Legal lowdown newsletter#23

ISSUE

COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES SOUTH TRUST

23 May 2015

LEGAL LOWDOWN

Exploitation of Migrant Workers

IMMIGRATION LAW IMMIGRATION AMENDMENT ACT (NO 2)

...New Zealand has received 162,863 Work Visa applications, to date. Only 154,218 of those applications were approved.

The Immigration Amendment Act (No2) was passed into law on 30 April 2015, confirming a number of changes to the Immigration Act 2009. These amendments are focused towards:

Exploitation of migrant workers includes bullying, payments of less than minimum wage, withholding wages, working without holiday and threats of deportation.

(a) addressing gaps in the Immigration Compliance regime

Immigration NZ has some helpful multilingual information pamphlets about exploitation of migrant workers available on their website: http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/ general/generalinformation/migrantexploitation/

(b) Responding to opportunities provided by new technologies and (c) Introducing measures to address the exploitation of migrant workers.

If you, or someone you know is a victim of migrant exploitation in the work place, please call our office on (09) 2744966 for advice or email us at admin@clsstlaw.com

CLSST has dealt with numerous exploitation of migrant worker cases in recent months and we welcome the amendments, above.

Immigration NZ statistics for the current year show that...

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HEALTH LAW Health Privacy

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YOUTH WEEK Youth Awards

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MÄ€ORI LAND Succession

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SAMOAN ISSUES Samoan Language Week

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HEALTH & DISABILITY HEALTH INFORMATION PRIVACY CODE 1994 The Health Information Privacy Code 1994 (“the Privacy Code”) provides a set of rules that govern how health professionals must deal with confidential and private information belonging or relating to their consumers. Health professionals include doctors, nurses, physiotherapists etc.

...the consumer or to someone else, and if it isn't desirable or practicable to get the consumer's consent to this. In this case, health professionals can only give the information to people who are in a position to do something about the threat. a specific law requires the health professional to release the consumer's information (for example, if there's a risk to someone's safety, or for statistical purposes)

“health professionals must collect information directly from consumers”

The Privacy Code also specifically deals protects consumers’ rights to access their own health information. It also is an expansion of the Privacy Act 1993, with a specific focus on health information.

Complaints relating to breaches under the Privacy Code can be referred to the Privacy Commissioner, in the same way that a complaint can be referred for breaches under the Privacy Act 1993.

they are discussing the consumer's care professionally with other doctors or medical

staff as appropriate (in this case, they must keep the information confidential).

ACCESSING INFORMATION Consumers have the right to see their personal medical records at any time and to get a copy of these records. They can be refused access to their records only in limited situations.

For example:

COLLECTING INFORMATION The Privacy Code provides that health professionals must collect health information directly from the consumer, not from other people.

Further, they can't collect information from consumers in ways that are unfair or that intrude unreasonably into their personal affairs. (For example, health information shouldn't be collected in a waiting room where other people might overhear.)

if the information held also involves information about someone else, and releasing the information to the consumer would be an unjustified breach of the other person's privacy, or if giving the information would be likely to endanger any person's safety.

“complaints relating to breaches can be referred to the Privacy Commissioner ”

Health professionals in the public sector can't charge consumers for giving them their health information. Health professionals in the private sector usually can't

charge, but they can charge a reasonable fee in the following two situations: RELEASING INFORMATION In general, health professionals can't disclose (reveal) a consumer's health information to others.

However, there are some exceptions. Health professionals can give a consumer's information to others if: this is necessary to avoid a serious and imminent danger to...

for copies of X-rays, video recordings, MRI scan photographs, PET scan photographs, or CAT scan photographs, or if a consumer has already asked for the same, or substantially the same, information in the last 12 months.

