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SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Workplace internet porn watching leads to dismissal of company employee

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Storeman viewed “graphic and objectionable” porn to ‘take his mind off demanding work’.

Looking at internet porn at work earned a man the sack, despite his excuse that he did it only to take his mind off his demanding job.

Reginald Hiha was dismissed in August 2011 from his position as storeman at Mico Bathrooms in Mt Maunganui after being caught looking at pornography.

Employment Relations Authority member Anna Fitzgibbon said Mr Hiha explained he would look at the material to “take his mind off work, which he was finding demanding”.

He said he would have been embarrassed if anyone knew of the sites he was viewing so he took care other staff would not see.

But despite his attempts at secrecy, Mr Hiha was spotted by a female staff member while he was looking at the pornographic images, and she complained to branch manager Malcolm Peden.

After investigating Mr Hiha’s internet history, the company called him to a meeting to discuss the issue.

Mr Hiha admitted he had accessed the internet to view pornography regularly during a three-month period before his dismissal, but did not agree that this constituted a serious breach of the company’s policy.

He told Mr Peden the material was only pictures with the occasional video and was “not harsh and . . . only people”.

After disciplinary proceedings and a further meeting, a decision was made to dismiss Mr Hiha.

For more see: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/7824708/Storeman-viewed-porn-to-take-his-mind-off-work

Support for Gay Marriage Drops In Latest Poll

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In its Media Release issued today Family First NZ says that a Research NZ poll shows that support for same-sex marriage has dropped to less than 50%, down 11% from a similar poll in 2011. 

“Only 49% of the 500 respondents said that they were in favour of same sex couples being allowed to marry. This is down from 60% in a July 2011 poll by the same research company,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

“Earlier polling of 1,000 NZ’ers through independent research company Curia Market Research found greater support for maintaining the definition of marriage as a man and a woman. All this suggests that there is still debate to be had on this issue.”

“What Research NZ didn’t ask – and could have – was whether NZ’ers felt that the availability of Civil Unions dealt with the issue of same-sex couples who wanted their relationship legally recognised. Some respondents who answered yes to same-sex marriage may believe that this option is sufficient without redefining marriage.”

“It is perfectly possible to support traditional marriage, while also recognising and respecting the rights of others. There is absolutely no need to redefine marriage to provide legal recognition and protection for committed same-sex relationships. In 2004, the government introduced Civil Unions and changed over 150 pieces of legislation to achieve this very thing.” 

“In the US, polls have also shown support for same-sex marriage increasing, yet in 32 states where the issue has been on the ballet, voters have rejected it. Experts have said that the phrasing of the question can determine the outcome of the poll,” says Mr McCoskrie.

“Gays and lesbians have a right to form meaningful relationships – they just don’t have a right to redefine marriage. The state – which did not invent marriage – has no authority to re-invent it.”

2012 poll:

http://www.researchnz.com/pdf/Media%20Releases/RNZ%20Media%20Release%20-%20Same%20sex%20marriage.pdf

2011 poll:

http://www.researchnz.com/pdf/Media%20Releases/RNZ%20Media%20Release%20-%202011-07-12%20Same%20sex%20marriages.pdf

ENDS

Gangs force sex trade on underage girls

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Underage Maori and Pacific Island sex workers are caught up in illegal prostitution in Auckland, the head of a prostitute support service says.

Debbie Baker, from Streetreach, which encourages women to leave prostitution, told Police News that 14 to 16-year-old girls were being pushed into prostitution by gangs to pay off debts.

They were so scared of the gangs they would never admit the connection to police, she said.

Baker gave examples of one girl who was forced to have sex at Black Power pads around the country to pay off drug debts, and another who was taken from Tauranga to Auckland to work in a brothel.

The girl was locked in a room and Baker said she never saw any of the money for the whole time she worked there.

It was very difficult for police to uncover the gang’s influence because girls were too scared to acknowledge it.

“This fear is often far stronger than the fear they feel for police or other government agencies, as they are often threatened or stood-over, making it even harder for police and other authorities to prove what’s going on,” Baker said.

Acting area commander for Manurewa Inspector Richard Wilkie said police in South Auckland were doing all they could to address the problem of underage prostitution.

There were regular stings of popular hangouts like Northcrest and Hunter’s Corner and as a result he said they were picking up fewer people than in previous months.

Wilkie said police intelligence suggested gangs were the main force behind the illegal trade.

