Monday, September 9, 2013

Mental Wellness Guidebook for NZ Law Students

The New Zealand Law Students Association have written and compiled this booklet with assistance from an experienced mental health professional.

Seamus Woods, NZLSA President 2013, writes:
This Guidebook responds to the rising tide of mental wellness difficulties being perceived among New Zealand’s law students. These difficulties include not only clinical mental health issues such as depression but also things like stress and anxiety. This Guidebook aims to bring the importance of mental wellness to law students’ attention, and to equip them with information and tips to cope with their studies....
I commend this Guidebook to any university student, whether or not they struggle with stress or mental difficulties, whether or not they think they ever would, and indeed whether or not they even study law. Always look after yourself, look after your mates, and never be afraid to ask for help.

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Vulnerable Children Bill 150-1 (2013) introduced 3rd September.


The Explanatory Note reads:
This Bill is an omnibus Bill that is introduced under Standing Order 260(a) (dealing with an interrelated topic regarded as implementing a single broad policy). It will result in 2 new principal Acts: the Vulnerable Children Act and the Child Harm Prevention Orders Act. It also amends the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989 (the CYPF Act) and the KiwiSaver Act 2006 (the KiwiSaver Act).
The Bill forms part of a series of measures to protect and improve the well-being of vulnerable children (children who are at significant risk of harm to their well-being now and into the future as a consequence of the environment in which they are being raised and, in some cases, due to their own complex needs). These reforms were proposed in the White Paper for Vulnerable Children (the White Paper) and the Children’s Action Plan released in October 2012. The changes will also support the Government’s Better Public Services programme in the key result area of reducing the number of assaults on children.