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TDB Top 5 International Stories: Friday 17th March 2017

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The Daily Blog
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5: How Trump’s Vicious Budget Would Hurt Science, Poor People, and the Arts

The president’s first budget proposal eliminates programs aimed at fighting climate change, lifting people out of poverty, and supporting diplomacy.

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump promised to rebuild an America that had allegedly atrophied under a disastrous Obama administration. Trump was a political neophyte but could make big, vague, shiny promises like an old pro: The border wall would be built, and Mexico would pay for it. America would be great again. The military would win again. On Thursday, in his administration’s budget proposal, Trump showed the country what all of that might look like, and it isn’t pretty—making America great apparently involves massive cuts to the arts and sciences, the State Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other popular programs. In exchange, Trump is proposing a whopping $54 billion increase in defense funding, $4.4 billion more for the Department of Veterans Affairs, and $2.8 billion more for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), $2.6 billion of which goes toward funding that southern border wall.

Vice News

4: Who is really paying for Donald Trump’s border wall?

Tijuana, Mexico/San Diego, United States – Former Mexican President Vicente Fox made international headlines when he tweeted to US President Donald Trump, “Mexico is not going to pay for that f****** wall.”

But beyond the sensationalism over who’s going to foot the bill for Trump’s project – reportedly set to cost as much as $21.6bn, local businesses say they are already paying dearly.

On the Mexican side, shops usually crowded with tourists are empty.

Aljazeera

3:  PROSECUTORS ALLEGE DUBIOUS ISIS-NAZI CONNECTION IN TERROR STING CASE

FEDERAL PROSECUTORS WHO brought terror charges last year against a Virginia man — for buying gift cards for an FBI informant — argued in court last week that Nazi memorabilia found in the man’s apartment was relevant to the case because ISIS and the Nazis share “a similarity in ideology”.

According to a transcript of the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg said that the defendant, Nicholas Young, was interested in ISIS and Nazism simultaneously. And as an example of historical Muslim-Nazi cooperation, Kromberg noted that Young, on Facebook, had “liked” Mufti Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, a Palestinian nationalist who supported Adolf Hitler. Last year Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu caused an uproar by claiming that al-Husayni inspired the Nazi Holocaust, an allegation that was widely denounced as untrue by historians.

The Intercept

2: In Stinging Blow to President, Hawaii & Maryland Judges Block Trump’s Second Muslim Ban

On Wednesday, only hours before the Trump administration’s new travel ban was set to go into effect, a federal judge in Hawaii issued a nationwide halt to the executive order, which would have temporarily suspended refugees and people from six majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States. This morning, a federal judge in Maryland also blocked part of the travel ban, dealing a second legal blow to the Trump’s executive order. For more, we speak with Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney who presented the first challenge to the executive order on immigration. His argument resulted in a nationwide injunction.

Democracy Now

1: Senate intelligence chiefs of both parties reject Trump wiretapping claim

The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate intelligence committee have rubbished Donald Trump’s incendiary claim that Barack Obama placed Trump Tower under surveillance.

“Based on the information available to us, we see no indications that Trump Tower was the subject of surveillance by any element of the United States government either before or after Election Day 2016,” the Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina and the Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia said in a joint statement on Thursday.

The Guardian 

 

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The Daily Blog Open Mic – Friday 17th March 2017

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The Daily Blog
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openmike

 

Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.

Moderation rules are more lenient for this section, but try and play nicely.

 

 

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Politically, Abortion change rests with NZ First so what does that look like?

By
Martyn Bradbury
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22

The need to reform the ridiculous and condescending abortion laws are obvious to anyone with an education and basic reading skills.

Women having to pretend they have a mental problem with a pregnancy to get an abortion is the false compromise that NZ law makers came up with in 1977. Abortion wasn’t  made legal, but the mental health loophole was built in to allow it anyway.

Such gerrymandering of legislation for petty ignorance is beneath us as adults.

So how does it all play out politically? Where are the 4 Political Parties that will decide any change in abortion law on this?

National – Bill English is hardcore anti-abortion, has been for years and won’t budge on it. Any National Party MP willing to risk never getting a promotion while English is Leader are ‘free’ to make a conscience vote, but I suspect it won’t really be ‘free’ at all.

Labour – They agree with a change and with Jacinda as Deputy, Labour has the most to gain as an identifiable policy with the wider female electorate. Won’t put an Abortion Bill in the ballot in order to not get distracted from its message of houses and jobs, but expect change if in a position to form a Government.

