
Closure Of North Shore Women's Centre A Huge Loss
Today's confirmed closure of the North Shore Women's Centre after losing government funding is a huge loss for women in Auckland.
'It's heartbreaking to see a centre which has done so much for women close following the Government's funding cuts,' Auckland issues and women's spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni said
'While Karen Chhour is busy accusing these frontline services of using Oranga Tamariki as a 'cash cow,' we continue to see just how out of touch she is as the consequences of her reckless choices become clear.
'As reports of concern about at-risk children surge, now is not the time to cut funding for prevention services.
'My thoughts are with our many frontline services in Tāmaki Makaurau which do an amazing job and are struggling to stay afloat as the Government takes their services backwards,' Carmel Sepuloni said.
'I want to acknowledge the Centre's incredible 38 years of service to the community and send my aroha to Tracy and her passionate team as they make this difficult decision,' North Shore-based MP, Shanan Halbert said
'Each year, the Centre has helped hundreds of women and children and I now worry about the huge gap left behind in the North Shore for those who need this safe space.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
Prime Minister Luxon, Peters to speak on US-Iran tensions as NZ sends plane to Middle East
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has yet to make his position on the US attacks on Iran known as it prepares to send a defence force plane to the Middle East. Yesterday, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said the Government was still assembling 'the facts' of the US attack on several Iranian nuclear sites before stating New Zealand's view. Luxon will speak on Newstalk ZB just after 7.37am when he calls in from Europe, where he is about to attend the Nato summit in the Hague. You can listen to the interview live from the below link: Earlier, Labour Party defence spokesman Peeni Henare, who supports the Defence Force deployment, called for the Government to declare the US bombings are in breach of international law. had carried out a 'very successful attack' on three Iran nuclear sites. Trump said the objective was to put a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's 'number one state sponsor of terror', and accused Iran of being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. He claimed there are 'many targets left', and if peace was not achieved, the US would target them with 'speed, precision and skill'. Speaking from the Whenuapai airbase yesterday alongside Defence Minister Judith Collins, Peters said a C-130J Hercules plane containing Defence Force and Foreign Affairs personnel would take off from Whenuapai today and would be based in the Middle East. The pair's statement didn't clarify where the Hercules would be based, nor the range of personnel travelling. It was expected to take several days to reach its destination. The deployment was intended to aid evacuation flights should the airspace around Iran and Israel become less restricted, which could take 'weeks', according to Peters. He noted discussions with commercial airlines were ongoing, but repeated his advice that Kiwis should leave the region if they could do so safely. All New Zealanders in the Middle East, not just in Iran and Israel, were urged to register on SafeTravel. New Zealanders in Iran and Israel needing urgent consular assistance should call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emergency consular call centre on +64 99 20 20 20. About 180 New Zealanders had registered as residing in either Israel or Iran, much higher than reported earlier this week. Peters said people were 'coming out of the woodwork' amid ongoing attacks.


Scoop
2 hours ago
- Scoop
New Zealand Announces Further Aid For Ukraine
Rt Hon Christopher Luxon Prime Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters Minister of Foreign Affairs Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have announced a new $16 million package of support for Ukraine ahead of this week's NATO Summit in the Hague. 'New Zealand stands in solidarity with Ukraine. Its war of self-defence is well into its fourth year and our condemnation of Russia's illegal full-scale invasion remains undiminished,' Mr Luxon says. New Zealand's will make $4 million contributions to two multi-national funds providing lethal and non-lethal military assistance for Ukraine: the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) fund; and the United Kingdom and Latvia-led Drone Coalition for Ukraine. 'The defence of Ukraine has significant implications not only for the security of the Euro-Atlantic, but also for the Indo-Pacific,' Mr Peters says. 'We must continue to work with others in the international community to uphold a rules-based order that serves all our interests.' New Zealand will also provide $7 million in further humanitarian assistance for conflict affected communities in Ukraine, and $1 million for Ukrainians displaced in neighbouring countries. 'The scale of need remains vast, as Russia continues its bombardment of densely populated civilian areas of Ukraine,' Mr Luxon says. This support package follows the recently announced sanctions targeting Russia's 'shadow fleet' and other enablers of Russia's war in Ukraine. 