Strong Voices

Young Porirua people charged with offences no longer have to stand in the dock while lawyers and judges use language they can’t understand and make rules they are unable to follow.

For the past two years Porirua District Court has been trying a new approach for young offenders designed to make their first court appearance also their last court appearance.

This involves taking 18 to 25-year-olds out of the usual District Court and providing extra support to identify any health needs or disabilities they may have, adapting an approach used in the Youth Court.

The next time you are sitting behind a big rig on the highway, take a look at the tarpaulin covering its load. It might be a Kiwi Tarp, held together thanks to the hard work of Brittany and Anthony.

Brittany Hoyle from Maungaturoto, a small Northland town, has just landed a permanent job with Kiwi Tarp, a manufacturer of retractable truck tarpaulins. She started with the company on work
experience in 2020, and has become an essential part of the team, putting together hardware and bolt kits for the guys out on the road installing the truck tarpaulins.

Courtney Ratana has his first job at the age of 40. He started in January as a pool attendant at the Lido Aquatic Centre in Palmerston North.

He works there every Monday. “I have got a top and I have got a badge,” he says. Both are important to Courtney because they identify him as a member of the Lido team. He will be paid and there is every chance and every hope that his hours will increase.

No matter where you live in the country, you have some friends in high places in Wellington.

The team in the IHC Library on the 14th floor of a Willis Street building is ready to connect with anyone with a question about intellectual disability, autism or other developmental disability.

Until recently the librarians have been voices on a phone or names on an email. But lockdowns have brought them into the limelight of Facebook interviews.