Democracy in action! MPs from all four major political parties putting their parties stand in front of the New Zealand public on April 27 at the Aurora Centre for Performing Arts. From left - Denis O'Rourke from NZ First, Megan Woods from Labour, Stuart Smith from National, and Kennedy Graham from Greens. Also on stage is350.org organiser Charles Drace. (picture credit: Elizabeth Guthrey)     

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In what can be termed as an excellent example of religious harmony in New Zealand, and more so, shining a bright light on India's age-old diverse traditions, last weekend, Keralites [those from the southern Indian state of Kerala, also called Malayalis] in Christchurch celebrated Easter, a Christian festival, and Vishu, a Hindu festival, together. First up on Saturday, April 22, was the celebration by the Kerala Cultural Forum (KCF), which was formed in 2009. This was followed by the event on April 23, hosted by the oldest Malayali organisation in the City – since 2005 - the Christchurch Kerala Association (CKA).  

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Police Commissioner Mike Bush on April 12, announced the numbers of new Police staff each district will get as part of the $388 million investment in Police announced by the Prime Minister in February 2017. The investment will see an increase of 880 sworn and 245 non-sworn staff over four years.  Sworn staff will be recruited over the next four years from July 2017, with approximately 220 new additional recruits added per year. The first phase includes the recruitment of 220 constabulary staff.  The first wing to include new recruits funded through the investment package, Wing 308, will start on July 10, 2017. These 80 recruits will graduate in October, 2017.

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The Lyttleton Summer festival went through the course of the February month and the first week and a half of March. In all, there were ten events that celebrated the artistic and diverse culture that Lyttleton had to offer. The festival took over half a year to organise. Interestingly, the event was organised through the Lyttleton Time Bank, which is used by the community to trade their skills, instead of dollars. Also, time credits are used as payments.  One of the event organisers Jill larking said, “It was great we could use the time bank because that meant we got community involvement and feedback through their members.”

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The Human Rights Commission’s That’s Us anti-racism campaign has reached almost 2 million people (1.9 million) and engaged with more than 600,000 people since its launch on the September 1, 2016.  That’s Us is New Zealand’s first nationwide, anti-racism campaign with its first stage focused on sharing the stories of everyday Kiwis.

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"Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse Trust (MSSAT) started in 1991 in Christchurch when a client asked his Counsellor how he could go about meetingother men who had experienced similar childhood trauma. Together they formed a support group and in 1997 members of that group registered MSSAT as a Charitable Trust. In recent years MSSAT has been instrumental in the establishment of MSSAT Auckland and MSSAT Waikato who both operate as independent Trusts but with the same principles and objectives of MSSAT. Support groups for male survivors, their parents and partners are held in Nelson and Wellington. All MSSAT organisations offer one to one, peer and group support for survivors and their significant others.  Group support and the validation from other men is very empowering for recovering survivors. As abuse usually takes place in isolation healing works well with others."

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The Parliament on March 15, passed Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Bill through its third reading, which will establish a new legal framework for the Whanganui River, Te Awa Tupua. It recognises the river as an indivisible and living whole from the mountains to the sea. Te Awa Tupua will have its own legal identity with all the corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a legal person.

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In conversation with Dame Susan Devoy, Race Relations Commissioner, and Rakesh Naidoo, her Strategic Advisor on race relations

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Mollie Howarth's involvement with CAB is almost a decade old; six years out of which, she has been the Christchurch manager of the organisation. Now, she heads a team of two part-timers, and 105 trained volunteers, all of whom team up to operate three branches and two satellites help desks across the city. “What we do can best be summarised as a personalised information help desk, which is open for anyone in New Zealand. You may be on a work visa, resident, citizen, or just a visitor, our trained volunteers are always at hand to provide the desired information to the best of their abilities,” she says.

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