Greens – Totally in support of law change and very strong support from their activist base for change. Won’t put an Abortion Bill in the ballot for the same reason as Labour, doesn’t want to politicise the dormant but loud pro-life movement, but again expect change if they are in a  position to form a Government.

ACT – His vote won’t matter but Seymour wants reform.

United Future – Hopefully won’t be in the next Parliament.

Maori Party – Conservative on abortion.

MANA – I suspect that Hone will be personally conservative on abortion, but would vote for it or abstain.

But the real decision on Abortion law reform will actually be what NZ First’s position is as they are most likely to be king makers in the next Government, and after touching base directly with Tracey Martin, this is their policy…

What’s our view on abortion legislation?

Abortions should be safe, legal and rare.

We have a policy of citizen-initiated binding referendum, held at the same time as a general election – a policy we have had for 23 years – this is one of those issues for such a referendum. It should not be decided by temporarily empowered politicians but by the public.

We need a 12 to 18 month conversation around this issue and then let the people have their say.

Topics that we would be suggest be associated with this discussion would include: Moving the issue from the Criminal Act to the Health Act, ensuring women get the best possible advice, getting more research into “why” women find themselves needing to seek this service and how can we assist them to avoid having to seek this service.

…so, the most likely outcome for any Abortion Law reform will be a 12-18month referendum.

That sounds delightful.

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Mass surveillance of beneficiaries, rape and sexual abuse survivors

By
Martyn Bradbury
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11

The ramifications of the mass surveillance of beneficiaries is starting to be understood by the NGOs who are now finding their funding threatened.

Sexual abuse survivors have been exempt for 12 months from spying on their clients, but every other welfare agency must hand over all details of their needy or face funding cuts.

This mass surveillance of beneficiaries is sold as prudent management of taxpayer money, the truth is that it’s being used to punish and bill beneficiaries for anything the Ministry believes is a breach.

The insanity of National’s mass surveillance policy was spelt out by Bill English last month when he was trying to explain the explosion of desperate people being housed in Motels. Bill said the policy was flushing beneficiaries out who attempted to escape Government agencies because they fear the agencies. 

Tick, tick, tick.

Annnnnnnnnd what do you think the end result of this policy to take beneficiaries details will be?

People who know their details will be sent to the Government will do all they can to avoid seeing those services in the first place! That will lead to fewer numbers being seen! Which will lead to a reduction in budgets! Which will lead to the Government claiming another victory!

That’s 4 exclamation marks! Make it 5.

We see the exact same rhetoric used and repeated by lazy mainstream media when it comes to beneficiary stats. The Government trumpet that they’ve moved 50 000 off solo parent benefits, yet they can’t tell you where they’ve gone.

Abusing the privacy of the weakest and poorest amongst us while pretending that such abuse is for their benefit is fucking Orwellian.

 

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Water for New Zealanders!

By
Martyn Bradbury
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20

I’m sorry, but god damn this water issue has me furious.

How the hell can we have gotten to a place where large corporations are taking hundreds of thousands of litres of our freshest water PER DAY for free?

HOW?

Brothers and Sisters, this is madness. Pure, unadulterated madness.

The Government’s inane position is that “No one owns the water”. That’s the very answer Nick Smith gave an exasperated Paddy Gower as Paddy put to him these companies were making a killing hocking off our water.

“No one owns the water”.

That’s just horse shit.

Or cow shit, whatever the stuff is that National are allowing Fonteera and corporate dairy to pump into our rivers and streams.

So National sell state assets, (with sweetheart deals for those rich enough from the tax cuts to buy the shares) to subsidise Dairy irrigation to the bloody tune of $400million, they then pollute our rivers to such a point the Government have to redefine what the word ‘swimmable’ means and now National are allowing foreign interests to steal water for free.

Screw this.

Fellow New Zealander’s. This. Must. Not. Stand.

Under the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealander’s, in partnership with Maori, own the water!

We do.

Us.

We.

You and I.

New Zealander’s.

Maori.

Kiwi’s.

Us.

We own the bloody water thank you very much!

All of us. Not just the bloody farmers and their insane influence over politics, not just the foreign interests and corporations.

Us.

All of us.

If the product is being made and finished here in NZ by a NZ owned company, then they can have access to our water, and I mean ‘access’, not ever increasing intensification, those industries should be looking to clip their wings and reduce their environmental footprint, not greedily expand it even more.

