The law is for your use.Use it.

On Monday in Waitakere District Court I received a discharge without conviction for possession of cannabis. I used a lawyer.
I noticed that there were a large number of people also in court the same day. Many had their children or families with them. The lawyers and the court staff were mostly dressed in a way distinct to those charged. Money for nice clothes, suits, high heels and dry cleaning opposed to jeans , trackies, hoodies and jandals.

Money clearly has to be at the root of offending. I felt overdressed in court and yet have used my previous experience to always be well presented before the judge. I cannot understand those who appear who don't, with the exception of those caught and appearing on remand. 
Money is also the problem when it comes to fixing the legal problems. I was able to access money and pay a $2000.00 retainer. I still owe that amount.
Money has brought me better justice perhaps?

Perhaps that although I have broken the law, I respect those enforcing it and the law itself, but am grateful  that the system the courts and the judge has allowed me to the opportunity to continue to challenge  it. 
I have been campaigning to legalise cannabis or at least decriminalise it to reduce harm for over a decade. 
I am a school teacher.
In 2003 I trained to become an alcohol and drug counsellor.
I was arrested with possession for supply but this charge was reduced to the lesser charge possession simplictor. The police agreed to drop the utensils charge.
I am a mother of three and a Grandmother.

I believe the reason I have been able to get a section 106 was due to my need to travel outside New Zealand. The reason for much of my travel is due to cannabis law reform and research to complete the Thesis of my Masters degree on cannabis use. I have been looking at examples of law reform internationally. I am grateful the her honour allowed me to continue.

During the course of my case I also breached my bail conditions and smoked cannabis and the police kept me overnight.

My legal counsel describes this as a "remarkable" result given the starting allegations being a possession for supply. Is it?

I thank the Police for dropping the charges.

As part of my research I am correlating the data of crime statistics in New Lynn and Henderson while the Daktory was open with a before and after study. The reason many States in America are poised to decriminalise cannabis is, due to the lowered alcohol use, when legal,safe, access to cannabis is available. 

The Daktory was sporadically open for over three years. During that time, I collected information and data, when it is finally processed, should show a similar result to other studies where legalised cannabis has been available. It is expected that this study will yield the same results and outcome as shown in other studies. Where there is cannabis legally available from a dispensary. is there a  drop in violent crime due to the drop in alcohol consumption? It would be good to discover.

So perhaps the time has come for us to respect and use the law , the way it is intended and utilise the section 106 discharge in all cannabis possession charges where travel outside this country would be affected. 

After all, If you don't ask, You don't get!
I also had to pay a donation to charity which is the same as being fined. If I was not able to pay the cash it is unlikely I would have been discharged. However I guess If I could not pay a $700 fine I could not afford to travel outside New Zealand. So justice for me, this time, because I could afford it. The first charitable fund I want to establish when it is legal is a free lawyer for all those convicted who can't afford one and a hefty donation from those who can. 

is Our PM a money man or an addicted gambler playing the pokies ?

I have been given a bit of thought to John Key  this morning on hearing that Solid Energy's dismal position of being $389 million in debt. When Don Elder resigned earlier this year the financial position of Solid Energy was not healthy and I considered the main reason must be in part due to the Pike River Disaster. I would think the person who also needs to have a closer look at the mining situation would be Phil Heatley minister of Energy.  Instead of keeping a close eye on the state of the companies that the government want to sell off ,  MP Heatley instead seems to be looking at off shore oil and possible fracking as future earners.Speculation or stupid gamble? Is it to steep a learning curve , too complex a portfolio or is Phil Heatley a bit of a gambler with our energy futures.

Know when to fold em, know when to roll them , in the Kenny Rogers song is close to how I feel as a citizen. I don't feel informed and I don't like what is happening.  I feel that there is either really bad communication or that The Government knew the figures were bad and the company would ultimately fail . If this is a company being prepared for public listing and sale it is a very poor contender.
Mercury energy is making a great profit and that company will be first sold seeing our power prices continue to rise as all profits leave our State ownership and return a dividend for those few, able to invest.

I wonder how long has the Government known about Solids Energy's financial collapse and how many more jobs have disappeared.
I am wondering if John Key isn't just in the death throes of financial wreck and ruin with our country yet being the professional money man he is , like a poker player he maintains the cool facade but never shows his hand. How many people have prospered under this Government? I have only heard of job losses and the odds against the ordinary person stacking up.

And like a all gamblers when the reversal of fortune occurs the losses get you to rock bottom fast.

Speaking of rock bottom reminds me of Christchurch who are commemorating the Two year anniversary of the Christchurch Earthquake. The lottery there is called insurance.Odds are you won't get paid out and if you get a pay out for repairs what happens if your house is in a no rebuild zone?

