Legal lowdown newsletter#26 by Community Legal Services South Trust

ISSUE

26 August 2015

COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES SOUTH TRUST

LEGAL LOWDOWN

Health and Safety at Work Act

HEALTH & SAEFTY LAW REFORM HEALTH AND SAFETY LAWS

A set of regulations are currently being developed to supplement the new law reforms.

The Health and Safety Reform Bill has passed and the new law (the Health and Safety at Work Act) will come into force 4 April 2016. The Bill replaces the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 and is a part of “Working Safer” which is aimed at reducing New Zealand’s workplace injury and death toll by 25% by 2020.

There will also be a requirement for all large businesses and small business in high risk sectors to have a health and safety representative if a worker requests such. There will also be a requirement to consider establishing a health and safety committee if 5 or more workers or a health and safety representative requests such.

There are a number of objectives that the law reforms hope to achieve as follows:

The new laws also provide for penalties for serious offences for both individuals and corporate entities for reckless conduct that results in the death of a worker. The maximum penalty is a $3million fine or 5 years imprisonment for individuals.

(a) Reinforce proportionality: A workplace must have appropriate risk management measures in place, based on the level of risk and size of workplace. (b) Focus on identifying & managing critical risks as opposed to trivial hazards. (c) Focus on what are reasonably practicable health and safety measures for workplaces. (d) Focus on conduct of work as opposed to physical workplace. (e) Supports engagement and participation with workers to promote flexibility to suit business size and need.

Flatmates vs Tenants

Enduring Power of Attorney

For more information on these law changes, please see the MBIE website. Source: Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment

Status of Maori Land

Tenancy law reform 1

FLATMATE

TENANT

A person who shares a property with a Tenant(s) but does not have a legal relationship with the property (landlord)

AUCKLAND COUNCIL has introduced a new Animal Management Bylaw 2015.

PURPOSE The purpose of the bylaw is to provide for the proper management of bees, stock and horse riding so to: (a) protect the public from nuisance; (b) maintain & promote public health & safety; (c) minimise the potential for offensive behaviour in public places, and (d) manage animals in public places.

ANIMAL BYLAWS

OBLIGATIONS

The Bylaws impose certain obligations on animal owners including obligations to:

ENDURING POWER OF ATTORNEY

(a) Ensure that the animal does not intimidate or cause nuisance or risk to public health and safety. (b) Comply with bee and stock keeping controls and licenses (clause 9 and 10 of bylaws)

The Office for Senior Citizens has announced the release of new resources to assist families and other organisations to prepare Enduring Power of Attorney documents. The latest online resources include: (a) videos explaining Enduring Powers of Attorney; (b) Information pamphlets about the Enduring Power of Attorney process; (c) Enduring Power of Attorney templates for: (i) Personal care and welfare; (ii) Management of property; (iii) Witness certificate; and (iv) certificate of non-revocation These resources are available for viewing or download from the Ministry of Social Development website.

(c) Not intentionally bring animals into recreational parks unless consent is granted by Council, signage allows such and the owner complies with conditions of entry or presence of animal.

OFFENCES A person can be liable for penalties under the Local Government Act 2002 or Health Act 1956, for breaching the new bylaws. Penalties under the Local Government Act 2002 include: Injunctions, removal of works in breach of bylaws, seizure and disposal of property (on private and non-private land), recovery costs for damage caused by willful or negligent behavior or a fine not exceeding $20,000 for a person convicted of an offence against a bylaw.

Penalties under the Health Act 1956 include: In addition to the information and resources above, the Ministry of Social Development website also has links to other useful sites such as the national Community Law website.

Source: Ministry of Social Development

ÂŠ CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966

Penalties for permitting or causing nuisances, owners or occupiers may be required to cleanse premise, penalties for offences punishable on summary conviction or a fine not exceeding $500 an in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $50 for every day on which the offence has continued.

For more information on these new bylaws, please see the Auckland Council website.

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NGĀ TAKE MĀORI

Issues affecting Māori communities

STATUS OF MĀORI LAND I roto I ngā marama kua hori kua āta wānanga a Aotearoa I ngā panonitanga i Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993, heoi, kaore ano kia puta ētahi panonitanga tuturu. I tēnei wā, ka titiro tātou ki ētahi wahanga o Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993. There are two types of “Māori land” – namely, Māori freehold land and Māori customary land. However, a third category of land – General land owned by Māori – is also subject to some of the provisions of Te Ture Whenua Māori Act 1993. Māori freehold land This is land where Māori customary interests have been converted to freehold title by the Māori Land Court or its predecessors by a freehold order. This land has therefore never been out of Māori ownership. Most Māori freehold land was created by the Land Courts in the 19th and early 20th centuries as part of a drive to convert communal ownership to individual title. Māori freehold land continues to be Māori land until the Māori Land Court changes its status. Today almost all Māori land is Māori freehold land. There are about 1.47 million hectares of Māori freehold land, which makes up roughly five percent of all land in Aotearoa.

