To whom it may concern
Kia ora my name is Maha Tomo and the aim of this submission is to hold The NZ National Party accountable for implementing detrimental welfare policies that stigmatise and vilify the poor also to expose the unethical tactics used to fast track legislation of these policies.
In April 2012 Chief Human Rights Commissioner David Rutherford criticised the submissions process, saying “the constrained timeframe of just 11 working days undermined the principles of democracy” I also believe the constrained time frame for these submissions is inadequite.
The ministry of justice has also admitted that the welfare reforms are discriminatory Because of this I believe the welfare reforms are in breach of the NZ Bill of Rights Act.
In May 23, this year Green MP Jan Logie made these comments “It has been noted that the proposed welfare reforms will breach ICESCR (International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) articles 2,3,4,6,9,10,11 and 12 and concerns have been raised by the Human Rights Commission and many others noting breaches to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention of Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.”
The social security amendment bill will have far reaching consequences for race relations , financial disparity in NZ , crime in NZ , our childrens quality of life , womens rights and freedoms all of which will undoubtedly lead to major friction in our communities.
New Zealand deserves integrity and honesty from its leaders. I request an official enquiry more dialogue and transparency from NZ Government and also that the Attorney General’s Report in to these matters be released to the public as I believe the Welfare Reform Bill to be invalid not only for human rights breaches but also as a Maori for the breach of Article 2 of the Treaty and the breach of the UNDRIP which was endorsed by government in 2010.
I believe this bill portrays beneficiaries as the scapegoats of NZ which is unfair considering the tax cuts that they gave to the rich. The fact still remains that subsidised contraception is already available at family planning clinics to all sectors of society which makes me question the ethics government cohersion of young 16 year old girls into contraception especially as IUD’s have ben proven dangerous.
The only real solution to poverty is education not vilification. Studies have proven that raising children is the equivalent of having 2 fulltime jobs.
This letter is not only about dignity for all New Zealand families whether rich or poor it is also about the challenge to save ethics and humanity in New Zealand. Thank you for taking the time to read my submission.
Kindest regards
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10800260
http://blog.greens.org.nz/2012/05/23/government-on-the-way-to-making-human-rights-a-cliche/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tino_rangatiratanga
http://posttreatysettlements.org.nz/long-standing-implications-the-undrip-and-nz/