This is the situation in Christchurch . Luck and fortune clearly has not been on her side and neither it seems has the very powerful MP Mr Brownlee been able to solve the Insurance deadlock.

So the reason I am more than willing to apply the DSM1V to back up my diagnosis that our PM may be in the grip of a serious gambling addiction and that possibly he is so pathologically affected he has been spending a large amount of time at the Auckland Sky City Casino. I wonder is the reason he wants to Build the JOHN KEY Convention Centre is to allow him more time to cruise the VIP and High Rollers area at SKY City. I am told he has even proposed a plan to speed up other of his gambling high roller pals with new plane routes from China and fast track these special clients through customs.

The biggest gamble he has taken yet is with our education system in Christchurch and the tool he is using , the Hekia, seems to be the wrong blunt sort of instrument. Were it a horse race I would n't pick her even as a rank and I mean really rank outsider. Where is the community involvement that can decide the best outcome?

So with 20/20 hindsight and a complex join the dots picture I can look back at this Government and see how they had no money to play with at the start of the game and it has all been a big bluff. However, as now the hand has been called, and John Key will need to show his cards. I am wondering just what he will do next. I believe each of the portfolios in trouble  had an element of gambling involved. this Government was willing to spend money on oil and gas exploration a huge risk which failed and a huge clean up  of the RNA showed the possible impacts and as yet no new jobs. Bad punt.

The education gamble is a ruse to turn schools into profit making ventures in a mixed partnership model. Christchurch people are not wanting to be the guinea pigs of this type of venture .Children deserve the highest quality of education to succeed not a failed model.

The old "look over there , the beneficiaries are stealing the ..." won't fly

Mr Key as it is you who we look to for leadership and also values. You are the one currently in charge of the game and all the coin. When big companies like Mainzeal go crashing , and Fletchers have a monopoly and a whole town  is desperate for a rebuild why are there the delays two years on? Why are so many old national Party cronies involved in Directorships of bad businesses? Get rid of the ticket clipping Shipleys as they bring no value to companies and no real expertise When will the Government  step in and solve the insurance payout and the zoning that is affecting the payouts ? Why are not sufficient numbers of young people in training and in Christchurch working? Why is youth unemployment at an all time high when the crisis in Christchurch can reduce it?


It looks hokey to me.

Don't close any Christchurch Schools

While it may be easy for number crunchers to add up figures when the sole focus of the exercise is economic, its obvious Hekia Parata has been TOLD it's not feasible (read Profitable) to maintain or rebuild many of the schools in Christchurch  and that lumping them all into one great big school stacks up really well, on paper. Cash up -move on seems to be one strategy.

But if Hekia Parata and the MOE did a level more careful analysis they would find out that schools have other values than just monetary ones. What is the real value or benefit perhaps to a community?
As a former teacher in a rural areas and former Christchurch resident I am familiar with many of the schools facing imminent closure. I can safely say the local school is often the hub of the community.It is a meeting point, a hall for hire, possibly a school pool for the community to use, social contact, employment and performs the requirement all children have to go to school.

After the Earthquakes many schools roles grew to become Quake Relief Centres providing water and food and information. When daily school life resumed children were scared, traumatised and changed.School was a return to time before the earthquakes and for many school represented stability. Not just for the children but the teacher and parents too.

But for the children school was the chance to resume a normal life , and practise the coping skills required to navigate through our new changed life and regain confidence. It is also the opportunity to celebrate their own survival and resilience and growth in the face of continued adversity.

I don't know whether its callous or moronic or both  but, not to make every effort to maintain Christchurch's excellent history of education, in a familiar environment -seems pretty little  to ask really!

Putting profits before people !

Morning. Have I got a story to tell.
Putting profits before people is when the very people that support your business are ignored, overlooked or taken for granted. In some instance such as my story, the client does not rate at all. The business has become immune to its service responsibility and client obligations.
In over 30 years of working in retail and hospitality I have never had to resort to calling the police on a customer and yet today I was threatened with the police when I demanded some better service!

I purchased an online ticket for my daughter aged 12 to fly to Chch. It wasn't a super cheap seat but it was not a full price fare either.
We arrived in plenty of time to board only to be told that my daughter could not board her flight as she was an unaccompanied minor. Ummm show me that in writing?
At no time during the purchase nor on the printed ticket was any warning about unaccompanied minors.

I was able to purchase my ticket but not use it.
So I asked for an immediate refund to correct the error so I could choose another carrier.
I was told that a refund would be made available through the flight centre and to contact them.

But I booked online, take some responsibilty please.

These are your airline rules and yet you are NOT advising passengers until it is too late!
I then said if you will not fly my daughter , and you have already flown her twice already this year then refund my ticket now so I can purchase another ticket today. Why should I be penalised for your failure to notify!!!

