1

LEGAL LOWDOWN

ISSUE

31

February 2016

COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES SOUTH TRUST

2 LIFE & THE LAW Educating Prisoners 3 DRONES

Privacy & Security 5 MĀORI LEGAL INTERESTS 6 INORGANICS

New rules and regulations

CULTURAL & RELIGIOUS OFFERINGS

Auckland Council are urging people wishing to make cultural

or religious offerings to the Manukau Harbour to be mindful

and speak with Council in the first instance.

Although the offerings may be small or perishable, some

items can wash up on the beach and inadvertently be in

breach of the Council’s litter bylaw.

Auckland Council has announced that it is working with Te

Waka Angamua, its Māori liaison unit, to develop draft

guidelines on cultural offerings. Work is also being done with

members of the Indian community to work through this.

MANUKAU HARBOUR: Cultural Offerings

Anyone with issues or concerns around making cultural or

religious offerings at the Manukau Harbour is encouraged to

contact the council on 09 301 0101.

It is hoped that the guidelines will provide useful information

on conducting offering ceremonies to preserve the beauty of

the local landscape.

Tune-in to our legal information radio sessions:

Planet FM: Kiribati Voice, from 1:00pm

Radio 531pi: Pacific Drive Time, from 2:00pm

2

Kohuora Auckland

South Corrections Facility: Life

and the Law programme

In July 2015 we commenced delivery

of our pilot “Life and the Law” legal

education programme to the prisoners

at Kohuora Auckland South Correc-

tions Facility. Life and the Law is a

weekly, on-site class for prisoners

who want to learn about their legal

rights and responsibilities.

The programme is aimed at providing

practical legal education that would be

useful to prisoners upon release.

Some of the education content is also

useful to families of prisoners who

may be dealing with legal or social

justice issues.

We have encouraged all prisoners

interested in learning more about the

law, to enroll in this 12 week course.

So far our programme has covered

the following legal topics:

· New Zealand Legal Systems

· Employment Law

· Consumer Law

· Debt matters

· Traffic Law

· Care of Children matters

· Tenancy Law

To help us achieve the programme

objectives, we also provide course

workbooks where prisoners are en-

couraged to apply their newly gained

knowledge of the law to hypothetical

cases.

We also, with the help of Kohuora

staff, are able to load information and

resources on an internal electronic

learning platform, Moodle. Moodle

allows prisoners to obtain programme

materials and resources. Prisoners can

access this technology through a basic

computer in their cells so they can

continue to work on the course, even

when they are locked in their cells.

The secure system does not provide

access to the internet, email or recrea-

tional computer programs.

We have received positive feedback

from prisoners about the programme

and have implemented some pro-

gramme changes as a result, including

widening the scope of areas of law that

we teach and providing extra readings,

such as cases, for those interested in

conducting further research.

Rising from the mist 14,946 The number of

criminal offenders

in the year ending

October 2015*

In determining our programme content

we give consideration to the overall ob-

jectives of the programme, as follows:

· For prisoners to understand the conse-

quences of breaking the law;

· For prisoners to understand the correct

processes and procedures to resolve

disputes;

· For prisoners to understand their legal

rights and responsibilities;

· To reduce re-offending after being re-

leased;

· To use the knowledge gained to assist

family and friends;

· To increase prisoner knowledge of the

law, in general;

· To increase literacy and numeracy lev-

els of prisoners.

“This is a great initiative by Community

Legal Services South Trust,” Kohuora

Director Mike Inglis said. “The course is

an opportunity for prisoners to fully un-

derstand their rights and obligations un-

der the law, which is complementary to a

range of programmes, such as Te Reo

and Pasifika studies, which contribute to

changing prisoners’ attitudes and reduc-

ing reoffending. Many of the topics in the

legal course deal with practical issues,

such as tenancy law and caring for chil-

dren, which will benefit the men on their

release from prison.”

KOHUORA

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The pride festival is an annual event which is in

its fourth year. This year’s festival is running

from 5 – 21 February. The festival celebrates

Auckland’s Rainbow Community with a range of

events from literature, film, theatre, dance, caba-

ret, comedy, sport, youth, debate, visual arts and

music.

In the Otara town centre we have Fresh Gallery

who exhibit contemporary Pacific Art. When

you enter you are always welcomed by one of

the friendly staff and given a brochure which

explains the art. There are usually children in

there or people having meetings. The space is a

lot more interactive and welcoming then the

‘traditional gallery’ which I can find a bit intimi-

dating for someone who does not know much

about art.

This latest exhibition is part of the Pride Festival.

Fresh Gallery and FAFSWAG Pacific Arts Col-

lective present ‘GG Talk That Talk’, GG stands

for ‘Gay Guy’. There are 6 emerging Pacific art-

ists exhibiting, Mahia Jermaine Dean, Sione

Monu, Sam Ioane Samau, Jonathan Selu, Darren

Taniue and Pati Solomona Tyrell. The forms of

art range from photos, to moving images, to

clothing designs, to live performances. The exhi-

bition is running from 12 February – 19 March

2016.

