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Christchurch council may have to repay tenants $1m
By CHARLIE GATES – Thursday, 27 November 2008
Thousands of social housing tenants in Christchurch are awaiting about $1 million in refunds.
The administrative mess follows this week's High Court decision to overturn a controversial 24 per cent rent rise.
The High Court ruling means tenants are likely to be reimbursed for the extra rent they have paid to the Christchurch City Council since the July 1 rise.
The supplement increase could now have to be paid back to Work and Income and the remainder repaid to tenants.
Some tenants have received increased supplements from Work and Income during the period, complicating the issue.
"It is just really complicated.
Sharon Torstonson, executive officer of the Council of Social Services that won the High Court challenge, said the process would be complex. .
Christchurch City councillors Chrissie Williams and Helen Broughton warned the repayment process would involve a "huge administrative adjustment". It would be really unfair if they repay the whole lot to the tenants and expect them to pay back Work and Income," she said.
"Work and Income will work closely with the council to establish how our mutual clients may be affected by the High Court ruling.
Work and Income deputy chief executive Patricia Reade said the process would require close collaboration.
"This matter may be subject to an appeal by the council so we will continue to monitor the situation closely. Until any changes come into effect, Work and Income clients can be assured that their accommodation supplement payments will continue as usual," she said."
Social housing tenant Graham Reed has stopped his rent payment to the council until the issue is resolved."
Social housing tenant Graham Reed has stopped his rent payment to the council until the issue is resolved. "I have just stopped my automatic payment until I get a correct rent figure from council. I am pleased for all the tenants," he said. They have to pay the money back. I think tenants should stop payment straight away and ring up council asking what their new rent will be.
"No decision has yet been made."
Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said "a decision on whether to appeal will be made by the council and will take into account staff recommendations".
The rent rise was designed to raise $2. It is entirely premature to discuss amount or timing of repayments to tenants," he said. An estimated $1m may have to be returned to tenants.7m a year in extra revenue and the council collected the raised rent for five months before the High Court ruling.
"I do not agree with the decision and that leaves us in a position of what do we do now.
"I do not agree with the decision and that leaves us in a position of what do we do now. We should give the social housing to Housing New Zealand and let them deal with it," she said.
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Nia died from brain bleed, trial told
By Monday, 03 November 2008
NIA GLASSIE: Died in hospital with head and body injuries.
A forensic pathologist has told a court that head injuries found on Nia Glassie were most likely caused by "substantial force". .
The cause of death was from bleeding on the brain caused by force to the head, either from a fall or blow, he said.
Mr Stables said he performed an autopsy on Nia on August 4 last year, a day after she died in Starship Hospital.
Numerous small bruises were discovered in five different locations hidden under the skin on her head, he said.
He likened the force to a boxer's head hitting the canvas after being punched.These were not visible on the outside, he said.
Under examination by prosecutor Fletcher Pilditch Mr Stables said it was not possible to pinpoint when the bruises occurred, but they would have occurred at least three days before her death.
One of the bruises was a large donut-shaped circle on top of the head.
The brain swelled as a result of bleeding, which cut blood supply to vital organs such s heart and lungs, he said.
Mr Stables said a large blood clot was found at the front of the head, which likley occurred 10-16 daysbefore her death.
She non-responsive to stimuli, had trouble breathing and was having seizures.
In earlier evidence this morning Rotorua Hospital paediatrician Jaco Nel described Nia's condition when admitted to hospital on July 22.
Dr Nel was told by her mother, the co-accused Lisa Kuka, that Nia had fallen from Wiremu Curtis' shoulders.
Dr Nel was told by her mother, the co-accused Lisa Kuka, that Nia had fallen from Wiremu Curtis' shoulders
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Crown plans new Urewera charges
and Friday, 31 October 2008
TheCrown is preparing to lay fresh charges against five of the 17 people arrested after anti- terrorism raids in the Bay of Plenty. . The charge carries a maximum jail term of five years.
Mr Burns said there were legal issues to be argued, including the admissibility of evidence, that could be dealt with only in the High Court.
The move was revealed yesterday when the Crown lodged an application to have the trials of the 17 accused transferred from a district court to the High Court.
The decision to lay extra charges was made after "a proper consideration of the evidence that came out during a depositions hearing" last month, he said.
