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Source: AA – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: AA welcomes progress on Waikato Expressway

The AA welcomes today’s announcement that work on the final three sections of the Waikato Expressway will begin this year.

Funding has been approved for the Hamilton and Longswamp sections of the Expressway, while a consortium has been appointed to deliver the Huntly section. That means that all seven sections will either be completed, under construction, or will have gone out to the market by the end of 2015.

AA spokesman Barney Irvine said it was great to see the project reach the home straight.

“We’ve already seen the benefits of the work carried out so far,” he said. “Once the whole project is finished, it will be a game-changer for economic growth, safety, and travel times in this part of the country.”

Mr Irvine said the project was the result of strong collaboration between a range of stakeholders in the wider Waikato region.

“Everyone’s on board, because they understand just how important this project is,” he said.

Mr Irvine added that the AA was delighted with the steady progress of the roll-out of the Government’s wider Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, which includes the Waikato Expressway and six other roading projects.

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Source: New Zealand Government – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Safer children’s workforce guidelines launched

Social Development Minister Anne Tolley today launched two new guidelines for agencies and organisations working with children as part of the Government’s Children’s Action Plan. 

The Guidelines; Safer Recruitment, Safer Children and Safer Organisations, Safer Children advise on how employers of the children’s workforce can consistently recruit safe people to work with children, and how to develop good child protection policies that enable their workers to better identify and respond to the needs vulnerable children.

Mrs Tolley launched the guidelines in Hamilton with local leaders, community groups and those setting up the new Hamilton Children’s Team.

“Every child has the right to be safe from abuse and neglect and these guidelines will help us build a stronger culture of child protection across New Zealand where the safety and security of children is paramount.

“By far the majority of our children’s workforce is safe and conscientious but we know predators target opportunities to be around children – these guidelines provide practical steps to help organisations to manage against that risk,” said Mrs Tolley.

The Vulnerable Children Act 2014 requires state sector agencies who work with children, and the organisations they fund to have child protection policies in place and will phase in a requirement for all paid children’s workers to be safety checked in a consistent way.

Mrs Tolley paid tribute to Child Matters for co-producing the safety checking guidelines Safer Recruitment, Safer Children.

“The Children’s Action Plan is about government and communities working together to better support vulnerable children.  These guidelines are an example of that innovative partnership.”

“The Hamilton Children’s Team will be the country’s first large urban team following the establishment of Children’s Teams in Rotorua, Whangarei, Horowhenua/Ōtaki and Marlborough.

“When it is fully up and running, the Hamilton Children’s Team will be the first big team of frontline practitioners supporting around 1,400 vulnerable children and their families,” Mrs Tolley said.

“Hamilton is renowned for its strong community sector and as a result is well placed to test new initiatives being developed as part of the Children’s Action Plan. 

The region will trial the Vulnerable Kids Information System (Viki) under an Approved Information Sharing Agreement as well as a new Hub triage process to better coordinate services and information for at risk children.

“Today’s launch marks exciting progress in a new children protection system for the country that will prioritise the needs of our most vulnerable children helping ensure they get the right services at the right time to be happy, healthy and safe,” said Mrs Tolley.

For more information on the Children’s Action Plan and guidelines: http://childrensactionplan.govt.nz/

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Source: Environment Canterbury Regional Council – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Health Warning – toxic algae found in Ashley River/ Rakahuri at SH1 Bridge

The Community and Public Health division of the Canterbury District Health board has issued a health warning after the potentially toxic blue-green algae cyanobacteria Lyngbya and Phormidium was found in the Ashley River/ Rakahuri at the State Highway One (SH1) Bridge.

People and animals, particularly dogs, should avoid the Ashley River/ Rakahuri at the SH1 Bridge until the health warning has been lifted. 

Dr Alistair Humphrey, Canterbury Medical Officer of Health, says the algae look like dark brown to black mats and can produce toxins harmful to people and animals.

“Exposure may cause skin rashes, nausea, stomach cramps, tingling and numbness around the mouth and fingertips,” Dr Humphrey says.

