New Zealand National Universal Periodic Review Report

9 April 2009

3.2.7. Right to Work and to Just and Favourable Conditions of Work

Good progress towards the full realisation of the right to work has been achieved in New Zealand.  There is legislation that recognises the rights of employers and employees in relation to pay, safe working conditions, employment protection and protection from discrimination.  Government initiatives support work-life balance, and family-friendly and flexible working arrangements.

Despite progress challenges do remain, particularly in the current economic climate:

Employment security is a key issue.  A national Job Summit was held in February 2009 bringing together many of New Zealand’s top business, Government, community and union leaders. The Summit presented many valuable ideas for preserving jobs through the current crisis and creating the best possible conditions for business to step up as economic conditions improve. Lead Ministers and ministerial groups are being established to take ideas forward.

A Women in Business Workshop was held in early 2009 to debate solutions, ideas and initiatives on how to deal with the challenging economic crisis, recognising that women are a vulnerable group in times of recession and unemployment.  The Government is also concerned about the impact redundancies and unemployment will have on women in terms of a likely increase in domestic violence.  The discussions held at the Workshop were fed into the national Job Summit.

Pacific peoples still face higher unemployment rates than other ethnic groups within New Zealand.  Pacific peoples are also likely to be worst affected through the economic crisis and this could have a detrimental impact on the level of remittances sent by Pacific peoples to their families in the Pacific region.  A separate Pacific Jobs Summit in February 2009 has identified a range of ideas to be considered by Government as part of its overall response to the Job Summit.  New Zealand and Australia are supporting a project to reduce the cost of remittances to the Pacific.

Despite age equality legislation, which has contributed to eliminating the most blatant forms of ageism, prejudices still remain influencing the appointment, retention and promotion of older workers.

Enduring stigma and discrimination against disabled people entering the labour market remains an issue.  The New Zealand Disability Strategy contains initiatives aimed at addressing this. 

Unemployment rates for youth remain higher than for people of other ages, and work is underway to address this through focussing on the importance of education and training for those aged sixteen and seventeen years.  Unemployment rates for Māori and Pacific youth remain well above the rate for other youth. 

Prostitution Law Reform

The Prostitution Reform Act 2003 decriminalises prostitution in New Zealand.  The Act is consistent with CRC and the ILO Convention 182, and creates a framework designed to safeguard the human rights of sex workers, protect them from exploitation, and promote their welfare and occupational health and safety, and to be conducive to public health.  The Act specifically prohibits persons under eighteen years of age being involved in prostitution. 

3.2.8. Right to Social Security and to an Adequate Standard of Living

New Zealand has a comprehensive social security system that provides care and protection to vulnerable children and young people; employment services, income support and superannuation services; funding to community service providers; and student allowances and loans for tertiary education.  top of page

New Zealand has a no-fault accident compensation scheme (known as ACC).  Individuals may make a claim under ACC if they experience physical injury, a mental injury related to a physical injury, mental injury arising from sexual assault or abuse and some work-related gradual process injuries.  People with injuries covered by ACC that are a result of the direct or vicarious actions of the State receive compensation, rehabilitation and financial assistance without having to make a court claim against the State.

The current global economic climate will create challenges for those most vulnerable groups in society such as children.  In August 2008 the Children’s Commissioner (in partnership with Barnados and JR McKenzie Trust) released a report on the negative consequences and levels of poverty for New Zealand children.[24]  The report identified the negative consequences of child poverty including impacts on health, education, future productivity and participation in society.

The Government is taking action to address the impact of the international economic crisis for New Zealanders and to ensure that New Zealand is well-placed to make a strong economic recovery.  A transitional relief package has been introduced to provide extra assistance to those that have recently been made redundant from full-time work.  Following the Job Summit held in late February 2009, the Government has offered to provide financial assistance to employers to encourage them to retain workers. 

Housing

The provision of adequate housing remains a challenge for New Zealand, especially in terms of affordability and habitability.  Vulnerable groups such as Māori and Pacific peoples are over-represented in rental and crowded housing.  This over-representation correlates closely with low income, poor health and lower educational achievement by children and young people.  The Housing New Zealand Corporation is responsible for providing housing services for people in need.  Over NZ$100 million will be spent on upgrading existing state homes, and $NZ20 million is to be spent on building new homes.  This will help ease pressure on Housing New Zealand’s waiting list for state rental accommodation and will improve the habitability of more than 18,000 homes.  Further policy initiatives and legislative changes will be introduced later this year to improve housing affordability.

