11-12-2012 - Call for national plan to end child poverty
Type: Media Release
The Human Rights Commission is calling for cross-party support for a national action plan to reduce child poverty. Disability Rights Commissioner Paul Gibson said such a plan is needed to set clear targets and ways to monitor progress. “A plan to reduce child poverty is aligned with the goals the Government has set for [...]
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07-12-2012 - Commission presents submission on Minimum Wage (Starting Out Wage) Amendment Bill
Type: Submission
The Human Rights Commission presented its submission on the Minimum Wage (Starting Out Wage) Amendment Bill to the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee on Wednesday. The Commission stated its opposition to the Bill, arguing that it fails basic human rights tests. The Bill means that co-workers in the same workplace doing the same job could [...]
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23-10-2012 - New review calls on Police to improve youth detention
Type: Media Release
A new review is calling for Police to improve their training and the treatment of young people in custody. The joint thematic review of young persons in Police detention was conducted by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA), the Office of the Children’s Commissioner and the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and is the first joint [...]
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16-08-2012 - Chief Commissioner calls for education sector to adopt Law Commission’s anti bullying recommendations
Type: Media Release
Chief Human Rights Commissioner David Rutherford says it is time for more action on bullying in New Zealand schools. The Law Commission’s advice to the Minister of Justice on cyber bullying has rightly said it is pointless to just address cyber bullying in schools. The focus needs to be on reducing bullying, including cyber bullying. [...]
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19-07-2012 - Schools have legal duty to enrol students with disabilities
Type: Media Release, Statement
Schools have a legal duty under the Education Act and the Human Rights Act to enrol students who have special education needs whether because of a disability or otherwise on the same basis as other students. The Commission says the interpretation of the Human Rights Act as reported in the story “Schools can refuse to [...]
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20-04-2012 - Submission on Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill
Type: Submission
The Commission has made a submission to the Social Services Select Committee on the Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill. The submission raises concerns about the very limited timeframe for written consideration of the Bill by Parliament, contrary to the principles of representative democracy. The Bill’s proposals fall short of requirements in [...]
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04-04-2012 - Chief Commissioner applauds package to address the wellbeing of young New Zealanders
Type: Media Release
The Human Rights Commission welcomes a new mental health package directed at young people in school announced by the Government today. It also welcomes the commitment of the Prime Minister and Ministers to on-going vigilance on safety in schools. Chief Commissioner David Rutherford said, “The Commission has long been concerned at the wellbeing of young [...]
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02-03-2012 - Children consulted for submission on Green Paper for Vulnerable Children
Type: Media Advisory, Submission
“Ask us!”, “Do more surveying to see what’s best for children”, “Getting choices, instead of others deciding for us.” When the Human Rights Commission consulted with children and young people to help inform its submission to the Green Paper for Vulnerable Children they were clear that they wanted to be asked about their views and [...]
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02-02-2012 - Policy changes allow undocumented children to go to school
Type:
In 2010 the Government set aside funding in the Budget to allow schools to cover the cost of enrolling students who were unlawfully in New Zealand. This followed advice from the Human Rights Commission that for New Zealand to meet its international obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, all children, [...]
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06-09-2011 - Ombudsmen’s report confirms need for human rights guidance to stop violence, abuse and bullying in school
Type: Media Release
The Human Rights Commission’s analysis that found schools pupils who are the victims of violence, abuse and bullying lack the same rights as the bullies has been confirmed by a report from the Office of the Ombudsmen about serious assaults at Hutt Valley High School released today. In response to a complaint from a parents’ [...]
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