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Transcript of Legal lowdown newsletter#24
1
LEGAL LOWDOWN
ISSUE
24
June 2015
COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES SOUTH TRUST
2 CONSUMER LAW Law Changes 3
COPYRIGHT LAW Stopping Piracy
LEGAL EDUCATION FOR THE DEAF
COMMUNITY
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 inter-
preters. We would like to acknowledge the efforts of Auckland
Disability Law and the CLCA National Body in securing this
funding.
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 sev-
eral different languages including, Te Reo Maori, Tongan, Samo-
an, Punjabi and Hindi.
To book legal education sessions for deaf individuals or groups,
please contact us at [email protected]. Our Legal Education
topics can be found on our website: www.clsstlaw.com/legal-
education.html
5 MAORI LEGAL NEWS Legal Maori Resources 6 PACIFIC ISSUES
Pacific Access Category
LEGAL EDUCATION FOR THE DEAF Access to justice for the deaf community
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.
A document How unauthorised building work is as-
sessed 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.
UNAUTHORISED BUILDING WORK
2
making it easier for consumers to compare rates and fees
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 state-
ments to include a minimum repayment warning.
Penalties
The new laws provide harsh penalties for breaching the
lender responsibilities including:
Court’s powers to grant compensation or injunction; and
Court ‘s power to order persons not able to act as credi-
tors, lessors or transferees if the persons have failed
more than once, to comply with the lender responsibility
principles.
For more information of the consumer law changes,
please see:
Ministry of Consumer Affairs website or Commerce
Commission website.
Source: Commerce Commission
Changes to consumer credit laws, under the Credit Contracts
and Consumer Finance Amendment Act 2014 came into
force on 6 June 2015.
Key changes
One of the key changes under the new laws, is the introduction of
lender responsibility principles. The effect of these principles re-
quires lenders to make reasonable inquiries before entering into a
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
and interest rates publicly available...
CONSUMER CREDIT LAWS HAVE CHANGED
© CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 2
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
3
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
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
Copyright in a sound recording or film ex-
pires 50 years after the end of the year in
which it was made. Copyright in computer software & liter-
ary work expires 50 years from the end of the calendar
year in which the last living author of the work, dies.
Copyright Infringement
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….
source (like a file sharing website, for exam-
ple). We would recommend in these circum-
stances downloading music or videos from
reputable sources such as i-tunes.
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.
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. Deci-
sions of the Copyright Tribunal are usual-
ly 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 also has the power to
impose a fine of up to $150,000 or im-
prisonment for up to 5 years for criminal acts that arise out
of copyright breaches.
For more information on copyright please see the following
links:
Consumer.org.nz
Copyright Council of NZ
Intellectual Property Office
Source: consumer.org.nz / Copyright Council NZ / IPONZ
“it is against the law to
breach copyright in New
Zealand”
“the District Court has
the power to fin up to
$150,000”
© CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 3
5
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 pa-
pakupu 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.
The corpus presents an extraordinary account of the Māori
language and how it has been used to describe, communi-
cate 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 vari-
ety of filters that you can use to tailor your search results to
your area of interest.
© CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected]
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
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 lexicog-
raphy projects for indigenous languages.
To access the Legal Māori Resource Hub, see the Legal
Māori Resource Hub website at www.legalmaori.net
6
PASEFIKA ISSUES SAMOAN QUOTA & PACIFIC
ACCESS CATEGORY
O le vaega faapitoa lenei o le Legal Lowdown e ta-
lanoina ai mataupu faaletulafono o loo aafia ai tagata
Pasefika i le siosiomaga inei Niu Sila.
O lenei masina o lo’o faatauaina tulafono mataupu faa-
tatau i femalagaiga. E faapitoa le faasoa i lenei lomiga i
aiaiga o le Samoan Quota (e mo na’o tagata nuu Sa-
moa) poo le Pacific Access Category (mo tagata nuu Kiri-
pati, Tonga ma Tuvalu). Ua faasalalau foi igoa o tagata
na manuia i lenei tausaga i le se’i i le website a le Mata-
galuega o Femalagaiga (Immigration New Zealand).
What is the Samoan Quota (SQ) and Pacific Access
Category (PAC)?
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:
1,100 places available to Samoan citizens,
250 to Tongan citizens,
250 to Fijian citizens
75 to Kiribati citizens and
75 to Tuvaluan citizens.
Registrations were open from 1—30 April 2015 and the bal-
lot draw took place on 5 June 2015.
Successful Applicants
Successful applicants should have received an Invitation to
apply for residence by 3 July 2015.
A list of successful registration numbers can be found via:
Immigration NZ website
TTS Suva website
INZ offices in Tonga and Samoa
The Tuvalu High Commission in Suva, and the Tuvalu Depart-
ment of Labour
The New Zealand High Commission Kiribati and the Kiribati
Department of Labour, and
Some pacific newspapers, banks and post offices
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
have been aged between 18 and 45 (inclusive) at the reg-
istration closing date; and
have an acceptable offer of employment, or have a part-
ner included in the application who has an acceptable
offer of employment (per S1.10.30); and
(if they have dependent children) meet the minimum in-
come requirement (per S1.10.35); and
meet a minimum level of English language ability (per
S1.10.45); and
meet health and character requirements
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.
A person who has a deportation notice in force against him
or her is not eligible to register for the SQ or PAC.
More information about the SQ and PAC scheme can be
found at the Immigration New Zealand website via the fol-
lowing link:
www.dol.govt.nz/immigration/knowledgebase/item/5451
Source: Immigration New Zealand
© CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 6
7
Legal Education UPCOMING
SESSIONS
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:
ON AIR
Legal Services
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 re-
sponsibilities 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
Send in your news
If you have any news or notices, please send them to news-
© CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 7
From Monday, 6 July 2015, applications for most tempo-
rary entry visas no longer have to contain originals or cer-
tified copies of documents. Colour photocopies will be
acceptable instead. Temporary visa entry applications in-
clude applications for work, student or visitor visas. Origi-
nals or certified copies will still be required for residence
applications, and temporary applications under the entre-
preneur 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 ac-
cept applications containing originals or certified copies if
they are provided. All relevant INZ forms, guides, check-
lists and webpages will be updated to reflect the change on
6 July.
Source: Auckland Young Lawyers
CHANGES TO TEMPORARY
ENTRY VISA
APPLICATIONS
8
Otara
CLSST Office
120 Bairds Road
Otara Appointments available:
Monday – Friday
Manukau Salvation Army
16B Bakerfield Place
Manukau
Appointments available:
Monday-Friday
Papakura
Papakura Citizens Advice Bureau
4a Opaheke Road
Papakura
Appointments available:
Thursday
Pukekohe
6A Rouslton Street
Pukekohe
Appointments available:
Fortnightly on Tuesday
Manurewa
Manurewa Marae
81 Finlayson Ave
Manurewa
Appointments available:
Wednesday
OUTREACH CLINICS: Our Community
TE MATA LAW:
5 August 2015
7 October 2015
BENNION LAW:
2 September 2015
4 November 2015
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:
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 [email protected]
MAORI LAND CLINIC FREE MAORI LAND ADVICE
© CLSST, 2015 - (09) 274 4966 - www.clsstlaw.com - [email protected] 8