Are some in the US with the help from their neighbor trying to make a case to kick NZ out of the Five Eyes system?
Is this the revenge for NZ not towing the US line?
As for Chinese influence, it was the National party that was getting a lot of Chinese money and even a member of their party is known to have trained Chinese Spies. There has been also been some suspicions they might be still under the employment of the Chinese government.
Yes, there’s something fishy about the claims. Labour’s president, Nigel Haworth is on record as saying there’s been no donations to the Labour Party from any Chinese based group – I paraphrase. Yet we know Chinese interests have been donating many thousands of dollars to the National Party in recent years. But the accusers wait until a Labour led government is in power before they make their claims.
I listened to the ex-CIA analyst interview on RNZ a few days ago and the tone of his claims and the way he delivered them made me suspicious. It was as if he was delivering pre-determined lines and trying not to deviate from them.
Old mate Paul, over at Kiwipolitico has put the RNZ link.
I think they told the “No Mates Party” senior leadership group, but got flog off with “She be right mate and we know what we are doing” so now they are having a wee chat to Jandals and the team and hoping they don’t flog them like the last mob did.
“MPI is captured by the fishing industry. We need an independent public inquiry into the Fisheries Management System and its regulator. Right now, MPI and the seafood industry are trying to prevent this independent inquiry and are instead pushing for an internal MPI review, but this further leaked report shows once again why that must not happen.
“MPI simply cannot be trusted to tell the truth or regulate the industry. Just last year when they didn’t prosecute anyone after their own video cameras exposed widespread fish dumping in the inshore fishery, MPI claimed the decision not to prosecute was due to legal advice. But it turned out that legal advice did not exist. MPI simply didn’t tell the truth.”
From what I’ve heard reported MPI’s response is usually along the lines of: “That was years ago and we’ve talked to them and they’re not being naughty now”.
Yeah right.
Like we believe you. Start doing your job! And that means not working in the interests of the fishing industry.
I’m afraid both major parties have colluded with the industry to let it do whatever the hell it wants. You may recall the foreign labour scandals that Key “couldn’t fix until 2016”, which was utter bullshit – all the charter vessels operating here are registered here and thus subject to NZ law in its entirety. Both parties are predominantly composed of lawyers, they knew it was bullshit, but went along with it – no doubt hoping for donations.
“Both parties are predominantly composed of lawyers”.
According to my dictionary the word “predominantly” is defined as
“for the most part; mostly; mainly’
In other words more than half.
That is certainly a spectacular claim. Can you produce even a skerrick of evidence to justify it?
I won’t go as far as making you prove that more than 50% of each parties members have practising certificates but can you please list the members of National and Labour who have the much lesser standard of a law degree?
By your claim there are at least 24 in Labour and 28 in the National Party.
Who are they?
What a tiny little point of order you raise. What a minuscule piece of pedantry you bring up. Instead of going with the essence of a comment and putting your view on that, you pick up on a single word and pontificate on your superior knowledge of what that word means.
This a prime perfect example of what trolling is. Never mind the thread, just drag a red herring across the topic trying to change the narrative. make it all about you and work hard at pissing people off.
I understand your MO because I went to school with annoying little pricks who did exactly the same thing.
I really should ignore you, but it’s like watching 2 monkeys at the zoo shagging their little hearts out. You have to watch and comment.
How fascinating. You have certainly answered one question. At least at the time that list was prepared the statement about the number of lawyers was false.
When on earth was it done? I was hard pressed to even vaguely remember some of the names.
Cunliffe? Goff? Mathers? Turei? Norman?
The names seem to ring a bell somewhere but they certainly aren’t shining lights in the current Parliament are they?
That quote I like.
Sounds like Lyndon Johnson.
When he got a bit down from what he thought were unfair attacks from the Washington Post he is reputed to have complained that
‘If I got up tomorrow and walked across the Potomac the headline in the Post the next day would be “President can’t swim”.’
I guess that explains why he continued for so long in Vietnam. He walked across, rather than swam in, the Sea of Knowledge.
Having made prostitution legal to enable the workers to insist on safety measures and not endure the two-faced disdain dumped on them, and to be able to earn a fair living at this therapeutic business, now it is said to be that NZs are undercut by foreign workers! What a pathetic society. Every time we take a step forward it seems to be followed by 2-3 steps back.
One of the main sex work websites advertised more than 800 women, separated into Asian and non-Asian prostitutes.
A registration scheme on sites would mean only those eligible to work could advertise – and ensure everyone was paying tax, Ms O’Hara said…
Other prostitutes RNZ spoke to said they were being crowded out and undercut by immigrant sex workers, who were charging half the rates of their New Zealand counterparts.
Hamilton sex worker Lisa Lewis said most people who went on holiday maxed-out their credit cards.
“These girls are leaving with their credit cards in credit,” she said.
“It’s definitely a disadvantage for any legal sex worker because we are having to pay tax, the provisional, the income, the GST, ACC levies.
“They are leaving New Zealand without any of that taken off them, which is robbery of the government.”
Prostitution is not the same as installing technology in the ground or anywhere.
It is a delicate moral issue, and we have attempted to face up to it in NZ to the benefit of the workers and their clients. Allowing foreigners to come in and
exploit the workplace for this type of business shows the RW two-faced lack of integrity.
I’ve heard that some Indian students have made big sacrifices to come here. If they are allowed to come they should be treated fairly but I have also heard that Immigration can take people’s money, and when they have satisfied all the requirements, filled in the forms, the rules are changed and they are ineligible with no refund.
This time, in India, they have let sharks operating as agents operate in a feeding frenzy instead of establishing who is operating to standards, and registering them as officially recognised and reliable.
Matters of “fairness and natural justice” are enshrined in Immigration NZ’s immigration policy, created by Cabinet.
But one year ago – at about the same time that issues of fraud and exploitation in the Indian student market became common – Immigration dismantled the complaint process by bypassing the need for Cabinet to make changes to immigration policy and introducing a new complaints process.
It states: “Complaints which only raise matters of the merits of a decision will not be accepted for an investigation into that decision.”
At the same time, Immigration began advising the minister that its strategy to clamp down on migrant exploitation was to target those migrants who are at risk of exploitation – to deport people who may become victims, rather than stop the exploitation itself.
Immigration has suggested that budget constraints were responsible for this strategy.
Immigration in any country seems to attract behaviour that is abrupt and cold-blooded. Here they seem to have a similar attitude to Indians as Australians have to NZs. I feel, at base, it is a racial bias that doesn’t see them as worthy as whites. But they are good for getting money into the country, which counts as exports, bringing in live bodies, while we send so many dead ones (animals) overseas.
