Legal lowdown newsletter#13

ISSUE

13 JULY 2014

LAW REFORM p2 I NEWS p3 I COMMUNITY p4 I EDUCATION p6-8

LEGAL LOWDOWN

COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES SOUTH TRUST

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MATARIKI – A NEW YEAR, A NEW BEGINNING WINZ CHANGES: Joint responsibility for benefit 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.

MATARIKI

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.

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.

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.

Under our new eligibility criteria you must: Reside in South Auckland (except Mangere), Franklin or Otahuhu and must not qualify for legal aid.

Source: Work and Income New Zealand

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)

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 maximum 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 according to order of arrival)

Š CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966

You must provide photo I.D (valid Passport or Driver's License), your address and your income

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LAW REFORM: Changes to current laws Workplace Health and Safety

Social Security Act 1964

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 disaster.

The Social Security Act was enacted in 1964 and the government is set to rewrite the Act to make it easier to understand 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.

WorkSafe New Zealand is responsible for developing guidance and methods of practice as well as educating workplace participants and enforcing the law. The impact of the recommendations is intended to reduce the workplace injury 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 Reform 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, differing offence categories and court powers will be established.

WorkSafe New Zealand Act 2013, Hazardous Substances 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.

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 communications. 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 during the Select Committee stage.

Source: www.beehive.govt.nz

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

Sources: www.beehive.govt.nz & MBIE

© CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966

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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 example 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 witness 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 working 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

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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, Samoan, Tongan, Hindi and Punjabi languages. We are pleased with the feedback from our education participants and have scheduled to continue these sessions on a regular basis

MĀORI ACCESS TO JUSTICE

RADIO 531pi

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 established 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.

This month our Radio 531pi Legal Information topic was Care of Children. Our weekly sessions covered guardianship, parenting order, non-removal order, the Hague convention and the recent changed to the Family Justice System.

Tune in to Radio 531pi from 2pm every Tuesday to listen to our Legal Information sessions.

Ātea’s Executive Board are made up of individuals who have worked in the areas of Human Rights, Social Services, Education and Community Work for many years. Their experience will assist in improving access to justice in across-discipline approach to justice.

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 Wednesday of every month at Manurewa Marae, 81 Finlayson Ave, MANUREWA (by appointment only).

Within the next few moths Ātea will be promoting its services and will be actively seeking volunteers to roll out its services.

Contact: Wi Pere Mita to book an appointment on (09) 274 4966(#) or at wipere.mita@clsstlaw.com

© CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966

Photo: Participants in our Hindi and Punjabi language education session.

We will be sure to update you all on any future progress.

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OUTREACH CLINICS: Serving Our People Otara CLSST Office 120 Bairds Road Otara

Manukau Salvation Army 16B Bakerfield Place Manukau

Papakura Papakura Citizens Advice Bureau 4a Opaheke Road Papakura

Appointments available: Monday – Friday

Appointments available: Monday-Friday

Pukekohe Heartland Services 2 King Street Pukekohe

Manurewa Manurewa Marae 81 Finlayson Ave Manurewa

Appointments available: Fortnightly on Tuesday

Appointments available: Wednesday

Appointments available: Thursday

Māori Language Week: 21-27 July 2014 CHECK OUT OUR MĀORI LANGUAGE RESOURCES VIA OUR FACEBOOK PAGE

MĀORI COURT ANNOUNCEMENTS

THANK YOU! A big thank you to our student volunteers who assist in bringing this newsletter to our readers.

The Ministry of Justice has made available a list of Maori translations of English language announcements made in Court.

We would also like to acknowledge our volunteers who assist with other areas of our services We really appreciate your efforts!

The announcements cover matters such as entry into court, announcements for tea break and lunch adjournments, and announcements at the conclusion of proceedings.

Send us your news

You can find these Court announcements via the following link: http://www.courtsofnz.govt.nz/ business/court-announcements-in-maori

If you have a story , article or community notice you would like us to advertise through Legal Lowdown, please send it to us at newsletter@clsstlaw.com

Source: New Zealand Law Society

© CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966

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LEGAL EDUCATION: Courses, Seminars & Presentations

Š CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966

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Š CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966

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Š CLSST, 2014 - (09) 274 4966

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