I don’t care how many times Fonteera play those glossy over produced astroturf adverts designed to generate a sense of authenticity with a former All Black gushing about how much he loves milk, they can fuck right off.

You’ve had 9 years of your Party in power and it’s been as detrimental to the environment as the Housing crisis has been to the poor living in cars.

Our environment urgently needs a change of Government because these bastards can’t help themselves. Corporate Framers are addicted to producing mountains of milk powder and screw the knock on effects on the environment.

I say ENOUGH. Water for New Zealanders!

We need a commitment from the Opposition that there will be an immediate moratorium on all foreign interests taking water including the existing contracts.We need to prioritise the water needs of the environment and people first and then business second.

This must be an election issue or we are a nation of short-sighted fools.

If you agree – share this on social media.

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

Super vs tax cuts – what’s affordable?

By
Barry Coates
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10

The super debate hasn’t been super. It has missed the most important issues. The government has tried to focus on misleading measures of financial affordability in 2040, in an attempt to position themselves as responsible. But the real issues are about fairness and equity, across and within generations.

New Zealand’s superannuation scheme, universal and indexed to the average wage, has been world leading. Poverty amongst older citizens has been virtually eliminated. NZ Super has become a vital safety net. Around 40 per cent of pensioners rely solely on NZ Super for their retirement income, and for a further 20 per cent, NZ Super makes up 80 per cent of their income.

But this social protection is eroding rapidly. Future generations will face a far more difficult future. The main game changer has been housing. A house now costs around five times salary compared to two-and-a-half times during the 1990s, and home ownership rates have plummeted. While it is still high for senior citizens, increasing numbers of senior citizens are struggling with rising housing costs, as well as bearing the brunt of under-funding of the heath system.

House price speculation has been driven by a tax system that currently loads the tax burden onto wage and salary earners, and gives tax breaks to landlords. Property owners are able to borrow high levels of debt, get a tax free deduction of the interest payments, and pocket the tax free profit on the sale of the property. This skews the system to favour the wealthy and make it impossible for most young people to buy their own home.

The tax system worsens inequality. Over the past two decades, most of the economic benefits have gone to a small proportion of the population, and inequality in New Zealand has widened sharply. The Green Party will introduce a Capital Gains Tax to make the tax system fairer and reduce the burden on lower income earners.

The current system is also unfair across generations. Raising the age of entitlement to Super continues the irresponsible approach of the Baby Boomer generation who have loaded the costs of education onto younger people and charged them interest on student loans. They/we have priced housing out of the reach of most young people and left huge debts for climate change and ecological damage. Younger generations will find it more difficult to accumulate savings and will be less likely to own their own home. Now the government proposes that they will have to work longer until retirement. It is unjust.

The higher age will also further delay retirement for manual workers, many of whom have had a lifetime of physical labour, as well as Māori, who have a lower life expectancy. Many other older people are willing and able to work for longer. A more flexible system is needed, not just pushing out the age from 65 to 67 years old.

Whether or not NZ Super is affordable is a question of priorities. It is not affordable if the government cuts tax on higher income earners, as they did in 2010. This government has already started talking up another round of tax cuts. NZ Super was more affordable in 1982-86 when the top tax rate was 66%. That meant that two thirds of the NZ Super came back to the government. But now the top tax rate is 33%, more of the benefit is going to those who need it the least.

We need a vision for superannuation in the future. For example, it is likely that there will be more automation and fewer jobs, and serious disruption as a result of climate change. Many more people may be entering retirement with few savings and no job prospects in the later years.

We can afford to maintain the age of eligibility at 65 years old, if we make the right choices. We need to change the policies that have driven inequality over the past two decades. Instead of weakening old age support, the Green Party would like the superannuation system to become a foundation for building stronger social protection across society and extending universal benefits.

Barry Coates MP is Green Party spokesperson on Senior Citizens, Commerce and Consumers Affairs, Trade and Investment, Arts and Culture and Gambling. He is a list MP based in Auckland.

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America’s crazy war in Yemen

By
Keith Locke
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2

The first casualty of war is the truth. That’s certainly true of America’s war on Yemen.

In January US Navy Seals raided the Yemeni village of al Ghayil killing around 25 people, including at least five women and 10 children. Yet all most Americans know about the raid is that one American commando, Ryan Owens, was killed. Owens was lauded by Donald Trump in his February address to Congress, with the cameras focusing on his grieving widow, Carryn. The ever-patriotic American media claimed that this was moment Trump became truly presidential.

