Modern slavery is a worldwide problem which demands adequate legislative action to inform and combat its manifestations, including in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Modern slavery is a human rights violation that occurs in every region of the world. In its 2017 ‘Global Estimates of Modern Slavery’ report, the International Labour Office states that 40.3 million people have been identified as victims of modern slavery. To put this into perspective, of this 40.3 million, 24.9 million people were in forced labour situations and 15.4 million were living in forced marriages to which they had not consented ..read more

Spouses who have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to abusive ex-partners if they stay in their family home after divorce say the law is retraumatizing domestic violence victims. Currently, the Property (Relationships) Act 1976 does not have an explicit provision for domestic abuse when considering the division of relationship property. New Zealand’s position for division of property is equal sharing and the no-fault rule. However, this grossly negates the context in which the breakdown of the relationship occurred and what is safer and best for parties in reality. The PRA is now 45 year ..read more

Since the spread of the Covid-19 virus, Anti-Asian hate crimes increased by over 150% in 2020. President Donald Trump coined the term ‘China Virus’ during his presidency, and it seems as if racially motivated attacks are cropping up in the news more and more often. Last year, a group of Asian people were violently targeted at a Rotorua spa, and this month eight women (including six Asian women) were killed in a shooting in Georgia, USA. Just a few days ago, a 65-year-old Asian woman was pushed to the ground in NYC and kicked repeatedly in the head while a security guard watched. There is no do ..read more

The Ruby Project is a small New Zealand ceramic enterprise run by Kate Fitzmaurice out of her home in Wellington. Kate is a 27 year old woman who began this amazing project while working full time, and who still is in the lead up to her launch on March 20th. The Ruby Project exists with the kaupapa to raise awareness aount sex trafficing and sexual assault, alongside giving a voice to survivors. It does all of this while giving her customers beautiful handmade ceramics to drink your morning tea/coffee, or to keep your flowers in. Each of the pieces available are one of a kind and represent a b ..read more

quotation marks surround language that has been frequently adopted by popular media and utilised in anti-refugee sentiment. Narrative surrounding the “refugee crisis” has dominated Western media for the past five years. Through calculated manipulation of the truth, aimed at a reactive and insecure public, the term ‘refugee’ has come to entail an array of harmful and dehumanizing connotations. We have heard that uncontrollable streams of people are “flooding” countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. These perceptions have been deliberately created by government lea ..read more

The top District Court judge — Chief Judge Taumaunu — announced a new model where the District Court will take practices from specialist courts and apply them to the mainstream criminal system, starting in Hamilton this year. The new model, Te Ao Mārama, which means “the transition from night to the enlightened world”, reflects the needs of a multicultural Aotearoa. The courtroom experience will be transformed, so that iwi and community groups can come into court, formalities will be toned down and underlying drivers of crime will be identified and addressed. Courts will adopt plain language ..read more

This year Kiwis have the option to pōti (vote) in two referendums as well as in the general election. Most of us understand how a national election works (and if you don’t please check out Vote.nz), but this may be a lot of tauira (student’s) first time voting in a referendum. A referendum is a general vote by the people on a question or statement. Referendums are a direct decision by the people which can inform or guide the Karauna (government) when making legislation. The referendums this year surround the legalisation of cannabis and the End of Life Choice Act 2019. For more details about w ..read more

The enactment of the Adoption Act 1955 (AA) has led to the severance from whakapapa for many tamariki in Aotearoa New Zealand. The effect of this severance on Māori tuakiri (identity) and hauroa (wellbeing) is evident in the below experiences: - “[I] felt invisible as Māori”.[1] - “It was like a physical pain”.[2] - “I do not have a tūrangawaewae (a place to belong)”.[3] When the AA was enacted, Aotearoa essentially viewed itself as a monocultural country, evident through the multitude of anachronisms spread throughout the Act. Consequently, the Act completely disregards the Crown’s obligation ..read more

To understand how the ramifications of COVID-19 have affected climate change, it is important firstly to have a basic understanding of climate change. Climate change is an extremely complicated topic and I, a law student, am not going to attempt to break down every scientific aspect of climate change in the next few paragraphs. I’m sure many of you already have a vast understanding and I would venture to say that nearly all of you at least have the basic facts, so I’ll keep it brief.  Climate change describes the changes occurring to the earth’s climate as a result of an increase of green ..read more

Modern slavery is a worldwide problem which demands adequate legislative action to inform and combat its manifestations, including in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Modern slavery is a human rights violation that occurs in every region of the world. In its 2017 ‘Global Estimates of Modern Slavery’ report, the International Labour Office states that 40.3 million people have been identified as victims of modern slavery. To put this into perspective, of this 40.3 million, 24.9 million people were in forced labour situations and 15.4 million were living in forced marriages to which they had not consented ..read more