Southern Police : Nothing changed since Tom Lewis wrote Coverups & Copouts

Remember when Police bought up all the copies they could, and ‘disappeared’ public library lending copies….

Nothing has changed. No-one is policing the Police.
This is the New old news….

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C L O S E ● T O ● H O M E

A 25-year-old woman says she filmed a police officer minutes before he attacked her.

### ODT Online Wed, 19 Jul 2017
Police assault allegation
By Rob Kidd
Police are investigating allegations an experienced Otago police officer subjected a woman to a vicious attack while he was off-duty. The 25-year-old complainant said she was at a fancy-dress birthday party on Saturday night when the alleged assault took place. She said the man, who was wearing a wig at the time, smashed her face into the bonnet of a car before dragging her down a driveway on her front. The pair had never previously met, she said. “He just lost it.” The Otago Daily Times has chosen not to identify the officer involved, the woman or the town where the alleged incident took place. A police spokesman said police were aware of a complaint about an off-duty officer early on Sunday. Police would not confirm whether the man remained at work.
Read more

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Speaking of cover-ups….

After reading the Otago Daily Times (page 3) yesterday, it was interesting to google the name *Kallam Croudis* —there’s a name for Conflicts of Interest, past and present.

NZ Police should sack Croudis. What a corrupting and observable liability—

Det Snr Sgt Kallum Croudis has been criticised over his handling of a case which resulted in a woman’s confession being thrown out by the court.

### ODT Online Mon, 17 Jul 2017
Judge critical of senior officer
By Rob Kidd
A senior Dunedin police officer has been slammed by the court over his involvement in a case in which he had a conflict of interest. Detective Senior Sergeant Kallum Croudis spoke to a suspect at least three times without being part of the investigation team. Judge Michael Crosbie also criticised the officer’s record-keeping and his “casual approach”, which resulted in police obtaining an unlawful confession from the woman regarding the death of a Dunedin man. In his judgement ruling the confession inadmissible [Judge Crosbie] noted Det Snr Sgt Croudis was a friend of the dead man’s father. Southern district commander Superintendent Paul Basham said the comments of the court would be taken very seriously and “the issues raised in the judgement are of concern”. A spokeswoman later confirmed police would not pursue the prosecution against the woman. […] At the May hearing, [Croudis] said he spoke to the female defendant at least three more times before she had a “voluntary” interview at the station.
Read more

Back when, the same, the same….
ONE BAD COP AMONGST MANY

### Stuff.co.nz 01:43, Jan 31 2009
Judge lambasts top cops in damning report
via Sunday Star-Times
The actions of some of the country’s highest-ranking police have been criticised in a damning Independent Police Conduct Authority report due out later today. The report – released after a two-year investigation – makes adverse comments about 10 Dunedin police, including four inspectors, a detective senior sergeant and two detective sergeants. Justice Lowell Goddard is understood to criticise police for their involvement in private investigations of ACC clients – and for how they handled their subsequent inquiries into complaints. The inquiry was launched after conflict of interest allegations that Peter Gibbons – a former Dunedin CIB head who became a private investigator working for ACC’s fraud unit – used his police constable son-in-law to improperly obtain search warrants and seize property from ACC clients. The clients alleged that when they complained, senior police – including three of Gibbons’ former CIB colleagues – failed to act. […] Gibbons, who was a detective senior sergeant in the CIB in the 1990s, supervised three of the police criticised in the Goddard report Detective Senior Sergeant Kallum Croudis, Detective Sergeant Malcolm Inglis and Detective Sergeant Brett Roberts. A previous internal police inquiry showed Croudis assigned Henderson ACC-related cases knowing about his conflict of interest as Gibbons’ son-in-law. Inglis and Roberts conducted the initial inquiries into Van Essen’s complaints. Croudis, Inglis and Roberts have been involved in both the original inquiry and reinvestigation of the David Bain mass murder case. Croudis arrested Bain in 1995.
Read more

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Peanut-brain danger man Jeremy Buis of Dunedin Police….

Stuff.co.nz Last updated 22:36, July 17 2017
Police officer convicted for harassing Dunedin businessman for years
By Jack Fletcher
Dunedin policeman Jeremy Buis was responsible for the more than two-year campaign of harassment of local businessman Daniel Pryde. Jeremy Fraser Buis, 39, was convicted on a raft of charges relating to the harassment of Daniel Pryde after a June 2012 parking dispute escalated. Suppression of his occupation was lifted in the High Court at Dunedin on Monday. [17 July 2017] …. In April, Buis was found guilty of criminal harassment, threatening to do grievous bodily harm and intentional damage. He was sentenced to 200 hours of community work and order to pay emotional harm reparation of $15,000. Buis’ name suppression was lifted on April 21, but his occupation remained suppressed until Monday.
Read more

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Southern Police have a dreadful history including participation in the crimes and events described in Coverups & Copouts, for which no prosecutions have issued. Few street-wise people in Dunedin trust the thin blue line to do their job. Is it any wonder Buis, Croudis and their ilk exist, and what of the off-duty police thug who attacked the 25-year-old female complainant on the weekend?

