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© CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 1
LEGAL LOWDOWN
LAW REFORM p2 I NEWS p3 I COMMUNITY p4 I EDUCATION p6-8 ISSUE
13
JULY 2014
COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES SOUTH TRUST FOLLOW US:
MATARIKI – A NEW YEAR, A NEW BEGINNING
MATARIKI
Matariki (the Pleiades) signals the beginning of the Maori new year which
commenced on 28 June this year. Matariki is a time to prepare for the future
and honour the past. Coincidentally, we are also preparing for the future with
a few changes to the way we operate and to the services we provide. These
changes have come about as a result of new contracts provided to us by the
Ministry of Justice.
Under our new eligibility criteria you must:
Reside in South Auckland (except Mangere), Franklin or Otahuhu and must not qualify for legal aid.
Have an annual income below the following:
$33,800 (single person) $38,000 (1 dependent - spouse/partner or 1 child)
$50,934 (2 dependents - spouse/partner or children) $57,880 (3 dependents - spouse/partner or children) $64,678 (4 dependents - spouse/partner or children) $72,302 (5 dependents - spouse/partner or children) You must provide photo I.D (valid Passport or Driver's License), your address and your income
WINZ CHANGES: Joint responsibility for bene-
fit fraud debts
On 7 July 2014 the New Zealand Government effected
changes to law that aim to stop benefit fraud by making
both beneficiaries and their partners liable.
Formerly, clients of the Ministry of Social Development
(MSD) who received a benefit, Student Hardship or New
Zealand Superannuation and were in a relationship that
the MSD did not know about were solely responsible for
paying back the fraud debt.
However, a new Relationship Debt Sharing law now allows
MSD to investigate and prosecute both beneficiaries and
their partners for benefit fraud, making both individuals
jointly responsible for repaying the debt. Furthermore, if
the beneficiary and his or her partner separate the debt
remains shared between both of them until it is paid off.
The reasons for the law change are due to the seriousness
of committing benefit fraud. Not only is benefit fraud a
crime which, if prosecuted, could mean a prison sentence,
but the money obtained by fraud is also money deprived
from other beneficiaries who are entitled to it.
Source: Work and Income New Zealand
New Saturday Legal Advice Clinics
From Saturday 13 September 2014 we will commence
fortnightly legal advice/info clinics from 9am-12pm at
our Otara office. Appointments will be 30 minutes max-
imum per person. If you wish to see a lawyer at this
clinic you may do so by booking an appointment or
on a walk-in basis (NB: walk-in clients will be seen ac-
cording to order of arrival)
© CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 2
Workplace Health and Safety The Health and Safety Reform Bill proposes to change New
Zealand’s workplace health and safety system. The Bill is
part of Working Safer, a response to recommendations of
the Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety,
set up partially in response to the Pike River Coal Mine disas-
ter.
WorkSafe New Zealand is responsible for developing guid-
ance and methods of practice as well as educating work-
place participants and enforcing the law. The impact of the
recommendations is intended to reduce the workplace inju-
ry and death toll by 25% by 2020.
If the Health and Safety Reform Bill passes into Law it will
replace the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
The main changes proposed by the Health and Safety Re-
form Bill are:
Greater onus and legal requirements will be placed
on managers and company directors to manage
risks and keep their workers safe.
A requirement of greater participation so workers
are more involved in health and safety in their
workplace.
Greater penalties, stronger enforcement tools, dif-
fering offence categories and court powers will be
established.
WorkSafe New Zealand Act 2013, Hazardous Sub-
stances and New Organisms Act 1996, Accident
Compensation Act 2001, Employment Relations Act
200, among other Acts will be amended.
Workers will be covered regardless of the type of
relationship, this will be broader than the current
employee-employer relationship.
The intention is the Bill will be passed in 2014, with the new
Act coming into force from 1 April 2015.
Sources: www.beehive.govt.nz & MBIE
Social Security Act 1964 The Social Security Act was enacted in 1964 and the govern-
ment is set to rewrite the Act to make it easier to under-
stand and more coherent. Since its enactment, it has been
amended 139 times and 186 sections of the Act have been
repealed. No major welfare changes will be made regarding
the benefit rates or existing financial assistance, but there
will be changes regarding administration. The new Social
Security Act will be introduced into Parliament by late 2015.
There are a few areas that are being considered as part of
the rewrite of the Social Security Act. The government will
be changing the rules of how income is recorded by the
Work and Income case managers, as it will save huge time
and money for the beneficiaries and staff. The government
also plans to change its use of letters, and instead use texts
and emails instead to reduce cost and allow for faster com-
munications. Furthermore, the Act would highly benefit
from plain English writing to ensure better understanding.
New Zealanders can be assured that the focus is to re-enact
current laws in a more accessible and understandable way,
and they will have the opportunity to provide feedback dur-
ing the Select Committee stage.
Source: www.beehive.govt.nz
LAW REFORM: Changes to current laws
Law Reform Pipeline
A list of proposed law changes currently before
Parliament:
Review of the Privacy Act
Public Safety (Public Protection
Orders) Bill
Sentencing (Protection of Children
from Criminal Offending)
Amendment Bill
Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill
© CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 3
LAW NEWS: News in Community Law
DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY: What is it?
Foreign diplomats in New Zealand and New Zealand diplomats working overseas are protected by diplomatic immunity. A diplomat
is someone appointed by their government to conduct official negotiations and maintain relations with other countries. For exam-
ple in New Zealand we have diplomats from various countries within embassies around New Zealand, and we have New Zealand
diplomats in New Zealand embassies all around the world.