Arrogant and just plain nasty. The Immigration Protection Tribunal was set up as a judicial body independent of Immigration, and one of their functions is to review resident visa decisions. These decisions are published online.
While immigration instructions do not require Immigration to abide by principles set out in tribunal decisions, if the tribunal continues to point out that Immigration are making the same mistakes in their assessments, a responsive ministry would obviously correct those mistakes and amend its processes accordingly.
However, Immigration has taken the opposite approach over the past year and now makes it clear in its decisions that because it is not required to follow principles of policy interpretation in their decision-making, they are also entitled to ignore the tribunal’s criticisms of its decision-making.
McClymont sums up the situation well @grey.
I’m still waiting for the day when Immigration NZ (and its cohorts – Labour Inspectorate and Immigration Advisor’s Authority, etc.) realise that the best approach to reducing immigration and exploitation is to concentrate on the exploiters and scammers RATHER THAN their victims. The current approach means we’re just being complicit in what is effectively people trafficking. It’s actually quite disgusting.
Not sure whether you’ll see this or not because todays nooze is tomorrows fush’n’chups wrapper with Open Moik and Daily Reviews (unless there’s a dedicated strand for a discussion).
Recent events (changes announced yesterday) go SOMEWAY to stopping exploitation: i.e. stopping visa bondage to a specific employer. If the employer is good – count yourself lucky. If not – prepare to be faced with another round of shady ‘consultants’ clipping the ticket; plus visa applicat fees; and probably a $2-3K cost to break free of the arsehole. Bear in mind, that arsehole probably has interests in associated businesses they’ve been channeling labour through – and DON’T for a moment think those arseholes a simply those from the same background (culture/ethnicity/etc). They ARE signed-up PR’d up CITIZEN-up people who are complicit in keeping this gravy train rolling.
But……..we’ll see. The situation actually rivals the HCNZ methcon, MSD dysfunction/MPI bovis stuff.
And if Iain L-G (who incidentally I have a lot of respect for) thinks his “officials are just the ticket and tickety boo), he’s really in need of some further “learnings going forward” if he doeesn’t want to suffer a similar fate as Phil T has had with HCNZ and Andrew Master of the Universe.
There’s now been so much shit with our corrupted ‘ps’ that the possibilities for class action claims of compensation “are not fanciful”.
(Btw, I can hear the screams now – Woodhouse who’s just stuck his oar in has reminded me of one – better HE should STFU for a start! – his credentials rival those of the “Oim Layvung Pulla Bent” – even if with a haughtier grin and posher eggsent goan forwid)
No @ grey….. fuk ’em!
According to Hooton, over at the Herald salvage operation today, National’s support is “miraculous” ……Simon Bridges is the best thing since sliced bread.
Don’t you just love that old song “who do you think you are kidding Mr H…..”
National are trying to make themselves out to be the new socialists that want to care for the people now they are in opposition.
Does that make them National Socialists?
Yeah obviously he’s got an agenda behind that comment. The other option of course is that he’s really thick?
NZ. like most western democracy’s, has a roughly 50/50 split of voters between the left and right, with a center swinging vote block also. As National is the only party on the right you’d expect them to be between 40 and 5o percent at all times (unless they’re going through an amazingly bad patch)
So 45% IMO is the level they should be at without doing any work or any good at all, just by turning up and being the National party.
If our voting system was truly proportional (for example 100 list seats, 1% party vote threshold, 1% of total party vote =1 list MP) then ACT would have been gone ages ago as the Nats wouldn’t have been able to get extra seats off them
seems like willy j made judith collins flip her wig on the am show this am. hehehhe. and garner lost it too. hehehehe x 2. just tell em willie boy is here!
Immigration seems to operate on the edge of society. They are dealing with people who want to change status and cross the border line after applying for admittance and seem to lose rights on both sides of the border. NZ can’t seem to do anything for our nationals who have settled in Oz which is not a society known for its good behaviour, and no doubt has a lot of criminality, yet our people having already served one year of prison can be plucked out of their family and held on spurious grounds in a concentration camp.
Other people escape from some bad situation and end up camping out in an airport lounge for years lacking the entry agreement to any country worth escaping to.
Academics have noted the lopsided effect of the free market, with open borders welcoming foreign goods and seeking cheap prices; but ffor people the borders are chancy. Even the promise of being able to obtain cheap goods is patchy. Looking at some particular clocks, which are not made in NZ, (what is,?) the majority of sellers already state they will not trade with NZ. The new GST for under $40 comes in next year. What then?
The effect of open borders seems to have a long-term toxic effect.
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The COVID-19 situation in New Zealand is moving fast - and to avoid what we've seen overseas - the Government's response must be to move fast too. We're committed to keeping New Zealanders safe and well-informed every step of the way. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging New Zealanders overseas to stay where they are amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "We are reaching a point where the best option for most New Zealanders offshore is to shelter in place, by preparing to safely stay where they are.” "This includes following the instructions ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Foreign Minister Winston Peters is encouraging the tens of thousands of New Zealanders travelling overseas to consider sheltering in place, in light of COVID-19. “Since 18 March, we have been warning New Zealanders offshore that the window for flying ...
Ground-breaking law has passed that will decriminalise abortion and ensure women and pregnant people seeking abortions have compassionate healthcare. ...
The Green Party says that the measures announced by the Government today will help families and businesses to prioritise our collective health and wellbeing in the response to COVID-19. ...
As New Zealanders brace for a global downturn due to Covid-19, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters says his Coalition Government’s rescue package "more significant" than any other he's seen around the world. The Coalition is to reveal a multi-billion-dollar stimulus plan on Tuesday afternoon designed to cushion the economic blow ...
We know some people are feeling anxious about COVID-19. While the situation is serious, New Zealand has a world-class health system and we’re well-prepared to keep New Zealanders safe. ...
Darroch Ball MP, Spokesperson for Law and Order A New Zealand First member’s bill drawn from the ballot today seeks to overhaul the youth justice system by instigating a system of demerit points for offences committed by young offenders. “The ‘Youth Justice Demerit Point System’ will put an end to ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign AffairsHonourable Ministers, Members of Parliament, members of the diplomatic corps, distinguished guests and official delegates, ladies and gentlemen – Welcome to you all.We are also privileged to have with us here today Ms Izumi Nakamitsu, the United Nations ...
Fletcher Tabuteau MP, Under-Secretary for Disarmament and Arms ControlThe Public Advisory Committee for Disarmament and Arms Control (PACDAC) is holding a Parliamentary Symposium on Tuesday to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) hosted by PACDAC Chair and Under-Secretary for Disarmament and ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic DevelopmentThe Provincial Growth Fund is investing $6 million in a land-based aquaculture pilot to see whether yellowtail kingfish can be commercially farmed in Northland, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today.A recirculating land-based aquaculture system will be built and operated ...
