Legal lowdown newsletter#24

ISSUE

COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES SOUTH TRUST

24 June 2015

LEGAL LOWDOWN

Access to justice for the deaf community

LEGAL EDUCATION FOR THE DEAF LEGAL EDUCATION FOR THE DEAF COMMUNITY

UNAUTHORISED BUILDING WORK

We are pleased to announce that Community Law has received funding from the New Zealand Sign Language Fund to provide legal education sessions using New Zealand Sign Language interpreters. We would like to acknowledge the efforts of Auckland Disability Law and the CLCA National Body in securing this funding.

From 1 July 2015, Auckland Council is set to introduce a new policy requiring any unauthorised or unconsented building work to have a Certificate of Assessment.

For clarity’s sake, unconsented building work includes decks or additions to buildings where the appropriate Council consent has not been granted prior to the building work commencing.

The funding will allow our deaf communities to better access justice and community law services, in general. In addition to this, we are also able to provide legal education sessions in several different languages including, Te Reo Maori, Tongan, Samoan, Punjabi and Hindi.

A document How unauthorised building work is assessed provides information on how the Council deals with unconsented decks or other additions.

The new policy will be introduced in 2 stages beginning with Orewa, Henderson and Takapuna from 1 July 2015. The policy will be implemented in Central Auckland, Manukau, Papakura and Pukekohe from 1 August 2015.

To book legal education sessions for deaf individuals or groups, please contact us at admin@clsstlaw.com. Our Legal Education topics can be found on our website: www.clsstlaw.com/legaleducation.html

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CONSUMER LAW Law Changes

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COPYRIGHT LAW Stopping Piracy

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MAORI LEGAL NEWS Legal Maori Resources

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PACIFIC ISSUES 1 Pacific Access Category

making it easier for consumers to compare rates and fees

CONSUMER CREDIT LAWS HAVE CHANGED

before borrowing money.

Repossession agents will need to be licensed and there are new rules prohibiting repossession of essential household items such as beds and heaters. Another change in the law will require credit card billing statements to include a minimum repayment warning.

Penalties

Changes to consumer credit laws, under the Credit Contracts

The new laws provide harsh penalties for breaching the

and Consumer Finance Amendment Act 2014 came into

lender responsibilities including:

force on 6 June 2015.

Key changes



Court’s powers to grant compensation or injunction; and



Court ‘s power to order persons not able to act as credi-

One of the key changes under the new laws, is the introduction of

tors, lessors or transferees if the persons have failed

lender responsibility principles. The effect of these principles re-

more than once, to comply with the lender responsibility

quires lenders to make reasonable inquiries before entering into a

principles.

loan or taking a guarantee to be satisfied that the credit provided will meet the borrower's needs. The lender must also be satisfied that the borrower or guarantor will be able to make the payments under the loan, or to comply with the guarantee, without suffering substantial hardship.

Lenders will also be required to make information about their fees

For more information of the consumer law changes, please see: Ministry of Consumer Affairs website or Commerce Commission website.

Source: Commerce Commission

and interest rates publicly available...

KIWISAVER KICK-START REMOVED The Government has announced that as part of Budget 2015, the KiwiSaver $1,000 kick-start contribution will be removed.

This means that the kick-start will no longer be available for members joining on or after 2pm, 21 May 2015.

Not sure if you are eligible for the kick-start?

If you joined via a scheme provider, your provider will advise Inland Revenue Department (IRD) of your correct joining date.

If you joined via your employer, you will need to get written confirmation of your joining date and send it to: KiwiSaver kick-start payment Inland Revenue P O Box 761 Waikato Mail Centre Hamilton 3420 Source: Inland Revenue Department © CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966

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COPYRIGHT LAW PIRACY IN NEW ZEALAND Copyright Act 1994 Copyright is a term used to describe the rights given to an owner of original work, such as films, music and literature.

Copyright in New Zealand is automatic and therefore there is no need to register any copyright rights in original works.

An owner of copyright has the following exclusive rights in relation to their original works:



copy - reproduce, scan, record, download and store



issue copies to the public – publish or distribute

“it is against the law to breach copyright in New Zealand”

 Selling “knock-off” apparel, where a well known clothing brand name or logo has been used on clothing or apparel without the consent of the copyright owner.



perform, play or show the work in public



communicate their work to the public including radio and television broadcasts and internet webcasts



adapt including translating the work from one language to another

It is important to note that, if you are not a copyright owner and you perform any of the acts listed above, you could be liable for breach of copyright (copyright infringement).

Copyright Term

source (like a file sharing website, for example). We would recommend in these circumstances downloading music or videos from reputable sources such as i-tunes.

Copyright Enforcement It is against the law to breach copyright in New Zealand.

The Copyright Tribunal can award a copyright owner up to $15,000 for copyright breaches. Decisions of the Copyright Tribunal are usually made on paper, without the need to attend a hearing. However, the Tribunal can still make a decision at a hearing, at its discretion.

“the District Court has the power to fin up to $150,000”

Copyright in a sound recording or film expires 50 years after the end of the year in which it was made. Copyright in computer software & literary work expires 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last living author of the work, dies.

The District Court also has the power to impose a fine of up to $150,000 or imprisonment for up to 5 years for criminal acts that arise out of copyright breaches.

