Sonja Lawson's Proposal for Settlement with Work and Income New Zealand:

Copied below is Sonja Lawson's proposal for settlement with WINZ.

This offer was rejected by WINZ, through their legal counsel, in favour of further litigation, despite the futility of that course of action and the waste of taxpayer funded resources.

Sonja Lawson

PROPOSAL FOR SETTLEMENT WITH WINZ

I would like to propose a settlement with WINZ, concerning a number of ongoing issues. The following is what I would like resolved please:

1. Apology from WINZ acknowledging they wrongfully prosecuted me for benefit fraud.
   
   
2. All alleged debts owed to WINZ and monies being repaid to WINZ are cancelled.
   
   
3. Special Benefit reinstated at the level when it was cancelled, with back pay to December 1998.
   
   
4. My correct medical conditions and disabilities are loaded onto the WINZ computer (showing no reference to mental illness/disorder), with the medical and disability certificates I have provided processed and the details contained in these certificates loaded onto my WINZ records.
   
   
5. Letter from WINZ supporting any application made for a discharge without conviction relating to my criminal convictions.
   
   
6. Provision is made to allow monies to be put aside to cover essential and specific expenses for various cases I am pursuing (including health), that will not be classed as an asset until such time as my cases are resolved.
   
   
7. If WINZ agree to this proposed settlement for resolution, this will have the effect of reducing the need to lodge reviews of decisions, reviews to the District Benefit Review Committee, appeals to the Social Security Appeal Authority and appeals to the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
   
   
8. The added advantage of WINZ accepting this resolution is it will allow me to work on my other cases (including health) without hurdles or issues, with the ultimate outcome of being able to get off a benefit permanently.

Compiled by Miss Sonja Marie Lawson.

Dated Friday 17^th March 2017.

An inquest into the death of another client of Work and Income, Wendy Shoebridge, found that monthly quotas were imposed at WINZ to prosecute clients.

Shoebridge, a 41-year-old mother, was found dead in Lower Hutt on April 3, 2011, of suspected suicide.

The day before her death, she opened a letter from WINZ saying she was to be referred for prosecution over an alleged $22,000 benefit fraud. After her death, that amount fell to about $5500.

"[She] had plans and hopes and dreams," her mother told the inquest, where some 14 lawyers from various parties arrived for the hearing's start on Monday morning.

Discussing record-keeping at MSD systems, the former investigator also claimed he had concerns that "manipulation" of some data may have occurred with the Shoebridge file.

Union representatives have labelled the death "murder".

It seems that "manipulation of data" was an issue in Sonja Lawson's case too, and there is a widespread "manipulation of data" at Work and Income.

It's interesting that the Ministry of Social Development will go to great lengths to avoid an order for reparation if the suspected fraud involves a favoured client, such as Michael Francis Murphy and his partner Michelle McGreal, while they zealously pursue innocent victims such as Wendy Shoebridge and Sonja Lawson.  - Readers will note that the NZ Herald has removed this 'news' report - and a massive amount of other information and links to various published news reports which are unfavourable to the government from their website.

Insolvency Watch has more information regarding the penalties imposed for benefit fraud, and it can be seen that people have been imprisoned for a lot less than McGreal and Murphy stole, but again, all reference to Murphy and McGreal's fraud has been removed from the websites.

Restraining Order against Jillian Watson and Hugh Miller for harassment of Sonja Lawson

The application for a Restraining Order against Jillian Watson and Hugh Miller can be accessed at the following link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Evc9gAoXg9aXZuajBPcVFhaDN6aFZQQWxzenZmSVpGNEFj/view?usp=sharing

Sonja Lawson, successful horse trainer and law abiding citizen.

Documentary evidence - Court of Appeal and Social Security Appeals Authority:

Links below to documentary evidence regarding the Court of Appeal:

Sworn statement of Sonja Lawson - https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Evc9gAoXg9WkZVTXhBUXV1VU1mVmQ3VnhzQ29vbmlPQkZz/view

Statement of J Erceg - https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-Evc9gAoXg9Ylk0b2xhaGx4Z2tnN3lteWJ1Uk96dTB6NWZv

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Evc9gAoXg9TllTZ1dCQUl2X0hjY1NRa0dJQkdLLWM5d1Jr/view?usp=sharing  COA 1 p 1-32

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Evc9gAoXg9SVBpeWJVTFRlLW5yMjVhZmg4RFB4UUV5aHZ3/view?usp=sharing 33-51

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Evc9gAoXg9eTI0Z0F0amZoNFZOdlEyenFKY2VvTmxVT3kw/view?usp=sharing 62-165