Hon. Shane Jones, Minister for ForestryForestry Minister Shane Jones has announced two One Billion Trees programme grants of more than $1.18 million to help hapu and iwi in Northland restore whenua and moana.“Many communities around Aotearoa have benefited from One Billion Trees funding since the programme was launched ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign AffairsAhead of the start of the criminal trial in the Netherlands on 9 March, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has reaffirmed the need to establish truth, accountability and justice for the downing of Flight MH17 ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Deputy Prime MinisterThe Government is investing $19.9 million through the Provincial Growth Fund in a game-changing hydrogen energy facility in South Taranaki, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters announced today.“The development of alternative energy initiatives like this one is vital for the Taranaki region’s economy. ...
Rt. Hon. Winston Peters, Minister for Foreign AffairsForeign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand is partnering with countries in the Pacific to ensure they are prepared for, and able to respond to the global threat of Coronavirus (COVID-19).“There are currently no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the ...
Health Minister Dr David Clark says 36 new intensive care beds at Christchurch Hospital’s new Hagley building are being fast tracked so they are available for treatment of COVID-19 patients. The Ministry of Health is working with contractor CPB and Canterbury DHB to enable access to the hospital’s ICU, ...
The Government has fast-tracked up to $1 million to help Air New Zealand move urgent freight to and from New Zealand, with the first flight to Shanghai leaving tonight, Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says it’s crucial that trade in vital goods such as medical supplies and ...
New Zealand will temporarily remove tariffs on all medical and hygiene imports needed for the COVID-19 response. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker and Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said today that the New Zealand Customs Service will apply tariff concessions to all diagnostic reagents and testing ...
Minister of Finance Grant Robertson has clarified that the changes to the wage subsidy scheme announced yesterday mean that employers should be passing on the full subsidy to workers, except in the case where the person’s normal income is less than the level of the subsidy. “We still want employers ...
Medical face masks from the national reserve supply are now being distributed to District Health Boards, while at the same time local production is being ramped up. Yesterday more than 640,000 masks were sent to DHBS – that is an immediate two week supply, with more to follow in coming ...
The Government has made modifications to the wage subsidy scheme to ensure people don’t lose their jobs during the national lockdown. These changes will soften the impact of COVID-19 on workers, families and businesses, and position them to exit the lockdown and look to recovery, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. ...
Farmers whose herds were culled in response to the outbreak of Mycoplasma bovis will be able to minimise the tax treatment of their income in some circumstances. Revenue Minister Stuart Nash says Cabinet has agreed to change the law. It means farmers may be eligible to spread their income over ...
A $27 million dollar package, effective immediately, is being provided to social sector services and community groups to ensure they can continue to provide essential support to communities as we stay at home as a nation to stop the spread of COVID-19, Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni announced. “At ...
“The guilty plea today will provide some relief to the many people whose lives were shattered by what happened on March 15,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. “These guilty pleas and conviction bring accountability for what happened and also save the families who lost loved ones, those who were injured, ...
The Prime Minister is holding daily press conferences to update New Zealanders on the Government's response to COVID-19. Links to videos and transcripts of these updates below. These transcripts also include All of Government press conferences led by Director Ministry of Health's Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. 25 March: Live update from the Prime ...
Frontline Police numbers have broken through the 10,000 mark for the first time in history as officers step forward to keep the community safe during the COVID19 lockdown. “Two Police graduations in Auckland and Wellington in the past week have been conducted in unprecedented circumstances,” Police Minister Stuart Nash said. ...
Urgent legislation has been passed to support the package of economic and social measures needed to recover from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. “The COVID-19 Response (Taxation and Social Assistance Urgent Measures) Bill will cushion New Zealanders from the worst economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Revenue Minister ...
From tomorrow, Government support for farmers and growers affected by drought will be expanded and extended across the country, with access to Rural Assistance Payments (RAPS) available throughout the North Island, parts of the South Island and the Chatham Islands, Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni announced. “These challenging conditions have ...
Parliament has passed amendments to legislation that give the Secretary of Education stronger powers to act in the fight to limit the spread of COVID-19, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “They are part of a suite of changes passed under the COVID-19 Response (Urgent Management Measures) Legislation Bill,” Chris ...
Canada, Australia, Chile, Brunei and Myanmar have joined forces with New Zealand and Singapore by committing to keep supply chains open and remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker today welcomed ...
Immediate freeze on rent increases Tenancies will not be terminated during the lock-down period, unless the parties agree, or in limited circumstances Tenants who had previously given notice can stay in their if they need to stay in the tenancy during the lock-down period Tenants will still be able to ...
As New Zealand unites to lock-down in the fight against COVID-19, the Finance Minister is urging all businesses and workers to stay connected over the next four weeks. “We understand the extreme pressure many businesses are under right now. I know most business owners think of their workers as family ...
A State of National Emergency has been declared across the country as the Government pulls out all the stops to curtail the spread of COVID-19. “Today we put in place our country’s second ever State of National Emergency as we fight a global pandemic, save New Zealanders’ lives and prevent ...
Mr Speaker I wish to make a Ministerial Statement under Standing Order 347 in relation to the recent declaration of a State of National Emergency. Having considered the advice of the Director Civil Defence Emergency Management, the Minister of Civil Defence declared a State of National Emergency for the whole of ...
People needing to travel on domestic flights, trains and Cook Strait ferries to get home before the country moves into level 4 lock-down tomorrow night will be able to continue using the passenger services until midnight on Friday, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. Domestic passenger services, particularly ferries, have ...
The Government, retail banks and the Reserve Bank are today announcing a major financial support package for home owners and businesses affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. The package will include a six month principal and interest payment holiday for mortgage holders and SME customers whose incomes have been ...
Minister of Transport Phil Twyford has today announced details of the Government’s support package to keep key air freight moving and ensure New Zealanders retain access to essential goods during the four-week level 4 lockdown. “The Government is working with airlines and air freight operators to ensure New Zealand’s key ...
New Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 3 – Restrict New Zealand to move up to COVID-19 Alert Level 4 – Eliminate, in 48 hours Two-staged approach to give people and businesses time to prepare Level 3, from tomorrow Non-essential businesses must close All events and gatherings must be ...
Good afternoon The Cabinet met this morning to discuss our next actions in the fight against COVID-19. Like the rest of the world, we are facing the potential for devastating impacts from this virus. But, through decisive action, and through working together, do we have a small window to get ...
The Government is announcing significant further support for the economy, workers and businesses as the country unites to prepare for Alert Level 4 in the fight against COVID-19. Cabinet today agreed to remove the cap on the Government’s wage subsidy scheme, which will inject a further $4 billion into the ...