For these men, Louise Nicholas doesn’t exist.

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### ODT Online Wed, 19 July 2017
Integrity of police threatened
OPINION New Zealanders need to have faith in the police force, a belief that when bad things happen to them, someone will be on their side, helping to right a wrong. That faith has been sorely tested in past years when police officers themselves have decided they are above the law. At the extreme end of the spectrum, in the United States, there has been ongoing debate about the role of the police in the shootings of young black men, in particular. Now, a white Australian woman has been shot in a Minnesota alley after calling the police about a possible assault in the alley behind her home. Most New Zealanders will surmise those sorts of incidents will never happen in this country. But the line between upholding the law by men and women in uniform and them taking the law into their own hands is becoming increasingly blurred. This week, the Otago Daily Times has reported on two incidents which have shaken public confidence in the police to the core.
Read more

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[previously]

Comment by Elizabeth
2017/03/31 at 2:24 am

Calls for a Royal Commission of inquiry into historic child abuse have been rife these last weeks, inflaming social media and mainstream media (MSM) around New Zealand.

Bless their hearts, Lauda Finem, based offshore, banged out a post at their website yesterday that easily sums up the New Zealand ‘scene’. This is a must read.

LF’s introductory comments are provided here, with excerpts of relevance to Dunedin.

[begins]

March 30, 2017 1:14 am • Lauda Finem
Why Bill English & Nasty Nats find Child Abuse Royal Commissions Terrifying
For the past month or so Kiwi newspapers and other media outlets have been slowly publishing stories relating to the growing chorus of voices calling for a Royal Commission into historic child abuse.
The latest trigger seems to have been an open letter calling for the same, although, in our view, a very narrow, much less desirable version of the ‘Royal Commission Into The Institutional Responses to Historic Child Sexual Abuse’ that our Australian PM Julia Gillard was forced to initiate in 2013; which is only now beginning to release various stats and reports on some of the findings and the evidence that has been heard.
Bill English, the halfwit that National decided to replace John Key with, has of course avoided mentioning the apparent success of the Australian commission, noting only that it might come in handy for New Zealand’s state sector when it comes to lessons that might be learned.

[photo caption] Just how much sway has Police Commissioner Mike Bush had on a government that is clearly terrified of any inquiry

English is in fact completely out of touch with reality in almost everything he has said publicly on the subject; going so far as to claim that there is nothing to be gained or learned by New Zealand establishing a similar inquiry.
This is despite the success of the Australian model and the fact that both Ireland and the UK have also conducted national inquiries.
Not only is the National party Government determined NOT to hold such an inquiry, they are also, seemingly, equally determined not to even entertain the notion that the victims of historic child abuse, sexual, physical and emotional deserve an unreserved apology from the crown. They also deserve to see, where at all possible, their abusers convicted and serving prison sentences.
This fact alone should have every right thinking New Zealander appalled. More especially given the likely scale of the criminal offending, if the Australian Royal Commissions findings are anything to go by; there being absolutely no reason to believe that New Zealand’s statistics would be any different to those of Australia.
In fact, if one is to take the figures recently released by the Australian Commission, and then compare them with the suggested 1100 children that the Kiwis say have been sexually abused whilst in care historically, clearly, New Zealand has had a far more significant problem than Australia per capita.
In fact, New Zealand’s problem does not seem to have abated, the country is still in the grip of almost daily reports of contemporary offending; the only conclusion being that the problem is not only systemic but there may be continuing cultural or institutional causes for its existence.

Read more at http://www.laudafinem.org/2017/03/30/why-bill-english-nasty-nats-find-child-abuse-royal-commissions-terrifying/

● To view the open letter and petition go to http://www.neveragain.co.nz/

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[excerpts – Lauda Finem]

The first thing that has to be said is that those who have only just arrived at this cause are only calling for an inquiry into children in State care. This is significantly less than the Australian model which has left absolutely no rock un-turned in its pursuit of perpetrators, cover-ups and the truth.

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The beauty of the Australian model is that it has captured everything, the words “Institutional Response” powerful in who it captured. Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Religious orders, schools, Teachers; state and private, police, social workers, the scope has been enormous….and rewarding, if the sheer volume of the Commissions results are anything to go by.

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There is some anecdotal evidence that the New Zealand police have in fact been one of the primary reasons for the National Party Government, to date, being loathed to even consider a Royal Commission. First and foremost the absence of the religious organisations stands out like balls on a short haired dog. Second, the absence of the New Zealand police.