'It is vital the international community maintains pressure on Russia to end its war and engage meaningfully with efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,' Mr Peters says. More information about diplomatic, military, humanitarian and economic support to Ukraine, as well as sanctions, travel bans, and export controls against Russia, can be found on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website here. Notes: The Government has implemented the following actions in response to Russia's war against Ukraine: · Passed the historic Russia Sanctions Act under which we have implemented sanctions targeting: o Vladimir Putin and key members of his inner circle. o Senior leadership of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. o All 620 members of the Russian parliament (State Duma and Federation Council). o All Russian Ministers and Governors. o More than 400 entities including state-owned enterprises, entities that are part of Russia's military industrial complex, Donbas militia groups, and Belarusian defence entities. o More than 110 oligarchs and immediate family with close ties and influence with the Russian Government. o 20 financial institutions, including Russia's Central Bank o 7 Belarusian financial institutions. o 56 individuals and entities involved in disinformation and cyber-attacks on Ukraine. o 15 members of the Central Election Commission. o Almost 100 Russian-directed leaders in occupied Ukrainian regions. o The Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. o 23 Iranian individuals and 17 Iranian entities for supplying drones to Russia. o Individuals and entities involved in the supply of DPRK military materiel to Russia for use in Ukraine. · Banned all Russian and Belarusian Government and military aircraft and vessels from New Zealand. · Banned exports to Russian and Belarusian military and security forces. · Suspended bilateral Foreign Ministry Consultations with Russia. · Endorsed the UK-initiated Call to Action on the 'shadow fleet' engaged in sanctions circumvention by carrying Russian oil and gas. The Call to Action promotes compliance with international standards for maritime safety, environmental protection, and insurance. Trade measures · Implemented a 35% tariff on all Russian imports to New Zealand. · Banned the import of Russian gold into New Zealand. · Significantly expanded the export ban on Russia and Belarus to cover more industrial products of strategic importance (by adding more than 700 new prohibited tariff lines). · Banned the import of Russian oil, gas, and coal. · Banned the export of oil exploration and oil production goods to Russia. · Banned the import from and export to Russia of certain luxury goods. · Implemented the G7-plus oil price cap on Russian-origin oil. Other assistance to Ukraine · Since the full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, New Zealand has pledged over $168 million in financial assistance and in-kind support to Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion. That includes: o support for military training, equipment, and materiel valued at $110.3 million, including up to 100 NZDF personnel deployed to Europe. o $39.9 million in humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected Ukrainian communities in Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. o $6 million in support for recovery and reconstruction. o $5.2 million in support for international legal processes and human rights monitoring.


Newsroom
3 hours ago
- Newsroom
Cabinet frets over funding for Māori foreshore claims
Public funding for Māori claims to rights over areas of coastline could face further tightening, despite blunt cuts in 2024 being found to have seriously breached the Treaty of Waitangi. Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says the $13m set aside in this year's Budget followed a potential blowout a year ago to $30m – but a coming wave of court hearings and direct negotiations still presents problems for the Government. He has told MPs the Government is now 'turning our mind to the whole framework to see if there's a better way' to arrange financial support for resolving claims under the Marine and Coastal Areas (Takutai Moana) Act. The last cuts for 2024/25 put caps on funding, reduced claimants' lawyers maximum pay rates to those in the legal aid system and forced some to cover the work pro bono (for free) to keep hearings going. Cabinet refused the projected additional funding despite Goldsmith and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka recommending a further $19m to cover the claimant costs for that year. The Waitangi Tribunal found the way the funding limits were imposed last year breached the Treaty by insufficient consultation, prejudice to the cases before the courts and lacked analysis of legal or treaty implications. It said there are hundreds of court claims and also hundreds of bids for direct negotiations to come, but the direct negotiations had essentially never started and had little chance without funding. The cuts caused 'confusion and disruption to scheduled hearings.' The increase in costs should have been predictable for both past and present governments and officials because Māori had entered the legal process years ago, building cases towards High Court hearings. Preparing for and appearing in court cases was a higher cost than initial research and interlocutory phases. Those cases were starting to hit the courts as part of the normal progression of legal action. 