Colin Kemp, Immigration New Zealand's Shifting Goal Posts And The Skill Shortage List

The perils of emigrating on temporary work visas were recently highlighted with the story of Colin Kemp and his family who emigrated to New Zealand from Scotland last year.

According to various press reports Mr Kemp was granted a work visa after being offered a job whilst in NZ on holiday - a not uncommon route for many migrants. New Zealand officially used to have something called a 'skills shortage' and Mr Kemp's trade as an aluminium joiner was sought after, a 2 year job contract was offered to him and he was granted a temporary work visa.

Presumably the Kemp family's aim was to apply for permanent visas when they met the necessary 2 year requirement. However the dream turned into a nightmare when Mr Kemp was made redundant and effectively lost his work visa. But then his problems really started - getting another job offer was easy in comparison to getting another visa.

When he told Immigration New Zealand (INZ) that he'd been made redundant he was advised that getting a new visa involved a straight forward amendment to his current one and that he'd have 2-3 months to find a new position.

But when he applied for a temporary visitors visa he was then given conflicting information by the INZ in that he and his family were now over-stayers and had to leave the country, despite it costing the country nothing for them to remain there. To make matters worse he also found out that his occupation had recently been removed from the Skill Shortage List: the goal posts had not only been moved but the game had been called off.

Mr Kemp succeeded in finding another job but according to thisismoney.co.uk "officials told his prospective employer he was unlikely to get another work permit." The Kemp family, who is unable to claim benefits, is now reliant on family to pay for their tickets home to Britain. They may well have household belongings to ship home too which will cost $10,000-$20,000 and no doubt many other expenses associated with giving up their home in NZ and re-establishing themselves in the UK. Money that they simply do not have.

Lose-Lose situation
The Kemps lose their home, their dream, their savings and their security. One prospective employer has lost a valuable skilled worker, which will no doubt impact on his business' performance and NZ has lost the taxes that both Mr Kemp and his wife were paying.
Other prospective migrants will look at this debacle and wonder if NZ is worthy of their investment (migrating isn't cheap, it can easily cost a family tens of thousands of dollars that will never be recouped)

Employers denied skilled staff
Mike Bell, of a migrant support group in NZ, was interviewed on this matter and was quoted as saying
"These workers have been invited. But they are effectively being told New Zealand doesn't want them any more. Many have applications for new or renewed permits declined, even if their occupations are on the "Essential Skills" list. Desperate employers are denied permission to keep skilled staff....We are seeing families who have worked here years being effectively kicked out in two weeks.

'Many have existing jobs or offers of work in areas listed by immigration as being in dire shortage. Employers are tearing their hair out as there's nothing they can do."

The Kemps aren't the only ones:
South African to be deported after change in policy
Redundant migrants 'forced out'
Immigrants deceived
Government website claims mislead migrants
NZ accused of anti-immigration work visa policy

Dysfunctional
It seems that yet again INZ has dropped the ball and hasn't yet cast aside its "Dysfunctional" label. Between the government and its immigration service it's starting to look as if the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing. Or is INZ simply implementing government policy and implementing a headline grabbing "jobs for kiwis" policy?

Despite a recent radical shake-up following an Auditor General's report that was supposed to have brought the long ailing INZ in to line, it looks like it is still operating in an inconsistent way which is failing both the migrants that NZ still obviously needs and the employers it is supposed to be servicing.

For background see:
44 Occupations removed from immediate skill shortage list
NZ immigration service needs urgent attention
Inefficient immigration service still ruining immigrants' lives

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Toran Henry

Toran Henry died after a fight at Takapuna Grammar School.

Ryotaro Wright Attacked At Forest View High School

A number of news outlets are this morning carrying a story about another kid getting a beating - Ryotaro Wright a student of Forest View High School, Tokoroa who was actually attacked whilst at school.