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Does Bill English seriously believe that New Zealand Govt agencies, including the country’s systemically corrupt police force will learn anything from the published results of the Australian Royal Commission? Does any New Zealand politician seriously believe that for one minute? If they do then they should be pointed in the direction of a clinical psychologist for evaluation and treatment.

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For both the New Zealand police and the country’s government it’s always been about harm minimisation, not for the unfortunate victims you understand, but rather for themselves.
Until recently, Police Association president for life, Greg O’Connor, was living breathing evidence that the New Zealand police force had gained absolutely nothing from either of the two Australian State crackdowns on police corruption. In fact, many of the gang rapes committed by New Zealand police remained concealed for years after both of those inquiries, some that we are aware of, indeed probably many more, remaining outside the public’s knowledge, the Police Commissioner and Prime Ministers dirty little secret.

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Just how many of these men and woman suffered serious abuse at the hands of paedophiles and psychopaths working for New Zealand Govt agencies, including its police force?

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In short, Bill English knows that once the scale of historic sexual physical and emotional harm to Kiwi children is known to the public the government will no longer be in control of the inquiry. Growing public anger will inevitably ensure that any Royal Commission gets what it needs, whether initially proposed and sanctioned or not, to aid in the job of ascertaining the enormous scale of the problem in New Zealand.

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Evidence of these police and Government cover-ups is to be found here on Lauda Finem, it’s also to be found in a variety other places, libraries and online.
The work of Kiwi investigative journo Ian Wishart, in particular a special investigation Wishart conducted over a two year period, culminating in his 2007 accusations of New Zealand Police involvement in organised child sexual exploitation rings in both Christchurch and Dunedin. Accusations that were never properly investigated by police or the IPCA for quite obvious reasons.
Police behaviour that was at the time of the offending known to John Jamieson, then Christchurch District Commander and subsequently, as Commissioner of police (1984 – 1994), a man who the Catholic Church, following Jamieson’s brief and unremarkable political career, hired with the obvious intention of insuring that all accusations of historic child sexual abuse were mustered smoothly out the back door, much to the Arch Bishop’s benefit.

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Prior to joining the Catholic Church John Jamieson, as Commissioner of Police, himself assisted in concealing, from the media and the public, allegations of rape, violence and corruption against serving police officers, one of whom escaped to South Africa with the aid of at least nine other serving Gisborne police officers.
In short, Bill English, without a shadow of a doubt, is fully cognisant of the scale of the historic problem in New Zealand, in particular the police involvement. He also likely knows that the scale of Historic child abuse in New Zealand is far greater than what has historically occurred in Australia, if only on a per capita basis.

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New Zealand police have in the past used all sorts of skulduggery in efforts to thwart official inquiries into their unlawful practices and conduct, including sexual and physical abuses.

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[photo caption] Two dirty cops: ex New Zealand police commissioners John Jamieson (L) and Howard Broad (R) Jamieson was certainly, without a shred of doubt, a master of the dark art of police corruption and cover-up

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Lauda Finem have in the past written extensively on the existence of these practices and a secret police network, comprising ex police, some turned corrupt private investigators and others turned corrupt politicians, from local bodies right up to New Zealand’s Parliament.

See: New Zealand Police, ODESSA and just how they look after their own

See: New Zealand’s most powerful political force is?

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We would also recommend that readers check out Ian Wishart’s article “To Serve and Protect”, also published in 2007, it’s an eye opener and gives readers some idea of what could be investigated had the New Zealand Government followed an identical path to that of the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

See: Ex police commissioner Howard Broad to head CYF inquiry

Like ex Commissioner Jamieson, Police Commissioner Howard Broad was implicated by Wishart in sordid events which had been exposed by ex Christchurch cop turned whistle-blower and author Tom Lewis.

[ends]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Quick references:

August 14, 2007
Ian Wishart: To Serve & Protect: June 07
http://www.investigatemagazine.co.nz/Investigate/13956/to-serve-protect-june-07/

Tom Lewis: Coverups & Copouts (Hodder Moa Beckett, 20 March 1998)
The book written by ex senior police officer Tom Lewis traverses the seedy side of Dunedin during the eighties, including the infamous ‘Dunedin Sex Ring’ case.

[promo]
“There have been police enquiries in New Zealand and there has even been the odd exposé but there has never been a book like Tom Lewis’ COVERUPS AND COPOUTS. His story will shock the average New Zealander and shake the New Zealand police to the very core. Not only does the former detective sergeant describe in methodical detail some of the worst coverups in NZ police history, but he punctuates his story in the most compelling fashion. Tom Lewis actually dares to name names. From commissioners to constables, the truncheon isn’t spared. This book will not have won Tom Lewis any friends in the New Zealand Police, but it will finally lay bare to New Zealanders what most had never thought possible of our Police:
* Christopher John Lewis – the truth behind the royal assassination attempt
* Ron Jorgensen – alive and well – and living in Australia
* Dunedin sex ring – why the police copped out
and much more.”

