There are many stigmas that are floating around in the business community, the first one is mental health, the second one is bankruptcy. Bankruptcy can have a serious impact on mental health. There are two sides to a story however our New Zealand Judicial system seems persists with the idea that bankrupts are never permitted to have a defence in the high court in the same way that the Government allowed the Christchurch Terrorist. And if you are thinking – just pay your bills is the answer, there’s actually more to this story that echoes similar sentiments of the thousands of people who are bankrupted – en masse in some situations – even without legal aid to defend themselves. This from Lisa Cowe (Christchurch), Researcher, and tenacious campaigner for the rights of the disenfranchised (including bankrupts) in our communities.
What’s happening now with the Banks offering a mortgage ‘holiday,’ the same thing happened back in 2011 with the Christchurch earthquakes. The banks came forward and offered ‘free money.’ When you’ve lost everything during a quake, wouldn’t that be your only option available of easily accessible cash? Getting some money fast provided the only answer for Lisa (who lives in Christchurch), to return to the basics, until everything returned to normalcy.
OPEN LETTER JACINDA ARDERN
Lisa M Cowe
Dear Ms Ardern
After the 2011 Earthquakes I was contacted by ANZ bank out of the blue and offered substantial interest free money, no questions asked and nothing to sign. I will always regret accepting it. You will know of course the reasons why, because ANZ bank knew my company was insolvent and I was already in default of debt to the bank also.
In April 2017 I was made bankrupt by the high court in Christchurch as a result of that borrowing. I was not allowed to present my case law in the high court. The tribunal referee, one district court judge and two high court judges refused to consider my defence. My research into the bankruptcy has unveiled a tremendously corrupt system which is driven by the banks, lawyers the courts and government insolvency agents.
Through the terrorist attacks I learned that you have given more legal rights and public money to the Christchurch terrorist than you give to bankrupts. The thousands who are made bankrupt every year will never be allowed a defence in the high court like what you have allowed Mr Tarrant. The IRD actually bankrupt people on-masse without the defendants being allowed legal aid to defend themselves. Legal aid was a privilege you gave to Mr Tarrant also using public money.
Now the coronas is upon us, our bankruptcies don’t get a holiday. I suppose its probably just as well because what is being promoted as a mortgage holiday is actually another invitation by the banks and the government to force people further into debt by tempting them with low interest rates and calling the halt on mortgages a holiday. There will be many desperate families taking up that offer, just like I did after the Chch earthquakes. I hope they don’t end up paying the ultimate price I did and still am today 8 years later.
Many people are already suffering because of your extreme lockdown measures. Just like after the 15th March last year you are constantly bombarding us with images of corona terrorism over and over. What you are doing is scaremongering! Sorry but I will never take seriously your version of the coronavirus. How can I when I have seen the truth of the suffering that the NZ banking and insolvency systems inflict on the people of NZ. And you are happy to stand by and watch it happen!
I will not be watching the news or looking at or reporting on any more corona updates that involve the government or its media outlets. I will respect other people’s distances if that is what they want. But I won’t be bullied into another restrictive government policy while you refuse to fix the problems with the current agency sectors.
Yes coronas will kill a few people, just like the flu and other viruses do every year. Maybe coronas will kill me to. Your lockdowns will cause tremendous suffering and long term economy damage to the NZ people and the NZ economy more than any coronavirus will do and long after coronas has gone. Sure lock down the borders and isolate travellers, but don’t take away our livelihoods and our rights to freedom.
Your actions are not in proportion with the severity of the issue. The president of the USA has even said its not worth bringing down the entire US economy for the sake of a few people who will probably die anyway. It seems that Coronas kills the eldery and people with weakened immune systems. Who’s to know if the normal flu would not have killed them anyway. If individuals want to protect themselves then let them. Let people deal with the threat in their own way. Not force the same thing on everyone, like you inflict the same bankruptcy regimes on everyone, regardless of our individual needs.
Time and again I see the government making decisions that do not give the NZ people the quality of life that they should have as a birthright. The NZ government is not the government I thought it was.
For that reason and others I will no longer subject myself to the scaremongering you allow to be put out on your media channels.
My opinions as to the coronavirus being a bio-chemical terrorist attack, still stand, rightly or wrongly. I continue to believe that is the real reason for your severe quarantine and scaremongering strategies. How can I know anything different when I have seen first hand how government laws and policies already cause so much death and destruction of the NZ people.
Today’s Coronavirus scaremongering – not our future
Love Lisa’s tenacity with negotiating around this spider web of destruction for more than two years, means she’s more than earned her stripes at the school of hard knocks.