“If you experience any of these symptoms, visit your doctor immediately, also let your doctor know if you’ve had contact with dark brown/black algal mats or water in this area.”

Dr Humphrey says reticulated town water supplies are currently safe but no one should drink the water from the river at any time.

“Even after boiling the water from the river, it does not remove the toxin therefore should not be consumed,” he says.

Animals showing signs of illness after coming into contact with algal mats should be taken to a vet immediately.

People should remain out of the waterways until the warnings have been lifted.

Environment Canterbury is monitoring the sites and the public will be advised of any changes in water quality.

Facts about cyanobacteria:

• Appears as dark brown/black mats attached to rocks along the riverbed
• The algae occur naturally but can increase rapidly during warmer months
• It often has a strong musty smell and algal toxin concentrations can vary over short periods with changing environmental conditions
• Although high river levels will remove the algal bloom, detached mats can accumulate along the shore and increase the risk of exposure to toxins
• If a health warning is in place avoid contact with the water
• Although district or city councils may place warning signs, these may not be seen at the numerous river access points, hence the need for people/ dog-walkers to treat every low-flowing river cautiously.

For further information visit River warnings for toxic algae or contact Community and Public Health on (03) 364 1777.

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Source: Asia New Zealand Foundation – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: “No singular Asian migrant” – new report on Auckland’s diverse Asian communities

10 March 2015

A new report from the Asia New Zealand Foundation reveals the increasing diversity of Auckland’s Asian communities.

“Asian Auckland: The multiple meanings of diversity” details the history and trends of Asian migration to Auckland, especially since 2006. It was commissioned by the Asia New Zealand Foundation as part of a series of reports drawing on 2013 Census data.

Author Wardlow Friesen, senior lecturer in geography at the University of Auckland, says immigration policy changes since the 1990s have resulted in more migrants entering New Zealand as international students or on work visas. This has created more diverse Asian populations in terms of age, sex, education and skills and has led to an increase in Filipino and Indian migrants in particular. The median age of Auckland’s Asian population is lower than that of the total population.

“At any one time the Asian population comprises a complex mix of New Zealand born, overseas born, citizens, permanent residents, temporary workers, students and tourists – all arriving for a variety of reasons and bringing with them a diverse range of demographic characteristics, skills and expectations,” Dr Friesen says in the report.

“This complexity is most apparent in Auckland, where migrant settlement patterns illustrate other aspects of increasing diversification and show there is no singular ‘Asian migrant’.”

At the time of the 2013 Census, more than one in five (21 percent) Asian people living in Auckland were New Zealand-born. Dr Friesen says significant numbers of Asian Aucklanders, notably Chinese and Indian, are not migrants but New Zealand-born and have characteristics, identities and expectations different from migrant populations.

Asia New Zealand Foundation director, research Dr Andrew Butcher says Auckland has become known as one of world’s super-diverse cities. “This report shows that this diversity is true not only of Auckland but of the city’s Asian population itself.

“New Zealand’s Asian population is expected to increase in upcoming decades, and two-thirds of this population is expected to live in Auckland. While new migrants are often the focus of

attention, a significant proportion of future growth in the Asian population will come from people born in New Zealand.”

The report provides insights into Asian “ethnoscapes” in the city – which include tangible elements like people, shops and houses, as well as less tangible aspects like language and religious affiliation. It notes that the diversification of food outlets, festivals and Asian diasporic art forms are generally positively received by New Zealanders of all ethnicities.

It examines the settlement patterns of Asian immigrants around Auckland, providing case studies for particular neighbourhoods including Dannemora and Botany Downs; Glenfield and Northcote; and Sandringham. It also examines the influence of Asian communities on Auckland’s food culture, cultural festivals, the media and the arts.

Dr Friesen is the author of a previous Asia New Zealand Foundation report on Auckland, based on the results of the 2006 Census. In an audio interview accompanying the report, he says one of the biggest changes he has noticed is a shift in focus from permanent residency in 2006 to larger numbers of work permit migrants and students in 2013.