Actually, the raid was a disaster in all respects. The war in Yemen is a many-sided conflict, with three main players: the Houthi-led administration that controls north Yemen and the Saudi-backed forces, and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, both of whom control territory in the south.

Men in the village of al Ghayil were paid by the Saudis to resist the Houthis, who control territory just north of them. So by killing those men the SEALs were killing their allies, because America supports the Saudis. There is evidence that Al Qaeda fighters may also have been present in al Ghayil.   Some villagers also sympathise with Al Qaeda, on the grounds that they are taking on their main enemy, the Houthis. It gets very confusing in a three-sided conflict.

Iona Craig of the Intercept travelled to al Ghayil to interview the villagers. She reports that when the SEALs opened fire at 1am in the morning, the locals mistakenly thought it was the Houthis invading and returned fire.

“The gunfight had lasted the better part of an hour. It would be another hour or more before the skies fell silent and the sound of helicopters, aircraft, and drones faded. It was in the dawn light that the mass of bodies was revealed, the missing accounted for, and dead children identified.”

One of the unlucky ones was Abdallah al Ameri, who was the groom in a December 2013 wedding ceremony which was attacked by US drones, killing 12 guests. Abdallah survived on that occasion, but was killed in the latest raid.

US drone strikes have continued over south Yemen through February and March. They are both murderous and counter-productive. Iona Craig reports that such raids have made the villagers in al Ghayil angry with the American government and “that dog Trump”.

It is shameful that the New Zealand government supports the American/Saudi war on Yemen, which is causing such suffering. The UN reports that 7,700 people have been killed so far, including 1500 children. Millions have been displaced, primarily as a result the Saudi bombing of homes, hospitals and other infrastructure. It is a catastrophe.

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GUEST BLOG: Willie Jackson – Raising the retirement age isn’t fair

By
The Daily Blog
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1

Lot of talk this week that we need to raise the age of retirement to 67.

The argument is that we can’t afford Superannuation at 65 for everyone so we should raise it to be ‘fair’. But who exactly is that being ‘fair’ to?

It isn’t ‘fair’ to the working class of NZ who have worked physically demanding jobs, their bodies ailing and stressed, surely they deserve some reward for the hard work they have put in for their families. Adding two years until they can retire isn’t right.

It isn’t ‘fair’ to the Millennials and Gen-Xers who on top of paying for their own education and saving for their own retirement would now have to wait an extra two years before they retire. It isn’t ‘fair’ to the Baby Boomers who are now being blamed for this policy.

And it isn’t ‘fair’ to Maori and Pasifika who have lower life expectancies. Some are suggesting that retirement should be lowered for Maori but that’s a cop out because it simply accepts Maori will die earlier and we should never reward that. What we should be demanding surely is key investment in policy areas like heath.

In 2006 a survey that covered 10,000 kiwis conducted by Professor Peter Davis from Auckland University confirmed this and showed that we were living eight to nine years less than Pakeha. However the answer to our problem is not giving up and asking for the pension early but rather keeping the pressure on political parties to better resource our needs particularly in that health area.

So the only one raising the Super age is ‘fair’ for is the Government who don’t want to pay for superannuation.

This isn’t an issue of affordability or ‘fairness’, this is an attempt to start rolling back one of the last universal benefits we have. By turning this into a generation war, we are all missing who actually benefits from this, a Government who doesn’t want to accept their social obligations.

Why do we have Superannuation? We have it because we all collectively agree that there is more to life than simply working. After a lifetime of being a decent hard working kiwi, you deserve the opportunity to retire and spend time with whanau and the pursuits you put off because of needing to work.

Pushing the retirement age up would negatively impact Maori, Pasifika, working people and every Gen-X and Millennial in the country. That’s not a solution, that’s taking everyone’s right away to enjoy their retirement.

What we need to do as a country is recommit our pledge to give workers the space to live their own lives in retirement while ensuring that our young people are given the same level of support as they are growing up. Such a vision demands that we stop looking at people as a cost to the state and see them as an investment that the state has an obligation to support.

 

First Published in the Manukau Courier  

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GUEST BLOG: Arthur Taylor – Is Public Safety being endangered by Parole Board/Corrections Failings?

By
The Daily Blog
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7

 

Arthur Taylor is The Daily Blog’s Prisoner Rights Blogger who is currently serving time inside prison.

