Latest news with #JoshRobinson
Scoop
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Open Letter To The Members Of Parliament
To the Prime Minister, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Social Development, the Minister for Tertiary Education, and all Members of Parliament, This winter, tens of thousands of students across Aotearoa are once again thrust into the impossible decision between heating their flats, or feeding themselves. This is not a matter of budgeting or lifestyle. Rather, it is a matter of wellbeing, dignity, and fairness. The Winter Energy Payment, as it currently stands, supports some of our most vulnerable citizens. Yet it excludes one of the most financially precarious groups in our country: tertiary students. Despite facing the same rising power bills and cold, damp housing, students are left out of this essential support simply because of their age and their pursuit of education. This exclusion is unjust. Many students live below the poverty line. They juggle part-time work, high rent, and increasing food and transport costs. Many care for families or face additional barriers, such as disability, chronic illness, or being estranged from family support. Cold homes worsen these hardships. They make students sick, lower academic performance, and damage mental health. Every winter, we hear stories of students wearing jackets to bed, studying under blankets, or choosing between heating their homes and eating three meals a day. The Winter Energy Payment for Students would be a simple and effective way to alleviate some of this hardship. By extending the payment to those receiving Student Allowance, Student Loan Living Costs, or enrolled full-time in tertiary education, the Government could make an immediate difference to the health, safety, and wellbeing of tens of thousands of young people. Advertisement - scroll to continue reading This change would mean amending the Social Security (Winter Energy Payment) Amendment Act 2019 to include tertiary students, and the Student Allowance Regulations 1998 so that Winter Energy Payments would not be considered under the definition of personal income for the purposes of those regulations. This call is backed by social service providers, tertiary education leaders, and students up and down the motu. It reflects a growing recognition that leaving students out in the cold is not only unfair but economically and socially short-sighted. We urge the Government to act now. Students have been doing more with less for far too long. Students deserve warm homes, good health, and a fair go. Don't leave students out in the cold. Extend the Winter Energy Payment to students. Sincerely, Josh Robinson - Campaign Lead, Winter Energy Payment for Students Liban Ali - President, Te Aka Tauira – Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association Aria Ngarimu and Kaea Hudson - Co-Presidents, Ngāi Tauira – Victoria University Māori Students Association Gabriel Boyd - President, Te Rōpū Kahikatea – Auckland University Students' Association Eloise Fleming and Nikita Van Dijk - Co-Presidents, National Disabled Students' Association Caitlin Payne - Senior Administrator, Te Tira Ahu Pae – Massey Students' Association Alicia Lemmer - President, Auckland University of Technology Students' Association Richard Wagstaff - President, The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Paul Goulter - CEO, Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa New Zealand Nurses Organisation Social Change Collective Lola Fisher - Co-Executive Director, Gen-Z Aotearoa Lauren Craig and Maioha Hunt - Co-Convenors, Young Greens of Aotearoa New Zealand
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Yahoo
"The waterfall was brutal": bodies of 3 hikers who vanished after jumping into California falls recovered after days of searching
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The bodies of three hikers who vanished after jumping into a remote California waterfall have been recovered after days of searching. Placer County Sheriff's Office reports that a group of six men were hiking in the Soda Springs area on Wednesday, June 18 when three jumped into the water at Rattlesnake Falls and never resurfaced. The surrounding terrain is described as challenging and difficult to access, and search efforts were temporarily suspended on Thursday due to poor visibility caused by debris and strong currents. High winds also made flying conditions difficult. The sheriff's office announced that the bodies had been found on Sunday. Diver Juan Heredia posted on Facebook after helping to recover the bodies, describing how difficult the scene made the operation. "The waterfall was brutal. It kept pushing me down but I wasn't leaving without bringing those 3 souls home to their families." "Josh Robinson our team backup diver, and I hiked over 3 hours just to reach that 47-foot deep pool. I dove four times — close to 3 minutes each — freezing cold water and deep." The remaining hikers were airlifted from the scene on Wednesday evening. In Washington's Olympic National Park, search and rescue crews have been unable to recover the body of an 18-year-old hiker who was attempting to cross the river above popular Sol Duc Falls when he fell and was swept away on June 8. Before entering the water on a hike, it's important to scope out a safe entry spot and enter the water slowly to avoid being injured by hidden obstacles or swept away by strong currents. It's generally advised to stay out of waterfall areas and on the trail. You can learn more in our articles on open water safety and waterfall hiking safety. The best hiking boots: hit the trail The best trekking poles: take the pressure off when you're out on the trails
Scoop
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
VUWSA Calls For The Winter Energy Payment To Be Extended To Students
Te Aka Tauira – Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association (VUWSA) has re-launched a petition calling on the Government to extend the Winter Energy Payment to include tertiary students. 'Energy companies are announcing record profits whilst students are ending up sick in the hospital with respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia,' said VUWSA Welfare Vice-President Josh Robinson. 'This is whilst the added pressure of the cost of living, and increased transport costs continue to mount.' The Winter Energy Payment is designed to help those struggling with rising living costs to keep their homes warm and dry during the coldest months in Aotearoa. Yet, tertiary students remain ineligible for this vital support — despite often living in some of the coldest, dampest, and poorest housing, and surviving on deeply strained incomes. Access to the Winter Energy Payment would ease the impossible choice students currently face; a warm home or affording the necessities. According to the People's Inquiry into Student Wellbeing, two-thirds of students regularly go without enough money for basic necessities like food, clothing, power bills, and healthcare. Meanwhile, annual electricity prices have climbed by $120 since April 2024, and Aotearoa's four largest energy companies reported a staggering $2.7 billion in combined profits last year. In 2024, nearly 1,000 students applied for Victoria University's Winter Energy Grant, with the most common concerns listed being financial hardship and cold accommodation. The Winter Energy Payment, introduced in 2017 by the Labour Government, currently supports most beneficiary groups — except students. VUWSA believes this is an unjust oversight and is urging the Government to correct it. 'Students deserve to live in warm, dry homes without sacrificing their health or skipping meals,' Robinson added. Te Aka Tauira is calling on all students, whānau, and supporters to sign the petition and support the push to end student poverty and energy hardship.