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Google Street View: Forest View High School

"Whale muncher"
The allegations are that Ryotaro was dropped on his head by four bullies and his father told the NZ Herald yesterday:

"his son had been racially abused by four students over the past few weeks, including being called "whale muncher".
"I think they just think Asians are physically smaller than average Kiwis so it makes them easy targets. He's the type of boy who doesn't react normally, he sort of brushes things off."
On Tuesday morning, however, Wright believed his son was defending a friend.
"This big guy turned around and picked up Ryotaro and dropped him. I was told that these boys have been trying to bait Ryotaro for a while."

Forest View High School, whose motto is "Courage Knows No Defeat", recently honoured Ryotaro in its Premium Student Achievement Awards. He achieved the Year 9 JCEA with excellence having achieved at least 40 credits of the minimum 70 credits at the Excellence Level.
The attack left him with a potentially fatal blood clot which required surgery to remove, he may also suffer long term effects from a brain injury.
All Blacks members Richard Kahui and Ian Foster are both ex students of the school.

NZ second worst in world for school bullying

New Zealand recently scored second worst in the world for school bullying, ranking 34 out of 35 countries in a major international study.
Auckland paediatrician Ian Hassall said the high rates of bullying reflected a "punitive culture". Mr Hassall used to be the Children's Commissioner

"It's not just children who are bullied; adults bully as well," Hassall said. "We do have a punitive society that rather believes in punishing people and threatening them, so it's not surprising that children pick up on this and go punishing one another."

Other recent incidents

The attack comes just days after two sisters aged 13 and 14 were arrested after a mob attack at Fairfield College, Hamilton which took place last Wednesday.

There was a spate of seemingly random attacks on teenagers in June, see: Brutal attacks on teens. One of the attacks was on a 15 year old Thai student from Marlborough Boys' College who was punched repeatedly in the face.

In February two particularly disturbing incidents occured:

• A 10 year old boy threatened to commit suicide by jumping from the roof of the Ascot Community School, Invercargill after he was bullied.

• An alleged gang fight involving members of the "Wax Assassins" broke out at Hutt Valley High School.

In August 2008 2 year 9 pupils from a Lower Hutt College were suspended after luring a 15 year old boy to a train station where he was beaten and left for dead.

See also:
news reports on the death of Takapuna Grammar School pupil Toran Henry


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Would You Like A Future With That? The Burgerization of McZealand, Up To $16,000 A Head (updated)

Update: The Dom Post is carrying a story today saying "McDonald's restaurants will receive up to $16,000 a year of taxpayers' money every time it recruits a beneficiary under a partnership with Work and Income.That's potentially a $112 million bill for the tax payer.

New Zealand already has the world's greatest number of McDonalds restaurants per $GDP and the second highest number per capita (the first is the United States) add to that New Zealand's dismal record in obseity - third highest in the OECD - and many will ask does the country really need more fast food joints.

One time truck stop waitress Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett is citing the relationship with the fast-food giant as an example of the Government's commitment to getting beneficiaries into jobs but a long-term unemployed person could gain an employer a $16,000 subsidy over 12 months more than $300 a week.

Seems like an awful amount of money to be spending at a time when cut backs are being made in higher education courses.

On 20 May 2007 John Key promised:

"If I have the great honour of becoming Prime Minister of this country then I want to leave a legacy too.

My legacy will be a strong New Zealand economy with higher wages, lower taxes and greater competitiveness. My legacy will be a country that young New Zealanders want to stay and work in.That's what a National government will give you."

Contrast that with recent reports in the papers:

• Stuff.co.nz "Thousands of beneficiaries could soon be flipping burgers under a deal between Work and Income and McDonald's."

• NZ Herald "Education Minister Anne Tolley says there is no more money to fund extra places in polytechnics during the recession. Between 6000 and 8000 students would be turned away because of the Government cap on places in the following year." (ed. but there's 7000 jobs going at Maccas)
  

• Jobless people looking to upskill through polytechnics could be turned away if the Government does not lift the enrolment cap."

Back in May the Department of Work and Income struck up a deal with global fast food giant McDonalds to provide 6,000 new jobs in New Zealand over the next three years.