For more information, contact CLSST on (09) 274 4966 or email admin@clsstlaw.com Source: Community Law Manual 2

YOUTH WEEK I 23-31 MAY 2015 SOUTH AUCKLAND YOUTH SERVICE PROVIDER TAKES OUT TOP YOUTH AWARDS Taiohi Whai Oranga, a youth service provider based at Manurewa Marae, has been acknowledged for its success during this year’s youth week from 23-31 May. Taiohi Whai Oranga “Limitless Leadership” Group received the Youth Group Award at the, Ministry of Youth Development, National Youth Awards held at Parliament on 26 May 2015.

They also took out the following awards at the I AM Auckland Youth Awards, held on 29 May 2015: Rangatahi Tu Rangatira Youth Leader Award - Kuini Tereva Rangatahi Tu Rangatira Youth Worker Award - Were Maiava

...She provides that “it is good to see that our service model is working, which is evident through the regional and national recognition Taiohi Whai Oranga has received. It is our intention now to provide support through programmes to more of the youth justice sector and we would love to see the incorporation of lay advocate work in our services model.”

“it’s a Māori driven kaupapa, but our doors are open to everyone”

Rangathi Tu Rangatira Youth Organisation Award I AM Auckland Overall Supreme Youth Organisation Award Youth Engagement Coordinator, Errin Henare, provides that Taiohi Whai Oranga is targeted predominantly toward Manurewa youth but their service catchment is not exclusive; “although we mainly service Manurewa youth, our doors are open to all rangatahi who want to be part of it.”.

General Manager, Deidre Otene, attributes the success of Taiohi Whai Oranga to its strong foundations; “we have a really strong foundation and it’s about the community coming together and working collaboratively. It’s not one person’s vision and the Marae environment makes it sustainable.”

Youth Resilience Coordinator, Kapi Peita explains how Taiohi Whai Oranga’s unique service model has created tangible benefits for local youth; “we are able to be creative with our services by best utilizing everyone’s skills and collective work ethic. Our guiding principles are tikanga based and because of that, we get a lot of support from our community.”

Peita goes on to reinforce that “it’s all about getting kids to achieve, each person has a mountain to [overcome] and each mountain is different - no matter how tall the mountain is, we want them to succeed.”

Otene, also shares that her vision is for Manurewa Marae to become a hub for youth justice and advocacy...

For more information on Taiohi Whai Oranga services and programmes, please visit the Manurewa Marae website by following the link below: www.manurewamarae.co.nz/taiohi-whai-oranga.html

NZ SIGN LANGUAGE WEEK The purpose of NZ Sign Language (“NZSL”) week (410 May) is to promote NZSL and to celebrate the deaf community in Aotearoa.

NZSL week is organised by Deaf Aotearoa which has created some fantastic resources to assist Aotearoa with learning NZSL.

To learn more about NZSL or to download some of the deaf awareness resources, please see the NZSL website by following the link below: www.deaf.org.nz

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“Community Legal Services South Trust, out and about in our community”

PACIFIC LAWYERS ASSOC QUIZ WINNERS: Penrose

NZ CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY: Otara

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NGĀ TAKE MĀORI

Issues affecting Māori communities HE KĀKANO I RUIA MAI I RANGIĀTEA E ai ki ngā korero tawhito a te Māori, nā Tane I hanga I a Hineahuone I te one I kurawaka. Nā konā I kaha te hononga a te Māori ki tōna whenua tipu. He kaha hoki nō te Māori ki te tiaki I te whenua I runga I te take, he taonga tuku iho te whenua. Ka whai pānga ēnei kupu ki ngā ture taiao o ēnei rā. Ko te kaupapa matua o tēnei pūrongo, he titiro ki ngā ture taiao o Aotearoa me ngā kawenga-āture ki te ū ki ngā mātāpono o te Tiriti o Waitangi me ngā mahi e pā ana ki te taiao.