The Government is backing the Reserve Bank’s latest action to support the economy by reducing longer-term interest rates, meaning lower costs for businesses and mortgage holders, and a lower currency to help our exporters. The Minister of Finance has signed a memorandum of understanding and a letter of indemnity with ...
The Government has asked the Commerce Commission to take account of the exceptional circumstances created by COVID-19 when monitoring business behaviour in coming weeks. “The purpose of my request to the Commerce Commission is to make sure businesses can work together in ways that will allow them to provide ...
The New Zealand Government has temporarily closed its High Commission in Bridgetown, Barbados and its Embassy in Yangon, Myanmar due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Due to the increasing scarcity of air links in and out of Bridgetown and Yangon, and the pressure COVID-19 is placing ...
Associate Health and Whānau Ora Minister Peeni Henare has today announced the Government’s plan to support Māori communities and businesses in the face of COVID-19. “Our Government’s $12.1 billion economic package will help many Māori whānau, workers and businesses, whether it’s through wage subsidies, income support and worker redeployment, or ...
The Government and the hospitality industry have worked together to produce guidelines to assist with managing and reducing transmission of COVID-19, Health Minister David Clark announced today. The guidelines developed between the Government, Hospitality New Zealand and SkyCity Entertainment Group, set out how the new restrictions on physical distancing and ...
Four stage Alert System for COVID-19 announced New Zealand moved up to COVID-19 Alert Level 2 – Reduce Contact New Zealanders over 70 and those with certain medical conditions told to stay at home as much as they can to reduce risk of contact with the virus Workplaces to implement ...
Kia ora koutou katoa I’m speaking directly to all New Zealanders today to give you as much certainty and clarity as we can as we fight Covid-19. Over the past few weeks, the world has changed. And it has changed very quickly. In February it would have seemed unimaginable to ...
New Zealand and Singapore have jointly committed to keep supply chains open and to remove any existing trade restrictive measures on essential goods, especially medical supplies, in the face of the Covid-19 crisis. Trade and Export Growth Minister David Parker welcomed the commitment. “This is an important collective response, and ...
JOINT MINISTERIAL STATEMENT BY SINGAPORE AND NEW ZEALAND AFFIRMING COMMITMENT TO ENSURING SUPPLY CHAIN CONNECTIVITY AMIDST THE COVID-19 SITUATION The COVID-19 pandemic is a serious global crisis. As part of our collective response to combat COVID-19, Singapore and New Zealand are committed to maintaining open and connected supply chains. We ...
Travel restrictions, closing our border to almost all travelers came into force from 23:59 on Thursday 19 March 2020 (NZDT). All airlines were informed of these restrictions before they came into force. Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says “The transit of passengers between Australia and New Zealand has been agreed upon and ...
The Government has allocated $100 million to help redeploy workers affected by the economic impact of COVID-19, with the hard-hit region of Gisborne-Tairāwhiti to be the first helped, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford, Forestry and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. Phil Twyford ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is ramping up support for Tairāwhiti’s wood processing sector to bolster the region’s economy at a time of heightened uncertainty, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. Following earlier announcements today of a regional support package for Tairāwhiti, Minister Jones has also announced a ...
The Coalition Government has stepped in to protect Air New Zealand with a significant financial deal that protects essential routes and allows the company to keep operating. The Government and Air New Zealand have agreed a debt funding agreement through commercial 24-month loan facilities of up to $900 million*. The ...
The Government has taken further measures to protect New Zealanders from the COVID-19 virus, effectively stopping all people from boarding a plane to New Zealand from 11:59pm today, except for returning New Zealanders, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. New Zealanders’ partners, legal guardians or any dependent children travelling with ...
The Government has reinforced its commitment to protecting the health of New Zealanders from COVID-19 through the cancellation of indoor events with more than 100 people. “Protecting the health of New Zealanders is our number one priority, and that means we need to reduce the risks associated with large gatherings,” ...
Russia Today (sometimes referred to as Kremlin TV) does not have a widespread reputation as a fair and balanced news source. But occasionally if they say it’s raining, you might want to check outside to see if you need an umbrella.So there is some interest in its reporting of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Thorpe, Professor in Sociology of Sport and Physical Culture, University of Waikato During New Zealand’s four-week lockdown, all sporting facilities, back-country walking trails and parks are closed to stop the spread of coronavirus and avoid injuries. But New Zealanders have high ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Hamilton, Visiting Scholar, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The A$130 billion payment will be benefit six million of Australia’s 13 million employees through their employers. It will ensure each employee kept on in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The secret sauce in the government’s A$130 billion JobKeeper payment is that it will be retrospective, in the best possible way. It’ll not only go to employers who have suffered ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michaela Pascoe, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Exercise and Mental Health, Victoria University Medicare-subsidised psychology and psychiatry sessions, as well as GP visits, can now take place via phone and video calls – if clinicians agree not to charge patients out-of-pocket costs for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Sedger, Senior Lecturer, Head of the Viruses and Cytokine Biology group in the School of Life Science, University of Technology Sydney While many scientists are working on developing a coronavirus vaccine, others are busy testing antiviral drugs. Vaccines are generally only ...
Alex Casey delivers her last power rankings for The Bachelorette NZ, where Lily and Lesina make their final decisions. Click here for previous instalments. Well me homies, we have reached the end of our journey together. At times it was slow, like a food tech teacher dragging his brogues through the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Morrison government will provide a flat $1,500 a fortnight JobKeeper payment per employee for businesses to retain or rehire nearly six million workers, in a massive $130 billion six-month wage subsidy scheme to limit ...
David Downs - who doesn't even drink coffee - explains his plan to ensure some favorite cafés are still around when we emerge from lockdown Are you already sick of instant coffee, and missing your morning brew? Well, while you may have to suffer barrista-withdrawal symptoms for few more weeks, moves ...
By RNZ News The Auckland girl’s secondary school Marist College has New Zealand’s biggest Covid-19 cluster with 47 confirmed and probable cases. It is the biggest cluster of infection being tracked by NZ health authorities. The board chairperson Stephen Dallow said the confirmed cases included teachers, students and adults ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Irving, Adjunct Professor, University of Technology Sydney Blood is like milk, not toilet paper. You can’t just buy a lot of it and save it for later – you need to have a regular, fresh supply for patients who need it. ...
Newsroom Pro’s Bernard Hickey and Kiwibank Chief Economist Jarrod Kerr zoom out to lunch to talk about the Reserve Bank’s latest move to help banks lend to corporates. The Reserve Bank announced on Monday it would lend to banks dealing with distressed corporate borrowers, opening a new weekly Open ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jacinta Carroll, Senior Research Fellow, Counter Terrorism and Social Cohesion, National Security College, Australian National University There are now nearly 300 cases of COVID-19 linked to passengers who disembarked from the Ruby Princess cruise ship without any health checks from authorities. Amid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emily Brayshaw, Lecturer, Fashion and Design History, Theory, and Thinking, University of Technology Sydney Once again, global crafting communities are stepping up to help in a crisis, sewing face masks desperately needed in American hospitals to help stop the spread of COVID-19. ...
