November 2019 Over recent years I have heard a number of farmers ask: Who is ever going to buy my farm? With the level of farm profitability and debt, how could a family member ever succeed to this farm? There have been several articles in recent times that have recorded and commented on the fact… Read More.

November 2019 In the recent case of Chief Executive of the Ministry of Social Development v Broadbent [2019] NZCA 201, (2019) 5 NZTR 29-002, the Court of Appeal considered the following question: When making an assessment of whether or not a person should qualify for a Residential Care Subsidy, can the Chief Executive include any income… Read More.

November 2019 Diversity is generally defined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting and valuing the differences among people regarding age, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental disability, race, sexual orientation, and religious or political beliefs. Regardless, discrimination on any of those grounds would be unlawful under the Human Rights Act 1993. With the world’s increasing globalisation, interaction among… Read More.

November 2019 Many New Zealanders are involved with trusts in some way, whether as trustees or beneficiaries of family trusts or as volunteers with charitable trusts. However, despite the popularity of trusts, the law relating to trusts is often archaic and difficult to follow. Over the past decade, the Law Commission has led a review… Read More.

November 2019 The Farm Debt Mediation Bill (No 2) (‘the Bill’) has been introduced with the intention of establishing an equitable and efficient mediation scheme to resolve farm debt issues between farmers and secured creditors. The Bill would require secured creditors, which includes nonbank creditors, with security interests in farms to engage in a farm… Read More.