China Requests Additional Compensation For NZ Quake Victims

Stuff is reporting this morning that China has asked for additional compensation over and above the ACC payments that will be paid to the next of kin of Chinese citizens killed in the Christchurch earthquake.

Reporting on a RadioNZ interview, Stuff set the scene with with a comment that China has "demanded"  New Zealand give special compensation to families that lost their only child in the 22 February earthquake.

To-date seven deceased Chinese students have been identified and over twenty are still missing (source)
The report continued with

"... Chinese Ambassador Xu Jianguo had made repeated requests for extra compensation above that paid through Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC).
An embassy official coordinating the disaster relief centre, Cheng Lee, told Radio New Zealand that China's situation was unusual due to the fact that by law families there could only have one child per family.
"There is a very notable difference in terms of the family situation between the Chinese family members and other foreign family members," he said.
"You can expect how lonely, how desperate they are, not only from losing loved ones, but losing almost entirely their source of economic assistance after retirement." Read the full report HERE

We've written many times about New Zealand's ACC system - a no-fault state insurance organisation. The downside of which is that its provision removed a victim's (or their next of kin's) right to sue for loss or damage. Historically ACC payments aren't thought to be particularly generous.

Last week businessman, Yaxun Zhang, a member of the Henan Chamber of Commerce, donated $100,000 to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal after reading about the many Chinese people who'd lost loved ones in the disaster.


China, of course, is no stranger to the utter devastation and misery caused by earthquakes. In the May 12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake an estimated 80,000 people lost their lives, a terrible loss which multiplied through Chinese society in ways that the western world may not be aware of. In rural parts of China if you have no children you have no status.



And, because there is no one there to provide for you there is no financial security either. You can appreciate why China feels the loss of these children in New Zealand so very deeply and the impact it is having on some families.

No right to sue
New Zealand’s has a no-fault Accident Compensation Scheme. The Accident and Compensation Commission (ACC) administers a 24 hour, 7 day per week, no-fault, comprehensive accident insurance scheme covering New Zealanders and those people visiting New Zealand. In return for this cover, people do not have the right to sue for damages if another person, or organisation, is at fault.
No fault can also mean no responsibility.

We think it may be time to review the payments made to non-residents in New Zealand, many of whom come from wealthier countries with higher average earnings and standards of living. Or better still, give foreign nationals the right to opt out of ACC cover and give them (or their insurance companies) the legal right to sue for damages if they wish.

For more postings about the ACC click HERE
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NZ Poverty Not A Lifestyle Choice, Poor Families Can’t Even Afford Basics

 In February we wrote about John Key’s comments when asked about poverty and food banks in New Zealand, i.e. that beneficiaries who resort to food banks do so out of their own “poor choices” rather than because they cannot afford food.

This may be of interest to you if you are considering emigrating to New Zealand because its a great place to raise kids and you think that you can manage on the lower salary you are being offered. Or you may be living in New Zealand now and struggling to make ends meet and resent being told that its your fault for making’ poor lifestyle choices’

John Key said

“But it is also true that anyone on a benefit actually has a lifestyle choice. If one budgets properly, one can pay one’s bills. “And that is true because the bulk of New Zealanders on a benefit do actually pay for food, their rent and other things. Now some make poor choices and they don’t have money left.”

But rising food prices mean that New Zealand is a country where it is now cheaper to buy cola than milk and where obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Read the blog here 

Published research from the University of Auckland, which  shows that low income families in New Zealand can’t afford to buy basic nutritious food for their children, is now being used by the Child Poverty Action Group to call for more support for families in New Zealand. The results of poor nutrition is being seen in New Zealand’s hospitals every day.