“You can see so-and-so is connected to Black Power, King Cobras, etc, but you will never get them to admit it. However, we know that most prostitutes have either a gang connection or are whanau based, which, on average, is gang orientated anyway,” he said.

The Prostitution Law Review Committee estimated in 2004 that approximately 200 young people under the age of 18 were working as prostitutes.

People trafficking legislation is currently under Government review.

Source:

Gangs force sex trade on underage girls. By Rob Kidd

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7657305/Gangs-force-sex-trade-on-underage-girls

Why directors of failed firms can dodge bans

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One. That’s the number of directors banned from running a company last year by the Registrar of Companies.

Under the Companies Act, the registrar can choose to ban directors when companies fail as a result, even partly, of mismanagement, but insolvency practitioners question whether the system is working.

In the last 9 years, the registrar has banned 185 directors from overseeing firms, running at an average of 20 a year, but in 2011 the wheels fell off when Bridgecorp chairman Bruce Davidson appealed to the High Court against a ban the registrar was planning to impose.

The High Court upheld the ban, and banning orders have started to flow out of the registrar’s office again, but liquidators believe the system lets too many directors preside over multiple company failures. They say the system is ad hoc because of a lack of funding and “bureaucratic failure”.

They claim the Companies Office is under-resourced, as is the Official Assignee, which handles many liquidations. Further, creditors don’t seek bans often enough or fund liquidators to investigate company mismanagement.

Even the Inland Revenue Department, which was the petitioning creditor in 4713 liquidations in 2008, 2009, and 2010 of firms owing $816 million in tax, says it does not have a system to seek banning orders in cases of mismanagement.

Liquidator Robert Walker says liquidators are supposed to report to the registrar breaches of director duties, but few do so.

“There’s no point in reporting to a black hole. It just gets sucked in and disappears,” he says.

If they do report and the registrar tries to act, he says, it will simply produce a massive pushback by directors, who have a right to fight the bans.

“All directors would be writing in saying ‘No, no, no’.” It would be a deluge of calls for reviews. [the Companies Office] would be absolutely swamped.”

His solution is to charge more for company registrations to help pay for liquidators to seek bans through the courts.

Staples Rodway’s Gareth Hoole blames funding for the low numbers of bans. “Where it falls down is that the National Enforcement Unit just doesn’t have the funding.”

The Davidson appeal looks likely to exacerbate that. As a result of that decision, the Business, Innovation and Employment Ministry, which operates the Companies Office, says the registrar reviewed all director-prohibition cases to ensure they were compliant with the court process. In a significant proportion of cases, it was

necessary to gather further information about the failed firms and give the director the chance “to review and respond to this information before the registrar could proceed”.

While the Companies Act places the onus on directors of failed companies to satisfy the registrar that they should not be banned, the ministry says case law requires the registrar to undertake some investigation, such as identifying company mismanagement or director misconduct.

A director has no requirement to notify the registrar of previous failed companies when registering as a director of a newly incorporated company.

Bans of up to five years by the registrar, which were brought in after the 1987 sharemarket crash, are not meant to be punitive, but to protect our system of commerce and creditors from people unfit to carry out the role. The ministry stresses it does not seek to stifle innovation by banning entrepreneurs whose companies fail in the ordinary course of trading.

Ralph Chivers, chief executive of the Institute of Directors, says: “The vast majority of directors in New Zealand take their roles very seriously, are appropriately skilled and do a good job. Like any other profession that involves a position of trust and authority, it is important to have a robust system through which directors can be sanctioned. This is not only important to ensure those who have behaved criminally or negligently are sanctioned but it is also important for public confidence and the reputation of the profession.”

He says the system works “but there is room for improvement”. The various organisations that are part of the system need to be resourced appropriately and have good communication “to ensure the right information gets to the right places”. The institute, he adds, is pleased with some of the new sanctions brought in, including the ability to impose lifetime bans.

“There have been a number of recent improvements in the process for sanctioning directors who have been negligent or deliberately misled investors. The introduction of the FMA in May 2011 has led to a greater focus on compliance and ensuring the most serious offenders are prosecuted – something we think they have been doing very well.”

Chapman Tripp’s Ross Pennington says the country needs to focus more on growth than on negative perceptions that there were gaps in the law.

He points out the current system of penalties is working, resulting in jail sentences for wrongdoers. “For every dollop of retribution, let’s have a dollop of go-forward as well,” he says.

