News

The Government's new leaky home assistance scheme is due to go before the House soon for debate, but the select committee which considered it raised financial fears for victims. An amended version of the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (Financial Assistance Package) Amendment Bill is...

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The Government estimates that the cost of recovery in greater Christchurch will run to several billions of dollars. Yesterday, the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 (the "Act"), which sets out a framework for coordinating that recovery, came into force. Given the extensive...

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Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson has today welcomed a select committee report on the Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (Financial Assistance Package) Amendment Bill. “The Local Government and Environment Select Committee has done a comprehensive job of reviewing...

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The Serious Fraud Office has asked police bosses to lend experienced detectives to the white-collar-crime agency to help investigate big cases - with the police to pick up the bill. Howard Broad, when he was still Police Commissioner, agreed that up to 10 officers, to the rank of detective...

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Nearly 40 shops nationwide defied Easter trading laws to open during the long weekend. Most shops must remain closed on Good Friday and Easter Sunday or face a fine of up to $1000. Exemptions apply for convenience, souvenir and duty free stores, pharmacies and shops in premises where there are...

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Former Huljich Wealth Management director Peter Huljich is expected to be in court tomorrow to face allegations the company misled investors by misrepresenting the performance of its KiwiSaver scheme in offer documents. The Securities Commission laid charges against Huljich and the company in...

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All policies of collapsed Queenstown-based Western Pacific Insurance have been cancelled after the liquidators could not do anything with the business. The liquidators found they could not sell, transfer or reassign the business. That move follows uncertainty around giant AMI Insurance...

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ACC fraudsters have ripped off taxpayers by more than $10 million in the past five years. But investigators say catching them and stopping the frauds saved a further $119.6 million. Figures released to the Herald reveal 138 people have been successfully prosecuted for ACC fraud in the past...

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Mexico's antitrust agency has confirmed that it levied a 12 billion peso ($1.3 billion) fine against the Mexican cellphone subsidiary of tycoon Carlos Slim - the world's richest individual. The Federal Competition Commission said it found that Slim's Telcel business engages in "relative...

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Legal degrees are proving popular with prisoners and ex-convicts – but can they ever become solicitors? Like many students, Malcolm Sang, who is working towards a law degree, spends hours poring over his books. But when it comes to some aspects of his studies, the reality of what he's...

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Ebook fears may prompt publishers to repeat the draconian copyright crackdown of the 1990s You know it's a slow news day when the front page of a newspaper is a regurgitated press release from the Publishers Association. That must have been the case last week when the Metro brought us alarming...

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The Commerce Commission is seeking submissions on proposed changes to its methodology to calculate Telecom’s unbundled bitstream access (UBA) price, which is a regulated service under the Telecommunications Act 2001. The changes proposed in today’s draft determination are the...

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The Designs Amendment Regulations 2011, which amend the Designs Regulations 1954, take effect from 19 April 2011. What’s changing? The new regulations streamline the application and registration process and also bring the changes to the Designs Act 1954 made in the Designs Amendment Act...

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Has anyone noticed that "100 per cent pure New Zealand" has quietly been changed to "100 per cent pure you"? Having been hung out to dry over their impacts on the environment, the exploiters, including Federated Farmers, have successfully lobbied to lower environmental...

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The head of the United Nations agency tasked with preserving the world's cultural heritage today called for debate on the changing trends in book publishing and copyrights, saying new technologies are transforming the industry and having an impact on publishers, authors and readers....

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Since the Law Society's 2009 warning that the profession was oversubscribed student numbers have fallen, possibly too far The recession-hit legal profession has spent the past couple of years trying to deter wannabes from joining its swollen ranks. "We're not telling people not to be a...

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Jury found that the Barbie toymaker had stolen trade secrets from a smaller rival, MGA Entertainment A US jury has found in favour of the maker of Bratz dolls. Photograph: AP The Bratz dolls have beaten Barbie in a plastic cat fight of epic proportions. A US jury has found that Barbie...