...In order to recognise and respect the Crown's responsibility to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi for the purposes of this Act, (a) section 18 (which relates to the function of the Māori Advisory Committee) provides for the Māori Advisory Committee to advise the Environmental Protection Authority so that decisions made under this Act may be informed by a Māori perspective; and

“all living things are connected through Mauri”

Environmental Law & Māori Māori have an inherent relationship with their lands as there is a belief that the first human being was create from the earth. Māori also believe that the land has a life-force (mauri) and because of this, the environment is considered sacred (tapu). Due to this Māori world view, several of New Zealand’s environmental laws create certain obligations on the Crown and other entities to consider the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) when making decisions about the environment. We take a look at those laws, below.

(c) sections 33 and 59, respectively, require the Minister and the EPA to take into account the effects of activities on existing interests; and (d) section 45 requires the Environmental Protection Authority to notify iwi authorities, customary marine title groups, and protected customary rights groups directly of consent applications that may affect them.

To shed further light on the Māori world view in relation to the environment, here are a number of important concepts to note about the relationship of Māori to the land and environment:

Resource Management Act 1991

“shall take into account the Treaty of Waitangi”

Section 8 of the Resource Management Act 1991 provides that “In achieving the purpose of this Act, all persons exercising functions and powers under it, in relation to managing the use, development, and protection of natural and physical resources, shall take into account the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi).”

Conservation Act 1987 Section 4 of the Conservation Act 1987 provides that “this Act shall so be interpreted and administered as to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi.”

Exclusive Economic Zone and Confidential Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2011 Section 12 of the Exclusive Economic Zone and Confidential Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2011 provides that...

(b) section 32 requires the Minister to establish and use a process that gives iwi adequate time and opportunity to comment on the subject matter of proposed regulations; and

Mauri: all living things are connected through Mauri—this is the concept of collective health and wellbeing. If the wellbeing of the land is not maintained, the wellbeing of Maori is not being maintained.

Kaitiakitanga: translated means ‘guardian’.

Māori see themselves as guardians of the lands and its inhabitants.

This is based on the view of interconnectedness with the environment and the environment being the connection to past generations.

Rāhui & Tapu: Tapu means ‘sacred’ and rāhui means ‘to prohibit or restrict’. These concepts are not enforced or imposed out of greed, to the contrary, they are put in place to ensure environmental sustainability and to protect life-forms from the natural, physical or spiritual harms associated with certain lands.

To learn more about Māori and Environmental Law, please see the Environment Foundation, Environment Guide by following the following link: www.environmentguide.org.nz/overview/maori-andSource: Environment Foundation 6

PASEFIKA ISSUES O le vaega fa’apitoa lenei o le Legal Lowdown e talanoina ai mataupu fa’aletulafono o loo a’afia ai tagata Pasefika i le si’osi’omaga inei Niu Sila.

O lenei masina o lo’o fa’atauaina ai le gagana Samoa. O le ala lea ua fa’aliliuina ai ni upu e fa’atatau i le tulafono , mo le silafia ma atili malamalama ai, o tatou tagata i vaega o le tulafono.

O lo’o iai foi ma se fa’asoa pu’upu’u i tulafono fa’atatau i tagata ua molia (i le tulafono) ona ua osofa’i e lana ta’ifau seisi tagata (po’o seisi ta’ifau), ma ua manu’a ai lena tagata (po’o lena ta’ifau). Afai o lo’o iai sau ta’ifau, e taua ona e silafia a’afiaga fa’aletulafono, pe afai e te o’o i lea tulaga.

DOG OWNER RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES Being a dog owner comes with certain legal rights and responsibilities. When a dog attacks a person or a person’s property, causing damage, there are consequences which can include putting the dog down. Here are some of the considerations the Courts take into account when deciding whether to put a dog down.

Whether your dog has behaved this way in the past.

An examination of previous infringement notices or warnings will give the Court a clear picture of your dog’s past behaviour.

The steps taken by you to prevent such an attack occurring. A fully fenced off property, with secure gates and inner fenced off area within your property with running wires for your dog to be tied up to will adequately address this.

The reasons why the steps you took did not prevent an attack on this occasion. These reasons must be credible.

The above-mentioned list of factors is a good indication of kind of things the Court wants you to address in your submissions.

If you have any further queries about the law regarding dogs, please do not hesitate to contact us.