Source: Story by Rob Stock

Fairfax NZ News. Published 09/09/12

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/7639682/Why-directors-of-failed-firms-can-dodge-bans

Fidelity in marriage an issue for gay men – NZ Herald article by lecturer and author – Laurie Guy

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All you need is love. That is the theme song of pro-same-sex marriage proponents. It is the slogan of Louisa Wall, author of the same-sex marriage bill. If two gay people love each other and want to “marry”, why don’t we allow this? But is love enough?

In answering that question, we need to be aware of two other questions: what is marriage? And why is the state involved? The latter question is crucial, because the core issue is one of affirmation, not rights – rights can be dealt with by specific legislation without amending the Marriage Act and upsetting lots of people.

Apart from conveying rights, marriage provides affirmation that the state/society encourages this relationship as a good thing. A crucial question is whether gay relationships are such a good thing as to be endorsed by society as “marriage”.

We should look at the issue of social endorsement through four lenses: love, commitment, health, and society’s interests.

Let’s begin with love. What is “love”? The word covers a raft of sometimes contrary meanings, from sexual desire centred on “my” self-gratification, to heroic self-giving for another. Both heterosexual and same-sex unions may well pass (or fail) this test. The love issue does not debar same-sex marriages.

However, love alone is not enough. It can be fleeting and transient. If marriage is to be serious and not trivial, it needs longevity, buttressed by commitment and faithfulness.

What of gay commitment and faithfulness? Long-term lesbian relationships on average may well be as committed and faithful as that of an average married heterosexual couple. The problem is the gay men.

Some male gay couples are as committed and faithful as typical married heterosexuals. Survey evidence, however, indicates that these are very much a minority.

Significant data on male homosexual behaviour is available through New Zealand Medical Journal articles and the New Zealand Aids Foundation website. The Aids Foundation and the Aids Epidemiology Group at the University of Otago have conducted biennial surveys, the Auckland Gay Periodic Sex Surveys, for the past decade.

The 2010 results covered the sexual behaviour of 1527 gay men in 2008. On the commitment side, the survey indicates that the most common number of sexual partners for gay men over the previous six months was two to five. Just 38.8 per cent of those surveyed had a partner of more than six months’ standing (i.e. relationships with some level of commitment).

However, 52 per cent of these men had also had sex in that period (six months) with other partners. So despite the rhetoric of love and commitment, most male gay couples are not in a genuinely monogamous relationship. Should the meaning of “marriage” be broadened under such circumstances?

There is also the health issue. Male-to-male coupling typically has far greater health risks (because of high levels of anal sex). Both with casual and with “boyfriend” sex the percentage engaging in anal sex is over 80 per cent. Anal sex is never fully safe. Although condoms reduce the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (including HIV/Aids) by around 85-90 per cent, risk remains (because of user misuse or product failure).

Risk is far greater without condom protection. Although 98 per cent of those surveyed knew that anal sex without a condom is very high risk for HIV transmission, 73 per cent did not use a condom at least once in the past six months (the figure for casual sex was 31 per cent).

The result is high levels of sexually transmitted infections amongst gay men. Over 60 per cent of new infectious syphilis cases are gay men. This category also has high rates of gonorrhoea and hepatitis. And 76 per cent of all new HIV diagnoses in 2000-2009 were gay men.

Can we affirm male gay relationships to the level of “marriage”, given the data on faithfulness and health? One can argue change on the basis of “me”, “my rights” and “choice”. But the debate is also about the good of society.

What society needs are stable, faithful, healthy relationships. Stable marriage has gravely weakened in the last generation. There is deep hurt and scarring of many, especially children, as a consequence.

In a direct sense gay “marriage” will not make this worse. Indirectly, however, it will, because it makes marriage, which for many is becoming vague and fuzzy, vaguer and fuzzier still. It is social engineering – with its negative aspects ignored.

We need to have a deep and wide debate, looking at all factors. The same-sex marriage debate is currently far too simplistic. The draft bill is a daft bill.

Laurie Guy is author of Worlds in Collision: The Gay Debate in New Zealand 1960-1986 (Victoria University Press, 2002). He lectures in church history at Auckland University’s school of theology, and also at Carey Baptist College.

Source: Fidelity in marriage an issue for gay men. 31 August 2012

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10830082

Note: The Objects of the Society for Promotion of Community Standards Inc. include: “To focus attention on the harmful nature and consequences of sexual promiscuity ……” (s. 2d of Constitution).