More on police officer Tom Lewis and the Dunedin Sex Ring:
http://www.presscouncil.org.nz/display_ruling.php?case_number=2015
Case Number: 2015 Tom and Teresa Lewis Against Otago Daily Times | Press Council Meeting December 2007

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Posts by the New Zealand Police Conduct Association (NZPCA):

July 27, 2014
INVESTIGATEMAGAZINE.TV publish allegations
http://nzpca.co.nz/investigatemagazine-tv-publish-allegations/

July 27, 2014
Tom Lewis
https://nzpca.co.nz/tom-lewis/

July 27, 2014
“Cover ups and Cop outs” the book
https://nzpca.co.nz/cover-ups-and-cop-outs-the-book/

August 1, 2014
Police respond to allegations and possible publication
https://nzpca.co.nz/police-respond-to-allegations-and-possible-publication/

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Other references:

http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2007/04/the_bazley_report.html

http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2007/05/pca_refuses_to_investigate_dunedin_police_claims.html

[ends]

—

Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

*Image: deviantart.net – Behind my eyelids are islands of violence by feebeelu

Ihaka Stokes case #Christchurch #NZ

A B U S E D ● M U R D E R E D

Toddler Ihaka Stokes was 14-months old when he died after suffering 59 injuries in the days leading up to his death on July 3, 2015

File photo [via Newshub]

30/03/2017
Newshub: Jury retires to make decision on Christchurch toddler murder trial
The jury in the trial of Troy Taylor, who is accused of murdering toddler Ihaka Stokes, has retired to consider their decision …. Taylor pleaded not guilty to assaulting Ihaka on July 2, 2015 and not guilty to the toddler’s murder. Throughout his trial in the High Court at Christchurch he has continued to plead his innocence. Ihaka’s mother, Mikala, was the only other person who was in the house that night, and the defence argues it was she who inflicted the fatal blows. Cont/

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At Facebook:

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Stuff News includes video segments:

Murder-accused Troy Taylor says his ‘conscience kicked in’ too late to save Ihaka Stokes’ life
Last updated 17:38, March 28 2017

Troy Taylor found guilty of murdering 14-month-old Ihaka Stokes
Last updated 18:45, March 30 2017

Father of murdered toddler Ihaka Stokes ‘pretty happy’ at Troy Taylor guilty verdict
Last updated 22:13, March 30 2017

Blood on the wall: How toddler murderer Troy Taylor tried to pretend he hadn’t killed Ihaka Stokes
Last updated 16:44, March 31 2017

Lead detective had ‘terrible dreams’ during Ihaka Stokes murder investigation
Last updated 19:37, March 31 2017

Mikala Stokes seemed younger than her 21 years in the witness stand.
Photo: Iain McGregor/Faifax NZ

Ihaka’s mother Mikala Stokes leaves the High Court at Christchurch.
Photo: Iain McGregor/Fairfax NZ

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Ihaka Stokes’ mother posted pictures on him online.

Fri, 31 Mar 2017
ODT: Mum goes clubbing after court
The mother of murdered Christchurch infant Ihaka Stokes went nightclubbing last night just hours after her ex-partner was found guilty of the boy’s brutal killing. Mikala Stokes (21) posted a photo on social media in the early hours of this morning. The selfie caption read: “From court to club”. Earlier in the evening, after Troy Taylor, the man who blamed her for killing her 14-month-old son at their Christchurch home in July 2015, was found guilty, Stokes posted photographs of her playing beer pong. One of Stokes’ friends on Snapchat, Julie Stechmann, screen-grabbed the nightclub photo, which was posted at about 1am. She told the Herald today that she thought it was strange behaviour. Cont/

—

At Twitter:

#Dunedin #NZ 'From Court to Club'
Ihaka Stokes Mum parties after guilty verdict https://t.co/GPuxg9dubW @whatifdunedin @IR_Tyler

— Media Man (@TheWarRoomNZ) March 31, 2017

@TheWarRoomNZ @whatifdunedin @IR_Tyler There is story to her life which I bet ain't pretty – that might explain but never excuse her behaviour – we need to change these stories

— Kim Murphy-Stewart (@Kawanatanga1) March 31, 2017

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Cameron Ellen, right, carries his son Ihaka Stokes’s coffin at his funeral in 2015. The 14-month-old was murdered by Troy Taylor (in purple, centre), the then partner of his mother Mikala Stokes (obscured, behind Ellen).
Photo: John Kirk-Anderson/Fairfax NZ

Mikala Stokes and Troy Taylor together at Ihaka’s funeral.
Photo: Fairfax NZ

—

At Twitter:

Why Bill English & Nasty Nats find Child Abuse Royal Commissions Terrifying https://t.co/Ows3x258I5 pic.twitter.com/yKgLVNW17t

— Lauda Finem (@Laudafinem) March 29, 2017

pic.twitter.com/uhZHd21zjB

— Malcolm Justice (@MPD_NZ) April 1, 2017

Related Posts and Comments:
28.3.17 New Zealand child abuse
20.12.15 NZ Police family violence campaign #WalkAway
25.8.15 State Care: history of brutal child abuse #NewZealand

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

New Zealand child abuse

At Twitter:

James endured four years of life — until he was stomped to death. All preventable, writes Jarrod Gilbert https://t.co/8lMQ2UBuz3

— nzherald (@nzherald) March 27, 2017

****

New Zealanders are more likely to be homicide victims in their first tender years than at any other time in their lives.

### NZ Herald 5:00 AM Tue, 28 Mar 2017
Jarrod Gilbert: We really must stop this cycle of child abuse
By Dr Jarrod Gilbert
Often when I’m doing research I dance a silly jig when I gleefully unearth a gem of information hitherto unknown or long forgotten. In studying the violent deaths of kids that doesn’t happen. There was no dance of joy when I discovered New Zealanders are more likely to be homicide victims in their first tender years than at any other time in their lives. But nothing numbs you like the photographs of dead children. Little bodies lying there limp with little hands and little fingers, covered in scratches and an array of bruises some dark black and some fading, looking as vulnerable dead as they were when they were alive. James Whakaruru’s misery ended when he was killed in 1999. He had endured four years of life and that was all he could take. He was hit with a small hammer, a jug cord and a vacuum cleaner hose. During one beating his mind was so confused he stared blankly ahead. His tormentor responded by poking him in the eyes. It was a stomping that eventually switched out his little light. It was a case that even the Mongrel Mob condemned, calling the cruelty “amongst the lowest of any act”.
Read more

• Dr Jarrod Gilbert is a sociologist at the University of Canterbury and the lead researcher at Independent Research Solutions. He is the author of Patched: The history of gangs in New Zealand and is currently writing a book on murder.

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Related Post and Comments:
20.12.15 NZ Police family violence campaign #WalkAway
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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

This post is offered in the public interest.

DCC acuity: ‘Let’s shift Octagon taxi ranks, Again —near dire drinking holes #whatswrongwiththispicture

[click to enlarge]
Octagon taxi rank [dunedin.govt.nz] – orange overlay by whatifdunedin (drinking holes / hospitality)

Dunedin City Council – Media Release
New trial site for evening taxi rank

This item was published on 22 Aug 2016

A new location for the evening taxi rank in the Octagon will be trialled for three months. From tomorrow, the evening taxi rank will move from outside the Municipal Chambers and Civic Centre to the central lane of the Octagon, where tour bus parking has been provided. The rank will operate from 7pm to 7am, Monday to Sunday. During the day time, the taxi rank will operate from the current location outside the Municipal Chambers and Civic Centre. Dunedin City Council Acting Group Manager Transport Richard Saunders says the covered walkway will provide shelter for people waiting for taxis. There will also be a sign to show where the taxi stand is and the area is monitored by CCTV.

“This proposal has been discussed with taxi companies, local businesses and the Police, and there is a lot of support for the trial. The trial site has several advantages over the current site and we expect it to be popular with the public too.” –Saunders

DCC staff have talked with the mobile traders who use that space during the day and the trial will not affect their use of the area. Mr Saunders says at the end of the trial, staff will discuss the results with taxi companies, the Police and local businesses before deciding whether to make it a permanent move.

Contact Richard Saunders, Acting Group Manager Transport on 03 477 4000.

DCC Link

█ 22.8.16 ODT: Taxi rank trial in Octagon

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Previously published comment (2.5.16):

C E N T R A L ● C I T Y ● V I O L E N C E

Mon, 2 May 2016
ODT: Stabbing: ‘What is this place coming to?’
The stabbing of a 21-year-old man in central Dunedin early yesterday has left the man who rushed to his aid questioning the state of his city. Detective Sergeant Chris Henderson said the victim was taken to Dunedin Hospital after being stabbed in the neck and back outside the The Bottle-O store on the corner of Princes St and Moray Pl about 3.30am.