It may surprise Mr Key to learn that The highest cost for families is rent, then electricity, transport and education. Its far more than not being able to budget properly, its about having money left after the basic essentials for life have been met to afford luxuries like healthy food.
From Voxy

Nutritious Food Too Costly For The Poorest Families

“Latest research from the University of Auckland supports recent claims that many low-income families are unable to afford even a basic nutritious diet for their children. A paper published in Nutrition and Dietetics in December 2010 found that low-income families may not be able to afford meals recommended by the national nutritional guidelines, especially if there are teenagers in the household whose meals cost a lot more.
In response to the findings Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) is calling on the Government to increase support for families so they are able to provide nutritious food to their children.
Professor Asher says, “In reality, rent is the highest cost faced by most families, closely followed by unavoidable expenses such as electricity, transport and school-related costs. This leaves little for a good diet, especially for older children who eat so much more.
Nutritious food for children is beyond the reach of many low-income families, especially those thousands of families ineligible for the full Working for Families package. This study clearly highlights that using food banks and purchasing cheap poor-quality food is not always a matter of choice. “
CPAG is calling on the Government to help all families better afford nutritious food by extending the In-Work Tax credit to all low-income families. The cost of basic food items have increased over the last year, exemplified by the rise in milk price – 9%. “We see the outcome of poor children’s nutrition in our hospitals every day. This problem can’t be solved just by budgeting, and will not go away through magical thinking.”
Spokesperson Professor Innes Asher i.asher@auckland.ac.nz 021492262″

Kiwi youth already suffer some of the worst health outcomes in the developed world. New Zealand’s young people have higher rates of mental illness, suicide, teen pregnancy and suffered more injuries than young people in other OECD countrie. (source)

“New Zealand’s children suffer not only a higher rate of hardship than other New Zealanders, but a greater share of New Zealand’s children face hardship than in many other countries. New Zealand’s older population faces a low rate of hardship relative to the other New Zealand age groups and relative to the same age groups in other countries. Having about one out of every five children facing hardship is a situation that must be improved.  The comparison to other countries shows that New Zealand is unusual in choosing to impose such a burden on the youngest segment of the population.” Source NZ Institute’s report NZ Ahead.

With regards to third world diseases NZ has 14 times the average OECD rate of rheumatic fever,  five to 10 times the rate of whooping cough and pneumonia compared with the United Kingdom and United States,  and four to six times the rate of child maltreatment compared with the best countries.

Household crowding is partly blamed for New Zealand having one of the highest rates of acute rheumatic fever (ARF) among children and teenagers in the developed world.The infectious disease, which can cause chronic rheumatic heart disease through damaged heart valves, is responsible for more than 120 deaths a year.

This is what Rahui Katene, MP for Te Tai Tonga had to say about how poverty is affecting children in New Zealand. No’ lifestyle choices’ here, just hard living in grinding poverty.

In 2010; 2000 more children were admitted to hospital with poverty-related illnesses than during 2007-08

What seems to have slipped below the radar is the fact that a crisis is occurring in our hospital admissions.
That’s the fact that medical conditions which occur more frequently for children living in poverty have been increasing over recent years – particularly for Maori and Pasifika children.  Or that close to 250,000 children are living in homes reliant on the benefit for income.
My colleague, Te Ururoa Flavell, last night spelt out some of the consequences of families living in severe or significant hardship.  Families who go without fruit and vegetables; who put up with the cold to save on heating costs; who delay going to the doctor of the dentist, or live in cramped conditions, who tell their children that the opportunity to go on a school trip or play sport is a privilege which they can ill afford.
Is this a nation fit for our tamariki?  We need to heed the research which shows us there can be a different life for our babies, if we make it a priority.
Last year I spoke at the launching in Dunedin of the New Zealand Children’s Social Health Monitor Report 2010.  That report revealed the inevitable, that economic recessions have affected children’s health in other countries. And we saw research indicating the close correlation between recessions and high hospitalisations in New Zealand.
However, it also reported on the experience of Sweden in the 1990s where, despite large numbers of children living in low income families, there were no significant increases in childhood hospitalisations for poverty-related illnesses.
I noted that in 2010; 2000 more children were admitted to hospital with poverty-related illnesses than during 2007-08.
We’re talking about admissions for respiratory problems, infectious diseases, and other conditions with links to poor housing and economic hardship –all diseases of poverty which could have been prevented if children were taken to see a doctor earlier.
The Prime Minister said yesterday, when talking about these very children – the children who suffer the consequences of long term dependency – that “the Government is not prepared to leave those people behind”.  That was welcome news for the Maori Party.
But statements are at risk of becoming platitudes without a plan in place.  Slogans and placards are great for the camera, but where is the strategy to put the words into action?…

She went on to call for seven simple solutions to support children, whanau and families:

• We will set a deadline to eliminate child poverty by 2020;

• We will designate an official poverty line at 60 percent of the median household disposable income after housing costs and set net income for those on benefits at this measure to prevent poverty.

