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LEGAL LOWDOWN

ISSUE

28

October 2015

2 NEW ACC LAWS 3

GAMBLING LAWS & LOW INCOME LOANS

Passports Amendment Bill (No 2) 2015-

Passed!

On 15 October, International Affairs Minister, Peter Dunne an-

nounced the passage of the Passports Amendment Bill (No 2).

This new law will enable the issue of 10 year passports to adult

New Zealanders. These will replace the current 5 year pass-

ports.

It is important to note that children passports will still have a 5

year expiry as the appearance of a child changes significantly

over time. This is consistent with international convention.

The rationale behind the law change was to provide greater con-

venience to passport holders in having to renew their passports

less frequently. These changes also result in a price reduction in

the annual average price of an adult passport which will cost no

more than $180.00 per passport.

6 RIGHTS TO A REFUND Consumer Law 7 Mental Health Awareness Week

10-YEAR PASSPORTS APPROVED Passports Amendment Bill (No 2) 2015

There are also proposals to extend online services to allow

child passport renewals and first-time adult applications to be

submitted online. Currently around 40% of adult renewal ap-

plications are submitted online.

“We must safeguard the highly trusted international reputa-

tion of our passport which allows New Zealanders the free-

dom to visit approximately 170 countries without applying for

a visa.”

The 10-years passports will be available from 30 November

2015.

For more information about the new 10-year passports, please

see the Beehive website.

Source: beehive.govt.nz

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Admission to the Bar

Congratulations to our volunteer Neferteri Cristobal

who was admitted to the bar on 2 October 2015 at

the High Court at Auckland.

Our lawyer Soane Foliaki acted as her moving coun-

sel at her admission ceremony.

ACC Law Change

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ACC Minister Nikki Kaye has confirmed that Cabinet has signed

off changes to the Accident Compensation Act 2001 that will al-

low superannuitants to better cope with the accidental death of

the spouse or partner.

The current law requires superannuitants to chose between re-

ceiving either the NZ Super or ACC weekly compensation (after

receiving both for one year). This is despite ACC weekly compen-

sation being available for five years to the spouse of someone who

is fatally injured.

ACC weekly compensation is paid when someone is unable to

work because of injury. It is paid as a percentage of the pre-injury

earnings.

The new change will allow superannuitants to receive both NZ

Super and surviving spouse weekly compensation on the same

basis as other surviving spouses. This change will apply to superan-

nuitants whose spouse/partner was working at the time of their

accidental death, and receiving earnings which qualify for the pay-

ment of ACC weekly compensation.

For more information, see the Beehive website.

Source: beehive.govt.nz

Redundant laws to be repealed

The Minister of Regulatory Reform, Steven Joyce

and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regula-

tory Reform, David Seymour have released the

Statutes Repeal Bill.

This Bill sets to repeal 120 pieces of legislation and

parts of eight other Acts that are deemed to be

“redundant”.

If that Bill is passed, it will reduce the total number

of public Acts by 10%.

Calls for submissions on the new Bill have been

made. Anyone wanting to make a submission must

do so by the submission closing date which is 4

December 2015.

For more information, see the Beehive website.

Source: beehive.govt.nz

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GAMBLING LAW CHANGES

The Gambling Amendment Act 2015 became law this month.

The new Act aims to give greater affect to the purpose of the

Gambling Act 2003 which is to ensure that money from gam-

bling benefits the community.

The Act will:

Increase the transparency of grant-making from the pro-

ceeds of gaming machines in pubs and clubs (Class 4 gam-

bling)

Reduce potential conflict-of-interest situations between non-

casino gaming machine operators, venues and grant recipi-

ents

Improve transparency surrounding the use of management

companies carrying out specific gambling-related functions

for gaming societies

Simplify compliance and reduce costs for societies and venue

owners in some areas

Ensure the efficiency of the Gambling Act appeal processes.

Statistics

The latest Gambling Expenditure Statistics published by the

Department of Internal Affairs shows that $2091mil was ex-

pended on the four main types of gambling activity—TAB rac-

ing and sports betting, NZ Lotteries games, gaming machines

(outside casinos) and casino gambling in the 2014 financial

year.

According to the 2012 New Zealand Gambling Survey, 0.7% of

New Zealand adults aged 18years and over were found to

have a gambling problem.

If you, a family member or a friend is suffering form a gambling

problem, contact:

Gambling Helpline

Ph: 0800 654 655 (7 days)

Email: info@gamblinghelpline.co.nz

TEXT “4 HELP” to 8006

For more information, see the Beehive website.

Source: beehive.govt.nz

COURT TXT REMINDERS

The District Courts have introduced a new text messaging service which reminds those appearing in Court of the Court date through receiving an automated text message the day before their hearing.

There is currently a 4%-6% “no show” rate in case review, sentencing and judge-alone trial events. This results in the issue of 3500+ arrest warrant for those who fail to attend Court.

To sign-up for the new text reminder service, please see

the Ministry of Justice website or call 0800 268 787

Source: ADLSI Lawnews

Community Finance

Low-Income Loans

The Bank of New Zealand has announced that it will in-

crease its support for the Community Finance initiative.