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Political Caption Competition

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The Daily Blog
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2

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Daily Blog Guerrilla Radio – Footrot Flats – You Oughta be in love

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The Daily Blog
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0

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TDB Top 5 International Stories: Thursday 16th March 2017

By
The Daily Blog
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0

5: New Zealand’s Whanganui River Has Just Been Granted Legal Status as a Person

In a landmark international case, the Whanganui river in New Zealand has just been granted legal status as a person.

The iwi of Whanganui have been fighting for generations to have the river granted personhood. The new law is designed to work like a charitable trust—with trustees for the river legally required to act in its best interest. Speaking to RNZ, Te Tai Hauāuru MP Adrian Rurawhe said some people might find the concept strange but it was completely normal for Māori.

“The river as a whole is absolutely important to the people who are from the river and live on the river.

“It’s not that we’ve changed our world view but people are catching up to seeing things how we see it.”

Mr Rurawhe told Te Manu Korohi that iwi had been fighting for over 160 years to get this recognition for their river.

“From a Whanganui viewpoint the wellbeing of the river is directly linked to the wellbeing of the people and so it is really important that’s recognised as its own identity,” he said.

Vice News

4: David Cay Johnston Speaks Out About Receiving & Revealing 2 Pages of Trump’s 2005 Tax Returns

Calls are growing for President Trump to release his full tax returns after part of his 2005 return was made public Tuesday. Two pages from Trump’s tax return were obtained by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Cay Johnston of DCReport, who appeared last night on “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC. The 2005 tax return shows Trump earned $153 million—or more than $400,000 a day. Trump paid out $36.6 million in federal income taxes, much of it in the form of what’s known as the alternative minimum tax, which Trump now wants to eliminate. On Wednesday morning, President Trump tweeted, “Does anybody really believe that a reporter, who nobody ever heard of, ‘went to his mailbox’ and found my tax returns? @NBCNews FAKE NEWS!” That’s despite the fact that the White House confirmed the authenticity of the documents Tuesday, after Maddow teased the scoop. For more, we speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist David Cay Johnston, who obtained part of Trump’s 2005 tax returns.

Democracy  Now

3: Trump Designating the Muslim Brotherhood as Terrorists Would Be a Massive Victory for Extremists

DONALD TRUMP’S ADVISERS are said to be arguing over whether to list the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) as a terrorist organization.

The Brotherhood is a broad social and political movement that advocates for democratization and Islamic law. It has long renounced violence, providing a moderate alternative to violent Islamist movements and Arab autocrats — and is seen by both of those groups as an enemy.

It has generally been the view of the United States that it is best to bring the Brotherhood into the political process rather than isolate and alienate it.

But for years, far-right anti-Muslim activists in the United States — including top White House adviser Steve Bannon — have promoted conspiracy theories claiming that the Brotherhood is controlling mainstream American Muslim organizations ranging from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to Muslim Student Association chapters as a part of a scheme for an Islamist takeover of America. In 2007, Bannon authored a film script that imagined an America where Muslims had taken over the country through cultural subversion. In the outline for that film, he dubbed the Muslim Brotherhood “the foundation of modern terrorism.”

The Intercept

2: High turnout as Dutch vote in Europe’s far-right test

The Netherlands’ main exit poll suggests Prime Minister Mark Rutte has won the Dutch elections, easily beating anti-Islam firebrand Geert Wilders.

For the two-time Prime Minister Rutte, the poll indicated an economic recovery and his hardline handling of a diplomatic dispute with Turkey over the past week had won him support.

The Ipsos polling company gave Rutte’s party 31 of the 150 seats in the lower house of parliament, compared to 19 seats for Wilders’ PVV.

“That is very bad news for Geert Wilders,” reported Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee from The Hague.

Wilders vowed to play a prominent role in Dutch politics going forward, despite the dismal exit poll results.

“Thank you PVV Voters! We won seats!,” Wilders said in a tweet. “The first victory is in! And Rutte has not seen the last of me yet!!”

Aljazeera

1: US Federal Reserve raises interest rates to 1% in bid to hold off inflation

The US Federal Reserve has sought to head off rising inflation with a third interest rate rise since the 2008 financial crash and the second in three months, taking the base rate from 0.75% to 1%.

The central bank set aside concerns about the impact of higher interest rates on consumer spending to confirm analyst projections that it is prepared to increase rates several times this year to keep a lid on inflation as it rises above its 2% target level.