3.2.9. Right to Health

New Zealand has a publicly funded health system.  In 2008/09, health is the second largest area of public spending at NZ$12 billion.  Although good progress has been made, the Government acknowledges that significant challenges remain in the availability and quality of health services. The disparities in health outcomes, including the suicide rate, remain unacceptably high for Māori and Pacific peoples.  Our youth suicide death rates remains high compared to OECD countries.[25]

Long-term conditions such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and tobacco-related conditions are the leading cause of ill health and early death in New Zealand.  These conditions disproportionately affect lower income earners and Māori and Pacific peoples account for nearly 80% of deaths. Although there have been significant decreases in the smoking rate over the last few years, smoking remains the single greatest preventable cause of premature death.

Workforce issues such as retention and recruitment are also of concern in the health sector.  There are areas of shortages of health professionals in specific fields such as midwifery and oncology, and also in rural areas. The Government will be introducing a voluntary bonding scheme offering student loan write-offs to graduate doctors, nurses and midwives who agree to work in communities and specialties where recruitment and retention issues exist.
 
Mental Health

The Mental Health Commission was established in 1996 to provide Government with advice on mental health and addiction services.  While the quality of mental health services has improved in New Zealand since de-institutionalisation, the provision of safe and recovery-oriented mental health environments remains a challenge, particularly in supporting Māori, Pacific peoples, and young people.  Concerns have also been raised as to the increase of repeat hospitalisation admission rates, the use of psychiatric practices such as electro-convulsive therapy, and the need for greater oversight of the implementation of the Mental Health Act.

3.2.10. Right to Education and to Participate in the Cultural Life of the Community

Every New Zealand child has the right to free primary and secondary education at a state school (unless the child is a foreign student or they are in New Zealand unlawfully).  Any child who is in New Zealand unlawfully, and whose parent or parents are also in New Zealand unlawfully but are attempting to regularise the family's immigration status, may be granted a Limited Purpose Permit in order to access publicly funded education.  When passed into law, the Immigration Bill will remove the legal barrier for children unlawfully in New Zealand to access free primary and secondary education.
The Government also provides funding to early childhood and tertiary education providers. Education is compulsory between the ages of six and sixteen years.  The core principles of the new national education curriculum, which will come into effect in February 2010, acknowledge the importance of human rights, the Treaty of Waitangi, cultural diversity and inclusion (being non-sexist, non-racist and non-discriminatory).
In recent years, the education outcomes for young people in New Zealand have improved.  The qualifications of school leavers have increased, but the system continues to under-perform for specific groups of learners such as children with disabilities and students from poor families.  Long-standing educational disparities remain for Māori.  The Government has recently begun work to establish national standards in literacy and numeracy, which will set expectations of what students should achieve and by when.  Key elements of this work include reporting students’ progress against standards to parents in plain language, and assisting students not meeting the standards.  To address truancy, the Government has provided extra support for schools and introduced fines for parents of truant children, with heavier fines for repeat offenders.

As noted earlier in the report, Māori are more likely to leave school with little or no formal attainment, and are over-represented among early school leavers.  Work is underway to investigate how to improve the educational achievement of Māori in mainstream secondary schools.  A professional development programme has been developed for teachers to address the specific needs of Māori students. Diversity of schooling is provided in certain areas by 73 Māori language immersion schools.  These are state schools in which Māori language, cultures and values predominate.  Other Māori education tools include a Māori version of the New Zealand curriculum, Māori tertiary institutions, Māori language immersion courses for practising teachers and Māori language immersion early childhood centres.
 
Disparities in educational attainment are emerging between males and females.  Young women are achieving higher levels of attainment in secondary education than young men, and are more likely to hold a tertiary qualification.  The Ministry of Education has established a reference group to address the lower level of achievement of boys.  Young Māori and Pacific women also have lower levels of attainment compared to European and Asian women and women from other ethnic groups.

Students with disabilities have the same right to attend a mainstream state school as any other child.  The education system provides communication, behavioural, physical support and early intervention services for students with special needs, including those with disabilities.  Depending on the need, special units, classrooms and schools are available, but these are still part of the general education system.  There are still challenges in this area, particularly in relation to improving access to these educational services for students with special needs.top of page

3.2.11. Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Treaty of Waitangi

In New Zealand, the Treaty of Waitangi has profound significance for human rights and for harmonious relations between Māori and non-Māori.  As noted by the NZHRC, there is a threefold challenge for New Zealand around the human rights dimensions of the Treaty and the rights of Māori: first, how to recognise and respect indigenous rights in a way that is fair to everyone in New Zealand; second, how to ensure the right of everyone to participate in society includes the right of Māori to participate in Māori society; and third, how to affirm for all people living in New Zealand the right to belong.[26]  These issues continue to be debated and there is a wide range of views in New Zealand society.  From the Government’s perspective the Treaty underpins Crown (Government)-Māori relationships.

