The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill passed its third reading in Parliament on Tuesday, and will now become law once Royal Assent is given. This new law will require that all rental homes have smoke alarms. Landlords will also be required to include in tenancy agreements declarations of the level
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On Wednesday the Minister for Social Development, Anne Tolley, introduced The Children, Young Persons and Their Families (Advocacy, Workforce, and Age Settings) Amendment Bill into Parliament. This is part of restructuring the services of the Children, Young Persons service (CYF) within the Department of Social Development. The Bill introduces
On Tuesday the Associate Minister of Health, Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, released draft regulations and a consultation document which aims to standardise the look of cigarette packets. This release coincided with ‘World Smokefree Day’, and the regulations are those associated with the Smokefree Environments (Tobacco Plain Packaging) Amendment Bill, which
Statistics New Zealand is reviewing the statistical standard for iwi, and consultation on this topic is now open. The review provides an opportunity to reconsider the present concepts, definitions and criteria used across official Government datasets, which were established in 1994. Submissions close on 12 June. http://www.stats.govt.nz/methods/classifications-and-standards/current-classifications-and-standards-review/review-statistical-standard-iwi.aspx
On 22 May the Crown entered into a relationship agreement with the Parihaka community. This short agreement signals an agreement for both parties to work together for common good, and to achieve shared goals. (Note it is not a Treaty settlement in its own right, but has been negotiated
Last Wednesday Te Wairoa iwi and hapū Treaty of Waitangi negotiators initiated a Deed of Settlement with the Crown to settle all historic Treaty of Waitangi breaches. The proposed settlement includes commercial and financial redress of circa $100 million, and further cultural redress. The grouping, Te Tira Whakaemi o
Last Wednesday the Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngā Pōtiki Claims Settlement Bill passed its first reading in Parliament, and was referred on to the Māori Affairs Select Committee. The settlements include a redress package of circa $29.5 million for Ngāi Te Rangi, and $3.1 million to Ngā Potiki. Cultural
Last Wednesday the Te Awa Tupuna (Whangauni River Claims Settlement Bill passed its first reading in Parliament, and was referred on to the Māori Affairs Select Committee. This settlement, if passed into law, will establish the Whanganui River as a separate legal entity, and will provide for the recognition
This week there have been media reports on matters arising within the Te Arawa River Iwi Trust. [By way of background, this Trust was established in 2009 to help bring into being the 2010 Waikato River Settlement, which provides for iwi co-governance of the river. The Te Arawa River
Last week we advised on the Government’s overall Budget 2016/17 and specifically on fiscal changes within Vote: Māori Development and Vote: Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations. We have now reviewed other funding areas within the Budget, to identify further impacts on direct Māori-focused funding allocations.[1] This information and our assessments
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Budget 2016 – 27 May 2016 (17/2016)
Budget Overview The final 2015/16 Statement of Appropriations is based on a total Government operating surplus of $700 million for the year ending 30 June 2016. This is an improvement from the previous year’s surplus of $400 million, but still miniscule in the Government’s context. (I.e. the Government spends, on
Last Friday the Aotearoa / New Zealand Māori Business Awards were held in Auckland. Award winners were: Jason Witehira – Māori business leader; Jamie Tuuta – Young Māori business leader; Miriana Stephens – Māori woman business leader; Karen Vercoe – the Dame Mira Szaszy Maori Alumni award; and Ngai
In Pānui 14/2016 we advised on the annual report on Māori Education, Ngā Haeata Mātauranga. We noted that the Ministry had not met the reported target of ensuring 22% of Māori learners were learning within the Māori medium. Since that edition the Ministry has contacted us to advise that
This week Statistics New Zealand released the 2015 Māori Population estimates. The total population is estimated at 712,300 tangata, a 1.5% increase from last year. The population remains mostly youthful – 33% are aged 15 years or younger, although the median age has risen slightly to 24 years. The
Last week the Social Security Rewrite Legislation Bill passed its first reading in Parliament, and was then referred on to the Social Services Select Committee. The aim of this Bill is to repeal and replace the Social Security Act 1964 (and other related legislation), with a clearer and more