New Zealand | Aotearoa
Access to Justice
A Journey of Hope and Loss
Our client Amara* arrived in New Zealand from Ethiopia in 2000 as a refugee. She settled in Wellington where she lives with her three children. Amara became our client in June 2021 when she sought assistance to sponsor her sister, Deborha*, to obtain a resident visa under Immigration New Zealand's Refugee Family Support Programme. This Programme allows refugees in New Zealand with no immediate family to sponsor overseas family for New Zealand Residence. Only 600 people are accepted under the Programme each year. Sponsors are responsible for arranging an appropriate place for family to live for their first 2 years in New Zealand.
We assisted Amara and Deborha to prepare applications for Deborha, her husband and their three children. The family sought refuge in New Zealand due to the significant political and civil unrest in Ethiopia as a result of the Tigray War. As a marker of how volatile the situation is, Deborha’s husband was tragically killed while navigating the application process, when a terrorist group raided their hometown.
After four long years of gathering information, completing documentation and waiting for progress, Deborha and her children arrived safely in Wellington in early May. While the process is cumbersome and extremely slow, it has been a privilege to work with Amara and her support network in navigating the process.
*Names have been altered for privacy reasons.
In Pursuit of Justice
On 15 March 2019, fifty-one people were murdered (the Shaheed), and another forty were injured (the Victims) by a terrorist while gathering for Friday prayers at two Christchurch mosques. The oldest Shaheed was seventy-seven years old, and the youngest three years old. Some families/whānau suffered multiple tragedies with more than one family member killed or injured. The terrorist attack was “one of New Zealand’s darkest days” (Prime Minister Jacinda Adern).
Earlier this year we were contacted by a lawyer for some whānau of the Shaheed and Victims. We provided advice on complex New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 issues. Subsequently, we were asked at short notice to help prepare class action proceedings against Crown agencies and the local council in advance of limitation expiring. We prepared the proceedings within 30 hours of receiving instructions, and limitation expiring.
The class action is at an early stage. We have been asked by the plaintiff Shaheed and Victims to remain involved in all aspects of the proceeding.
Wotton Kearney acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which we work, and pay our respects to Elders past and present.
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