Attached to that application was a provisional indictment which specified the additional charges the Crown was wanting to lay against the named five, he said.
"We served the draft indictment to let everyone know as soon as possible what the Crown's position was going to be.
Police initially tried to charge 12 of the 18 accused under the Terrorism Suppression Act after a police operation in the Ureweras and other locations, but its application was denied by the solicitor-general, who said the act was inadequate for a domestic situation."
But Mr Burns stressed the indictment was a draft only, and that the extra charges were still subject to further consideration and discussion.
Mr Bailey's identical twin brother, Ira, is also facing firearms charges.
Auckland District Court judge Mark Perkins ordered 17 of the accused to stand trial on about 300 firearms charges but dismissed all charges against Rongomai Peropero Bailey, the Auckland-based brother of Emily Bailey.
He said that, if the Crown intended to lay such a charge, he would expect to receive an indictment within the next few weeks.
Charl Hirschfeld, who is representing Kemara, said last night that he was yet to receive formal notification of the new charge.
Lambert's lawyer, Kahungunu Barron- Afeaki, said: "It's sour grapes on the face of it.
Lambert's lawyer, Kahungunu Barron- Afeaki, said: "It's sour grapes on the face of it."
Emily Bailey's lawyer, Val Nisbet, declined to comment on the matter.
"It's interesting that they made that public, you either charge someone or you don't.
Missing woman's sister discharged
Meanwhile, the sister of missing Auckland woman Iraena Asher has been discharged without conviction on a firearms charge laid following police raids in the Urewera Range.
A lawyer for Iti could not be reached.
The only one of the Urewera accused to plead guilty, she was discharged without conviction.
Tamara Asher, 26, appeared in Auckland District Court for sentencing yesterday on one charge of illegal possession of a weapon.
Her older sister, Iraena, disappeared from Piha on October 10, 2004, after making a 111 call to police in which she said she was being followed. Judge Graham Hubble refused to continue name suppression.
The Ashers' family home in the West Auckland suburb of Massey was searched by police on October 15 last year. A police dispatcher sent a taxi to pick her up. At the end of the three-hour search, police left with an old passport belonging to Tamara. At the end of the three-hour search, police left with an old passport belonging to Tamara.
Tamara had visited whanau in the Ruatoki Valley, including Tame Iti, several months earlier.
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Those who eat fast get fatter, says report
– Saturday, 25 October 2008
Wolfing down food until you feel full can treble the risk of being overweight, a new study shows.
The combination of eating quickly and continuing at that pace until feeling full has contributed to the obesity epidemic, says a study published in the British Medical Journal.
New Zealand obesity experts and nutritionists agree the findings can also be attributed to societal changes such as the availability of cheap, fast food with little nutritional value and the loss of routine family eating times.
"You get full from much less food because you are giving your body and brain time to register the food," she said.
Christchurch public health nutritionist Bronwen King said slower eating was vital in allowing the brain to register fullness."
The study's lead researcher, Professor Hiroyasu Iso, of Osaka University in Japan, studied 3000 Japanese men and women from 2003 to 2006 to examine whether eating until full and speed of eating were associated with being overweight.
"A feeling of satisfaction after eating something becomes a feeling of fullness after 20 minutes.
The group of participants who said they ate until full and ate quickly had a higher body mass index than those who said they did not eat until full and did not eat quickly.
"Our problem now is we have individuals who are hard-wired into seeking out high-energy food," she said.
Fight the Obesity Epidemic spokeswoman Robyn Toomath said eating faster would add to a person's weight but much of the research into appetite showed eating behaviour was genetically determined.
"The food that is ubiquitous is high in calories and very cheap.
"The survival of the human race once depended on having sufficient numbers of those people but now they are bombarded with advertising."
The executive director of New Zealand's Obesity Action Coalition, Leigh Sturgiss, said people no longer enjoyed food in company, rather they shovelled the food in order to move to the next activity.
"We can't change the genes so the key is to remove those external influences.
Sturgiss said people were unaware of normal portion control and often ate in front of the television or while reading so they were distracted and ate more than a reasonable amount.
Sturgiss said people were unaware of normal portion control and often ate in front of the television or while reading so they were distracted and ate more than a reasonable amount.