Asia New Zealand Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organisation dedicated to building New Zealand’s links with Asia through a range of programmes, including business, culture, education, media, research and a leadership network.

The report is available here.

Contact:

Rebecca Palmer
Asia New Zealand Foundation media adviser
rpalmer@asianz.org.nz
04 470 8701

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Source: Auckland University of Technology (AUT) – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Women’s rights then and now – are we falling behind?

09 Mar, 2015

New Zealand was the first country to give women the vote and we have always regarded ourselves as a leader in giving equal rights to women. To mark International Women’s Day, AUT’s Professor Marilyn Waring recently spoke at Parliament, comparing women rights in the 1970s to now and asking whether we are falling behind.
 
This is an edited version of the speech by Professor Marilyn Waring

Sunday 8th March was International Women’s Day. Forty years ago on March 24 1975 I became the candidate for the safe National seat of Raglan.

Media made much of my being a feminist and in 1975 that could be fairly complicated. The word feminist usually came with adjectives attached: liberal, socialist, Marxist, Leninist, Trotskyist, lesbian, separatist, radical.  I didn’t wear any of those labels, being content to agree with suffragist Rebecca West who said, ‘People call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat’.

Following the 1975 election Whetu Tirakatene Sullivan, Mary Batchelor, Colleen Dewe and myself were four of 87 MPs in Parliament. Soon after the election Colleen Dewe advised me she wasn’t a feminist and hadn’t ever suffered discrimination. Colleen was an accountant. ‘Have you ever gone to the Annual Conference of the Accountants in New Zealand?’ I asked. Well yes she had. ‘And were you always able to attend the dinner held at that conference?’ I continued. She smiled. They were men-only dinners. I don’t believe Colleen ever said she wasn’t a feminist again.

We had a male Cabinet of 19, one of whom was the spokesman on women’s issues, and five male parliamentary under-secretaries. All heads of government departments were men. Thirty-one men and eight women members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery fed their views from central government to 37 major metropolitan and provincial daily newspapers, all edited by men. The law courts were presided over by 23 male judges and only three of the 26 major city councils by women mayors.

The Select Committee on Women’s Rights established in 1973 reported in 1975. There were some very big silences: no health Terms of Reference because that would mean dealing with all the things that distinguish women from men; pre and post natal issues, lactation issues, fertility, but mostly they did not want to deal with women’s reproductive freedom. Not much has changed.

No provision was made for in-camera submissions, and nothing in the report made to the House was on violence against women.

Yes some of the items in the Select Committee report on The Role of Women in Society did get attention. When a married woman applied in her own name to purchase land offered for disposal by the Crown, she was required to supply a male guarantor, unless the purchase was a cash sale.

Grounds for divorce contained in the Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1963 included the option for a man to present a divorce petition against his wife for the habitual neglect of domestic duties. The latest data sets available to the Committee came from the 1971 Census.

There were the International Conventions which New Zealand had ratified and refused to denounce until the five yearly opportunity came to do this. Work restrictions were contained in the Factories Act 1946 in accordance with Convention No. 89, the International Labour Organisation Night Work (Women) (Revised) 1948. I remember comments from Margaret Wilson on the prohibition on women in night work, to the effect that if you were a nurse or a prostitute it was fine, it was just all the other work that was the problem. The prohibition had been introduced in 1919, as part of a package to ensure male preference for all work following World War 1.

The Public Service Regulations of 1964 gave direction to the State Services Commission in determining expenses on transfer to make specific rules regarding persons who were not breadwinners. The relevant ruling allowed for the department to meet the cost of “the employee and his family” on transfer within the service but “transfer expenses for married female employees should be referred to the commission with details of circumstances, number and ages of children, previous and proposed occupation of husband”. It was as a result of this rule that I first met Jools Joslin, one of the most important figures in the battle for marriage equality in New Zealand. Jools was a constituent teaching near Huntly, who as a single mother was denied transfer expenses when shifting to another teaching position. She got her expenses.

Women needed a male guarantor to open an account, negotiate an overdraft, or to raise mortgage finance or credit in their own names.

