13/07/18 - Labour shortage puts further squeeze on manufacturing index in June

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A further fall in manufacturing activity during June confirms the slide in business confidence isn’t just due to anti-government sentiment.

Skilled labour shortages are continuing to restrict capacity, as industry is facing increased demand. 

The BNZ-BusinessNZ performance of manufacturing index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 52.8 in June from 54.4 in May.

This is the second successive monthly drop, taking the PMI to its lowest level since December 2017's reading of 51. 

The employment component of index eased for a second straight month, dropping from 49.0 to 49.6. A reading above 50 indicates manufacturing is expanding while below 50 it is declining.

BNZ senior economist Craig Ebert describes this as a “red flag” if it continues.

"A flat to negative result on this component is not necessarily alarming,” he says. “But two in a row can start to ask some questions."

Four of five components decline

Three of the four other components in the index also fell. Production was down to 51.8 from 53.4 in May, its lowest point since January.

Finished stocks fell to 50.2 from 51.6 and deliveries dropped to 51.3 from 58.4.

The only positive measure was a rise in new orders from 56.7 to 57.1.

Mr Ebert says manufacturers report near extreme levels of difficulty in finding staff, whether skilled or unskilled. 

"These resourcing issues need to be borne in mind when assessing the weak-looking jobs index in the PMI," he says. "A lack of hiring can reflect a paucity of decent candidates, as much as a lack of demand for staff."

He adds the deceleration in the PMI over the past couple of months may not continue as the positive growth in new orders is encouraging.

In her analysis, BusinessNZ executive director Catherine Beard says the proportion of positive comments in the June (51.7%) decreased from May (55.1%) and is similar to February’s figure (51.4%).

"Those who provided negative comments typically noted a general downturn and uncertainty in the market," she says.

During 2017, the PMI was in expansion mode. It averaged 56.2, compared with this year’s trend of 53.8 (excluding April’s spike of 59.1).

The 53.8 figure is also the long-term trend going back to August 2002.

The complementary BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Services Index (PSI) will be issued on Monday.

(Source: NBR, Nevil Gibson)

16/07/18 - Elderly parents of migrants left in limbo over visa changes

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Elderly overseas parents desperate to join their children in New Zealand say the government is sweeping their plight under the carpet after failing to announce what it will do about the residence parent category.

The previous government froze the residence category that allowed parents to join their children in October 2016 while it was reviewed.

In September last year, Immigration New Zealand said work was continuing on the review, and recommendations were expected to be reported to the minister of immigration by the end of the year.

Scottish farmer David Kerr and wife Julia Kerr said they had been waiting two-and-a-half years to find out if they could join their two daughters and five grandchildren in Sumner, Christchurch.

They have written to the government saying they were desperate to know their future.

"We have no other children and are missing being with them full time," they said in an email.

"At the time of closing the door to the parent category, we thought we were probably near the top of the pile, so you can see how frustrated and sad we are feeling.

"Also, time is ticking on and no one knows how many more years of active retirement we have."

"I do fully understand we have no rights to come to New Zealand but I just feel the government maybe should just tell us what's going on ... just keep us informed somehow," Mr Kerr said.

New Zealand citizen Carole Barker said her mother Norah Cheetham, 83, who is in England, is in good health but needed to spend her twilight years with her only daughter.

"Frustrated doesn't even begin to describe the anguish this embargo is causing to these trapped in the void," she said.

"It seems to us that this 'shadowy' group of predominately elderly people are being pushed 'under the carpet' and ignored.

"[It] is not exactly what we expected from a caring, 'family-focused' coalition government."

An Immigration New Zealand spokesperson said it was currently processing more than 300 applications for parent category visas lodged before the review was announced.

"We are not, however, currently selecting new expressions of interest to apply for a parent category visa, and no decision has been made about when selections may restart," the spokesperson said.

(Source: RNZ, Gill Bonnett)

Comments;

When this application was frozen, it was supposed to be closed for 2 years only. This would mean that the "new" reviewed instructions would be made public around October 2018. Apparently rumors started flowing in the market that consultations and the review of the instructions would take place in June/July 2018, however no progress has been reported yet. Yes, I fully agree that urgent clarification is required from INZ on this category as there are many family members waiting in the wings to join their family in New Zealand.

08/07/18 - Children of migrant families do better at school – and we should think about why

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WOULD THIS ALSO BE APPLICABLE TO NEW ZEALAND?

Children of migrant families in Australia consistently outperform their non-migrant peers at school. And new analysis using NAPLAN data shows schools with lots of migrant-background students not only achieve at higher levels, but they have higher growth over time, on average, too.