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"A great story is like a well-crafted joke—deliciously brief, immediately memorable, eminently repeatable and virtually impossible to dismiss." —Kenneth Albers, actor and director Whether written or oral, stories are essential to virtually every part of...

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Justice Minister Simon Power today released a report on the part the Ministry of Justice played in the publication of names of some victims on the Judicial Decisions Online website. The report was compiled by John Marshall QC, immediate past-president of the Law Society. Mr Power asked for...

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The ICC prosecutor may have finished just one trial by the time his nine-year term ends next year Closing speeches in the first trial at the international criminal court (ICC) will be delivered at the end of August, the court announced this month. The verdict will presumably be reserved and...

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A judge has granted an injunction on the grounds that revelations of a couple's affair could harm the children involved Lord Justice Ward said the playground was a cruel place. That may be true, but is it enough to tip the balance in favour of an injunction? Photograph: Christopher Thomond...

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The Commerce Commission today filed discontinuances against PT Garuda Indonesia and six Air New Zealand executives as it continues to refine its air cargo cartel case leading up to the first hearing next month. “Discontinuing against these parties is part of the Commission’s...

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A $240,000 review of public prosecutions in New Zealand will look at how to streamline costs without compromising the quality of the service. One possibility would be to combine police, public agency and Crown prosecutors into one public prosecution service, an idea originally floated by a Law...

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The owners of several apartments in a luxury hotel complex on Auckland's North Shore have lost their battle to sue the old North Shore City Council in a multi-million dollar leaky building row. The Court of Appeal has upheld an appeal by the council which means the owners of three apartments...

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Should convicts have the right to vote? Should jails be privatised? Lord Woolf shares his views on the future of British prisons The first time I met Lord Woolf was 20 years ago when he was conducting his famous inquiry into the Strangeways prison riot and I was serving life for murder. My...

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The Human Rights Commission has called for the creation of a new independent commission to handle almost 1000 historic abuse claims against state agencies. Chief Human Rights Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan is backing a grassroots move by 73-year-old Hamilton grandmother Netta Christian, who was...

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The world favours the quick developer, even at the end. In his final commercial flourish, flamboyant Auckland developer Nigel Anthony McKenna got the last laugh, being one step ahead of everyone else in calling his own financial demise. The Beaumont Quarter and Westin developer took the...

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Proceedings have been dropped against six Air New Zealand executives by the Commerce Commission as part of an air cargo cartel case. The case continues against Air New Zealand itself. The commission said it filed the discontinuances yesterday, which also included against PT Garuda...

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Justice Minister Simon Power today announced a package of proposals to further enhance the rights and services provided to victims of crime. “Victims can find the criminal justice system bewildering and have expressed frustration and a sense of helplessness in the face of a system that...

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Commerce Minister Simon Power today announced Cabinet approval for the operating budget for the Financial Markets Authority, which begins operation on 1 May. The budget for 2011/12 will be $24 million, increasing to $28 million in 2013/14 to reflect the emphasis on market intelligence,...

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The Government is to undertake a review of New Zealand’s public prosecution services, the Attorney-General, the Minister of Justice, and the Minister of Police announced today. “The review will be comprehensive, examining the organisational structures, governance, and...

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Justice Minister Simon Power today released the terms of reference for the review of the Family Court. The Family Court is the second busiest court and last year dealt with 68,666 new applications. “The review will look at how a piecemeal approach to family law reform has impacted on...

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Minister of Consumer Affairs John Boscawen was today pleased to announce that the Consumer Law Reform Bill has been approved by Cabinet and will be tabled in Parliament for consideration when the House reconvenes early next month. "ACT and National in Government are committed to ensuring...

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Imagine a library of everything ever written. We could achieve it, but the copyright system is skewed toward corporate interests Scholars have long dreamed of a universal library containing everything that has ever been written. Then, in 2004, Google announced that it would begin digitally...