• We will increase minimum wage to at least $15 an hour.

• We will raise core benefit levels, including superannuation, veteran’s pensions.

• We will simplify Working for Families including extending the ‘in-work’ payment to all families.

• We will investigate the reintroduction of a Universal Child Benefit ;

• We will establish a ‘Neighbourhood Renewal’ Fund, which may include incentives to encourage living more collectively, eg community gardens, afterschool care, post-natal support for parents.

You may also find interesting:

1. Our other blogs:
“NZ: 100% Pure Rip-Off” (July 2010)
NZ’s Poverty Gap – Fat Cats Feast Whilst Queues Form For Bread And Jam (July 2010)
Immigrants Caught In Cold Poverty Trap (July 2010)
Ministerial Credit Card Rort (June 2010)
Family Gets $200,000 Bill For House Fire (July 2010)
2. And these external sites:

Wealth gap divides nation
“ACCUSATIONS THAT New Zealand is one of the worst performers in the developed world when it comes to the income gap between rich and poor have been validated by a Sunday Star-Times survey.
Conducted by Horizon Research, it shows the burgeoning gap between the haves and have-nots is frothing over into resentment, anger and disillusionment….”

Key: Poverty is your fault
“John Key says if you’re having trouble getting by on your income it’s due to your ‘lifestyle choices‘. Key has given himself at least $23,000 in tax cuts and had a $7,500 rise on our borrowed money. He has the worst economic record of any PM in 80 years: 86,000 more jobless Kiwis and falling incomes. And this bastard blames Kiwi families for their poverty…”

Families feel the pinch
Palmerston North families, many of them in paid work, are reaching out to food banks and budgeting advisers in growing numbers as new year bills and price rises tip them into crisis… Salvation Army community ministries manager Kevin Richards said there was no doubt more people were finding it harder to feed their families. In January, it faced a 25 per cent increase in customers compared to January a year ago, with 40 to 50 new clients each month. “Most are people who have never used us before. It’s a huge growth in demand, and it continues to grow.”
As well as about 180 people needing food parcels each month, the number of people looking for assistance with clothing, bedding and household goods had doubled to about 200 in six months.
Some were in work, but 99 per cent were beneficiaries.

Banks face downgrade
“The big banks look set to lose their prized Aa2 credit ratings after ratings agency Moody’s Investment Services said it was considering a downgrade of them.
The big four banks ANZ National, Bank of New Zealand, ASB Bank and Westpac all hold Aa2 rating for their long-term senior unsecured debt and deposits…”

Petrol prices highest since 2008
“Petrol prices are on the rise again, hitting their highest level for more than two years.
Overnight the price of a litre of 91 octane petrol rose 3c to $2.02 and 95 octane rose to $2.11…”

New Zealand: Unite takes on minimum wage
“In New Zealand, 100,000 workers live on the minimum wage of NZ$12.50 per hour, which is just 51% of the average wage.
Unite’s “campaign for a living wage” calls for the minimum wage to be immediately raised to $15 per hour. Then, it would be further increased in stages and set at two thirds of the average wage. The union is organising a petition drive, aiming for 300,000 signatures calling for a citizen’s initiated referendum by May 2010. If this is achieved, the government would be required to call a referendum on the demands within a year…”

Kiwis discuss Key’s comments online
“I know of two people on the sickness benefit due to recent circumstances completely out of their control. One receives $180 a week. She pays $150 a week rent, which includes power in a tiny granny flat. $10 a week is allowed for her cell phone because she has medical emergencies, so she is left with 20 a week for food. The other of those people also receives temporary assistance which takes her total up to $300 a week…in order to cover the mortgage payment. In her case, the mortgage, rates and house insurance is…you guessed it, $298 a week. She has $2 a week to cover her food, power, phone. Budget that, if you can.”
“WE are fortunate to be sort of middle income and I have to say that over the last 18 months despite tax breaks and pay increases we are about $80 – $100 a week WORSE off than we were with all the increases. We pare things down to the bone. Rarely have special treats or outings.I am a good experienced cook and we cook from scratch. I can’t imagine how a beneficiary would cope these days. Edit to add also a lot of beneficiaries are not on unemployment benefit.. they may be on sickness etc and have extra costs for medical care …”

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Whilst the world’s media has been focusing on the rubble of the Christchurch CBD the story of the inhabitants of the eastern suburbs has gone largely untold and ignored.