Retailer Smiths City has reached an agreement with ASB Bank to delay a $1.5 million dollar repayment of a loan due tomorrow. It also said it is starting talks with potential investors to support the business. The company said Covid-19 has caused an unforeseen and unprecedented shock to the business, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Quentin Grafton, Director of the Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University In 1997, a bestselling book by Jared Diamond purported to explain how the West “won” world dominance based on the good luck ...
Figures from around the world show that Covid-19, while vicious and contagious, does behave like other infections, rampaging quickly through a community, hospitalising a small percentage and causing death in an even smaller percentage. The World Health ...
Video of PM Ardern’s Post Cabinet Press Conference is available here: New Zealand Labour Party - #LIVE: Post-Cabinet Press Conference 2 March 2020 Today Cabinet was focused on the response to protect NZers from COVID-19. Ardern outlined ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin To get a correct picture, we need regional data – indeed sub-regional statistics – because the virus does not respect political boundaries. Unfortunately, it is very hard to get regional data from European countries. The Johns Hopkins data – most widely used by the media (and ...
An extract from Jacinda Ardern: A New Kind of Leader, the brand new biography of the prime minister by Madeleine Chapman, formerly of this parish.Out today, Madeleine’s biography of the prime minister is magnificent. We cracked up. We had a wee cry. We’ve never read a political biography like it. Tomorrow ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Misha Ketchell, Editor & Executive Director, The Conversation You might have seen recent mediareports in various outlets of a paper, commissioned by the federal government, reporting the coronavirus advice of a group of experts from Group Of Eight universities. Dated March ...
Analysis: On the face of it, New Zealand's epidemic curve is going exponential. But are case numbers really rising for the same reasons as overseas? If you've been following any news about Covid-19 over the past three months, you've heard of The Curve. It looks, variously, like a sky-high pillar ...
MediaRoom column: A decision to block publication of community newspapers under the State of Emergency could be changed tomorrow. Tim Murphy reports. A decision to stop community newspapers from circulating in the country's suburbs, towns and settlements appears to have been an example of officials scratching their regulatory itch. On Friday, ...
A Waikato berry grower has been ordered to pay over $76,000 for employment law breaches. Olde Berry Farm has been fined $50,000 and forced to pay over $16,000 in unpaid wages and holiday pay. Its managing director, Andrew Molly, has been made personally responsible fo an additional $10,000 in penalties. ...
The Government has set up a dedicated service for reporting fears of price gouging, as Jacinda Ardern flags the expansion of "essential services" Kiwis concerned about potential price gouging at supermarkets during the coronavirus lockdown can now report the issue directly to government officials, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced. Ardern ...
A new report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment into the ban on new petroleum exploration permits outside onshore Taranaki has been welcomed by the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand (PEPANZ). "This ...
The takeover offer for Abano Healthcare is off the table - a casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company said the $150-million takeover scheme agreement with Adams NZ Bidco Ltd. was terminated, with no fees payable by either party, as a result as the material adverse change to the company's ...
The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) contribution to the successful mission to train members of the Iraqi Security Forces to combat ISIS is at an end and the first troops from the final contingent have arrived home. Since December the NZDF has had 45 personnel ...
On Sunday it was reported there is a high demand for New Zealand Police's online form to report lockdown breaches. This news should act as a red flag, signalling the potentially corrosive effects on public trust within Aotearoa that may occur in these troubled times. Concerns have already been expressed ...
The Prime Minister is giving the latest updates on the government's fight against the impact of Covid-19 at her weekly post-Cabinet media conference. Watch live here. ...
Watch the replay of our fourth live Q&A session with Dr Ayesha Verrall, a senior lecturer at Otago University who specialises in infectious diseases. Ayesha Verrall is an infectious diseases physician and senior lecturer at Otago University's Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine (Wellington). Dr Verrall has been monitoring the spread and impact ...
Recognising how much of the burden women are carrying in this crisis - and how much they always carry - may take us closer to a society in which caring work is seen and valued for the essential work it is, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw COVID-19 has thrown a window wide ...
You’ve lost your job and your income has reduced due to the Covid-19 crisis, so how do you hold onto your home? Mortgage adviser Cameron Marcroft talks to Bonnie Sumner.Tell us about the changes you’ve seen since the lockdown began. We’ve had many enquiries coming through from both existing ...
When officials – including police themselves – don’t seem clear on the rules around movement, it makes it harder for everyone to do the right thing, writes Andrew Geddis.Aotearoa New Zealand has committed to trying to eradicate the virus that causes Covid-19 from its shores. To do that, as a ...
The EMA is urging the Government to postpone the planned significant increase to the minimum wage on Wednesday, as employers grapple with keeping their doors open amid COVID-19. Chief Executive Brett O’Riley says that while it may be politically ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Wark, Conjoint Professor, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle As the number of COVID-19 cases around the world continues to climb, hospitals are under increased pressure to provide emergency care for the most severely ill patients. What does ...
Philanthropy New Zealand will release a weekly update to share philanthropic and grantmaking activity and insight as the sector seeks to support communities in the wake of COVID-19. This update is a general public document, provided to Ministers, ...
By Elias Nanau in Port Moresby Indonesia has issued a stern warning over illegal border crossers from Papua New Guinea. This follows Indonesia stepping up its security measures at the border in response to the global Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. The First Secretary to the governor for West Sepik, Adam ...
As two staff members test positive for Covid-19, police are grappling with ways to keep their workforce safe while still enforcing the rules of the lockdown, Marc Daalder reports Two police staff have tested positive for Covid-19, Police Commissioner Mike Bush said Monday, while nearly 400 others are now in self-isolation ...
The Covid-19 crisis in media has claimed New Zealand’s last surviving radio station solely dedicated to sport. Amid a wider crisis in media funding right now, the first outlet has been forced to close the doors – and it isn’t likely to return.Staff at Radio Sport have been told that the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendan Coates, Program Director, Household Finances, Grattan Institute New Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates paint a grim picture of the direct economic costs of public health measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, and the need for more government support ...
Tips on how television can help educate your kids, for parents who have to keep working.It feels as if a great many parents are simply flourishing during this lockdown with fairy gardens, bird song and mason jars, daily bongo drum dancing and essays written by three-year-old prodigies about how satisfying ...