****

DUNEDIN IS UP THERE (2015 statistics)

### newshub.co.nz Mon, 2 May 2016 at 4:45 p.m.
NZ’s most violent city spots revealed
By Lisa Owen
A Newshub investigation has revealed Auckland neighbourhoods dominate a leaderboard of the most violent city hot spots in the country. Statistics New Zealand has mapped 2015 police crime data, released to Newshub under the Official Information Act, to show the areas with the highest number of assaults, sexual assaults and robberies in public places. The crimes include anything from rape to being beaten up or being robbed of your cellphone at knife-point. Three of the five most violent city areas (precincts where there are more than 3000 residents) are in Auckland’s CBD. […] *By overlaying population data in the zones where crime has occurred, Statistics NZ has been able to work out the national average for incidents of public place violence. *Article uses 2015 statistics of victimisations by assault, sexual assault and robbery in public places.
Read more + VIDEO

█ Dunedin = No. 7 on New Zealand’s top ten most violent city hot spots
The only South Island hotspot, the area running north from the Octagon.
Newshub

█ For more, enter the term *octagon* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Election Year. This post is offered in the public interest.

Dunedin authorities blame SUNSHINE #tui

City Council BULLSHIT AND DARK DENIAL [stuff.co.nz – liquor-free zone]

Campus BULLSHIT AND SOLAR GAIN [newswire.co.nz – alcohol sales]

—

Received from Ralph Light
Tue, 18 Aug 2015 at 4:45 p.m.

Fine weather could to be blame for a spike in student disciplinary cases in February and March this year, University of Otago proctor Simon Thompson says. ODT 18.8.15

Let’s blame it on the weather then shall we?

Let’s not blame the students for their excessive drinking, after all isn’t it what Dunedin is renowned for and why they’re attracted here? In fact let’s not blame them for anything when they bring $829m into the city every year.

Let’s not blame the authorities for allowing Dunedin to become so disrespected with a sum like that at stake!

Let’s not blame our city bylaws for the proliferation of liquor outlets allowed to operate 16 hours a day back then (it’s now down to 12).

Let’s not blame the Government for not auditing the $1,000 ‘Course Related Fees’ loan, that magically appears in the bank accounts of many full-time students coincidentally over this period. Let’s not blame any student for ignoring it must be paid back – Not when there’s so much fun to be had.

Let’s not blame all the bars for the feeding frenzy that ensues at this time of the year to liberate the newbies of as much of their startup cash as possible. Let’s not blame these drug dealers for successfully arguing to stay open until 3-4am to remain viable, because times are so tough.

Let’s not blame the excessive drinking that’s sanctioned by Police, University, Polytechnic, City Council and St John at the Hyde St party for setting the benchmark for partying like it (only dangerously unsupervised) elsewhere in Dunedin for the rest of the year !

Let’s not blame drunk students for their lawless behaviour when they can rest easy knowing a next day apology will suffice, because “That’s the way we’d rather deal with it.” –Simon Pickford, DCC general manager services and development (Stuff 25.2.15)

Let’s be very clear not to blame the vast majority of Otago Students who study hard, never misbehave and say nothing, as those that do —including their own Student Executive (Critic 9.8.15) give them all a bad name.

Let’s blame the weather then. Damn you Sunshine! What are we in for next Summer?

[ends]

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█ For more, enter the terms *university*, *view street*, *sunday*, *harlene*, *alcohol*, *liquor*, *publicity*, *hyde*, *party*, *octagon mud* or *student* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Helen Clark’s statement on International Women’s Day 8.3.15

[InTheBlack.com]

Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ SSI (born 26.2.50) became the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme in April 2009, and is the first woman to lead the organization. She is also the Chair of the United Nations Development Group, a committee consisting of the heads of all UN funds, programmes and departments working on development issues. Prior to her appointment with UNDP, Helen Clark served for nine years as the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand (1999 – 2008). Throughout her tenure as Prime Minister, Helen Clark engaged widely in policy development and advocacy across the international, economic, social and cultural spheres. >> More

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Helen Clark: Statement on International Women’s Day
New York, New York

8 March 2015

This week, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which remains the world’s best blueprint for achieving gender equality and empowering women. The review of this visionary roadmap, adopted at the Fourth World Conference for Women in 1995, is an opportunity to celebrate the world’s progress toward ensuring the rights and opportunities of women and girls, and also to renew and reinvigorate commitments to achieve gender equality.

One of the great achievements of the Beijing Platform for Action was the clear recognition that women’s rights are human rights. Since that historic gathering in Beijing, when 17,000 participants and 30,000 activists gathered to voice and demonstrate their support for gender equality and women’s empowerment, there has been increasing recognition that gender equality, in addition to being a human right, is also critical to making development progress. If women and girls are not able to fully realize their rights and aspirations in all spheres of life, development will be impeded.

Twenty years on, we can see both progress and challenges in the twelve areas of critical concern laid out in the Beijing Platform for Action. Gender parity in primary education has been achieved, but completion rates and the quality of education are not high across all countries. More women have been elected to public office – about 21% of the world’s parliamentarians are women, up from about 11% in 1995 – but we are still far from parity. More women than ever before are participating in the work force, but women generally earn less than men and, in rich and poor countries alike, carry a disproportionate burden of unpaid care work which deprives them of time for valuable pursuits like earning money, gaining new skills, and participating in public life. And, while more laws exist to protect women from violence, sexual and gender-based violence continue to occur on every continent and in every country, often reaching horrific levels where there is war and conflict.