“Exceptional Circumstances” If you have been convicted of being an owner of a dog that has attacked another animal or another person, and your dog has not been put down yet, the Court must order the destruction of your dog unless it is satisfied that the circumstances of the offence were exceptional and do not warrant the destruction of your dog.

This means that the Court will examine the circumstances that existed at the time of the offence. It will look into all of the circumstances about how the offence occurred, not just the circumstances of the attack itself. The Court does not examine any circumstances that occur after the offence has taken place.

What factors should you address when you are trying to persuade the Court to keep your dog alive?

The nature of the attack (including whether any injury resulted to the victim). If your dog killed the other animal, the Court will view this very seriously.

Your history as a dog owner. If you have never had infringement notices before, you will look like a responsible dog owner.

SAMOAN LANGUAGE WEEK 2015 To celebrate Samoan Language Week 2015, we have taken the liberty of translating a few legal terms into Samoan. We hope that these terms might be helpful in understanding the law.

Complainant / Plaintiff / Informant = Itu Tagi Defendant = Itu Tete’e Charge = Moliaga Court Order/Direction = Fa’amaumauga o le Faamasinoga Court Judgement/Decision = Fa’aiuga o le Faamasinoga For more information about Samoan language week, please see the link, below. www.mpia.govt.nz/samoan-language-week-24th-may2015/

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Legal Education LEGAL EDUCATION Our legal education sessions are part of our preventative services which aim to reduce the number of legal disputes occurring in our communities.

Through our legal education services, we seek to inform, and educate the community on their legal rights and responsibilities in relation to various legal topics.

It is also an opportunity for individuals to ask questions about specific areas of law they may not understand.

For more information on our Legal Education sessions visit the education tab on our website to download/view our education booklet or contact us on (09) 274 4966

UPCOMING SESSIONS

Legal Services

ON AIR We currently have 2 on-air legal information slots which are part of our preventative services.

We provide these services every Wednesday. Each week we look at a different area of law. The details of our on-air services are as follows:

Planet FM: Kiribati Voice, from 1:00pm Radio 531pi: Pacific Drive Time, from 2:00pm

To listen to our on-air services, tune in, live via the links below:

LEGAL LUNCHBOX FREE Legal Education CARE OF CHILDREN LAW Week 1: Care of Children Act 2004 Week 2: Parenting & Guardianship Week 3: Non-Removal Orders & The Hague Convention Week 4: Family Justice System Papakura: June 3, 10, 17 & 24

CONTACT US If you need legal advice or assistance, we may be able to help. admin@clsstlaw.com

Send in your news

(09) 274 4966

If you have any news or notices, please send them to newsletter@clsstlaw.com

(09) 274 4967

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MAORI LAND CLINIC

FREE MAORI LAND ADVICE

A free Māori Land Advisory Clinic provided in partnership with the Te Mata Law, Bennion Law and Manurewa Marae, (First Wednesday of every month - by appointment only). Below are the dates for the 2015 Māori Land Advisory Clinics:

TE MATA LAW:

BENNION LAW:

3 June 2015 5 August 2015 7 October 2015

1 July 2015 2 September 2015 4 November 2015

CLINIC DETAILS: Manurewa Marae 81 Finlayson Ave MANUREWA 30mins appointments from 10am -1pm

For more information or to book an appointment (with a lawyer) contact Wi Pere Mita: (09) 274 4966 or wipere.mita@clsstlaw.com

OUTREACH CLINICS: Our Community 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

Appointments available: Thursday

Pukekohe Heartland Services 2 King Street Pukekohe

Manurewa Manurewa Marae 81 Finlayson Ave Manurewa

Saturday Legal Advice Clinic

Appointments available: Fortnightly on Tuesday

Appointments available: Wednesday

CLSST Office 120 Bairds Road, OTARA Appointments or Walk-ins: Fortnightly on Saturday (30 mins appointments from 9am-12pm) NB: Walk-ins seen according to order of arrival

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