Get The Lowdown On Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
CAB launches youth website for Awareness Week 2003
Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is launching a new website on 17 March called The Lowdown. Located at www.cab.org.nz/lowdown, The Lowdown is aimed specifically at 12-25 year olds and sits along-side CAB’s main website. Its launch marks the
start of CAB’s annual Awareness Week (17-23 March), which this year focuses on youth rights.
Nick Toonen, CEO of the New Zealand Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux, says, “The aim of The Lowdown is to educate
young people about their rights. We have included five areas on the site where bureaux receive regular requests for
information, specifically consumer and employment rights, concerns about tenancy rights, rights in relation to the
Police and the law, and information about legal ages.
“CAB’s new website offers young New Zealanders an excellent resource which they can access from the privacy of their own
homes, from the convenience of an internet café, and from school or university computer rooms.
“If the information required isn’t on the website, or the person would prefer to talk to a trained volunteer in person,
CAB also offers a Telecom-sponsored freephone number (0800 FOR CAB/0800 367 222) which will connect callers with their
nearest bureau, or young people can visit one of the 87 bureaux situated from Kaitaia to Invercargill for face-to-face
advice. Those who want to communicate electronically can also email a bureau using links on CAB’s main website.
“The launch of The Lowdown is just one of many activities marking CAB Awareness Week. Look out for open evenings, talks
and displays in schools and tertiary institutes, plus stalls and leaflets in local shopping malls and libraries. We want
to make sure that young people around the country know about our services and feel welcome to use them.”
CAB can help young people with a huge range of issues and problems, and with a database of over 90,000 information
resources to draw on from almost every organisation imaginable, no problem is too big or too small.
CAB’s service is also completely confidential so nobody will ever find out if a person has visited, phoned or emailed
needing advice. People who come to CAB for advice will be offered a range of options – they select the one which suits
their situation the best.