The report to the House stated,  ‘Most aspects of discrimination continue to be the subject of inaction (for 1975 read 2014), and the committee accepts without reservation, the need for an accelerated effort to remove all impediments to the equal participation of women in society. Two generations later, I’m still waiting for that exciting day.

In 1975 less than 5% of all apprentices in the private sector were women, and the overwhelming portion of those were hairdressers.  In 2010, the latest statistics I could find, modern apprenticeships were totally dominated by Pakeha males. It’s not surprising as every time I hear a Government Minister speak of the Canterbury rebuild it is the ‘young men’ who will find work there. Some of the same people who think it is a problem to force women into veils find easier ways to make women invisible; last week every pronoun used by the Prime Minister in terms of the New Zealanders he wishes to send to Iraq was male.

The Committee noted the use of sex to sell plant and machinery (TV coverage of events such as Big Boys Toys show nothing has changed there either) and the reference to irrelevant details of personal appearance about women who reach the news for achievements in business or political fields.

The committee recognised that there were ‘special needs’ associated with women at home. The report read, ‘We were particularly concerned at the evidence of social injustice towards full-time homemakers, for which there can be no justification other than customary practice, and which reflects detrimentally on the status of all women’. A great number of submissions stressed the relatively low economic and social value placed on a housewife’s services compared with services performed by other sections of the community.

Forty years later we have the market related outcomes of this social injustice having to be remedied by the Courts – the case for sleepover shifts at IHS homes; the Employment Court and Court of Appeal decisions in the equal pay case for rest home workers, because of the high percentage of female employees; the Employment Court Decision regarding the deliberate servitude in which 35,000 women workers in New Zealand have been systematically exploited by being paid subsidies; and the breathtaking case of the 24/7 carers who are immediate family whose human rights case was won in the Equal Opportunities Tribunal, in the High Court, in the Court of Appeal – and then the National Government decided to ignore court rulings, to take away the right to recompense and to legislate the ouster condition preventing challenges to the law, which continues the discrimination. Well, so much for the boast of believing in ‘equal opportunity and equal citizenship’ on the National Party website. But this was not surprising in a Government where a Minister could advise his agency that he did not want to read any assessment of human rights in his Cabinet Briefing papers.

Can we think of any equivalent treatment of something men did for centuries unpaid? Yes, it was called slavery. But exploiting women is apparently just fine. The 2009-2010 time-use survey found 63% of men’s work was paid, and 65% of women’s work unpaid. Women spent four hours 20 minutes every day on unpaid work, and men spent two hours and 32 minutes a day on unpaid work. The fact is the entire market economy would grind to a halt if women didn’t do the majority of unpaid work.

Recognition of this hits hard at the claim that only market work is of value, and of course redistribution of investments from government on this basis would undermine the cushy ride boys have given boys for decades.

Internationally – and based on evidence – Oxfam has called the on-going gap in paid employment rates, the vast difference on an annual basis in hours in unpaid work, the failure to address pay equity, the failure to address equal pay, the continuing gender occupational segregation, the failure to follow best practice in paid parental leave’- a fundamental entrenched form of inequality’.

With respect to the silences of the terms of reference of the 1975 select Committee report there remain outrages. It was January 28, 1988 – 26 years ago – when the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada’s abortion law as unconstitutional. The law was found to violate Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms because it infringes upon a woman’s right to “life, liberty and security of person.” Chief Justice Brian Dickson wrote, “Forcing a woman, by threat of criminal sanction, to carry a fetus to term unless she meets certain criteria unrelated to her own priorities and aspirations, is a profound interference with a woman’s body and thus a violation of her security of the person.” Canada became one of a small number of countries without a law restricting abortion. Abortion is now treated like any other medical procedure and is governed by provincial and medical regulations. Check out the language of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Every word there is in New Zealand legislation. It remains an indictment of the cowardice of successive New Zealand parliaments and an extraordinary lack of leadership that we still have the vile outcomes of my years in parliament on the statute books. While it may be taken into account, rape is not an automatic ground for abortion. This is a reflection of a Neanderthal patriarchy.

