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.