How is Covid-19 spreading within the country? Newsroom is collating information as it's available to paint a picture of what's happening. There were 76 new cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand, up from the previous day's 63 new cases. Details of how many tests have been completed are now being ...
Supermarkets and some publishers are favoured by the government’s imposition of severe restrictions on what we can do and from whom we can buy during the Covid-19 lock-down. But one consumer watchdog is challenging the legality of an edict by Commerce Minister Kris Faafoi which favours supermarkets while Act leader ...
Robyn Hunt writes on the challenges facing disabled people and what needs to be done to support them as we go into lockdown, and beyond.Disabled people at higher risk need more help. Many of the almost one quarter of New Zealanders who are disabled are doing it hard as the ...
An online focus is coming back to bite newspaper companies, the Otago Daily Times’ editor says. David Williams reports. Despite advertising falling off a cliff, and its community papers dormant, the group editor of the country’s third-biggest publisher says there haven’t been layoffs and it’s unlikely any of its newspapers ...
Cabinet ministers will patch into a video conference this afternoon to discuss the Covid-19 lockdown, including complaints about high prices at supermarkets. ...
Talks will be ongoing between local leaders and Government in an effort to have them deploy both personnel and other resources to Tairāwhiti to support regional measures to contain COVID-19. Mayor Rehette Stoltz, Gisborne District Council ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers' Union is joining calls for the Government to extend submission deadlines for Select Committees during the immediate fallout of the COVID-19 crisis. New Zealand Taxpayers' Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, "Old political ...
FIRST Union welcomes the announcements made by supermarket chains Foodstuffs and Progressive Enterprises that workers will receive lockdown pay increases but is cautioning that the details of these promises matter and all essential workers should be earning ...
By Imelda V. Abano in Manila The novel coronavirus now sweeping the globe has left many countries struggling to cope with rising numbers of infections and journalists grappling with how to best cover this evolving public health crisis. In addition to questions about how governments, health care systems and ...
The government has fast-tracked up to $1 million to help Air New Zealand move urgent freight in and out of the country - with the first flight to Shanghai leaving tonight. ...
Join Leonie Hayden as she works through the first four weeks of Scotty Morrison’s Māori Made Easy.Kia ora e te whānau, welcome to MME with me! I know a lot of us have this little green book on our shelves. Maybe you bought it and never got round to opening ...
The Free Speech Coalition is preparing to launch an urgent judicial review of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage’s decision to deem non-daily newspapers and publications not an essential service for the purposes of the COVID-19 Level-4 nationwide shutdown. ...
Increasingly concerned home support workers are worried that without adequate personal protective equipment and mandatory protocols for risk assessments, they may end up spreading COVID-19 around the homes and communities they work in. The news that 21 ...
The kiwifruit industry is fighting for survival as it tries to pick and pack the season's crop while enforcing Covid-19 restrictions. The apple industry is also predicting problems with at least 10 percent of the crop not likely to be picked. The nationwide lockdown has come right in the middle ...
The Reserve Bank is ramping up support for businesses and banks by accepting corporate debt and other assets as security for loans to banks. The latest measure is designed to pump more money into the economy through the banking system. Assistant governor Christian Hawkesby said the aim is to encourage ...
The first days of national lockdown have truly brought out the best in our social media stars. Alex Casey counts down the classics. Yesterday I got served with the Instagram notification that normally only pops up around Christmas-time. “You’re all caught up!” it chirps, “you’ve seen every post from the last ...
In our new series The Lockdown Letters, some of New Zealand’s best writers tell us what they’ve been up to in the days of Covid-19 alert level four. Today, writer and doctor Glenn Colquhoun goes full epistolary, with a letter to Hone Tūwhare – and his Travelling Band of Constant Companions.Kia ...
By John Gerritsen of RNZ News The $5 billion foreign student industry is facing a massive downturn with as many as half of this year’s enrolments now in doubt. Immigration New Zealand figures show that of 76,203 valid study visas at 15 March, 60,348 were in New Zealand, and ...
As New Zealand looks toward an uncertain future in all areas of life, Auckland school principal Claire Amos sees an opportunity to change high school education for the better. The last week has been an interesting one for school leaders. Monday arrived, it was all on – schools were closing the ...
The Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told Morning Report, she’s expecting the country to be restricted to visitors for some time after the lockdown period ends. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University 2019 was the year Australians confronted the fact that a healthy environment is more than just a pretty waterfall in a national park; a nice ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yale Z Wong, Research Associate, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, University of Sydney ZMinimising health risks has rightly been the focus of discussion during the coronavirus outbreak. This includes efforts to protect both frontline public transport employees and the travelling public. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tyler Riordan, PhD Candidate, The University of Queensland Along with home delivery of groceries, pharmaceuticals and alcohol, demand for food delivery is booming. Services such as Uber Eats and Deliveroo have become essential to cafes and restaurants that can now only sell ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nishanathe Dahanayake, PhD Candidate, Ethics/Philosophy, University of New England The coronavirus pandemic is challenging our health, work, family, food and fun. It’s also disturbing our peace of mind and forcing us to question our own existence. We are each asking our own ...
ASB sees 6 percent GDP fall in 2020; Chorus, King Salmon and Stride reassure their profits are still on track; Augusta withdraws fund on rent relief fears; US stocks slide again; US jobs data looms ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Conditions for leaving lockdown explored, nation’s first death from Covid-19 reported, and Australian govt continues to discriminate against NZers.When will the Covid-19 lockdown across New Zealand end? Short answer – when it’s actually safe to do so. Officially, the current state ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The ...
People over 70 and those with underlying health conditions faced the lockdown four days before the rest of the country - but some of the elderly still aren't taking any notice. ...
Daily Review 31/05/2018 
by Phil Duncan For Marxists, a key concern about social trends is their context – not just their causes, but why they happen when they do. Events and phenomena have causes, but they also are time or period-specific. While much of the left have capitulated recently to postmodernism, most notably ...6 hours ago
Since the lockdown began, we've all suddenly been reminded who the actually essential workers in our society are: not the people at the top who pay themselves the big bucks and rort the perks, but the people at the bottom they screw over and squeeze: cleaners, warehouse staff, truck drivers ...7 hours ago
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Are some in the US with the help from their neighbor trying to make a case to kick NZ out of the Five Eyes system?
Is this the revenge for NZ not towing the US line?
As for Chinese influence, it was the National party that was getting a lot of Chinese money and even a member of their party is known to have trained Chinese Spies. There has been also been some suspicions they might be still under the employment of the Chinese government.