Changing from General Land to Maori Land You’ll need to lodge an application with the Māori Land Court, accompanied by a current certificate of title from Land Information New Zealand. Your application will need to satisfy the court either:

 

Changing from Maori Land to General Land This is subject to a number of significant restrictions. The change requires an order from the Māori Land Court, and the court must be satisfied:

    

Māori customary land This is land that is held by Māori in accordance with tikanga Māori and that was never converted to Māori freehold land by the Land Courts, so that Māori have the same title to it as they had in 1840. Very little Māori customary land exists today and therefore in practical terms “Māori land” means only Māori freehold land.

that all the owners agree to the change in status to Māori freehold land, or that the land can be managed or used effectively as Māori freehold land and that a sufficient proportion of the owners agree to the change.

that the land is beneficially owned by no more than 10 owners that there is no trust over the land that the title to the land is, or can be, registered under the Land Transfer Act 1952 that a sufficient proportion of owners agree to the change and have had enough time to consider it, and most importantly, that the land can be managed or used more effectively as General land.

The requirements are different, however, if the land is owned by an incorporation or by the trustees of a Māori land trust. For more information about applying to change the status of land, please see the Maori Land Court website.

General land owned by Māori “General land” refers to ordinary privately owned freehold land, and the category “General land owned by Māori” means General land that is now beneficially owned either by one Māori person or by a group of people the majority of whom are Māori.

Source: Community Law Manual

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PASEFIKA ISSUES TENANCY LAW CHANGES

This process will cost approximately $40 for a smoke alarm and approximately $12 for a battery (to be replaced every 612 months)

‘Ihe mahinani ōku mau vakai ‘a e ngaahi fetongi ki he lao “tenancy” pe koe nofo ‘api totongi )rent). Tenancy Laws have changed with new requirements for insulation, smoke alarms, better enforcement and faster resolution of abandoned tenancies.

MINISTRY OF BUSINESS, INNOVATION & EMPLOYMENT Also under the new law changes, The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment will have new powers to investigate and prosecute landlords for breaking tenancy laws as part of these reforms, particularly where there is risk to the health and safety of tenants.

The new laws will come into effect in two stages: Stage 1 (1 July 2016): requirement to retrofit ceiling and underfloor insulation in rental homes over the next four years, for social housing that is heavily subsidised by Government; and Stage 2 (1 July 2019): requirement to retrofit ceiling and underfloor insulation in rental homes over the next four years, for all rental housing including boarding houses.

TENANCY TRIBUNAL PROCESSES The changes will also ensure tenants can take concerns to the Tenancy Tribunal without fear of being evicted for doing so. The maximum penalty that can be imposed by a landlord for giving a retaliatory notice is a $2,000 fine. A retaliatory notice is where a landlord gives notice (to terminate tenancy or otherwise) by virtue of a tenant exercising his or her rights under law (for example, taking concerns to the Tenancy Tribunal to resolve).

The average cost of retrofitting both ceiling and floor insulation is approximately $3,300.

EXEMPTIONS The exemptions to these new requirements will be where it is physically impractical to retrofit insulation due to limited space underfloor or inaccessible raked ceilings.

The changes also bring about a streamlined process whereby landlords can re-tenant a property that has been abandoned by a tenant who has no intention of returning. This process will take 10 days as opposed to up to 6 weeks under the current regime.

TENANCY AGREEMENTS From 1 July 2016, there will also a be a requirement for Landlords to state in tenancy agreements the level of ceiling, underfloor and wall insulation to help better inform tenants.

The Tenancy Tribunal can also grant a work order (where a landlord is required to complete work on a property so that it complies with the existing laws) or exemplary damages of up $3,000. Exemplary damages is compensation for any loss suffered by the tenant due to the landlords failure to comply with the existing laws.

SMOKE ALARMS Along with this requirement, landlords must ensure that all tenanted properties have working smoke alarms (10 years photoelectric alarms will be required where there is no existing alarm or when replacing an existing alarm). It is then the responsibility of the tenant to replace batteries or notify the landlord of any defects with the alarms.

For more information on the new changes, please see the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website Source: Beehive

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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

#Top 5 education sessions in August:

#452 education participants this month

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

#28 education sessions delivered this month ÂŠ CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966

Employment Law Care of Children Domestic Violence NZ Legal Systems Maori Land

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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:

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