The Waitangi Tribunal provides a forum for the hearing of historical and contemporary grievances regarding breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.  In 1975 Parliament passed the Treaty of Waitangi Act establishing the Waitangi Tribunal.  Under the Act, any Māori may take a claim to the Tribunal that he or she (or the group to which he or she belongs) has been prejudicially affected by any legislation, policy or practice of the Crown since 1840.  The Waitangi Tribunal is, therefore, a key avenue for resolving grievances arising from past injustices to Māori.  The Tribunal has the power to make recommendations to the Government on claims relating to the Treaty.  These recommendations are non-binding except in relation to particular assets, including forestry assets and other assets, owned or formerly owned by State Owned Enterprises and certain other state institutions.  Since 1975 the Tribunal has registered over 1500 claims, with another 1800-plus claims received prior to the September 2008 cut-off date for making historical Treaty claims.  The main means through which claims concerning historical breaches of the Treaty are settled is by direct negotiation with the Crown (Government).  This often occurs after the Waitangi Tribunal has issued a report on the grievance.  As noted during consultation with Māori, claimant capacity and resources are stretched in the settlement process.  The Government also faces pressures to maintain the momentum on the Treaty settlement process.  The Office of Treaty Settlements is responsible for negotiating settlements on behalf of the Government and oversees their implementation as well as managing properties for settlement purposes.  A Treaty settlement would usually include a Government apology as well as cultural, financial and commercial redress which would often include land.  Legislation is normally required to implement the settlement fully.

The Government and Māori are making progress in negotiating the settlement of claims.  As noted in the NZHRC’s latest race relations report, Treaty settlement agreements in 2008 resulted in agreement to transfer over NZ$400 million worth of assets to Māori claimant groups as well as an innovative form of redress over one of the country’s major waterways.  To date NZ$1.018 billion has been committed to final and comprehensive settlements and several part settlements.  Since 1990, twenty-six Treaty settlements have been completed, of which fourteen are comprehensive.  Treaty settlements cover 61% of the total land area of New Zealand, but approximately 80 % of this has been in the South Island to date.  Over twenty groups are currently in active negotiations with the Government.  As a result, the settlement process is helping to re-establish an economic base for future Māori development and Māori tribes to move forward in their regions.  While the Government recognises that the Treaty settlement process is important, it should not be seen as the primary focus or mechanism for encouraging the Treaty relationship in the future. 

Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004

The new Government is committed to reviewing the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, which vested ownership of the public foreshore and seabed in the Crown (Government), and provided a mechanism for recognition of customary interests in the public foreshore and seabed.  As noted by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people following his visit in 2005, many Māori and non-Māori disagreed with the Act.  In March 2009, the Government announced the establishment of an expert and independent Ministerial panel to investigate whether the Act effectively recognises and provides for customary and public interests in the coastal marine area.  The Ministerial panel will provide a written report to the Attorney-General by the end of June 2009 for the Government’s consideration.

An agreement under the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004 to recognise customary interests has been reached between the Crown (Government) and one Māori group.  The Crown (Government) has also been in negotiations with four other Māori groups and has reached non-binding agreements to reflect the various stages of negotiations.  These negotiations have been put on hold while the review of the Act is underway.

Māori Language Strategy and Broadcasting

The Māori Language Strategy is currently being reviewed to ensure that the progress made in revitalising the Māori language continues.  Key achievements include the establishment of the Community Based Language Initiatives programme and a contestable fund for one-off projects on Māori Language.  The Māori radio network continues to be supported and a Māori television service was launched in 2004, with a further channel in 2008.  Government surveys show significant gains in the health of the Māori language through increases in the number of Māori with some level of speaking and listening proficiency.  Attitudes towards the Māori language among Māori and non-Māori have become more positive.  The Government has just launched the Māori Curriculum Guidelines to help every English-medium school in New Zealand design and shape a curriculum that includes Māori language.

3.2.12. Migrants, Refugees and Asylum-Seekers

The Office of Ethnic Affairs (OEA), established in May 2001, is responsible for ensuring that the interests and views of ethnic groups are taken into account in Government policy.  The OEA supports initiatives to help migrant and refugee communities participate actively in New Zealand society.  It also provides specialist intercultural awareness and communication services to Government, communities and businesses.  The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs promotes the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of Pacific peoples in New Zealand. The Ministry contributes to achieving better outcomes for Pacific peoples in education.