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Evc9gAoXg9WnBzZ3dUbjM1eEFfX2x5aXltNWEwSlRpU19V/view?usp=sharing 157-165

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Evc9gAoXg9ODFIclhzdkFUdXNOdldzcUloejVPN3Zwem5R/view?usp=sharing 166-173


https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Evc9gAoXg9cEVRUU1hOUhDYlFscE5TcEJzMFRFRVJqMndN/view?usp=sharing 1-6 of 37

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Evc9gAoXg9dWdvNEJvb3gteUI5VUxtaDZtMjVaU2FveERV/view?usp=sharing 7-37

 Social Security Appeals Authority Minutes:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Evc9gAoXg9Mk9kdFNTaDlONm8/view?usp=sharing  SSAA 8 April

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Evc9gAoXg9MDZycmlOZlZYMXQ1N295OHllb2FfYzI3R1Bv/view?usp=sharing  SSAA 9 April






Sonja wishes to thank Graham Howell of the Wellington Benefit Rights Service and lawyer Seth Fraser.

High Court scathing in its criticism of Ministry of Social Development

Judge Joe Williams has spoken out about a disturbing case involving a Stratford woman who fought back against false allegations of fraud, made by the Ministry of Social Development.

Work and Income has had its hand smacked by the High Court appeal judge after it brought prosecutions against a Taranaki woman "struggling to cope".  She's struggling to cope because WINZ are unfairly persecuting her and discriminating against her.

Sonja Marie Lawson, 38, of Stratford, won her appeal against a sentence that ordered her to come up for sentencing if called upon within 12 months.

She had been convicted after a defended hearing in the Hawera District Court on three counts of using a telephone to annoy and offend.

In overturning the sentence, Justice Joseph Williams said: "It would be most unfortunate, indeed, if the ministry displayed an equal inability to cope with persons of unusual or eccentric perception. That might lead one to conclude that the ministry has also lost its sense of proportion with this individual."

Justice Williams said he accepted Lawson's aims were merely to draw attention to disputes with the three organisations.

The faxes expressed her deep frustration at the inability of those organisations to see her view.
Lawson intended to use inflammatory language to annoy, disturb and irritate so the organisations would pay attention to her plight.  The language was also an accurate expression of the extreme feeling of powerlessness and frustration she was experiencing as a result of the actions of ministry staff such as Roger Wells.

In dismissing the appeal against the convictions, the judge said there was no doubt the faxes were wanton and malicious.

The judge said Lawson's counsel also appealed against the sentence, arguing the order to come up if called on was manifestly excessive.

Counsel said Lawson had been charged with further Work and Income offences the very next day she received that sentence and feared that the Ministry of Social Development would continue its campaign against her and seek to prosecute her again in order to activate the sentence.

The Crown argued it was not manifestly excessive and the sentence was one of the lowest penalties available.

But Justice Williams said he found it "very troubling indeed" that the day after Lawson was sentenced, further Work and Income charges were laid.

The Judge may have been unaware that Police were gathering at the Court during the sentencing hearing itself, and actually arrested Ms Lawson approximately five minutes after she left the Courthouse.

It seems that they did this because the suspended sentence depended on her staying out of trouble in the future and WINZ knew that if they could get a conviction on the new matters it would trigger a recall of the suspended sentence.  Dirty tricks and underhand tactics in other words.

"I fear that the ministry may be losing its own sense of proportion here.
"Miss Lawson clearly has coping issues in her life. They are reflected in the content and number of her communications with those with whom she is in conflict. And she has proved herself unable to mediate her way through these various disputes.

"In short, she feels got at."

Justice Williams said, in the circumstances, a conviction and discharge was a just outcome and he found the district court judge's sentence was manifestly excessive.

"This arises through no fault of the learned judge. He was not aware of the potential (and I accept it is only potential) impact of that sentence, given the steps the ministry subsequently took."
That aspect of the appeal was allowed. The sentence was set aside and Lawson was convicted and discharged.

Sonja Lawson is a law abiding woman who has contributed a great deal to her community.  More information about her can be found at this link, and also this link.

It is disgraceful that people like David Farrar find these matters to be fodder for their amusement and ridicule.  The misleading article was published on the day of Sonja's father's funeral, details of which were published in the same paper, the Taranaki News, and the publication of the report caused extreme distress at a time when she was very vulnerable.  It's worth scrolling down at the Farrar site and reading Sonja's response to his 'work'.  She's right.  We've got some of the highest rates of suicide in the world and Farrar's bullying is uncalled for, unwarranted, and absolutely disgraceful. http://kate-raue.blogspot.co.nz/2003/12/high-court-judge-troubled-at-work-and.html