Fortunately, there is encouraging momentum not only to renew the promises of Beijing, but to address issues which were not in the spotlight in 1995, such as the need to ensure women’s participation in responding to climate change, building peace and security, and helping their countries recover from crises. These issues are central to UNDP’s efforts to help partner countries build resilience to sustain development results. By promoting gender equality and empowering women as agents of change and leaders in the development processes which shape their lives, UNDP envisages a more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient world.

Today is International Women’s Day, which this year is devoted to the theme, “Empower Women, Empower Humanity – Picture It!” Join me in supporting this call to fulfill the promises made in Beijing 20 years ago, and to realize a world in which every woman and girl has the opportunity to fulfill her potential and enjoy equal rights and status.

[ends] Link

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Leadership Strategy Business
█ Interview by InTheBlack.com (1.2.14): Helen Clark is UN-daunted by the need to change

█ Follow Helen Clark on Twitter @HelenClarkUNDP

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DVML: No harassment policy or complaints procedure II

Received from Bev Butler
Mon 21 Jul 2014 at 11:44 p.m.

Message: Just received the attached letter from Terry Davies, dated 17 July 2014.
There are still NO sexual harassment or complaints policies in place at DVML in spite of my letter to ODT at the end of last year alerting Sir John Hansen.
Sexual harassment has allegedly taken place, complaints were made against a senior manager of DVML and no action taken.
Why did Sir John Hansen not take this issue seriously enough to put these policies in place to protect the DVML staff?
[ends]

DVML Sexual harrassment and complaints policies (PDF, 458 KB)

Related Post and Comments:
20.12.13 DVML: No harassment policy or complaints procedure, really?

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Octagon mud

Council reaps us what it sows

It comes to pass that the CBD’s most-used symbolic gathering place, The Octagon, carrying a cluster of historic buildings, the city’s public art museum, our main performance theatre (Regent), a cinema multiplex under redevelopment, shop and office buildings, the Athenaeum building on the comeback through new stewardship, the impressive St Paul’s Cathedral, the stately Municipal Chambers and Town Hall complex, the seat of local government administration (Civic Centre), and a slightly down-at-heels landscaped wide open space at the junction of surveyor Charles Kettle’s two main arterial roads (Princes/George Streets and Stuart Street), also takes a bevy of drinking bars and night spots that make a strong contribution to central city nighttime violence, disorder, and lack of public safety.

The Craft Bar homicide and the connected serious assault investigations started last weekend point up the Dunedin City Council’s lack of urban design and planning vigilance in Health and Safety matters.

This tied to recent years of lobbying by the Octagon bar owners on licensing and trading hours and conditions, sometimes tied to hosting after-match wakes for Stadium sport and events (even although major events at the stadium are tapering, as predicted), unsupported youth, gang sqirmishes, under-resourced local police, and society’s access to cut-price alcohol and its liberal use (pre-loading and regular binging) alongside other substance abuse, means the Octagon is devolving into a hell-hole of collective making – not dissimilar to what happened at Cathedral Square in Christchurch before the quakes.

What will the city council do to mitigate the situation, and how soon can we restore the space to 24/7 safety for all? Is this even possible with the cluster of ‘intemperance’ bars and no push for building owners to move to greater diversity in mixed ground floor tenanting on the lower Octagon? One way or another “Party Central” has to fold – changing the pattern of ground tiles will not suffice.

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Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull speaks volumes when he says, at times, he does not feel comfortable near the Octagon.

ODT Editorial: Personal responsibility key (30.4.14)
Knowing Dunedin is one of the most statistically safest cities in New Zealand will bring no solace to the families involved in the tragic death of Ryan Court at the weekend. Read more

Related ODT stories:
30.4.14 Arrest after Octagon assault
30.4.14 Progress made in assault inquiry
29.4.14 ‘A good man’ mourned
29.4.14 Man hospitalised after Octagon assault
28.4.14 Bottle assault follows bar death
28.4.14 Names released after death at city bar
28.4.14 Arrest follows death at city bar
27.4.14 Man in custody over Octagon bar death

ODT ‘Booze Control: Stop and Think’ series:
Excessive drinking changes the way people act
30.1.14 Education fails, professor says
29.1.14 South’s alcohol statistics worst
28.1.14 Delicate balancing act over licensing
27.1.14 Still a ‘very safe community’
25.1.14 Time to clean up act over alcohol
25.1.14 The cold, naked truth about nightlife

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

DVML: No harassment policy or complaints procedure, really?

