Chase Reon Scott (30), however, did not remain in the dock at the Dunedin District Court yesterday long enough to discover the sentence.
As Judge Quentin Hix outlined his decision, the former Australian resident told Corrections officers "I want to go".
He was accompanied to the cells as the judge completed the process.
The court heard Scott was returned to New Zealand on April 29 last year and was subject to a Returning Offender Order, which limited his freedom for 12 months.
From the outset, the defendant was resistant. He was described as "confrontational" by Corrections staff and argued his liberty should not be restricted because "I did my time in Aussie".
It was only months before Scott was causing trouble in Dunedin.
On October 26, he had a spat with another man at his Maryhill boarding house, the victim protesting against the defendant’s aggressive behaviour.
Scott left the room, pursued by the victim, and turned before punching him in the face.
They wrestled in the hallway before being separated by other residents, the court heard.
The victim retreated to his bedroom but Scott was not finished — he ran to his room and grabbed a 45cm machete.
He made a dash for the victim’s door, which was ajar, and when the man held it shut, he hacked at it with the weapon.
A police summary said Scott struck at least 11 blows with the blade, leaving large gauge marks in the wood.
He later left the scene with an associate but gave himself up once armed officers turned up and set up cordons in the area.
Only weeks later, while on bail, Scott turned his aggression on a pregnant woman.
He contacted her several times on Snapchat, leaving voice recordings and text messages of an abusive nature.
"I’ll come there and put a f...... bullet in your head, understand," one said. Scott also subjected the woman to a barrage of insults, referring to her as "ugly", "mutt" and "paedophile".
Counsel Rhona Daysh said her client had been away from New Zealand since the age of 6 when he moved to Australia with his grandparents.
His mother had given him up because he was too "hyper", she said, and he passed through various foster homes before the move abroad.
Scott was expelled from school at 17 and first jailed at 19.
He had been in and out of prison since, Ms Daysh said.
"He has an anger problem and he needs help with it," she said.