Scoop
23-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Grand Theft Academia: Government Continues To Rob Young People Of Their Futures
Press Release – VUWSA Inflation adjusted, Budget 2025 has only made room for a measly 3% increase in student allowance funding and has also made it harder for young people to access the Jobseeker Benefit by introducing means testing. Te Aka Tauira – the Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association (VUWSA) is staggered by the Government's failure to fund tertiary education, and failure to provide any meaningful support for students struggling through with the cost of living, a lack of jobs and gutting of public services. VUWSA President Liban Ali says, 'This Budget fails students. Costs are rising, but support isn't. Students are working longer hours to get by. Study is harder. Life is harder. We asked for help – the Government gave us nothing. Freezing student allowance thresholds is a cut by stealth. This Budget ignores the student cost of living crisis. It makes it harder to live, and harder to learn. Once again, students have left behind. We deserve better, we won't forget this.' This year's Budget has nothing to offer students, with bread-and-butter initiatives being underfunded by the Government. Inflation adjusted, Budget 2025 has only made room for a measly 3% increase in student allowance funding and has also made it harder for young people to access the Jobseeker Benefit by introducing means testing. VUWSA is also concerned by the 20% reduction in funding for essential student loan management services while, as has been recently reported, students have already been facing increased wait times to access essential funds from StudyLink. 'It is disgusting to see the Government continue to overlook student poverty.' VUWSA's Welfare VP, Josh Robinson says, 'In the aftermath of the rise of public transport fares, increased energy prices, and cost of living, the Government is both setting a price on the human right to education and robbing it from us in broad daylight.' VUWSA is disheartened by the Government's continued failure to adequately fund the Tertiary Sector. 'Education is a public good.' said Academic VP Ethan Rogacion, 'It is time that our Government starts acting like it.' This year's Budget allows Universities to hike fees up to 6% and sets aside some funding for some STEM subjects but still comes at significant costs to students. 'The Government has disestablished the PM's Scholarship for Asia and South America from June, has made University more expensive, and has pitted faculties against each other by increasing funding for STEM at the cost of humanities subjects,' Rogacion says. 'Our Government has a responsibility to its students, to ensure that all young people can get an education that helps them achieve their goals, and does not merely push them into fields they deem to be economically useful.' In addition, Engagement VP Aidan Donoghue adds, 'To give with one hand, and take with the other, is not growth, it is stagnation. I am puzzled as to who or what this goal of growth is for? It certainly isn't for women, students, the poor, health or education? 'It's matter of choice, and this government is making active choices that undermine decades of social investment. The average student has thousands of dollars invested in them, and all the opportunities they've been promised have been ripped out from under them.'
Scoop
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Grand Theft Academia: Government Continues To Rob Young People Of Their Futures
Te Aka Tauira – the Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association (VUWSA) is staggered by the Government's failure to fund tertiary education, and failure to provide any meaningful support for students struggling through with the cost of living, a lack of jobs and gutting of public services. VUWSA President Liban Ali says, 'This Budget fails students. Costs are rising, but support isn't. Students are working longer hours to get by. Study is harder. Life is harder. We asked for help – the Government gave us nothing. Freezing student allowance thresholds is a cut by stealth. This Budget ignores the student cost of living crisis. It makes it harder to live, and harder to learn. Once again, students have left behind. We deserve better, we won't forget this.' This year's Budget has nothing to offer students, with bread-and-butter initiatives being underfunded by the Government. Inflation adjusted, Budget 2025 has only made room for a measly 3% increase in student allowance funding and has also made it harder for young people to access the Jobseeker Benefit by introducing means testing. VUWSA is also concerned by the 20% reduction in funding for essential student loan management services while, as has been recently reported, students have already been facing increased wait times to access essential funds from StudyLink. 'It is disgusting to see the Government continue to overlook student poverty.' VUWSA's Welfare VP, Josh Robinson says, 'In the aftermath of the rise of public transport fares, increased energy prices, and cost of living, the Government is both setting a price on the human right to education and robbing it from us in broad daylight.' VUWSA is disheartened by the Government's continued failure to adequately fund the Tertiary Sector. 'Education is a public good.' said Academic VP Ethan Rogacion, 'It is time that our Government starts acting like it.' This year's Budget allows Universities to hike fees up to 6% and sets aside some funding for some STEM subjects but still comes at significant costs to students. 'The Government has disestablished the PM's Scholarship for Asia and South America from June, has made University more expensive, and has pitted faculties against each other by increasing funding for STEM at the cost of humanities subjects,' Rogacion says. 'Our Government has a responsibility to its students, to ensure that all young people can get an education that helps them achieve their goals, and does not merely push them into fields they deem to be economically useful.' In addition, Engagement VP Aidan Donoghue adds, 'To give with one hand, and take with the other, is not growth, it is stagnation. I am puzzled as to who or what this goal of growth is for? It certainly isn't for women, students, the poor, health or education? 'It's matter of choice, and this government is making active choices that undermine decades of social investment. The average student has thousands of dollars invested in them, and all the opportunities they've been promised have been ripped out from under them.'
