A triple murderer has made his first bid for parole.
Hayden Poulter is serving a life sentence for the 1996 killings of an Auckland prostitute, Natacha Hogan, and two other sex workers, as well as an attempted murder and a rape.
He was described by media at the time as New Zealand's first serial killer.
The Parole Board says the brutal offending was of the worst kind imaginable, but it says the 50-year-old has done superbly well in prison and now has a university qualification.
However, the board also says it's anxious that Poulter is suppressing another personality and there may be circumstances where that might reappear.
Poulter gets another hearing in a year's time, but has been warned his release must be regarded as some time away.