Diplomatic immunity means that the diplomats working overseas are not subject to the control of local courts and authorities. This
immunity is intended to ensure that diplomats are able to perform their job without interference from the government of the
country they are in. We send diplomats to places throughout the world, many of which do not enjoy the same political stability as
we do in New Zealand.
By having reciprocal immunity arrangements with these countries it ensures that these staff are able to carry out their jobs without
the fear of being targeted for political reasons. Diplomatic immunity has existed since the 1800’s and is currently protected by a
treaty that was adopted by the United Nations in 1961, known as the Vienna Convention.
Although the exact immunities a diplomat has depend on their role, general aspects of diplomatic immunity include:
Reciprocity. This means that the same rules apply to New Zealand representatives working overseas, as to foreign diplo
mats working within New Zealand.
Officials of the country that the overseas diplomat is working in cannot enter the embassy or residences of the overseas
diplomat.
Diplomats cannot be arrested, detained or prosecuted for breaking local laws and they cannot be made to appear as a wit-
ness in court.
Diplomats are not required to pay certain local taxes.
Diplomatic immunity does not exist for an individual’s benefit. While they are generally immune from the control of the court of
the country they are in, they are still expected to follow the country’s laws and they are still subject to their home country’s control.
If a diplomat does break the law of the country they are in, their home country can decide to waive immunity or can take their own
action against the diplomat.
Recently we have seen diplomatic immunity cause controversy within New Zealand when it appeared a Malaysian diplomat work-
ing in New Zealand would escape charges of burglary and assault with the intent to rape a 21-year-old at her home in Wellington
after claiming diplomatic immunity. This position has since changed with the Malaysian Government promising that the diplomat
will be required to return to New Zealand without the protection of diplomatic immunity.
This situation has drawn attention to the relatively unknown exception to the general belief that our justice system is built on the
idea that there is one rule for all. However, in this situation it seems that a positive outcome will occur and that the victim of this
crime will see justice being done.
Sources: New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, New Zealand Herald and NewstalkZB.
© CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 4
COMMUNITY LAW: Māori & Pacific Focus
Multi-lingual Education
CLSST is fortunate to have staff who are bi-lingual, which
means that we are well equipped to deal with clients whose
first language is not English.
In July 2014 we commenced multilingual education sessions
for the public. The content of these legal education sessions
remain the same as our general education sessions, however
the difference is that the sessions are all conducted in different
languages.
To date, we have delivered education sessions in Maori, Samo-
an, Tongan, Hindi and Punjabi languages. We are pleased with
the feedback from our education participants and have sched-
uled to continue these sessions on a regular basis Photo: Participants in our Hindi and Punjabi language
education session.
MĀORI ACCESS TO JUSTICE
In response to growing concerns over the barriers to access
to justice, specifically for Māori, CLSST along with other key
stakeholders of kaupapa Māori organisations have estab-
lished Ātea-Māori Justice Network. Ātea is a not-for-profit
organisation with its main objective being - to improve access
to justice for Māori through education and advocacy.
Ātea’s Executive Board are made up of individuals who have
worked in the areas of Human Rights, Social Services, Educa-
tion and Community Work for many years. Their experience
will assist in improving access to justice in across-discipline
approach to justice.
Within the next few moths Ātea will be promoting its services
and will be actively seeking volunteers to roll out its services.
We will be sure to update you all on any future progress.
RADIO 531pi
This month our Radio 531pi Legal Information topic was
Care of Children. Our weekly sessions covered guardian-
ship, parenting order, non-removal order, the Hague con-
vention and the recent changed to the Family Justice Sys-
tem.
Tune in to Radio 531pi from 2pm every Tuesday to listen
to our Legal Information sessions.
You can listen online via the following link:
www.radio531pi.com
Māori Land Advice Clinic
Our Māori land advice clinic is held on the first Wednes-
day of every month at Manurewa Marae, 81 Finlayson
Ave, MANUREWA (by appointment only).
Contact: Wi Pere Mita to book an appointment on (09)
274 4966(#) or at [email protected]
© CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 5
OUTREACH CLINICS: Serving Our People
Otara
CLSST Office
120 Bairds Road
Otara Appointments available:
Monday – Friday
Manukau Salvation Army
16B Bakerfield Place
Manukau
Appointments available:
Monday-Friday
Papakura
Papakura Citizens Ad-
vice Bureau
4a Opaheke Road
Papakura
Appointments available:
Thursday
Pukekohe
Heartland Services
2 King Street
Pukekohe
Appointments available:
Fortnightly on Tuesday
Manurewa
Manurewa Marae
81 Finlayson Ave
Manurewa
Appointments available:
Wednesday
MĀORI COURT
ANNOUNCEMENTS
The Ministry of Justice has made available a list
of Maori translations of English language an-
nouncements made in Court.
The announcements cover matters such as entry
into court, announcements for tea break and
lunch adjournments, and announcements at the
conclusion of proceedings.
You can find these Court announcements via the
following link: http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/
business/court-announcements-in-maori
Source: New Zealand Law Society
THANK YOU!
A big thank you to our student volunteers who
assist in bringing this newsletter to our readers.
We would also like to acknowledge our volun-
teers who assist with other areas of our services
We really appreciate your efforts!
Send us your news
If you have a story , article or community notice
you would like us to advertise through Legal
Lowdown, please send it to us at
Māori Language Week: 21-27 July
2014
CHECK OUT OUR MĀORI LANGUAGE
RESOURCES VIA OUR FACEBOOK PAGE
© CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 6
LEGAL EDUCATION: Courses, Seminars & Presentations
© CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 7
© CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 8