In February 2002, the Government made a formal apology to Chinese New Zealanders for historical discrimination against Chinese settlers in the late 1800s, beginning the formal process of reconciliation between the Government and the Chinese community in New Zealand. 

Unfortunately, racism and racial discrimination continues to occur in New Zealand.  In 2008, the NZHRC received 407 complaints and enquiries involving race-related grounds out of a total of 1518 complaints and enquiries about unlawful discrimination.[27]

New Zealand is one of a limited number of countries that accepts for resettlement a quota of refugees referred by the UNHCR.  Currently the quota stands at 750 refugees per year with a sub-quota for women at risk and a medical/person with disabilities sub-quota. New Zealand does not forcibly repatriate persons granted refugee status when the conditions in their country are ‘normalised’.  Concerns have been raised around barriers that prevent refugees being accepted under the quota system, and also around the use of profiling techniques.

Although New Zealand has not ratified the ICRMW, the rights of migrant workers are protected under New Zealand domestic law.

While New Zealand immigration policy is mainly focussed on skilled migration, a key component is to provide immigration responses for migrants under a range of international human rights instruments including CAT and ICCPR.  The Minister of Immigration can also intervene where there is a specific case requiring discretion due to humanitarian circumstances.  New Zealand immigration policy is not nationality-based.

The Government has a settlement strategy for new migrants, which focuses on positive relationships with host communities, employment, English language ability, access to information and services, supportive social networks, safety, and participation to help the transition to living in New Zealand. In addition, the Settlement Support New Zealand initiative has been established in nineteen locations throughout the country as a clear point of contact for newcomers to access appropriate local information and referrals to responsive services.  English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is provided to school students, and an Adult ESOL Strategy was launched in May 2003. The OEA also manages Language Line, a free professional telephone interpreting service to enable people with limited or no English to access Government services.  The service operates in 39 languages.  Support services provided to spontaneous refugees awaiting decisions on their cases, and conditions surrounding the detention of asylum seekers in prisons have been raised as issues within New Zealand. top of page

Trafficking in Persons

On 19 July 2002, New Zealand ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its supplementary Protocols: the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Trafficking Protocol); and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air (Smuggling Protocol).  New Zealand is working closely with Asia-Pacific partners in the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and other forms of Transnational Crime to prevent people smuggling and trafficking.

New Zealand legislation prohibits trafficking and carries severe penalties.  New Zealand has also undertaken a number of initiatives to prevent trafficking from occurring, and to address any emerging or potential cases. In order to reinforce efforts already underway, the Department of Labour is leading an interagency working group to develop a Plan of Action to Prevent People Trafficking. This will be a comprehensive anti-trafficking framework to coordinate work across government agencies and NGOs.

3.2.13. Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism

In the wake of 9/11 and the Bali bombings, anti-terrorism measures were strengthened to meet international counter-terrorism obligations and to protect people in New Zealand.  A number of groups within New Zealand, including the NZHRC, have expressed concern that some of these measures do not adequately respect human rights or have been used inappropriately.  For example, the NZHRC received a number of reports about a New Zealand Police operation in October 2007 under the Arms and Terrorism Suppression Acts resulting in the arrest of individuals for the unlawful possession of firearms and other restricted weapons.  In particular, some Māori were concerned that distinctly Māori communities were the focus of the operation, although not all those that were arrested were Māori.  Three UN Special Rapporteurs also received a communication on this issue in late November 2007 which maintained that, among other things, the Police operation breached rights to liberty, privacy, and freedom from discrimination.

The Government responded to the communication in January 2008.  The Government response noted that the actions of the Police in the investigation are to be considered by several independent bodies and will also be scrutinised in court proceedings that have been made or may be made in future.  The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders thanked the New Zealand Government for its detailed response to the communication and requested that further information be provided upon the conclusion of the ongoing investigations.

Following a recommendation from the Solicitor-General, the New Zealand Law Commission (an independent organisation which reviews areas of the law that need updating, reforming or developing) is undertaking a review of existing legislation to ascertain whether amendments are needed to cover the conduct of individuals that creates risk to, or public concern about, the preservation of public safety and security.  The terms of reference for the review direct the Commission “to take into account the need to ensure an appropriate balance between the preservation of public safety and the security and maintenance of individual rights and freedoms”.  The Commission process is to undertake initial research and consultations then prepare an issues paper followed by a final report.

 

Back to index

top of page