Any ideas other than McDonald's?

At the time MP Jacinda Arden asked the minister of youth affairs Paula Bennett this question across the floor of parliament:

"Will the Minister adopt any ideas other than those generated by McDonald’s, such as those ideas generated by the Youth Jobs Summit I hosted last week, including greater investment in skills and training, lifting the cap for tertiary education, and introducing a guaranteed employment or training scheme for the long-term unemployed under the age of 25 years, given that the Minister sees the power of working together to create creative solutions?"

I think her question must've gone unanswered.

That is until today, when our worst fears were confirmed with the news about 7,000 (ed. where did the extra 1,000 come from? ) McDonalds jobs are to be advertised and trained for by the Department of Work and Income over the next over 5 years (ed. huh? I thought it was 3 years )

Is this the best they could come up with and is a job with McDonalds a career for life which will give all Kiwis higher wages?

Is this THE initiative that will give "young New Zealanders a country that they'll want to stay and work in" or just a cynical attempt to hack a few digits off the unemployment figures?

Last year Chantelle Coup, age 18 and who now lives in Australia, was awarded $15,000 after being constructively dismissed from the McDonalds in Kaiapoi for joining the union 'Unite' in August 2007. Chantelle, who was 17 at the time, had her hours cut and she was bullied into resigning. Chantelle later said that she'd like to use the money to pay off her student debts.

At the time Unite's national director Mike Treen said in a statement that his union often had problems with McDonald's franchise operators, saying that they often took the decision of their employees to join the union as a personal affront.

The employer was also found to have been destructive in their dealings with Unite Union and to have used undue influence to get their employees to resign from the union.

The restaurant manager was described in the Employment Relations Authority report to have been in a "position of significant influence" over their work. The boss, Patrick Cornish, was described as a "father figure", and it was acknowledged that McDonalds Kaiapoi is "part of a large and powerful organisation."

The workers there were all young and none of them had guaranteed days or hours of work. This fact, coupled with pressure from the manager was found to have pushed a number of staff to resign from the union.

"That is one reason we want security of hours included in their new collective agreement with McDonald's."

Unite also stepped up its campaign to end bullying at McDonalds restaurants and supported staff at four sites to stop work to protest a contract that allowed their employer to use their shift roster as a form of bullying and control. They cited cases where a McDonald’s manager demanded that a seventeen-year-old girl stay and finish her shift after her foot was run over whilst working at a drive through and many occasions where workers were pressured to work two or three eight hour shifts in a row with no breaks or being rostered off.

Patrick Cornish said he would appeal the decision and file a new case with the Employment Court. Chantelle would have to return from Australia where she now lives to attend the hearing. Mr Cornish did have a range of other options open to him including making an out of court settlement. No such case seems to have been heard at the Employment Court. but neither has there been any news about Chantelle receiving her compensation.


In October 2008 Unite organised a series of lunch and dinner strikes in Auckland and Hamilton at around the time that McDonalds Corporation announced a third quarter profit of $1.07 billion. The rolling strikes in some of NZ's poorest suburbs were used to put pressure on the company to match what competitor 'Restaurant Brands' (KFC, Starbucks and Pizza Hut) pays union members. Full time managers and crew at Restaurant Brands are paid $20.80 to $174.40 a week more than McDonald's workers. Mike Treen said:

"It's disgusting the world largest fast food corporation is gloating over its soaring profits while the majority of its crew are stuck on minimum wage and managers are paid less than $15 an hour. It is however a true reflection of the world economy with the rich getting richer and making sure the poor stay poor.

"There have now been more than 35 strikes at 24 different restaurants and we plan to escalate this campaign until our 1200 union members at McDonald's get secure hours and decent pay rises."

Wage rates for 16 and 17 year olds are 80% of the adult rate, i.e.$10 an hour but that rate is supposed to have been abolished at all the employers organized by Unite including McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Burger King, and the major movie theatre chains.

