Brother of BBC presenter among Loafers Lodge fire missing
Wednesday, 17 May 2023
The brother of a BBC presenter who was living with a difficult neurological condition is missing in the 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.
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Six people have been confirmed dead. 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.
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.
After graduating he 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 is arts writer Rosemary Hemmings.