'The escalation of hearings in the High Court is a natural consequence of the Crown's regime, the number of applications filed and the High Court fulfilling its judicial function of determining applications before it.' The $12m in applicant funding for 2024/25 was 'demonstrably insufficient'. Separately the Government introduced a bill in 2024 to amend the MACA Act to tighten criteria by which iwi, hapū and whānau can prove continuous, exclusive use under tikanga (custom) of coastline and waters since 1840. The amending bill would send unresolved court cases for Customary Marine Title (CMT) back to the High Court for re-hearing under its new provisions. In parallel, the Supreme Court set out alternative criteria in a November judgment which would also tighten possibilities of successful claims, and that has seen the Cabinet put the amending law on hold for seven months so it can decide which way to proceed. When Goldsmith appeared before Parliament's Māori affairs select committee as part of Scrutiny Week, MPs quizzed him on the Government's response to the Supreme Court decision, the fate of its amendment bill and its view on the Waitangi Tribunal criticism over the funding cuts. Green MP Steve Abel suggested the now stalled amendment bill would have worsened Goldsmith's budget problem over funding claims under the MACA Act because it would make Māori go back to court for repeated hearings, with a big double-up in costs. The minister answered: 'Based on the legislation we had introduced there was going to be a cost to potentially rehear elements of cases that were underway. The Government is still considering that. 'There's going to be an extra cost and we recognised that but our view was that those costs were justified.' He told Labour's Ginny Andersen the primary budget pressure point for the Government for agency Te Tari Whakatau (successor of Arawhiti – the Office of Crown Māori relations) was 'the payments for claimants for Takutai Moana. The demand is high and our ability to meet the demand is constrained.' Andersen asked if the cost blowout calculated in 2024 impacted the decisions the coalition took in pushing the MACA amendment bill. 'No, we felt the Court of Appeal had come up with a threshold materially different from what the Parliament had expected. 'The cost of the process we are going through at the moment is very high. The first step was to put some budgetary restraint around that as part of a much broader restraint government-wide.' The Waitangi Tribunal's findings on the cuts to the MACA Act funding scheme said 'the Crown does not suggest that the increase in costs incurred by applicant groups weren't actual or reasonable. 'When we consider the claims in this context, we acknowledge that this is an expensive regime. However it is the regime the Crown created. Māori have participated in the regime in good faith. 'The Crown accepts their costs have not been unreasonable. The Crown is concerned that its own regime costs more that it would like, a problem not caused by the applicants.' Despite this the $12m budget amount in 2024 was around 38 percent of what was projected for that financial year. 'Cabinet offered no reason for this decision. There is no evidence that Cabinet undertook a Treaty-compliant balancing exercise as part of this decision. 'This context highlights the serious nature of the [Treaty] breaches by the Crown. 'We find that the Crown has not acted reasonably or in good faith. It has not actively protected Māori interests in relation to this important taonga and not exercised good government.' The tribunal report said funding caps and lawyer rates could prejudice claimants by raising the risk senior counsel walked away from helping. 'We are extremely concerned at such a rudimentary approach being taken to applicant funding under the Act.' In another part of the report, tribunal members observe: 'The only inference we can draw is that this was a purely fiscal decision, but one made without any evidence that the additional funding would affect the economy, not any apparent consideration of how it would impact Māori rights and interests. 'This is not a Treaty-compliant balancing exercise,' the wrote, then concluding the Crown's decision 'breached the principles of partnership, good government, and active protection.' Tribunal members seemed perplexed at how the former Te Arawhiti officials had been unable to anticipate – even though it should have known in 2021 and 2022 – the surge in claimant costs as MACA Act claims moved to the court action phase. 'The Crown should have been on notice from this point that the High Court pathway was gathering momentum which would likely result in a significant increase in demand on the funding scheme.' The agency also had a significantly flawed modelling system to calculate how much would be needed each month, ignoring that some claimants would be involved in more than one case with overlapping Takutai Moana interests. The late identification of the problem had a significant impact, the report says, and the time pressure it put officials under in 2024 'was created by the Crown failing to properly identify earlier the growing pressure on the funding scheme.' The tribunal reiterated its concern over the lack of progress on the alternative Crown Engagement Pathway, in which 387 applications across 20 different coastline areas seek direct negotiations with ministers via Te Tari Whakatau. There has been no successful determination over the years and no chance now for applicants to seek financial assistance 'The Crown Engagement Pathway is effectively suspended at present.' It had advice for the Government for future funding decisions: 'When making decisions, the Crown cannot only consider fiscal matters. It must also consider, in good faith, Māori interests and the potential impacts of any decisions on Māori. 'Such decisions should not be made in isolation.'