Copyright Infringement

For more information on copyright please see the following links:

Copyright infringement can come in many forms. Here are a few examples: 

Burning a CD or DVD for public use or distribution without the copyright owner’s consent (this includes sale of such works at a local market or online—or privately)



Downloading illegal copies of music from an online…. © CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966

Consumer.org.nz Copyright Council of NZ Intellectual Property Office

Source: consumer.org.nz / Copyright Council NZ -

www.clsstlaw.com - admin@clsstlaw.com

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NGĀ TAKE MĀORI

Issues affecting Māori communities

THE LEGAL MĀORI RESOURCE HUB Mā te Kaupapa reo-a-ture e whakaora ana I ngā rauemi reo Māori e hāngai ana ki te ao ture. Kua puta I a rātou tētahi papakupu reo Māori e kī ana ko te “He Papakupu Reo Ture” , a, inaianei kua uru mai tēnei rauemi ki te ao hangarau, I naianei e taea ana e te tangata te kimi I ngā kupu Māori o te ao ture, mā te ipurangi. E te Kaupapa reo-a-ture, mei kore ake koutou!

The Legal Māori Resource Hub is an online tool that hosts various legal Māori language resources. The resource hub is the product of the Legal Māori Project which was launched

by Victoria University of Wellington and carried out by a research team of lecturers, senior students and graduates between 2008 and 2013.

In 2013, the Legal Māori Project published a dictionary of legal Maori terms which were sourced from different texts.

The Legal Māori Resource Hub now makes these resources easy to use and search, online.

The Following resources are available for access by users: Legal Māori Corpus

The Legal Māori Corpus is the largest structured corpus of Māori language texts. It is made up of eight million word tokens taken from law-related texts that date between 1828 and 2009.

A Dictionary of Māori terms.

This dictionary is the first of its kind. It is a comprehensive, if not exhaustive, dictionary of Māori legal terms and how they relate to

The corpus presents an extraordinary account of the Māori language and how it has been used to describe, communicate and engage with Western legal concepts over nearly two centuries.

Corpus Browser The Corpus Browser lets you make an in-depth and specific search of the Legal Māori Corpus. The browser offers a variety of filters that you can use to tailor your search results to your area of interest. © CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966

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Western legal concepts.

Customary Māori legal terms form the core of the dictionary, and the influence and role of customary law in modern legal Māori language is profiled in a way that has never been done in New Zealand. It may also be unprecedented among other legal lexicography projects for indigenous languages.

To access the Legal Māori Resource Hub, see the Legal Māori Resource Hub website at www.legalmaori.net

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PASEFIKA ISSUES SAMOAN QUOTA & PACIFIC ACCESS CATEGORY

 The Tuvalu High Commission in Suva, and the Tuvalu Department of Labour

O le vaega faapitoa lenei o le Legal Lowdown e talanoina ai mataupu faaletulafono o loo aafia ai tagata Pasefika i le siosiomaga inei Niu Sila.

 Some pacific newspapers, banks and post offices

 The New Zealand High Commission Kiribati and the Kiribati Department of Labour, and

O lenei masina o lo’o faatauaina tulafono mataupu faatatau i femalagaiga. E faapitoa le faasoa i lenei lomiga i aiaiga o le Samoan Quota (e mo na’o tagata nuu Samoa) poo le Pacific Access Category (mo tagata nuu Kiripati, Tonga ma Tuvalu). Ua faasalalau foi igoa o tagata na manuia i lenei tausaga i le se’i i le website a le Matagaluega o Femalagaiga (Immigration New Zealand).

SQ Residence Application Criteria Successful applicants must lodge their residence applications by 4pm, 7 March 2016. To qualify, an applicant must: 

be a Samoan citizen



be either in Samoa or lawfully in New Zealand at the time their application for a resident visa is made; and

What is the Samoan Quota (SQ) and Pacific Access Category (PAC)?



have been aged between 18 and 45 (inclusive) at the registration closing date; and

Each year, a fixed number of positions are set aside where immigrants are invited to apply for New Zealand residency.

This year the set numbers are as follows:



have an acceptable offer of employment, or have a partner included in the application who has an acceptable offer of employment (per S1.10.30); and



(if they have dependent children) meet the minimum income requirement (per S1.10.35); and



meet a minimum level of English language ability (per S1.10.45); and



meet health and character requirements

1,100 places available to Samoan citizens, 250 to Tongan citizens, 250 to Fijian citizens 75 to Kiribati citizens and 75 to Tuvaluan citizens.

An applicant is able to register for the SQ or PAC if they have previously overstayed in New Zealand, so long as they departed voluntarily.

Registrations were open from 1—30 April 2015 and the ballot draw took place on 5 June 2015.

A person who has a deportation notice in force against him or her is not eligible to register for the SQ or PAC.

Successful Applicants Successful applicants should have received an Invitation to apply for residence by 3 July 2015.

More information about the SQ and PAC scheme can be found at the Immigration New Zealand website via the following link:

A list of successful registration numbers can be found via:  Immigration NZ website

www.dol.govt.nz/immigration/knowledgebase/item/5451

 TTS Suva website Source: Immigration New Zealand

 INZ offices in Tonga and Samoa

© CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966

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Legal Education LEGAL EDUCATION

UPCOMING SESSIONS

Legal Services

ON AIR

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

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:

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

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:

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

CHANGES TO TEMPORARY ENTRY VISA APPLICATIONS

From Monday, 6 July 2015, applications for most temporary entry visas no longer have to contain originals or certified copies of documents. Colour photocopies will be acceptable instead. Temporary visa entry applications include applications for work, student or visitor visas. Originals or certified copies will still be required for residence applications, and temporary applications under the entrepreneur work visa category. Additionally an immigration officer may still ask for an original document during the processing of a visa application. INZ will continue to accept applications containing originals or certified copies if they are provided. All relevant INZ forms, guides, checklists and webpages will be updated to reflect the change on 6 July.

Source: Auckland Young Lawyers

Š CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966

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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:

5 August 2015 7 October 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 6A Rouslton Street Pukekohe

Manurewa Manurewa Marae 81 Finlayson Ave Manurewa

Appointments available: Fortnightly on Tuesday

Appointments available: Wednesday

© CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966

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