The High Court ruled against the Ministry of Social Development in a case of wrongful debt recovery.
The MSD was asking a solo mother of two to repay more than a $100,000 of perceived benefit, after finding out the mom had contracted loans and used a credit card.
The High Court's jugement, which should have lasting effects, reminded the MSD that loans, which constitute debt, cannot be classified as income.
Our producer Lisa Boudet speaks with barrister Catriona MacLennan about the implications of this ruling and the current mind frame of the MSD.
Hunters in the Kaimanawa set more than 100 traps around the forrest park in an effort to help protect the native Blue Duck population from predatory pests. Tu spoke to Gary Harwood, a hunting advocate in the region, about conservation from the perspective of someone who pulls the trigger, why conserving the duck population is important, and his hopes for the future.
The Government has announced it will remove the cap on gender affirmation surgeries for trans people in Aotearoa. Previously, the cap stood at 4 surgeries every 2 years, leaving many on the over 100 person waitlist feeling deeply discouraged. Lachlan spoke with Ahi Wi Hongi from gender minorities Aotearoa about the cap being lifted.
The New Zealand Law Society has just celebrated 100 signatories of its Gender Equality Charter. The Charter was introduced in April of this year and aims to retain and advance women within the legal profession. The President of the Society, Kathryn Beck, spoke to Jemima about the Charter, how the Law Society plans to get every legal workplace on board, and finally how the Law Society is tackling sexual harassment as a gender equality issue.
Turtle rescuers around New Zealand are calling for bans to turtle breeding. Most rescues are over crowded with Auckland's Rescue Reptile having over 100 turtles in their care. Angie Harvey the owner of Auckland's Rescue Reptile speaks about why she believes turtle breeding should banned.
The Commerce Commission is taking Moola, a short-term lender, to the High Court, on allegation of breach of responsible lending practices between 2015 and 2017. Like many others, Moola offers from $100 to $5000 as loans very quickly, but with rates that can go up to 625%. And while none of this is illegale, the lending companies are supposed to research their clients' ability to repay such loans before granting them.
The Commerce Commission was alerted by a referral made by Fincap, and organisation that provides budget advice. Lisa spoke with its CEO, Tim Barnett.
She also had a chat with Robert Choy, of Ngā Tāngata Microfinance, a charitable trust that offers loans free of interest and fees, to help out those who got trapped in the vicious circle of debt.
The government’s KiwiBuild housing programme was officially reset yesterday, by new Housing Minister Megan Woods. The target of 100,000 houses over a decade is gone - replaced with a target to simply build as many houses as possible, as quickly as possible. Buyers of KiwiBuild studios and one-bedrooms now only having to commit to living in the house for one year rather than three, before they can sell it. And, there’s a commitment of 400-million dollars to a progressive home ownership scheme - something which was in the Green Party's confidence and supply agreement, but which we don’t have a lot of information on just yet.
National’s Housing Spokesperson Judith Collins has been very critical of the policy since its inception. Host Stewart Sowman-Lund spoke with her this morning to get her reaction to the reset… and started by asking her if she feels any better about KiwiBuild after the reset.
On Thursday the 17th of October, the government announced a new mental health facility in the Waikato. The $100 million project is set to replace the aging Henry Rongomau Bennett Centre which David Clark says is no longer fit for purpose. The Mental Health Foundations Chief Executive, Shaun Robinson joins Laura Kvigstad to discuss why placing funding on infrastructure is important in addressing Aotearoa's mental health crisis.
The latest annual New Zealand Census of Women on Boards shows the top 100 publicly listed companies still overwhelmingly male and Pākehā. Simplicity is NZ’s not for profit kiwisaver scheme, and managing director Sam Stubbs assisted in the census. Simplicity will be engaging in formal shareholding action voting directors in and out, if companies have not achieved full diversity by 2022. Sherry speaks to Sam on issues with tokenism, why it’s been so slow to change, and begins by asking him about the ethnic and gender makeup of boardrooms at the moment.
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