For 50,000-100,000 people their lives have increasingly become those of refugees.
Please read this and help to put the message out that the Refugee City of Christchurch needs help NOW.

Source 2 March 2010
“…There are THREE cities in Christchurch right now, not one.
RESCUE CITY is inside the four main avenues, and it is cordoned off. That means almost all our knowledge of it comes from media, and man is it a honey-pot for them!
It’s given us understandably-incessant tales and images of injury, tragedy, loss, broken iconic buildings, heroism, sacrifice, leadership and gratifying international response. It’s extremely television-friendly.
My quake experience started there, but actually almost nobody lives in Rescue City. The resources and attention which are seemingly being poured into it right now are NOT addressing the most urgent post- quake needs of the population of Christchurch.
SHOWER CITY is any part of Christchurch where you can take a hot shower, because you have electricity and running water and mostly- working sewer lines. By latest estimates, that’s about 65% of the city — much of it out west.
In that part of Christchurch, tired people are getting on with life — though some may be wondering if they still have a job. And a few of them with energy and time to spare are wondering if they can do more to help the rest of the city.
The media naturally lives in Shower City, and they talk almost exclusively to the business leaders and the Rescue City leadership who also inhabit it.
REFUGEE CITY is the rest of Christchurch — mainly the eastern suburbs, though there are pockets elsewhere. It includes perhaps 50,000 to 100,000 people, though a more-mobile chunk of them may have self-evacuated by now.
Only half of those who remain in Refugee City have power, and almost NONE have running water. Many have been living on their own resources, and their neighbours’, for over a week now.
That means that batteries have run down, gas (if they had any to start with) has run out, other supplies are low or gone. Roads are often very bad – and a lot of those from the poorer suburbs have no transport anyway.
Their houses may or may not be intact. Their streets may be clear, broken, or full of silt. Or sewage. There are no showers. Or ways to wash clothes. Or to wash dishes. Or to heat the “must boil” water that is available — assuming they can make it to the nearest water truck, day after day. No refrigeration. No working toilets, and precious few portaloos.
No internet either, and often no phones. And their radio batteries are dead or dying. The papers – if you can get one – are rapidly dated, and usually far too general in their coverage. It really doesn’t help someone without a car in Aranui to know that Fisher and Paykel are providing free laundries in Kaiapoi!
All the above means the locals have few resources, little information, and no “voice” either. It’s remarkably hard to call talkback radio – or your local politician – or emergency services – when your landline is out and your cellphone battery is dead. Or when it maybe has JUST enough charge to stay on hold for 5 minutes – but not 20! – when calling the sole government helpline.
The media flies over, drives past and dips into Refugee City, usually at the main welfare or water points. But they don’t cover it that much. From my observations, the officials – those who are making decisions about the relief effort – seem to do likewise.
(We saw Opposition Leader Phil Goff the other day – he stopped for a photo op with the Army group who had paused briefly at the cordon. Not that he or they talked to any of the locals waiting amidst they dust they’d stirred up hoping for a nugget of information.)
Judging from the media coverage to date, the official response in this part of the city sounds reassuring – “Relief Centres” (if you can get to them — and if it hasn’t been relocated to Rangiora), a field hospital (ditto), Army (two drive-bys in the past week), “Operation Suburbs” teams (ditto; and this whole area is not even listed with them), increased police presence thanks to 300 loaned Australians (some sign of them, but not enough). And some worthy and welcome images of food and other supplies being distributed at marae and other central points.
IN THESE POWERLESS SUBURBS, THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE IS FAR FROM ENOUGH. Especially in terms of the fundamentals.
I come from a relatively well-off area – most of its folk were better prepared than average for something like this – good supplies of food, water, batteries, BBQs and the like.
But even here, by the weekend, many people were bailing — mainly because of lack of information about how to survive here any longer. Their only contact with officialdom was being pushed from pillar to post by often-unnecessary (and though they didn’t know it at the time, temporary) evacuations, conducted by police who were doing their best, but who themselves were overworked and under-informed. Such actions considerably eroded local confidence, especially when there was also no clear information about when power or water would return locally.