The other major 1975 silence was violence against women. Violence against women clearly demands sustained, resourced, dedicated, urgent and ongoing action from the government. As the Covenant for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) coalition of New Zealand NGOs submitted, women are frustrated and exhausted by delays, prevarication, reports and other processes that are not implemented and lack of funding to address a systemic and continuing violation of human rights of women. What are they afraid of – that men who assault women won’t then pay to come to the Cabinet Club fundraisers?

It’s time for a new Select Committee Inquiry. Maybe it could spark patriarchal interest if every issue was subject to a market-based opportunity cost assessment – just what does male violence cost the economy each year? Inequality is expensive; social injustice is not a saving, we have to pay for in the long run. The Commission on the Status of Women moving to a two year as opposed to an annual event;  it’s apparently too much of a burden on nation states to have to assess the situation regarding female human rights annually.

Forty years of feminist activism and there are issues with no progress at all;  violence against women, the recognition of unpaid work (where we are going backwards),  numbers of women in parliament, numbers of women appointed to government boards and commissions  and a systemic failure to provide leadership on all human rights issues. It’s an interesting day when I can conclude, from evidence, that there were greater and more female human rights legislative changes and changes in resourcing under Muldoon than there have ever been under Key. Two generations later a parliament still dominated by white middle-class, middle-aged men needs to hear the truths of the ongoing exploitation of and discrimination against the women of New Zealand.

So on International Women’s Day in 2015 I have a message for the Prime Minister: Get some guts and join the right side – but this time in your own back yard. I bet you can’t.

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Headline: Canterbury Police and WorkSafe NZ investigations into fatal farming incident ongoing

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Source: Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Predictable attack on dental expert for highlighting high sugar consequences

“It’s disappointing – but predictable – that one of this country’s foremost dental experts has been attacked for speaking out about a major health problem facing New Zealanders, the over-consumption of sugar,” says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (ASMS).

Dr Rob Beaglehole highlighted the impact of sugary drinks in particular on toddlers and children in TVNZ’s Sunday current affairs programme last night, including the removal of rotting teeth from babies still in nappies and the high consumption of sugar among teenagers and others.

Mr Powell says it was concerning to see such an important issue trivialised by an unwarranted attack of Dr Beaglehole and TVNZ by Cameron Slater on his Whale Oil website this morning.

“Rather than engaging with the evidence and the real-life experience of Dr Beaglehole and others who are dealing with the consequences of high-sugar diets in their daily work, the mouthpieces for the sugary drinks industry just try to vilify them.  These are people who are speaking out because of their expertise and training in these areas, and they should be able to do so without fear of intimidation.

“New Zealand is fortunate to have public health professionals like Dr Beaglehole who are prepared to call it as they see it, despite repeated and ongoing attempts to silence them.  This is about clinicians having the right to stand up for their patients, many of whom are children.”

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Source: Worksafe New Zealand – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Hundreds of rebuild workers to get free work health checks

Around four hundred Canterbury construction workers will receive free health advice and checks over the next fortnight to help raise awareness about the health risks they face on site.

“While we’re pleased to see a number of construction companies continuing to improve their safety initiatives and plans, the ‘health’ in health and safety is often missing,” says WorkSafe New Zealand’s Canterbury Rebuild Health and Safety Programme Director Kathryn Heiler.

“Construction workers are exposed to a number of health hazards through the course of their work. This includes dust, noise, asbestos, and exposure to hazardous substances or chemicals,” says Ms Heiler.

Every year in New Zealand approximately 75 people die at work. Yet 600-900 people die every year from work-related diseases.

WorkSafe, with support from ACC, has organised an occupational health van to tour rebuild sites for two weeks from 9 March.

“There’ll be two very experienced occupational health nurses from TriEx on board, and over the fortnight they’ll be visiting 30 sites around Canterbury, talking to 400 workers,” says Ms Heiler.

“Workers can expect to receive more information on the health risks they face as well as having a health check – representative to health monitoring many employers carry out for their employees.”