Supplied.
ODT 20.12.13 Letter to the editor (page 14)

█ [Scanned file missing from media library since before 20.1.14. Replaced 21.7.14. -Eds]

We recommend people read the information below and follow the weblinks.
Take action if you are experiencing bullying/harassment/sexual harassment at your workplace.
Verbal bullying in the workplace is recognised as violence.
Physical bullying is more obviously violence. Dry humping women is……

It is strongly recommended that affected persons take action.
DVML really needs to be an EEO employer.

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From the Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Trust website:

Harassment and bullying in the workplace
Workplace harassment and bullying is likely to affect staff morale, creativity and productivity, and create an unhealthy workplace culture. It can be subtle or overt, sporadic or sustained.

Harassment can be defined as any unwelcome comment, conduct or gesture that is insulting, intimidating, humiliating, malicious, degrading or offensive. It might be repeated or an isolated incident but it is so significant that it adversely affects someone’s performance, contribution or work environment. It can include physical, degrading or threatening behaviour, abuse of power, isolation, discrimination, sexual and/or racial harassment. Harassment is behaviour that is unwanted by the recipient even if the recipient does not tell the harasser that the behaviour is unwanted.

Bullying is ongoing unreasonable behaviour which is often intended to humiliate or undermine the recipient but is not specifically unlawful.

Download this document (PDF, 47 KB) >>

Read more at http://www.eeotrust.org.nz/toolkits/harassment.cfm

Headings include:
• Legislation and liability
• Effects of harassment and bullying
• Background: your current climate
• Steps to take
• For further support, advice and training
• Additionally, Bullying Resources

The Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO) Trust is a not-for-profit organisation tasked with providing EEO information and tools to employers and raising awareness of diversity issues in New Zealand workplaces.
The EEO Trust assists employers in introducing and managing proven EEO thinking and practices, encourages diversity by promoting the recruitment and development of people on the basis of merit and generates awareness of the business benefits and rewards of an inclusive workplace.
Based in Auckland, the EEO Trust works with employers around New Zealand providing the latest resources, ideas and information to support workplaces to achieve success through effectively managing diversity. The EEO Trust is resourced by fees from member organisations and Government contributions. It is governed by a Board of Trustees.

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NZ Human Rights Commission – Accessible HTML Document
Sexual harassment

What is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment is unwelcome or offensive sexual behaviour that is repeated or significant enough to have a harmful effect on you.

The Human Rights Act makes this unlawful when it occurs in:
● employment
● education
● or any other areas covered by the Human Rights Act.

For more information, contact the Human Rights Commission’s toll free InfoLine on 0800 496 877.

More information at:
http://www.hrc.co.nz/hrc_new/hrc/cms/files/documents/22-Mar-2010_12-42-50_Sexual_Harassment_ENGLISH.html

Headings include:
• Examples of sexual harassment
• Victimisation
• Why you should act
• Why sexual harassment is wrong
• What you can do about sexual harassment

If this doesn’t work, or is inappropriate, you can seek advice and assistance from:
• a sexual harassment contact person at work
• a manager or school counsellor
• the Human Rights Commission
• your union delegate or a lawyer
• a professional disciplinary group
• the police
• Employment Relations (if you have been harassed at work). Phone 0800 20 90 20.

Contact the Human Rights Commission

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Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MoBIE)
Labour Information (knowledgebase)

Sexual harassment in the workplace
What is the best way to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace?

Employers can help protect their workplace against sexual harassment by implementing an effective sexual harassment prevention programme and ensuring that staff are aware of the organisation’s policy and procedures relating to sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment may include:
An employer or employer’s representative making a request, directly or indirectly, of an employee for sexual intercourse, sexual contact, or other form of sexual activity that contains:
● an implied or overt promise of preferential treatment in that employee’s employment, or
● an implied or overt threat of detrimental treatment in that employee’s employment, or
● an implied or overt threat about the employee’s present or future employment status

An employer or employer’s representative using language (written or spoken), visual material or physical behaviour of a sexual nature:
● that is unwelcome or offensive to that employee (whether or not this is conveyed to the employer or representative), and
● that is either repeated or is so significant that it has a detrimental effect on the employee’s employment, job performance, or job satisfaction

If an employee believes they are being sexually harassed in the workplace, either by another employee or a customer, they need to raise it with their employer. They may decide to discuss the problem with the employer, either directly or through a representative such as a union representative.

If a sexual harassment complaint cannot be resolved through discussion with the employer, then mediation could be an option. Mediation is a service that is available to employers and employees to assist in the resolution of employment relations problems.

Alternatively, an employee may make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission. The Commission can offer dispute resolution services, which may include mediation. More information can be found on their website or by phoning 0800 496 877.

Read this information and other links at:
http://www.dol.govt.nz/workplace/knowledgebase/item/1355

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Take a look at HowTo Law’s website (NZ):
How to bring a sexual harassment claim against your employer

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr