NEWSLETTER #12 June 2014

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Law reform 2

Events 3-4

Updates 5-8

We take a look at the

proposed changes to laws

surrounding victims of

crime.

We outline some of the

events we attend and

provided this month.

A snippet of some of our

free legal education

sessions running next

month and some legal

updates you should know

about.

TRIAL PROPERTY

WARRANT OF FITNESS Earlier this year our Legal Lowdown

included an article regarding

Warrants of Fitness (“WOF”) of

rental properties in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Herald reported in

May 2014 that, of the 144

properties included in the trial WOF

tests, 94% of those inspected failed

to pass.

The inspection consisted of a 31

category test which looked at

weathertightness, insulation and

ventilation, lighting, heating,

condition of appliances and general

building safety.

The average inspection time per

property was 51 minutes.

It is recorded that the top five failed

criteria of the WOF inspections

were:

40 per cent of houses did not

pass the water temperature

check.

30 per cent of bedrooms did

not have a working smoke

alarm within 3 meters of the

bedroom.

31 per cent of houses lacked

code-compliant handrails and

balustrades.

37 per cent of houses did not

pass the check for having a

fixed form of heating.

38 per cent of houses did not

pass the security stays check.

The results of this initial series of

trial inspections will be analysed by

a special steering group which has

been set up to investigate ways in

which the WOF process can be

refined before it can be applied

more broadly throughout New

Zealand.

We will be sure to provide any updates to the rental property WOF process as they are made available.

Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11255312&ref=NZH_FBpage

RENTAL PROPERTIES FAIL TRIAL

WARRANT OF FITNESS

THANK YOU to all our student volunteers. Your

services to Community Law are greatly appreciated!

Otara

CLSST Office

120 Bairds Road

Otara

Appointments

available:

Monday – Friday

Otahuhu

We currently do

not have an

Outreach clinic in

Otahuhu

Manukau

Salvation Army

16B Bakerfield

Place

Manukau

Appointments

available:

Monday-Friday

Papakura

Papakura Citizens

Advice 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

VICTIMS OF CRIME REFORM BILL

Victims of crime often find it difficult to understand the legal process, even though the result impacts their lives. The Victims of Crime Reform Bill seeks to amend a few current legislations so that victims of crime will be provided with tools to participate in the legal processes. Information that impacts the victims will be made available, such as the outcome of the prerogative of mercy where the offender will be granted a free pardon. Victims will also be notified by the New Zealand Police or the Ministry of Justice of any breach of home detention or parole conditions, as well as the result of the offender’s bail hearing. Victims will also be able to request information about the offender to assist them in making their submission to a parole hearing. Furthermore, victims will be informed about publications of their details to the press. If the victims disapprove, then they will be able to prohibit these publications.

The rights of victims can often be overlooked by the authorities. The Victims of Crime Reform Bill seeks to offer further protection of victims’ rights. Probation officers and the parole board will be required to treat victims with courtesy and to respect the privacy of the victims. Victims of serious offences will have the right to read out their victim impact statements themselves in court, so that the statement will carry a greater weight on the judge. The Bill will put obligation to the prosecutors to make sure that the victim’s view of the custody of children will be heard in court, and there will be more services available for victims of domestic violence to help them move on with their lives. All of these rights and information will also be available to young victims of crime.

Source: NZ Parliament and Ministry of Justice

OUTREACH CLINICS: ENGAGING WITH OUR COMMUNITY

As part of our commitment to our community, we hold several outreach clinics throughout

our service area to maintain face-to-face engagement with our clients.

PLEASE NOTE: We no longer have outreach clinics in Flat Bush or Chapel Downs.

CLSST SERVICES COMMUNITY EVENTS & SEMINARS

COALITION OF COMMUNITY LAW

CENTRES OF AOTEAROA NATIONAL

HUI, 24-26 June 2014

The 2014 Coalition of Community Law Centres Hui was hosted by Waitemata CLC, who did a great job of pulling people together from around the country and making them feel at home. CLSST made an appearance at the Powhiri, which was followed by opening addresses leading to the main event of the day, the AGM.

In addition to business, the Hui aimed to inspire through a line-up of great speakers such as Khylee Quince from the University of Auckland, who addressed the over-representation of Māori in the justice system, and Ronji Tanielu speaking about the Pacifica community. A favourite was an interactive session with a ‘disability panel’. Brought together by Auckland Disability Law, several members of the public with disabilities helped the attendees to understand a little more of the everyday challenges faced by people with sight, hearing or mobility impairments.

Day two was capped with the Conference Dinner at Lincoln Green, which saw a show of force from CLSST with almost the entire office present! The highlight of the evening was the ‘CLC’s Got Talent’ competition kicking off after dinner with some truly creative antics. The final day of the Hui included sessions on a number of topics such as Governance & Management, Migrants & Refugees, and one that goes right to the heart of CLC work, Improving Access to Justice.

Māori & Pasefika Issues Valuable insights and views were expressed by each attendee at the Hui and overall, regardless of where in New Zealand each person came from, the issues facing our pacific island legal staff were similar in circumstance and background.

