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In the 05/21/2018 edition:

Deadline for End of Life Choice bill extended due to interest

May 21, 2018 11:23 am

NewsTalk ZB 21 May 2018
Family First Comment: Not written submissions – but oral submissions. 3,500 requests to do an oral submission 😊
www.protect.org.nz

A deadline for an assisted dying law change has been pushed back again because of a record level of interest.

Public hearings begin today on the End of Life Choice Bill, and so far 35,000 submissions have been received.

Justice Committee chair Raymond Huo said submissions were still being processed, but it was already believed to be a record number.

The last high-profile conscience issue, the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2012, attracted around 22,000 submissions.

The committee was initially given nine months to hear the submissions, an extension on the usual six months. It has now pushed the deadline back another three months, to March, to cope with the huge workload.

Select committees usually choose which submitters they want to hear from in person, but because of the significance of the legislation the Justice Committee has decided to hear from anyone who wants to make an oral submission.

So far, 3500 people have said they want to appear in person.

That means the eight-person committee will have to split into four sub-committees to hear them all in meetings around the country.
READ MORE: http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/politics/submissions-for-end-of-life-choice-bill-extended-due-to-interest/

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Progress on Watchdog For Oranga Tamariki Welcomed

May 21, 2018 11:03 am

Media Release 21 May 2018
Family First NZ is welcoming progress towards a fully independent watchdog for Oranga Tamariki.

In documents just released by the Ministry of Social Development, they have echoed the concerns previously raised by Family First NZ, saying, “Independent oversight contributes to building transparency, public trust and confidence… Where government has strong statutory powers – such as the power to apply to the Family Court to remove children and young people from their families, and to place them with caregivers or in care and protection residences – independent oversight is particularly important. It provides an additional safeguard to help ensure their wellbeing and safety is paramount.”

“We must have a mechanism that ensures two things – that families who have been notified to Oranga Tamariki as being at-risk are actually monitored in an appropriate way, but also to prevent abuse of families by the State. The success of any Complaints Authority will depend on its independence – it must have legislative independence, operational independence, the perception of independence, and advocate for both children and adults,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

”The MSD rightly recognises that other governmental organisations have independent watchdogs – the ERO, Health and Disability Commissioner, Independent Police Conduct Authority and Ombudsman. Both the Greens and NZ First support an independent agency with the Greens rightly saying that, “there is a lot of potential for things to go wrong in child protection, and just like the police, there really does need to be independent oversight.”

“It is difficult to understand why the politicians have been so apprehensive about independent accountability for an organisation that can make decisions to uplift children and potentially destroy families without even having to produce concrete evidence of abuse. At other times, CYF have not acted when there was clear evidence that they should have. Where do families turn when they believe CYF isn’t performing? There is an internal complaints process but virtually nobody trusts it, or knows about it, or uses it.”

In 2011, the Social Services Select Committee recommended that the Government investigate establishing an independent Complaints Authority for CYF. Another MSD report to the government in 2013 also endorsed the call for an independent CYF Complaints Authority, saying that a complaints authority is well overdue. The report said that there is, “no independent voice or agency of sufficient size and capability to speak for children and hold the system to account” and that a, “more accessible complaints system is required.”

A poll in 2011 found significant support (65%) for an independent watchdog for the then-named CYF (only 20% opposed).
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Legalising voluntary euthanasia a slippery slope: Geriatrician

May 21, 2018 10:52 am

NZ Herald 19 May 2018
Family First Comment: “The reason is not because I’m pig-headed or because I don’t have any empathy for those who are in difficult situations. We don’t need it; if you talk to the bulk of our palliative care positions they will tell you they can manage even the most difficult illness or disability.”
www.protect.org.nz

A retired professor with more than four decades of medical practice as a geriatrician and terminal care manager says he has grave concerns for the future if voluntary euthanasia is legalised.

Dr David Richmond, professor emeritus of geriatric medicine at the University of Auckland and founder of the HOPE Foundation for Research on Ageing, said he would never support medically assisted dying, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

“The reason is not because I’m pig-headed or because I don’t have any empathy for those who are in difficult situations.

“We don’t need it; if you talk to the bulk of our palliative care positions they will tell you they can manage even the most difficult illness or disability.”

Richmond said proponents were failing to take responsibility for the long term issues associated with medically assisted death.

“Although within the first year of legalising euthanasia it may be looked at as being okay with no problems, by the time you get to eight to 10 years out it begins to create the most horrendous problems, not only to the medical profession but society as a whole.”

His biggest concern was that doctors and nurses would become too relaxed about the due processes in place and end the lives of those who either didn’t want euthanasia or weren’t eligible.
READ MORE: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/hawkes-bay-today/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503462&objectid=12052785

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Adolescents Who View More Medical Marijuana Advertising Are More Likely to Use Marijuana, Have Positive Views About the Drug

May 21, 2018 10:32 am

Rand.org 17 May 2018
Family First Comment: This is why we should tread carefully with a regulated market for medicinal marijuana…
“Our findings suggest that increased exposure to medical marijuana advertising is associated with increased marijuana use and related negative consequences throughout adolescence. Thus, it is possible that teens who were exposed to the most medical marijuana advertising were more likely to use marijuana heavily and therefore experience more negative consequences.”
www.saynopetodope.nz

Adolescents who view more advertising for medical marijuana are more likely to use marijuana, express intentions to use the drug and have more-positive expectations about the substance, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

The findings—from a study that tracked adolescents’ viewing of medical marijuana ads over seven years—provides the best evidence to date that an increasing amount of advertising about marijuana may prompt young people to increase their use of the drug. The study was published by the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

“This work highlights the importance of considering regulations for marijuana advertising that would be similar to rules already in place to curb the promotion of tobacco and alcohol across the United States,” said Elizabeth D’Amico, the study’s lead author and a senior behavioral scientist at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

Researchers say the issue is of increasing importance because 29 states and Washington D.C. have approved sales of medical marijuana, and nine states and Washington D.C. also have approved recreational sales of the drug. Both actions are likely to lead to more marijuana advertising that will be visible to adolescents, even if they are not the target of the ads.

The RAND study followed 6,509 adolescents from 2010 until 2017 who were originally recruited from 16 middle schools in three school districts in Southern California, and went on to more than 200 high schools in the region. Participants were periodically surveyed to assess their exposure to medical marijuana advertising, and asked about marijuana use and related topics.
READ MORE: https://www.rand.org/news/press/2018/05/17.html

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