I was expected to leave without a piece of paper even confirming my refund.
I got more than angry at this stage and said NO!
I am not leaving this counter without some sort of acknowledgment that my money will be returned immediately. I asked to see the manager and a young fair haired man appeared.

I said there is a solution to be had here but you won't even look for an answer to the existing problem.

He then told me to leave the counter. I said NO way! I am not leaving without some proof of purchase and a refund in writing. Otherwise it would be easy for you to say I was too late , missed my flight and too bad.

While I was holding up the line trying to get some service a woman with a child asked to check in. she was on the same flight and I said look here is the solution. "My daughter can travel with her and her daughter and then she is not alone."

But now the flight had closed and the woman and her child were asked to purchase new tickets for the next available flight. So now 3 customers got no service and no flight and all had to pay for another flight.

Once again the opportunity to help people get to their destination was not their concern. The people were treated badly and the only reason would be to ensure the airline makes its profit.
What sort of business sells and item that is unusable once purchased???
What sort of business fails to advertise the fact clearly that tickets purchased are worthless and that your flight plans are of no concern to us. We got ya money!

The manager refused to print out anything in writing or even give his last name. That doesn't seem right.

Finally I did get my letter and it stated that it would be taking two weeks before I got a refund.

We walked a short distance to another airline.
The man there was helpful and polite and we were able to buy a new ticket and get on a plane at the other carrier.

Wish I went to AIR NEW ZEALAND first and I promise. I will never book a flight or fly Jetstar ever ever AGAIN!!!

I am contacting Fair Go .

This Government lacks accountability not to mention Ethics!

I was listening to the radio this morning and they commented on something that has been noticeable in it's absence. Namely politicians and good leadership.
John Key leads the lack of accountability brigade with his flippant remarks or fudged replies. His careful covering of his own arse is about where his buck stops.

His second in command Bill English is hazy on how much asset sales are likely to recoup. In fact Bill's guesses are not much to go on. People generally expect a better plan for the economic recovery of their country.

There are no new jobs. None have been created and many job losses are still happening.
I am at a loss on how this improves our country.

When asked to comment on various issues that affect us, the voting public many National MPs are unavailable for comment.What do they get paid to do again? remind me?
 The education minister Hekia PARATA IS A incompetent and willful women who has never taught in a classroom . she wants to privatise education in Christchurch through stealth and partnership schools, Schools are Government run services to educate our population not produce a profit.

Profit is what the government seems to care about . In fact making a buck seems to be ALL this Government cares about. It is a trickle down effect but in this instance it's not money that is trickling down but bad attitudes.

We did not vote in people so they could extort our last dollars. We didn't vote in a Government who will decimate schools, and local councils to make a profit. If you don't believe me just look towards the Post Office.

Once the backbone of every small centre,The Post Office was the hub for both banking and mail services now a shell of the former glory, and the last stamp I brought was a piece of sticky paper with a franked stamp in ink on it. I guess stamp collecting is deemed obsolete too.

The Government has only one agenda for this country and it seems to be to wring out every last cent of profit  or sell it off. There is no leadership of confidence in building something for the state. The State is a dirty word under a National government. State houses, get rid of them. sell them off or demo them and build motorways. A State house was meant to provide security and a permanent home to those unable to afford a deposit on their own home. Now it feels like state housing is despised.

The number of MPs who won't front up for a radio interview is also astounding. Frankly lets make a bigger effort next year and remove this nasty vermin that call itself Government and get some real people who want to provide good governance and real ethical leadership.

What blows me away the most is the money spent on mistakes and errors that adds up to millions of dollars. There are people in New Zealand who are in court for offences of $10.00 shoplifting or half a gram of cannabis or a beneficiary claiming an extra few bucks..This people go on to be made criminals while those in posh offices are screwing up and screwing us over and getting a golden handshake as well.
That is criminal.

Orphanages and a new twist on Oliver

I am a mother , a teacher and a grandmother. I Like children, and I worry about them. I think that children are powerless in society and that when children grow up in dysfunctional homes they are often damaged in ways that can make them in turn not the best of parents. I am not saying anyone is a deliberate bad parent but that some have little understanding of the needs of an infant.

In my childhood I read a lot of books and stories about poor children who lived in orphanages. I guess after two world wars there were large numbers of children that lacked two parents or one fit parent . Grief and loss were accepted with a stoicism that is unseen in our young people today. The book Goodnight Mr Tom was a classic example of abuse and hunger and poverty after the second world war. Thousands of children were also evacuated to safety . Many out of England and to Canada or New Zealand and Australia.

The 60's changed the way the world thought about war and contraception and the me generation, X and Y and it's subsequent offspring, have a sense of entitlement, unheard of too.

