Legal lowdown newsletter#13

© 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)

http://www.clsstlaw.com

mailto:[email protected]


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




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.




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]




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


Thursday

Pukekohe

Heartland Services

2 King Street

Pukekohe


Fortnightly on Tuesday

Manurewa

Manurewa Marae

81 Finlayson Ave

Manurewa


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

[email protected]

Māori Language Week: 21-27 July

2014

CHECK OUT OUR MĀORI LANGUAGE

RESOURCES VIA OUR FACEBOOK PAGE




LEGAL EDUCATION: Courses, Seminars & Presentations



Legal lowdown newsletter#13

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