Is McDonalds really the best company to be pouring the future of New Zealand's youth into and will it do anything to address New Zealand's much lamented low wage economy or its expanding waist line.

I seriously doubt it.

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Tourism NZ Chief Exec 'Steps Down'

It was a quiet, low key resignation that merited a few lines in today's Herald which simply stated

"Tourism New Zealand said chief executive George Hickton is stepping down after 10 years in the role.

Hickton is resigning to allow a replacement to settle in before the 2011 Rugby World Cup is hosted in New Zealand, the agency said."

A few words but they speak volumes - his resignation and the Rugby World Cup are the only things mentioned in the statement. No thanks at all for a guy who'd spent 10 years in a role that oversaw the tourism business expand exponentially in NZ and the most successful tourism campaign of all time - Saachi's '100% Pure NZ'.

In a recent video on YouTube he gave no indication at all that he had any intention of leaving Tourism NZ, or that he wouldn't be around to see it through to next year.

Remember the furore that Mathieu Bastareaud caused when he made the allegation of a street attack in Wellington? (he refused to make an official complaint to the police, who investigated it anyway) At the time Mr Hickton said the incident was a 'wake-up call for the country.'

Mr Hickton seemed to have taken M. Bastareaud's complaint in good faith, after all attacks on tourists in New Zealand are hardly unusual. His statement simply echoed those made in the past which followed attacks on tourists, such as those issued by a Tourism NZ 'spokeswoman', Tourism West Coast general manager Sonya Matthews and Christchurch and Canterbury Tourism marketing general manager Dean Gorddard in this press article: Another Tourist Attack In New Zealand - Attack sparks tourist warning

Apr 23, 2008

"With another tourist recovering from an seemingly unprovoked attack, tourism leaders are urging operators not to be afraid of warning people of the risks of travelling in New Zealand".

And of course there are the safety warnings that were issued to Asian and Dutch tourists.

Now that Mr Hickton has 'fallen on his sword' who within New Zealand will have the courage to voice their concerns next time a tourist is killed or injured and call for better information to be given to visitors?

See Also
"Lessons from the no-so-friendly isles"
"In general, it is not a bad place to live or visit and has many pluses - but it ain't the happy-friendly cove of wonderfulness that the PR mob would have you believe either. There are wrong times and places in this country and it can be downright dangerous. A wrong look here, a dodgy remark here, and you might be up the proverbial without a paddle........."

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Crossing the Rubicon - NZ Raises Quarter Million GE Trees For United States

A Quarter Million NZ Raised GE Eucalyptus Trees Intended for Planting in U.S
Media Release 28 June 2009 Soil &Health Association of New Zealand

More than a quarter of a million genetically engineered (GE) eucalyptus trees exported from New Zealand stand to shred New Zealand’s clean, green brand and risk large-scale health and environmental damage, according to the Soil & Health Association of New Zealand.

ArborGen, the (GE) tree research and development giant, which is one third owned by New Zealand company Rubicon (formerly Fletcher Challenge Forestry), is trying to plant 260,000 GE cold tolerant eucalyptus trees in 29 so called “field trials” in 7 different US states. These trees will be able to flower and set seed, and while not permitted to be field trialled in New Zealand have been developed in and exported from New Zealand. They are derived from the hybrid of Eucalyptus grandis X Eucalyptus urophylla.

Submissions to the United States Department of Agriculture’s regulatory authority Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) close July 6.

ArborGen and Rubicon have a collaborative GE tree development contract with Crown Research Institute Scion, formerly known as Forest Research Institute. Rubicon has stated that it wants commercialisation of GE forests in New Zealand to have less regulatory impediments.

The development is part of a drive to commercialise a new source of hardwood trees for the US South pulp and paper industry, and the cold-tolerant variety also as a raw material for second-generation wood derived biofuels. Arborgen currently has US government funding for research and development of biofuels. However there is international concern with the use of wood for bio-fuel because of the destructive impacts on biodiversity and on rural and indigenous communities worldwide. GE eucalypts from New Zealand have also been exported to Brazil.