This partnership initiative between the Ministry of Social

Development, BNZ, Good Shepherd NZ and the Salvation

Army, provides interest free and low interest loans to

New Zealanders on low incomes.

This initiative was developed in 2014 with pilot pro-

grammes being set up in South and West Auckland.

Loan applicants currently work with Community Finance

Workers from the Salvation Army in Waitakere and Ma-

nukau, and can apply for support to purchase items which

provide economic opportunities and improve the quality

of life, such as cars and car repairs and household items

such as appliances and computers.

It is hoped that as a result of the initiative loan applicants

are able to better resource themselves for ongoing educa-

tion opportunities and employment.

The Minister for Social Development, Anne Tolley, wel-

comes the pledge of $50 million from BNZ saying that

“Community Finance offers an alternative to high-interest

loans and the type of easy credit which has huge hidden

fees.”

For more information, see the Salvation Army website.

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NGĀ TAKE MĀORI Issues affecting Māori communities

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Te Reo Māori: Māori Language (Te Reo Māori) Bill Kua whakaae te kāhui minita ki ngā panonitanga I te ture reo

Māori hou. Ka tirohia e tātou ēnā panonitanga.

Key proposals to amend the Māori Language (Te Reo Māori)

Bill have been approved by Cabinet.

The key proposals include:

Giving legislative status to two Māori Language Strat-

egies, one the responsibility of the Crown, which will

focus on national-level issues and the other strategy

the responsibility of tangata whenua that will focus on

matters at an iwi and community level; and

That the primary responsibilities of Te Mātāwai to

support whānau, hapu, iwi and communities, but also

enabling it to influence central government efforts;

and

Adjusting the membership of Te Mātāwai to ensure

representation for urban Maori and providing for Te

Puni Kokiri to facilitate the selection process; and

Maintaining Te Taurawhiri and Te Māngai Pāho as

Crown Entities and;

Establishing two governance and engagement forums

between Te Mātāwai and the Crown

These proposals are supported by the Minister of Maori De-

velopment.

Cabinet has also agreed to enact the Bill in both English and Māori, with the Māori text prevailing in law should there be a dispute around interpretation.

For more information, see the Te Puni Kokiri website

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PASEFIKA ISSUES KNOW YOUR RIGHTS ABOUT

REFUNDS

O le vaega faapitoa lenei o le Legal Lowdown e talanoaina ai

mataupu faaletulafono o loo aafia ai tagata Pasefika i le siosi-

omaga inei Niu Sila. O lenei masina, a o aga’i atu i aso fiafia ma

malologa i le fa’aiuga o lenei tausaga, o le a faatalanoaina ai aia

tatau a tagata pe a fa’atau oloa.

What are your rights to a refund from a shop?

You don’t actually have a right to return goods for a refund if

you simply change your mind. A shop doesn't have to give

you a refund if you:

1) Regret buying the goods, for any reason;

2) Find the same thing cheaper elsewhere;

3) Bought something for someone else that they don’t

like or already have;

4) Bought clothes that don’t fit or something that

doesn't match what you already have.

What should you do if you want to return goods and

get a refund?

Before you buy something you are unsure about, ask whether

the shop has a return policy or offer exchange cards that al-

low you to exchange your gift.

Return Policy

Some shops have a “change of mind” return policy. The terms

of these return policies are decided by the shop owner.

Check the terms and conditions of the policy before you buy.

What if the shop does not have a return policy?

You can ask the shop whether you can return goods if they

are not suitable. If the shop agrees to this, get the agreement

in writing when you buy the goods. They may also have an

exchange card you can use.

What if there is a fault with the goods I have

purchased?

If there is a fault with the goods you have purchased, you are

covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA). The

CGA sets out a number of guarantees that all goods sold in

New Zealand must meet, such as, being acceptable in quality.

So, if you buy or receive something that turns out to be

faulty, you have the right to take it back to the shop and ask

them to fix the problem. Depending on how serious the fault

is, the shop might have to repair or replace the goods, or

offer you a refund.

We have developed some interactive exercises, aimed at

youth, to help improve knowledge of rights to return and

exchange.

Please see our website to access these interactive resources

by following this link

Source: Ministry of Consumer Affairs

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Mental Health Awareness Week 2015 Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) ran from 5-11 Octo-

ber 2015.

The theme of MHAW was “give”. In keeping with the theme of

MHAW 2015, CLSST is helping to “give” by providing some

statistics on Mental Health in New Zealand.

These statistics are taken form the Mental Health Foundation:

Quick Facts and Stats 2014 (2012/13 NZ Health Survey) Chief

Coroner Annual Provisional Suicide Figures (2014/15) and the

2013 Disability Survey

1 in 6 NZ adults were diagnosed with

a mental disorder.

20% of NZ women

likely to have been

diagnosed with a

mental disorder

200,000+ NZ adults experienced psychological

distress in the last four weeks of the

survey.

564 NZer’s died as a result

of suicide (per 100,000 population)

242,000 (approx.) of NZer’s are living with disability caused by psychological and/or

psychiatric conditions

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