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The dating website match.com has been forced to begin checking its clients against criminal databases after being sued by a Californian woman who claimed to have been raped by a convicted sex attacker she met on the site. The management of match.com, whose almost two million members in the...

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The lengthy court battle between the Commerce Commission and Telecom shows the watchdog needs regulatory powers over ultra-fast broadband, say industry players. Telecom is appealing a High Court ruling and a $12 million penalty for anti-competitive wholesale pricing between 2001 and 2004 that...

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Telecom has been hit with a $12 million penalty - the highest in New Zealand history - for breaching the Commerce Act. The High Court's Justice Rodney Hansen said in his penalty judgment released yesterday that between 2001 and 2004 Telecom took advantage of its dominant market position to...

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The Aston Martin and Bentley have been swapped for a $5000 Nissan Safari and the luxury $10 million waterfront Auckland penthouse is now worth only $3 million, encumbered with a whopping $5 million mortgage. Property developer David Henderson has been hit financially but still appears drinking...

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An Auckland man has won his battle against ACC after a court found its specialist diagnosed degeneration without having looked at an MRI scan of the injury. Liangfang Lu, 48, was awarded about $5000 after Auckland District Court judge Martin Beattie found ACC wrongly suspended payments to him...

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A shake-up of the Family Court could end counselling and mediation services, introduce more user charges and restrict cases that can come before the court. Justice Minister Simon Power announced a review of the system yesterday, a week after he said legal aid in the Family Court would become...

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A timber processing company based in Rotorua was yesterday ordered to pay reparations of $10,000 after one of its employees was seriously injured because the machine he was working on wasn’t adequately guarded. Lakeland Timber Processors Limited was convicted of breaching the Health and...

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A United Nations review has found a large credibility gap between New Zealand's target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and the measures in place to achieve it. "It could find no plan for two-thirds or more of what is required to meet the target," said the Sustainability...

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A wide-ranging review is set to cut ballooning costs in the Family Court, Government has announced. Justice Minister Simon Power today released the terms of reference for the long awaited Family Court review. It would report on a broad range of fundamental issues, including the role of the...

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Long-running case against Canada's i4i which led to halt on sales of Word and Office comes to highest American court for decision on Monday afternoon A software patent case in which Microsoft was accused of wilfully infringing a patent on XML - and forced to suspend sales of Word and Office -...

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The Securities Commission intends to publish a revised edition of its AFA Adviser Business Statement Guide (the Guide) released in June 2010 (Draft Code Edition). This consultation on the revised edition of the Guide is relevant for all existing AFAs, businesses or QFEs that employ...

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Criminal court hearings resumed in central Christchurch yesterday for the first time since February's devastating earthquake. But with the main courts in the central city still out of action, the venue was the National Marae at Nga Hau e Wha. Amid breathtaking Maori carving and decorations,...

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The financial fate of struggling Auckland developer David Henderson hangs in the balance, after creditors voted for his repayment scheme yesterday. Bankruptcy proceedings before Associate Judge Doogue could go to the High Court at Auckland around 10am today but Daniel Grove, Henderson's...

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Property investor and Wellington Phoenix Football Club owner Terry Serepisos has until 9.45am today to save five of his companies from liquidation in the Wellington High Court. The Inland Revenue has sought the liquidation of Century City Football - which owns the Phoenix A-League...

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The Youth Justice Committee of the New Zealand Law Society says it strongly opposes any policy or law change which would connect Youth Justice to the legal aid system. Reacting to government announcements of widespread changes to legal aid, Committee Convenor Mike Gardam says Youth Advocates...

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Deceived: England football manager and spymaster Fraudster gained 49% of bank's shares for no cash The Serious Fraud Office is looking into an elaborate scam that took in the former England football manager Sven Göran-Eriksson, former spymaster Sir John Walker and...

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