“Such plantings would not be accepted by New Zealanders, but big New Zealand business combined with proven sloppy Scion scientists are prepared to take big risks globally,” said Soil & Health spokesperson Steffan Browning.

“Scion and Rubicon’s involvement with large-scale GE brings shame to New Zealand’s clean, green GE-free reputation.”

“The government must stop the export of genetically engineered plants, animals and products from New Zealand. A clean, green brand does not include products of genetic engineering or participation in planting of new global weeds.”

US environmentalists are also expressing serious concerns, as one parent line of the GE eucalypt hybrid being trialed is a known host for a fatal fungal pathogen CRYTOCOCCUS Gattii. This pathogen has been found in the US and can cause fatal fungal meningitis in people and animals that inhale its spores. It is believed that creating extensive habitats for the fungal pathogen is dangerous and foolhardy.

In California, eucalypts often out-compete native plant species and are now widespread throughout the coastal and southern parts of the state. Authorities spend millions annually to eradicate these invasive trees.

New Zealand’s Rubicon is keen for ArborGen’s GE cold tolerant eucalypts to be commercialised in a wide range of new regions, allowing them to flower and set seeds. The cold-tolerance is bred in to the GE eucalypts to allow greater geographic spread where they can outperform other species native to those regions.”

“The wilding pine scenario in New Zealand should alert anyone with concerns for biodiversity about the risks of Rubicon and ArborGen’s current US application,” said Mr Browning.

At last year’s UN Convention on Biological Diversity the New Zealand government voted against suspending GE tree plantings while more conclusive proof of environmental safety occurred.

“Scion has already shown serious negligence with its own GE pine field trial last year and then made misleading claims about the trial’s environmental outcomes. Those in charge of the GE pine tree field trial at Rotorua were continuously in breach of consent conditions and international obligations, for the trial’s duration.”

Research conducted by Columbia University (4) has found eucalyptus to be a great threat to ecosystems. The US Forest Service has also reported on the ability of eucalypts to suppress the growth of other plants and their increased fire risk. (5) Duke University scientists have created pollen models that show tree pollen travelling for over 1,000 kilometres from a forest in North Carolina northward into eastern Canada. (6)

“With the serious risks of genetic engineering, Rubicon, Scion and Arborgen are being reckless and damaging to New Zealand primary production, tourism and manufacturing’s best value trading brands - clean and green and 100% Pure. Just as Nuclear Free has resonance with New Zealanders and our international customers alike, so does GE Free, with New Zealand polls consistently showing almost 70% opposed to GE,” said Mr Browning.

“New Zealand Corporates and Crown Research Institutes need to be more responsible and share the clean green vision.”

Soil & Health has a vision of an Organic 2020 with a motto of Healthy Soil, Healthy Food, Healthy People, and is active in seeking genuinely sustainable solutions for New Zealand production and environment."
Ends.

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Mairehau School Goes Into Lock Down As Shots Fired

Mairehau High School went into lock down at around 11.30am today after reports of shots heard in the vicinity of a property on Hills Road, Christchurch. There were no reports of casualties and both the lock down and police cordon were lifted shortly after.
Update: According to NZCity two 19 year olds were later arrested for discharging a firearm near a dwelling.

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The incident may have caused alarm to many of the residents because the school is approximately 7 km from Wadhurst Place, the street where paraplegic man Shayne Richard Sime went on the rampage with a shotgun and rifle on Sunday night.

Sime, who held a firearms licence, was later shot dead by police after a 4 hour siege, during which over 100 rounds of ammunition were discharged and a member of the public and a police officer were injured.

Almost 2 months ago the town of Napier hit the world news headlines when gunman Jan Molenaar holed up in his house and killed a police officer and seriously injured 3 other people.

There are an estimated 230,000 licensed firearms owners in New Zealand, the number of weapons in circulation is unknown but is thought to exceed 1.1 million. For background see: Armed sieges and gun politics in New Zealand.

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