NZ labelled ‘soft underbelly’ of Five Eyes spy network in Canadian report
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/nz-labelled-soft-underbelly-of-five-eyes-spy-network-in-canadian-report/ar-AAy2ET2?li=BBqdg4K
Yes, there’s something fishy about the claims. Labour’s president, Nigel Haworth is on record as saying there’s been no donations to the Labour Party from any Chinese based group – I paraphrase. Yet we know Chinese interests have been donating many thousands of dollars to the National Party in recent years. But the accusers wait until a Labour led government is in power before they make their claims.
I listened to the ex-CIA analyst interview on RNZ a few days ago and the tone of his claims and the way he delivered them made me suspicious. It was as if he was delivering pre-determined lines and trying not to deviate from them.
I’ll see if I can find the item and link to it.
Old mate Paul, over at Kiwipolitico has put the RNZ link.
I think they told the “No Mates Party” senior leadership group, but got flog off with “She be right mate and we know what we are doing” so now they are having a wee chat to Jandals and the team and hoping they don’t flog them like the last mob did.
Found the link:
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018646774/ex-cia-analyst-admits-trump-irony-in-china-influence-warning
I think I’d prefer my car actually.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018647386/whanganui-emergency-housing-providers-labelled-unliveable
From the 29th – this is pretty scathing about MPI.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1805/S00459/another-leaked-mpi-report-reveals-scale-of-underreporting.htm
“MPI is captured by the fishing industry. We need an independent public inquiry into the Fisheries Management System and its regulator. Right now, MPI and the seafood industry are trying to prevent this independent inquiry and are instead pushing for an internal MPI review, but this further leaked report shows once again why that must not happen.
“MPI simply cannot be trusted to tell the truth or regulate the industry. Just last year when they didn’t prosecute anyone after their own video cameras exposed widespread fish dumping in the inshore fishery, MPI claimed the decision not to prosecute was due to legal advice. But it turned out that legal advice did not exist. MPI simply didn’t tell the truth.”
The leaked compliance risk profile report can be downloaded at http://greenpeace.nz/leaked-sbw-fishery-repor
From Russel Norman
From what I’ve heard reported MPI’s response is usually along the lines of: “That was years ago and we’ve talked to them and they’re not being naughty now”.
Yeah right.
Like we believe you. Start doing your job! And that means not working in the interests of the fishing industry.
And I don’t have much confidence in Nash holding either the MPI or fishing companies to account.
I’m afraid both major parties have colluded with the industry to let it do whatever the hell it wants. You may recall the foreign labour scandals that Key “couldn’t fix until 2016”, which was utter bullshit – all the charter vessels operating here are registered here and thus subject to NZ law in its entirety. Both parties are predominantly composed of lawyers, they knew it was bullshit, but went along with it – no doubt hoping for donations.
“Both parties are predominantly composed of lawyers”.
According to my dictionary the word “predominantly” is defined as
“for the most part; mostly; mainly’
In other words more than half.
That is certainly a spectacular claim. Can you produce even a skerrick of evidence to justify it?
I won’t go as far as making you prove that more than 50% of each parties members have practising certificates but can you please list the members of National and Labour who have the much lesser standard of a law degree?
By your claim there are at least 24 in Labour and 28 in the National Party.
Who are they?
Or are you just making it up?
What a tiny little point of order you raise. What a minuscule piece of pedantry you bring up. Instead of going with the essence of a comment and putting your view on that, you pick up on a single word and pontificate on your superior knowledge of what that word means.
This a prime perfect example of what trolling is. Never mind the thread, just drag a red herring across the topic trying to change the narrative. make it all about you and work hard at pissing people off.
I understand your MO because I went to school with annoying little pricks who did exactly the same thing.
I really should ignore you, but it’s like watching 2 monkeys at the zoo shagging their little hearts out. You have to watch and comment.
That’s nice dear.
You certainly seem to have the most peculiar hobbies.
Just keep away from young children.
As part of my contribution to the Sisyphean task of educating RWNJ:
https://fyi.org.nz/request/2412/response/7816/attach/html/2/MPs%20Qualifications.xlsx.html
You might be interested in de Toqueville’s predictions with respect to lawyers within a democratic system.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/DETOC/1_ch16.htm
How fascinating. You have certainly answered one question. At least at the time that list was prepared the statement about the number of lawyers was false.
When on earth was it done? I was hard pressed to even vaguely remember some of the names.
Cunliffe? Goff? Mathers? Turei? Norman?
The names seem to ring a bell somewhere but they certainly aren’t shining lights in the current Parliament are they?
“You can swim all day in the Sea of Knowledge and still come out completely dry. Most people do.” – The Phantom Tollbooth.
That quote I like.
Sounds like Lyndon Johnson.
When he got a bit down from what he thought were unfair attacks from the Washington Post he is reputed to have complained that
‘If I got up tomorrow and walked across the Potomac the headline in the Post the next day would be “President can’t swim”.’
I guess that explains why he continued for so long in Vietnam. He walked across, rather than swam in, the Sea of Knowledge.
Having made prostitution legal to enable the workers to insist on safety measures and not endure the two-faced disdain dumped on them, and to be able to earn a fair living at this therapeutic business, now it is said to be that NZs are undercut by foreign workers! What a pathetic society. Every time we take a step forward it seems to be followed by 2-3 steps back.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/358658/nz-sex-workers-undercut-by-illegal-foreign-prostitutes
One of the main sex work websites advertised more than 800 women, separated into Asian and non-Asian prostitutes.
A registration scheme on sites would mean only those eligible to work could advertise – and ensure everyone was paying tax, Ms O’Hara said…
Other prostitutes RNZ spoke to said they were being crowded out and undercut by immigrant sex workers, who were charging half the rates of their New Zealand counterparts.
Hamilton sex worker Lisa Lewis said most people who went on holiday maxed-out their credit cards.
“These girls are leaving with their credit cards in credit,” she said.
“It’s definitely a disadvantage for any legal sex worker because we are having to pay tax, the provisional, the income, the GST, ACC levies.
“They are leaving New Zealand without any of that taken off them, which is robbery of the government.”
No difference to NZ companies out sourcing our labour to India or wherever it is cheaper.
Take a look and see who is putting fibre in for your internet connections these past ten years.
Prostitution is not the same as installing technology in the ground or anywhere.
It is a delicate moral issue, and we have attempted to face up to it in NZ to the benefit of the workers and their clients. Allowing foreigners to come in and
exploit the workplace for this type of business shows the RW two-faced lack of integrity.
I’ve heard that some Indian students have made big sacrifices to come here. If they are allowed to come they should be treated fairly but I have also heard that Immigration can take people’s money, and when they have satisfied all the requirements, filled in the forms, the rules are changed and they are ineligible with no refund.
This time, in India, they have let sharks operating as agents operate in a feeding frenzy instead of establishing who is operating to standards, and registering them as officially recognised and reliable.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/358564/students-left-stranded-by-immigration-s-lack-of-oversight
Matters of “fairness and natural justice” are enshrined in Immigration NZ’s immigration policy, created by Cabinet.