The Guardian 

 

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The Daily Blog Open Mic – Thursday 16th March 2017

By
The Daily Blog
-
1

openmike

 

Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.

Moderation rules are more lenient for this section, but try and play nicely.

 

 

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

White Ribbon welcomes family violence changes

By
The Daily Blog
-
0

White Ribbon Committee Chair Cam Ronald welcomes the changes to the family violence system, and commends all those who have been advocating and providing evidence to help ensure New Zealand’s response to violence continues to improve.

“Having laws and systems that respond effectively and consistently to incidents of violence is one of the key factors of violence prevention,” says Mr Ronald.

The three new offences of strangulation, coercion to marry, and assault on a family member, all ensure the law is keeping pace with modern society and putting into practice, the evidence from years of research.

White Ribbon is pleased to see that changes that allow a third party to apply on a victim’s behalf and welcomes this response as a move to ensure better protection of vulnerable children. The recognition that offending while on a Protection Order is an aggravating factor in sentencing, (likely to lead to a more serious sentence), further ensures that Protection Orders have real consequences when broken and strengthens an area that was criticised as too weak.

“However, we must not forget that the legal system only comes into play after violence has occurred,” says Mr Ronald. “White Ribbon believes it is in our best interests of New Zealand to undertake more primary prevention work, as it is this approach which can prevent violence from occurring in the first place and the constant need for more ambulances at the bottom of the cliff”.

This primary prevention need was recently demonstrated by a number of boys in two Wellington schools, where attitudes associated with what is known as ‘rape culture’ became public.

“Laws, and their effective enforcement, can reduce the amount of violence to a certain extent,” says Mr Ronald, “but it is a focus on changing social norms, particularly around gender equity and gender roles, that will really reduce the remaining violence and could have prevented the actions of these Wellington school boys.

“It is these attitudes, that left unchecked or unchallenged, develop into behaviour that condones violence.”

An example that relates to a legal response might be where smoking rates were reduced when smoking was outlawed in public places and or the increased cost of cigarettes. However it was campaigns that focused on the health of children, or living long enough to be grandparents, that got the message across that ‘people like me do not smoke’.

This is where campaigns such as White Ribbon, It’s Not OK and other initiatives are so important.

“White Ribbon would like to see a similar priority given to the prevention work of campaigns that target social norms and attitudes, says Mr Ronald. “This, alongside adequate funding for services that are currently stretched by responding to increased reporting, would give a truly comprehensive approach. That would really make a difference and it would help to reduce New Zealand’s unacceptable level of violence”.

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Women’s Refuge welcomes The Family and Whānau Violence Legislation Bill

By
The Daily Blog
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0

The introduction of the much anticipated Family and Whānau violence legislation has been warmly welcomed by family violence organisation Women’s Refuge. The legislation introduced to parliament today places a far greater emphasis upon victim safety – a long overdue and applauded move. This change will see the justice sector required to place victim safety at the heart of much of their decision making, especially in to care of children and bail issues.

Women’s Refuge Chief Executive Dr Ang Jury says “we are very pleased to see the government has taken seriously the concerns and suggestions from those working at the coal face in crafting this comprehensive piece of family violence legislation; the strong emphasis on the safety of victims and their children is a great move”

Under the proposed legislation, processes around the granting and policing of Protection Orders by the Courts have been significantly strengthened. Information including risk factor information will now be made available to Police Districts when an Order is granted and breaches of Protection Orders will now be treated as aggravating factors at sentencing. In addition all bail applications before the Court must include careful consideration of victim safety.

“Incidents of family violence and abuse including breaches of Protection Orders are rarely isolated or ‘one off’ incidents, they are deliberate and frequently repeated. To see this reflected in the way the courts sentence is a significant step towards ensuring a victim’s safety is paramount”

Legislation changes will also include better recording and acknowledgement of family violence, better information sharing provisions between government and family violence agencies, the introduction of a code of practice across the sector, and the inclusion of new classes of offences. While Women’s Refuge has yet to see the details of all of these, they are positive about the proposed changes.

“We are pleased to see focused attention to strangulation and marriage by coercion with the introduction of these new offences. The inclusion of animal abuse in the new definition is also extremely pleasing as we know that threats of harm to pets are a frequent control tactic utilised by perpetrators; to see this explicitly recognised is a great step forward.”

The Family and Whānau Violence Legislation Bill was introduced to Parliament today to overhaul the Domestic Violence Act, amend five Acts and make consequential changes to over thirty pieces of law.

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