A former drug dealer who shot his 2-year-old daughter dead has had complications in his bid for parole.
Gustav Otto Sanft from Māngere, south Auckland, is serving a sentence of four years and 10 months for manslaughter over the death of his daughter, Amokura Daniels-Sanft, in 2016.
Sanft was also convicted for unlawful possession of a rifle and cannabis supply.
Sanft's defence argued he never intended to kill his daughter, but pulled the trigger of the shotgun, possibly not knowing the firearm was loaded, to scare her when she was "playing up".
Sanft has a statutory release date of April 30, 2022.
In a newly-released decision, the Parole Board said Sanft had made good progress on rehabilitation including a drug treatment programme.
"He said that he has matured and has thought a lot about how it was that he put himself into the situation that led to the very tragic death of his daughter," the board said in its new decision.
"He said he focused on all the wrong things at that time and not on the dangers, including the danger of having a gun in the house."
The Covid-19 lockdown led to a guided release for Sanft being cancelled.
The Department of Corrections described guided releases as ways prisoners could move from prison to the community in gradual steps and take part in reintegration activities before release.
Sanft already had two guided releases.
The board said complications also recently emerged finding a suitable address for Sanft, and it was important not to release him to an area that might jeopardise his reintegration.
Parole was declined, but Sanft will see the board again in August.
"Mr Sanft has done well on his sentence however risk remains undue in the absence of a robust release proposal given the nature of [his] offending," the board added.
The board said it hoped a reintegration meeting could be held and a "robust release plan" developed.