CLSST Staff and Trustees at the Coalition of Community Law Centres of Aotearoa National Hui

The common theme with pacific island clients is when the lawyer is taking instructions and clients do not fully understand the lawyer’s advice. The client too quickly agrees to the lawyer’s relay of information or advice. This may stem from cultural reasons, language barriers or the client’s insistence on agreeing to whatever the lawyer has said simply to advance their matter. This often leads to unresolved matters or incorrect resolutions.

The onus ultimately falls on the lawyer to address these issues. Some solutions that were drawn out of the discussion were simple and very useful.

Solutions included:

-

In an effort to utilise our collective experiences, we exchanged emails to enable correspondence and hopefully continue discussions on how we can support our pacific community through education and real life solutions used by our pacific island legal staff. (continued)…

MĀORI LAND CLINIC DETAILS Venue: Manurewa Marae

81 Finlayson Ave Manurewa

Times: 10am-3pm

(30min appointments) Dates: 2 July 2014

6 August 2014 3 September 2014 1 October 2014 5 November 2014 3 December 2014

For more information contact: Wi Pere Mita Ph: (09) 274 4966 ext (#) Email: wipere.mita@clsstlaw.com

CLSST SERVICES: COMMUNITY EVENTS, UPDATES AND NEWS

Māori Land Advisors from Te Mata Law, CLSST & Māori Land Court, Tamaki Makaurau

FREE MĀORI LAND ADVISORY CLINICS – MANUREWA MARAE

TE MATA LAW PROFILE

Te Mata Law is a boutique law firm that specialises in providing advice on Māori land law and Treaty law. The firm was formed by David Stone (Principal Barrister). Te Mata Law is made up of seven Barristers and is based in Western Springs with small satellite offices in South Auckland and West Auckland. Te Mata Law carries experience and expertise in the areas of indigenous law, Māori land law, Treaty of Waitangi law and Treaty of Waitangi settlement negotiations. This experience includes advising clients on Treaty of Waitangi claims and iwi settlement issues across the North Island in the East Coast, Rohe Potae, Porirua ki Manawatu and Northland Inquiry Districts. The firm is also involved with Māori Land Court litigation throughout Aotearoa. Te Mata Law has been actively involved with the Māori Land Clinic since its inception, and is proud to support this joint initiative.

(continued)…

Nga Kaiawhina Hapori Māori o Te Ture (“Māori Caucus”) is the voice for Māori within Community Law. Māori Caucus met at the Hui and discussed the value of effective communication, especially with Māori clients who prefer to speak Māori to their lawyer or advocate.

Māori Caucus also selected their representatives on Coalition of Community Law Centres National Board. Desiree Williams (Ngai Tahu Community Law Centre) was appointed as Co-convener who will be supported by Nikorima Thatcher (Tairawhiti Community Law Centre) and Wi Pere Mita (CLSST) as National Board members.

Term Description Approve Dispute Resolution Organisation

A dispute resolution organisation approved, by the Secretary for Justice under the Family Dispute Resolution Regulations 2013, to train and approve mediators to provide family dispute resolution.

Day to day care Having a child live with you and being responsible for their daily care and wellbeing. Day to day care use to be called ‘custody’.

Family Dispute Resolution (FDR) Family Dispute Resolution is a service where parties who have a dispute about the care of their children work with an independent, approved mediator. During mediation, the parties try to reach an agreement on the day to day care of their children. For most people, completion of FDR is mandatory before proceeding to court.

Family Legal Advice Service (FLAS) A service to provide initial legal advice and information for people in dispute about the care of their children. The service is intended to help people understand their responsibilities and options, provide legal guidance and, if required, assistance with the completion of court forms. The service is available free of charge to eligible people.

Family Justice System The full spectrum of out-of-court and in-court (Family Court) services.

Funding Financial assistance available to eligible people to pay for out-of-court services, including family legal advice and Family Dispute Resolution mediation and preparatory counselling (if recommended). The funding eligibility test is based on a person’s income and number of dependants.

Out-of-Court Services Services designed to help people resolve disputes about care of children without going to court. These services include Parenting Through Separation programmes, Family Dispute Resolution and Family Legal Advice.

Parenting Agreement An informal agreement reached by all parties to a family dispute which relates to the day-to-day care of a child or children. Parenting agreements usually include arrangements for day-to-day care, contact or other areas to do with the child’s wellbeing, development and upbringing.

Parenting Plan A copy of the parenting agreement. Parties will be encouraged to provide this to their Family Dispute Resolution mediator and to the Family Court, should the matter proceed to court.

Preparatory Counselling An out-of-court service to assist people to prepare for Family Dispute Resolution. This counselling is recommended if the Family Dispute Resolution mediator believes it will help people prepare for mediation.

Resolution Management System (RMS)

An online system to record people’s interactions with new out-of-court services for family justice. In most cases people need to have completed these services before they can take their care of children case to the Family Court.

Private agreement Where parties resolve their dispute privately or using out-of-court services.

FAMILY JUSTICE SYSTEM – NEW TERMINOLOGY

Some of the terminology used in the new Family Justice System has changed. We have created a simple table to help you better understand the new terminology. Check it out!