“G.G Talk That Talk turns a Pacific lens on to mod-

ern masculinity by seeking to re-interpret queer

indigeneity and questioning the dominate narratives

about identity.” My impression of the exhibition

was that there is a mix of traditional pacific culture

with contemporary Pacific queer culture in New

Zealand.

As part of the exhibition there will be a panel dis-

cussion by the artists to discuss their work. And

there will be performance art on Saturday 12

March at 6pm.

Fresh Gallery is located at Shop 5/46 Fairmall, Ota-

ra Town Centre.

PRIDE FESTIVAL 2016

Congratulations

to our lawyer John

Milo and his wife,

Brenda on the arri-

val of their baby

boy, Michael Uili-

sone Ioane Milo

born on 20 January

2016.

The team at CLSST

wish you all the

best.

“G.G Talk That Talk turns a Pacific lens on to mod-

ern masculinity by seeking to re-interpret queer

indigeneity and questioning the dominate narratives

about identity.” My impression of the exhibition

was that there is a mix of traditional pacific culture

with contemporary Pacific queer culture in New

Zealand.

As part of the exhibition there will be a panel dis-

cussion by the artists to discuss their work. And

there will be performance art on Saturday 12

March at 6pm.

Fresh Gallery is located at Shop 5/46 Fairmall, Ota-

ra Town Centre.

4

NKHMT

Ngā Kaiāwhina Hapori Māori o Te Ture (NKHMT)

is the name given to the Māori Caucus of the Com-

munity Law movement. This month the Auckland

based members of NKHMT met to discuss ways to

address Māori legal issues in our service area. It was

also an opportunity for us to meet new members of

NKHMT.

Pictured: Aroha Walker-Herewini, Tom Harris

(Waitematā Community Law Centre), Ida Tupaea

(Māngere Community Law Centre), Paula Bold-Wilson

(WaiLaw) & Wi Pere Mita (CLSST)

Ngā Kaiāwhina Hapori Māori o Te Ture

DRONES Drones have become increasingly

popular in recent times. This has

raised concern amongst the public

about privacy and security surround-

ing the use of drones.

Drones are considered to be Re-

motely Piloted Aircraft Systems

(RPAS) which are governed by New

Zealand Civil Aviation Rules.

The New Zealand Civil Aviation Au-

thority notes the 12 key things any

RPAS owner must do:

1. not operate an aircraft that is 25

kg or larger and always ensure that

it is safe to operate

2. at all times take all practicable

steps to minimize hazards to per-

sons, property and other aircrafts

3. fly only in daylight

4. give way to all crewed

aircraft

5. be able to see the aircraft with your

own eyes to ensure separation from

other aircraft

6. not fly your aircraft higher than

120 metres (400 feet) above

ground level (unless certain condi-

tions are met)

7. have knowledge of airspace re-

strictions that apply in the area you

want to operate

8. not fly closer than four kilometres

from any aerodrome (unless certain

conditions are met)

PRIVACY & SECURITY

9. when flying in controlled airspace,

obtain an air traffic control clear-

ance issued by Airways

10. not fly in special use airspace with-

out the permission of the adminis-

tering authority of the area (eg,

military operating areas or restrict-

ed areas)

11. have consent from anyone you

want to fly above

12. have the consent of the property

owner or person in charge of the

area you are wanting to fly above.

5

ALL FEMALE MĀORI BENCH

This month the Māori legal profession

celebrated a significant milestone in

legal history, being the first ever sit-

ting of a full bench of Māori women at

the Māori Appellate Court.

The bench was made up of their Hon-

ours Judge Caren Fox, Judge Stepha-

nie Milroy and Judge Sarah Reeves.

There have been other prominent

Māori female trailblazers in legal his-

tory.

Georgina Te Heuheu became the

first Māori female to graduate

with a Bachelor of Laws from a

tertiary institution and the first

Māori woman admitted to the bar

in 1972.

The late Dr Nin Tomas was the

first Māori to obtain a PhD in law.

FOOD ACT 2014: Marae Food

The Food Act 2014 comes into force

on 1 March 2016. The new changes

introduce new food safety measures

for low and high risk activities.

The Ministry of Primary Industries

confirm that:

“Food prepared and served on marae for

customary activities such as tangi is out-

side the scope of the Food Act 2014, and

will not be regulated because the food

isn’t sold or traded”

However, Marae that are fundraising

for charitable or cultural purposes

may need to operate under a food

control plan or under a national pro-

gramme if trading (fundraising) takes

place more than 20 times per year.

Also, if food businesses or other trad-

ing is occurring from a Marae, this

may need to be regulated.

To find out where your marae activi-

ties may fit in, see the Ministry for

Primary Industries website

MAORI LEGAL INTERESTS

TE REO MĀORI IN COURTS

New resources are being introduced

by the Ministry of Justice to assist

with the use of Te Reo Māori in

court.

Since the adoption of Te Reo Māori

phrases to open and close the District

Court sittings the Family Court,

Māori Land Court, Youth Court and

Matariki Court have followed suit.

This approach has now been adopted

by Justice of Peace and Community

Magistrate Court sittings.