My personal, local response to that situation can be seen at http://webcentre.co.nz/quake.htm – NOT the web page itself, but the physical noticeboard and printed newsletters and, especially, the local volunteers and extensive human contact and moral support which it represents.
Basically, we started making stone soup, and our neighbours and fellow citizens contributed the other ingredients. And for this suburb — though not for everyone in it — the acute phase has now passed, because more than half of us at least have electricity now. THANK YOU ORION.
But all that was ONLY possible because our family had the personal security, skills, communication equipment, stationery (pens, paper, cards, bulldog clips, noticeboard), chutzpah and, above all, electricity — “borrowed” from a cellsite generator — to make it happen. And also a couple of family members outside the city willing to be gofers for information and key supplies.
HOW MANY PEOPLE IN THE EASTERN SUBURBS HAVE ALL THAT?
You might think that there are Civil Defence or Red Cross or Army people who are doing all this as part of their role — helping people to stay in their homes by providing the essential information and (where necessary) key supplies they need to do it safely. My direct observations over the past week suggests otherwise – especially away from officialdom’s chosen central points. They are simply overwhelmed by the nature and extent of the crisis, and tired and understaffed to boot!
So this is a call to action.
== If you are local:
* FIND OUT WHERE THERE IS STILL NO WATER and (especially) NO POWER. These are places where the acute post-earthquake phase is still happening, right now, and will go on happening until they have those servies. Where people are under the most stress, and where the risk of gastro-related illness and other major problems is inevitably going to be the highest.
* Take them batteries, clean drinking water, bulk washing water, bottled drinks, milk, camp-stove gas cartridges, face masks, transistor radios, alcohol hand cleaners, wet wipes, fresh fruit, dry and canned food (not frozen — unless you plan to hand it directly to someone at their house. If you ARE going to do that, take bags of ice too).
* Ignore the few main distribution centres – people who can get there easily WILL get help, as will those with good transport of their own – - provided they have cash to spare. Instead, look for smaller water points or obvious drop-off/drop-in sites. I can’t help you find these, and nor can “officialdom” — just drive to an affected area with a carload, and ask some locals. If there’s one happening already, they will know! And even if you end up putting it on an obvious street corner with a “please take one” sign, it would do Good.
* Rinse and repeat. Until all these suburbs have (especially) power and reliable transport, the need will NOT go away.
== If you live further afield:
It gets trickier. I have personally met people who drove from Timaru, Oamaru, Akaroa and the West Coast with supplies, and boy were they welcome! But in my view, the best thing to do is to find someone local who you know and trust, and who is willing to act, and send them money so they can do the above. Their time + your money = immediate help.
If you are thinking along normal lines, you’ll feel that the best thing to do is to donate to a government appeal, or the Red Cross, or the Salvation Army. Know that they are focused on the most needy cases, but they are far from omniscient. And their efforts are noticeably understaffed (and their staff are getting weary too – they often live in the same suburbs that most need help).
Help them with donations by all means (http://www.redcross.org.nz – every dollar is spent on relief, no admin). And volunteer if you are local. But the direct response outlined above WILL have a more immediate effect on many, many people who need help today.
== REGARDLESS of where you live:
Please do something to help the media to change their script. Lost lives and broken buildings do matter, and so does our nation’s economic future. But there is potential for much more stress and suffering in the hidden Refugee City if we fail to help where help is needed, right now.
So call talkback, post on Facebook and Twitter, email radio stations, hassle the Press, TV and any politicos you know — until the focus shifts away from Rescue City a little.
Put the message out! [I'd give you contacts for all the above -- and many others nationally and internationally -- but almost every one of you reading this has better bandwidth than me today, so go look them up!]
The acute phase will pass for these suburbs once power, adequate transport and running water (or good access to drinkable water) is commonplace in each of them. But that’s not today and — for some — it will be weeks away.
That’s it. There is a real, immediate problem, and the solution is not an easy one. But there ARE things that you can do, if you are willing.

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