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Weekly Media Roundup

October 22, 2021 at 4:01 PM

NZ Herald: Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Auckland Council's level 3 long weekend message 

As the City of Sails prepares for long weekend under level 3 regulations, Auckland Council has urged people to stay safe, keep in their bubbles and also take the chance to get vaccinated. 

The council has listed 10 top tips for residents likely looking forward to a few days away from the computer screen or work in general. 

Not only is the council asking for people to keep safe, but also remember the Covid-19 guidelines with the city in bespoke level 3. 

  

Newsroom: What our child protection system should be doing 

Reorienting Oranga Tamariki towards prevention, rather than reaction to harm, is a step in the right direction. But there is still a long way to go in addressing the organisation’s fragmentation, argues Emily Keddell. 

NZ Herald: More than two thirds of the children who died in state care since 2017 were Māori 

New figures show over two thirds of the children who have died in state care since Oranga Tamariki was established were Māori. 

Experts say this is due to an over-representation of Māori in state care. 

Information accessed by the Herald by an Official Information Act request shows 23 out of the 28 children who died in state care since 2017 were Māori. 

University of Otago: Significant psychological toll from COVID lockdown for people with histories of mental illness – study 

New research suggests more priority needs to be given to support the health of New Zealanders struggling with mental illness during COVID-19 lockdowns – with findings showing many people with mental health histories struggle and are disproportionately affected. 

The University of Otago study measured the psychological distress, anxiety, wellbeing and suicidality of around 600 Kiwis who’d been diagnosed with mental illness prior to last year’s COVID-19 lockdown, comparing their experiences during lockdown to those with no prior diagnosed mental health illness. 

Overall, 32 per cent (197) of those pre-diagnosed with a mental disorder reported their mental health had deteriorated noticeably during lockdown, while 50 per cent (316) said it had remained stable and 20 percent that it had improved. 

 

The Spinoff: How to talk to your kids about screens 

It’s a tricky conversation, but a necessary one. If you’re ready to talk to your kids about digital safety, you should read this first. 

 

Stuff: Recruitment company asks applicants to reveal family violence history 

A recruitment company’s claim it asked job applicants to declare any history of family violence to help keep them safe at work is “unconvincing at best” and likely to constitute unlawful discrimination, an employment lawyer says. 

Auckland's Recruitment Studio included two questions about family violence in the health details section of its candidate application and declaration form. 

The first asked applicants if they had ever been a victim of family violence, while the second asked, “Do you believe this condition will affect your ability to carry out effectively and safely the functions and responsibilities of this role?” 

Those who answered yes to either question were asked to give details, with the company stating “declaration of an injury, medical condition or disability will not rule you out of consideration for the role”. 

 

Stuff: Child advocacy group pushes for law change to protect children in sport 

Legislation needs to be strengthened to protect children in sport, a leading child advocacy charity says. 

The call follows a report by Stuff of a 15-year-old girl being sexually assaulted by her bowls coach. The coach was welcomed back into the sport following the completion of home detention. The young bowler reported she was made to feel like the “criminal” and has stepped away from the sport completely. 

The Children’s Act 2014 requires government-funded organisations that provide child-related services to have protections – including police vets and background checks - in place. Sport currently falls outside that mandate. 

 

Stuff: Member's bills to hinder child sex tourism, extend time for sexual harassment claims selected for debate 

A bill aimed to crack down on registered sex offenders travelling overseas to abuse children and another which would extend the time an employee can raise a personal grievance for sexual harassment are among those which will be debated in Parliament. 

Two Labour MPs had their member’s bills pulled from the biscuit tin, a process which allows members who are not ministers to introduce legislation. 

The bills will now be debated in the House but still need the support of 61 MPs to pass. As Labour has a majority, that means only bills Labour supports can make it through. 

Stuff: Mum 'didn't want me': Nine-year-old in tears while describing abuse at home  

A young girl whose alleged abuse was discovered by Air New Zealand cabin crew members told an interviewer that her mother hit her in the head with a hammer and shut her out of her house. 

The girl made the statements to a specialist child interviewer in a video played to a jury in the second day of her mother’s trial in the Napier District Court. 

The girl, who was flying as an unaccompanied minor, had been dropped at Hawke’s Bay Airport by her mother, who is now facing charges of injuring her daughter with intent, hitting her in the head with a hammer, neglecting her, and two charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice. 

Stuff: Mother tells court she had no idea her daughter, 9, was covered with bruises 

Stuff: Woman stabbed in bed by partner of 40 years after night of drinking and cards 

A son found his mother collapsed in a pool of blood after she was repeatedly stabbed by her partner when a night of drinking and card games turned to chaos. 

The 60-year-old was attacked in her bed, and when her son found her bleeding in a hallway her partner of 40 years, Lua’Ai Lavea, was standing nearby holding a kitchen knife with a 15cm long blade. 

Lavea then poured petrol everywhere in a bid to burn the place down, a court was told. 

 

NZ Herald: Northland man jailed for prolonged sexual abuse of stepdaughter 

A Northlander who sexually abused his stepdaughter for more than a decade until she turned 18 told her she would never have the courage to go to police. 

"Well, guess what? I did, and now you have to face the consequences of your evil, sick and disgusting behaviour," said the now young woman while reading her victim impact statement during his sentencing in the Whangārei District Court on Friday. 

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was earlier found guilty by a jury on a number of sexual offence charges and was sentenced to 13 years and eight months behind bars. 



Category: News Media