring in politics in 1995.

During his time at university he met Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. The pair were among hundreds of student activists who railed against the privatisation of education in a historical protest in 1997 that ended in a watershed victory for civil rights.

The students clashed with police and were arrested on Parliament grounds. Some were held overnight amid allegations of mistreatment including assault and rough handling. All were unsuccessfully prosecuted for trespass.

More than a decade on in 2009, 41 of the former student protesters arrested and subjected to police abuses received apologies and $150,000 in compensation, including Hipkins and Hockings.

On Wednesday afternoon, Hipkins confirmed he knew Hockings during his university days.

'My thoughts are with Liam's family and his extended family. I haven't seen a lot of him in recent years, although I have run into him at various events around the place.”

Hipkins said Hockings was 'a bit of a character and certainly someone who I knew … to be a very sincere person”.

“Although we haven’t maintained an ongoing connection, naturally his family will be extremely concerned, and my heart goes out to them, and to the other families and friends who will be very anxious.”

Hipkins also recognised the efforts of the police who were working “as hard as possible today” to provide resolution to whanau.

After graduating from university, Hockings worked at the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations.

He was delighted when the Ministry of Social Development stepped in to help him to get a journalism and communications role at Land Information New Zealand by paying six months of his salary in 2019.

Hockings had Hydrocephalus – a spinal cyst on his brain that needed draining by a shunt. It left him with memory and organisational difficulties. Despite his condition, Hockings was a regular contributor to a Kiwi Journalists Association social media forum, often sharing opinions on ethical issues within the industry.

As well as having a sister in the industry, his mother was the late arts writer Rosemary Hemmings.

A former Countdown Newtown employee told Stuff that Hockings was an 'absolute gem' to him and other staff when visiting the supermarket.

Hockings, who would visit multiple times a day, would always make sure to give everyone a smile and a thumbs up, and say thank you when leaving 'with a big smile,' the employee said.

'He always used to donate one or two cans of food to the Salvation Army collection bin we had in the store. he donated something even if he came in multiple times a day.'

The BBC told Stuff: “Lucy and her family are awaiting further information from the authorities, and we ask that her and her family’s privacy is respected at this time. The BBC will do everything it can to support Lucy.”