But one year ago – at about the same time that issues of fraud and exploitation in the Indian student market became common – Immigration dismantled the complaint process by bypassing the need for Cabinet to make changes to immigration policy and introducing a new complaints process.
It states: “Complaints which only raise matters of the merits of a decision will not be accepted for an investigation into that decision.”
At the same time, Immigration began advising the minister that its strategy to clamp down on migrant exploitation was to target those migrants who are at risk of exploitation – to deport people who may become victims, rather than stop the exploitation itself.
Immigration has suggested that budget constraints were responsible for this strategy.
Immigration in any country seems to attract behaviour that is abrupt and cold-blooded. Here they seem to have a similar attitude to Indians as Australians have to NZs. I feel, at base, it is a racial bias that doesn’t see them as worthy as whites. But they are good for getting money into the country, which counts as exports, bringing in live bodies, while we send so many dead ones (animals) overseas.
Arrogant and just plain nasty.
The Immigration Protection Tribunal was set up as a judicial body independent of Immigration, and one of their functions is to review resident visa decisions. These decisions are published online.
While immigration instructions do not require Immigration to abide by principles set out in tribunal decisions, if the tribunal continues to point out that Immigration are making the same mistakes in their assessments, a responsive ministry would obviously correct those mistakes and amend its processes accordingly.
However, Immigration has taken the opposite approach over the past year and now makes it clear in its decisions that because it is not required to follow principles of policy interpretation in their decision-making, they are also entitled to ignore the tribunal’s criticisms of its decision-making.
McClymont sums up the situation well @grey.
I’m still waiting for the day when Immigration NZ (and its cohorts – Labour Inspectorate and Immigration Advisor’s Authority, etc.) realise that the best approach to reducing immigration and exploitation is to concentrate on the exploiters and scammers RATHER THAN their victims. The current approach means we’re just being complicit in what is effectively people trafficking. It’s actually quite disgusting.
Once was Tim
What you say fits in with what I have heard. Totally agree with you.
Not sure whether you’ll see this or not because todays nooze is tomorrows fush’n’chups wrapper with Open Moik and Daily Reviews (unless there’s a dedicated strand for a discussion).
Recent events (changes announced yesterday) go SOMEWAY to stopping exploitation: i.e. stopping visa bondage to a specific employer. If the employer is good – count yourself lucky. If not – prepare to be faced with another round of shady ‘consultants’ clipping the ticket; plus visa applicat fees; and probably a $2-3K cost to break free of the arsehole. Bear in mind, that arsehole probably has interests in associated businesses they’ve been channeling labour through – and DON’T for a moment think those arseholes a simply those from the same background (culture/ethnicity/etc). They ARE signed-up PR’d up CITIZEN-up people who are complicit in keeping this gravy train rolling.
But……..we’ll see. The situation actually rivals the HCNZ methcon, MSD dysfunction/MPI bovis stuff.
And if Iain L-G (who incidentally I have a lot of respect for) thinks his “officials are just the ticket and tickety boo), he’s really in need of some further “learnings going forward” if he doeesn’t want to suffer a similar fate as Phil T has had with HCNZ and Andrew Master of the Universe.
There’s now been so much shit with our corrupted ‘ps’ that the possibilities for class action claims of compensation “are not fanciful”.
(Btw, I can hear the screams now – Woodhouse who’s just stuck his oar in has reminded me of one – better HE should STFU for a start! – his credentials rival those of the “Oim Layvung Pulla Bent” – even if with a haughtier grin and posher eggsent goan forwid)
No @ grey….. fuk ’em!
My latest musings on immigration and borders at 10 Once was Tim. I
got it out of sequence by a big margin.
According to Hooton, over at the Herald salvage operation today, National’s support is “miraculous” ……Simon Bridges is the best thing since sliced bread.
Don’t you just love that old song “who do you think you are kidding Mr H…..”
Hear, hear Kat I had a quick look at the op ed and quickly decided that it was simply a love in with Soimun. Puke inducing stuff.
National are trying to make themselves out to be the new socialists that want to care for the people now they are in opposition.
Does that make them National Socialists?
Yes, pretty much.
NZ Jester
You are well named. Lol. Keep the quips up please to give us a needed giggle.
Yeah obviously he’s got an agenda behind that comment. The other option of course is that he’s really thick?
NZ. like most western democracy’s, has a roughly 50/50 split of voters between the left and right, with a center swinging vote block also. As National is the only party on the right you’d expect them to be between 40 and 5o percent at all times (unless they’re going through an amazingly bad patch)
So 45% IMO is the level they should be at without doing any work or any good at all, just by turning up and being the National party.
If our voting system was truly proportional (for example 100 list seats, 1% party vote threshold, 1% of total party vote =1 list MP) then ACT would have been gone ages ago as the Nats wouldn’t have been able to get extra seats off them
Despite mycoplasma bovis, the stock trucks are out in force tonight in the foggy Waikato.
Happy Gypsy Day, it’s business as usual…https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=12062147
IDEA Services…again the object of a damning Health and Disability Commission report.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/104356676/idea-services-blasted-over-treatment-of-vulnerable-man-found-with-surgical-glove-in-his-bowel
Seems like there was poor staff coverage…again…and yet, their annual returns would indicate their income (what they were being funded to provide the care) exceeded their expenditure, (what they actually spent on providing care…usually measured in person hours.) https://www.register.charities.govt.nz/CharitiesRegister/ViewCharity?accountId=bc751b66-268a-dc11-98a0-0015c5f3da29&searchId=4229de60-ee6f-4d1b-8404-6292e07b8c3a
seems like willy j made judith collins flip her wig on the am show this am. hehehhe. and garner lost it too. hehehehe x 2. just tell em willie boy is here!
Immigration seems to operate on the edge of society. They are dealing with people who want to change status and cross the border line after applying for admittance and seem to lose rights on both sides of the border. NZ can’t seem to do anything for our nationals who have settled in Oz which is not a society known for its good behaviour, and no doubt has a lot of criminality, yet our people having already served one year of prison can be plucked out of their family and held on spurious grounds in a concentration camp.
Other people escape from some bad situation and end up camping out in an airport lounge for years lacking the entry agreement to any country worth escaping to.
Academics have noted the lopsided effect of the free market, with open borders welcoming foreign goods and seeking cheap prices; but ffor people the borders are chancy. Even the promise of being able to obtain cheap goods is patchy. Looking at some particular clocks, which are not made in NZ, (what is,?) the majority of sellers already state they will not trade with NZ. The new GST for under $40 comes in next year. What then?
The effect of open borders seems to have a long-term toxic effect.