 I see, little children in sad homes , hungry, neglected, poor and abused. How do we deal with it. Many blame. Some blame drugs and others race and inexperience. Is there help and adequet support and if you were 3 or 6 or 9 years old where would you go for help? Would you have somewhere to go for help? And would you? Children never tell on their parents, most think all parents are the same. Some are told not to tell or the consequences may be worse treatment!

In our "don't tell" culture, people are labeled narc if they report suspected child abuse. Famlies can conceal abuse and a code of silence surrounded the death of two babies in this country.  Do I have an answer? I am not sure, but I think that our model of keeping the family together although well intended overlooks the child and it's whole environment.

Why don't we take all the children who are at risk out of the dysfunctional families altogether? We know that families are often ALL part of the cycle of abuse. If Nana or Grandad beat mum or dad , I would figure that all the Aunties and Uncles have been treated the same way. Sexual abuse, violence, alcohol and drug problems are connected as is the family.

I wonder if large modern and State run Orphanages or residential homes for kids are needed to supply the stability and security that has been lacking in their lives. The parents are not excluded but the children who are deemed unsafe within their own family need a fresh start and deserve something better . Something a lot better than many of them have been used too. A good breakfast, a warm bed, a bath or shower and a clean and dry towel plus schooling is the most basic needs of a child. Yet many  are missing out. I know this seems against the grain , but maybe purpose built places for children where their own families can visit and learn how to be better parents, budget better, or reduce drug and alcohol use are what is needed.

In other words we value our children and as a country we are not going to allow them to be in cold unsafe and violent homes any more.  I am not suggesting this is going to happen to anyone not already familiar and part of the system already. but CyF's policy of placing children and paying people to care for them is unsatisfactory in my opinion for the young person. Too often they get moved from home to home or placement to placement. I have worked with a young person who had had 51 placements. This is a disservice to this young man who is unlikely to ever feel secure when he can be moved when things don't work out. I go so far as to call it a form of structural and institutional violence. The person being protected- is not.

For this reason I wonder if we need to actually invest real money in creating happy and safe environments  for our young children to grow up as wards of the state , together is a group where children are part of a group , and can form a new kind of family . Paid well qualified and trained staff work round the clock as house parents. I know that there have been problems with this arrangement in the past but I am sure we can do better.

Being heard and Drug Testing Beneficiaries...

On Friday I was able to present my oral submission to the Politicians about the Amendment proposed under the Social Security Act about Drug Testing Beneficiaries. I was given name suppression and the room was cleared because, (i don't really know) but I guess it was because I was disclosing my deep dark personal secret cannabis use.

I wrote a submission outlining my life story as a teacher and how it is difficult to be a law reform activist and remain employed. Also how being on a benefit and having a prior conviction can make employment next to impossible. I certainly feel like I am last choice. Which is a shame, as I have had over  a decade working alongside drug users, as a counsellor and two years working with youth at Odyssey House. I have a unique set of skills.

So when I went to present my submission I was pretty sure of the ground I stood on.
I thought it best to start by asking those on the panel, MPs from all Parties are part of the select committee three questions.
1. Have you ever been long term unemployed?

2. Have you ever been before a court?

3. Have you or your family ever smoked cannabis?

I must say I did not really get any answers.

One lady MP put her hand up for being unemployed I think.

I then said when there are no jobs and the number of being made redundant each week is growing there is a real problem.

I am afraid I did not know the name of the chair but he proudly held up his shiny new I pad and said there are 14,000 jobs on seek and I could get one easily. It may not fit my skills but that did not bother him.

I tried to explain that many people do not have internet or phones or many in Avondale, where I live are immigrants without the required language skills.
His reply was directed at me and that perhaps I should not be too choosy.

I said it does not make sense for me to go off and pick fruit when I am nearly finished a Masters degree in Public Health.
The word dolt! entered my mind when listening to this pompous prick with an I Pad tell me there are 17,000 jobs on seek.

I guess I can only hope that common sense prevails and this lot of DOLTs get voted out.

When you are creating the problem, (jobless) blaming them for being jobless does not bring about change.

What is needed is a proper structure in place to train young people and prepare them for real jobs. Not everyone is going to go to University and the cleaners,cooks and childcare workers are undervalued and underpaid.

To solve any problem I learned from Paolo Friere that you must be able to understand what the problem really is.
The point I wanted to make was why test beneficiaries for using drugs when there are no jobs. I have no issue with drug testing once a person has a contract for a job and that the job requires a level of alertness or safety that drug testing is justified.

It costs over $100.00 to test for substances in a body. Plus most substances, E, alcohol , P and LSD etc have been passed out leaving only cannabis remaining in the system for detection. why waste time and money  when the goal is to create employment and more REAL jobs.

Right now there is extra seasonal work , pre- Christmas but that is not going to last.
I hope they understood me, that it is a pointless exercise, and one that smacks of coercion and bullying to attack the weakest and most vulnerable when a real job at a real living wage is what is needed.