There will also be sessions on how to make sure their personal protective equipment, such as face masks and ear plugs are fitted correctly.

“If it doesn’t fit properly it’s unlikely to provide much protection against the health hazard and there’s no point wearing it. It’s important employers and workers understand how to check if their gear is working and fitted correctly,” she says.

“Too many people become ill or die each year because of exposure to a health risk through their work. This is just one initiative that aims to raise awareness about the importance of health, not just safety,” Ms Heiler says.

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Source: Creative New Zealand – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Results of Creative New Zealand’s review of literature

Support to increase readership and sales of New Zealand literature nationally and internationally and a greater focus on support for writers have resulted from Creative New Zealand’s review of its support for literature in New Zealand. 

In a report published today the Arts Council agreed to:

• make activity that will increase national readership and sales of New Zealand literature a funding priority for Creative New Zealand’s grants and investment programmes
• make publishing proposals from individual writers, as well as those from publishing companies and collectives, eligible for funding
• make increased publishing subsidies available for literature in te reo or Pasifika languages, non-fiction work and publications about specific artforms
• maintain support for developing international markets for New Zealand literature.

Increasing readership and sales of New Zealand literature

Increasing the national readership and sales of New Zealand literature will be a funding priority for Quick Response and Arts Grants and the Toi Uru Kahikatea investment programme. For the first time, block publishing applications made to Toi Uru Kahikatea can request support for promotional activity.

The key role for literature funded though the Toi Tōtara Haemata investment programme will also have a focus on activities that will increase sales and readership of New Zealand literature. Previously the focus had been on promoting reading and writing of New Zealand literature.

Support for individual writers and illustrators

The creation of a diverse range of high quality new work will be a new funding priority for Creative New Zealand’s funding of literature.

Writers or illustrators who make a compelling case will also be able to take longer than 12 months to complete a project when they are funded by an Arts Grant.

Publishing criteria have been revised to focus on the quality of proposals, rather than on whether the work is to be published by an individual writer, publishing company or collective. This will enable high-quality publishing proposals from individuals to be eligible for funding.

The provision of online, up-to-date information about resources and opportunities available to New Zealand writers, at all stages of their careers, will be part of the literature key role funded through Toi Tōtara Haemata.

Creative New Zealand’s $100,000 Michael King Writer’s Fellowship will continue to support a project that takes two or more years to complete. The fellowship will be offered once every two years, rather than annually, which will align it with Creative New Zealand’s other fellowships.

The funds not allocated through the fellowship will be ring-fenced for literature applications to our Arts Grants rounds in the year the fellowship is not awarded. After 2015, the next Michael King Writer’s Fellowship will be offered in 2017.

Additional publishing subsidies

Existing publishing subsidies will be retained but additional subsidies will beavailable for publications in te reo or Pasifika languages and non-fiction and artform publications.

These new subsidies take account of the smaller potential market for some of these works, the higher costs associated with their creation, and/or their unique cultural value.

Publishing internships

Creative New Zealand will request proposals for a single provider to deliver a national publishing internship programme to build the capability of the publishing sector.

Development of international markets

Creative New Zealand will request proposals for a single provider to deliver projects that support the development of international markets for New Zealand literature over the next three years. The services will include supporting New Zealand publishers to participate in international book fairs, managing an international travel fund, and a fund for the translation of New Zealand works into other languages.

Next Steps

• New publishing criteria, funding priorities and additional subsidies will take effect from 1 July 2015.
• The Toi Uru Kahikatea funding round closing on 8 May 2015 and Quick Response Grant round closing on 26 June will be assessed using the new publishing criteria, subsidy rates and funding priorities.
• A request for proposals for the revised literature key role for the Toi Totara Haemata programme will be published this week with a deadline for proposals of 22 May 2015.

Creative New Zealand consults regularly with the arts sector to make sure our funding priorities, programmes and initiatives keep up with new arts practices and with New Zealand’s changing arts environment and demographics.

More detailed information on the full range of initiatives agreed plus analysis and findings are in the Review of Literature Final Report.

Our thanks go to all those who took the time to contribute to our review.

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