Te Reo Māori training is provided to

Court staff to assist with learning and

pronouncing Māori words. This work

is facilitated by a dedicated site cham-

pion.

There are also audio files and flips

cards with English translations

available to Court staff in learning the

Māori words and phrases.

6

INORGANIC COLLECTIONS

Inorganics is a great way of getting rid of household

items that are no longer needed or wanted, around

the home. It is a process where local council collects

any unwanted household goods and either recycles/

reuses them or disposes of them.

From February 2016 the Auckland Council inorganics

collections will change. There is now one consistent

pick-up process for all of Auckland.

THE NEW PROCESS

You must now book a time for inorganics collection

form your property. You can do this by online via the

Auckland Council website. You must book at least 12

days before your collection week begins. You can find

out when collections will take place in your area via

the booking process.

Once you have confirmed a collection date you will

receive a flyer in the post about how you need to

prepare your inorganics for collections.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Auckland Council will now only accept up to 1

cubic metre of inorganic material;

Inorganic material must be placed within your

property NOT ON THE BERM OR KERB;

Inorganic material must be clearly identifiable;

Auckland Council will not collect items behind

locked gates or where dogs are restrained.

INORGANIC COLLECTIONS ACCEPTED INORGANIC MATERIAL

Auckland Council will collect the following inorganic

material

Large appliances - fridges, freezers, washing ma-

chines and ovens

Small appliances - kettles, irons and vacuum clean-

ers

Furniture - beds, chairs, kitchen items and orna-

ments

Sporting items - gym equipment, bicycles and toys

Renovation equipment - tools, fixtures and fit-

tings, baths and sinks

Outdoors items - lawnmowers, barbecues, gar-

den tools and outdoor furniture

Electronics - TVs, computers, phones and DVD

players

NOT ACCEPTED INORGANIC MATERIAL

Auckland Council will not collect the following inor-

ganic material:

Bags of rubbish

Recyclable packaging

Garden waste - grass clippings, and tree and

hedge trimmings

Automotive items - tyres and car parts

Building and trade waste - plaster board, rubble,

concrete and bricks

Liquids - oil, petrol, paint and chemicals

Hazardous waste - broken glass, poisons, batter-

ies and medical waste

Asbestos - Fibrolite, floor coverings, lagging and

ceiling coating

Gas cylinders - CNG or LPG containers

For more information or to book a collection date see the Auckland Council

Websi te : www.auck landcounc i l .govt .nz/en/envi ronmentwaste/

rubbishrecycling/pages/inorganiccollections.aspx

7

I worked for one week at CLSST in Otara. The centre pro-

vides a valuable service, offering free legal advice, assistance

and representation to the community.

During my placement I gained insight into how the law op-

erates at a “grass roots” level, and how the general public

interact with the law. I was initially surprised at the variety

and the complexity of the legal issues faced by clients. Each

case I was involved in was treated with the same amount of

respect and diligence by the lawyers, with the best interests

of the client always being paramount.

While I was at the centre I was given a wide range of work,

ranging from researching and drafting documents to sitting

in on client interviews. It was highly rewarding being treat-

ed as part of the team and having my legal opinions valued.

After this placement I can see that community law centres

provide an essential service in the community. They em-

body the principle of equal access to justice and without

them many people would be denied their legal rights.

Overall my week at CLSST has been the most valuable legal

experience of my degree, and one I would recommend to

other law students.

Student Placement Community Legal Services South Trust regularly takes law

students, on placement, to help complete their law degrees.

The one week placements assist the students gain practical

experience and apply the skills and knowledge they have learnt

at law school, to “real life” cases.

This month we had Patrick Fitzgibbon join us. He describes his

experience, below.

CHILD SUPPORT Last year Inland Revenue made changes to child support

to reflect family life today. This year they’re making more

changes that may affect you.

The 1 April 2016 changes are listed below:

The age children can be included in child support has

reduced from 19 to 18 years old, unless the child is

enrolled at and attending school in New Zealand or

abroad.

Inland Revenue may be able to write-off some or all

of your penalty debt.

The penalty rate is changing to:

2% on the day after the due date; and

A further 8% eight days after the due date.

A 2% increment penalty will be charged on the bal-

ance every month that the amount remains unpaid. If

the debt hasn't been repaid after a year; the rate of

monthly incremental penalties will reduce to 1%

If you believe your child support is unfair, and doesn't

take into account your circumstances , and meets one

of Inland Revenue’s criteria then you can ask for an

administrative review. There are already 10 grounds

that you can use to apply for an administrative review.

From 1 April 2016 there will be two new administra-

tive review grounds to cover situations where:

You’ve earned extra income after separating and its

being used for reestablishment (set up) costs;

You want some of what you have to pay to the other

parent offset (or reduced), by some of what you were

entitled to receive from them

Inland Revenue may be able to write-off some or all of

your penalty debt. If you’re in debt, please give them a call

on 0800 221 221.

If you want to find out more, see www.ird.govt.nz/

childsupport-changes or view Inland Revenues' videos

about the changes at www.ird.govt.nz/cs-videos

Days observed this month:

Waitangi Day (6 February 2016)

Safer Internet Day (9 February 2016)