Australia is one of the few countries in the world where students of migrant families (i.e. kids who are born in Australia but have parents born overseas) achieve at significantly higher levels than non-immigrant students, according to the OECD's international problem-solving test for 15-year-olds, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

New Grattan Institute analysis goes further to compare the rates of student growth as students move through schooling over time, rather than achievement at a single point in time. Our analysis uses NAPLAN data to compare the growth of schools with different proportions of students with language backgrounds other than English (LBOTE), many who have probably come from families who have migrated to Australia in recent decades.

Our findings are striking. Schools with lots of students with a language background other than English make much more rapid learning growth on average, especially in numeracy.

The chart shows how much progress students make in NAPLAN numeracy between Year 3 and Year 5, depending on the demographics of their school.

Students at "migrant rich" schools (where more than three-quarters of the children have a language background other than English) make about three months more growth than students at schools with few migrants (where less than 10 per cent of students are classified as LBOTE). The gap is even bigger in secondary school: students at migrant-rich schools make seven months more growth in numeracy results between Year 7 and Year 9.

In reading, children with a language background other than English make slightly slower progress at primary school. But in secondary school, this trend is reversed: migrant-background students' learning growth outstrips their native peers by about six months between Year 7 and Year 9.

Our analysis compares rates of growth in schools on a like-for-like basis, so that the influence of socio-economic characteristics are taken into account (lower socio-economic-status [SES] typically make slower learning progress than higher-SES students). The LBOTE group also includes roughly 11 per cent of students who speak Indigenous languages, whose results are typically much worse than the overall average.

There are several possible explanations for this counter-intuitive phenomenon that migrant kids do better than non-immigrant kids at school.

One likely reason is that migrant students are pushed harder by parents who had sufficient drive and ambition to seek opportunities in a new country. Many may have made family decisions to emigrate "so the children could find a better life". Children in this situation might be more motivated to study hard and learn more.

Another explanation could be that migrant students are more likely to receive out-of-school tutoring and focus more on homework. Or they simply better prepare for the NAPLAN tests. Although these reasons cannot entirely explain why migrant students in Australia perform better on international PISA tests which assess real-world problem-solving skills, a test that is harder to "game" or prepare for in advance compared with NAPLAN.

Alternatively it could be that the cognitive benefits of learning an additional language help boost LBOTE students' performance more generally compared with their monolingual peers.

It's also possible that the higher rates of average performance at migrant-rich schools are partially coming from improvements in the non-migrant students sitting in those classrooms. The "peer effect" has been shown to be a big influence on student performance, so a school where hard-studying migrant students set the culture might be expected to do better overall.

OECD evidence shows non-migrant students tend to perform better in the collaboration aspects of assessment when they attend schools with a larger proportion of immigrant students. In addition, teachers may find migrant-rich classrooms are better behaved and easier to engage in learning, and can simply do their jobs better.

Similarly there could be many reasons why migrant kids do better than non-immigrant kids at school in Australia compared with other countries, for example the US and Britain. This finding holds true after accounting for student family background and socio-economic status.

One explanation could be the type of migrant families settling in Australia, given our highly skilled migration program. Given our more selective visa intake, our migrant students may have stronger baseline academic proficiency compared with migrant students settling elsewhere.

Or it could be that Australia is better in resettling migrants and helping them settle into school, through better targeted support programs, better access to general health and social services, or simply a more welcoming school environment.

These findings on migrant students are important given that Australia's school education results are stagnating. We should look at students of migrant families, and migrant-rich schools, and learn the lessons.

Julie Sonnemann is the school education fellow at the Grattan Institute. The institute's new analysis will be published later this year.

(Source: Financial Review, Julie Sonnemann)

06/07/18 - Immigration dumps controversial deportation analytical tool

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© RNZ Data obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act with regards to Immigration NZ's data-modelling work. Immigration New Zealand has scrapped data and predictive modelling work it did to prioritise deportations.

The Privacy Commissioner and Human Rights Commission said they would work with the agency it if it developed technology or a similar initiative to the data-modelling in the future.

Documents obtained under the Official Information Act show Immigration New Zealand (INZ) set up a pilot scheme which targeted Indian students for compliance action, while the other dealt with all nationalities and visa types.

The data-modelling work was put on hold by Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway after RNZ revealed its existence in April.

INZ subsequently denied that nationality was one of the criteria used to decide which overstayers it would target.

One of the released documents stated: "The data is currently being used to quantify and prioritise harm that has occurred in order to inform prioritisation of compliance activities.

"The ambition is to extend the harm model into a predictive model that can be used to predict the likelihood of long-term harm to NZ Inc based on demographics and individual harm."

Other documents showed Immigration New Zealand's Northern area compliance team used a points matrix at its weekly meeting to prioritise cases for action, using Indians as one of its criteria for deporting offenders.

"This matrix currently assigns values based on: whether the offending is INZ related, the gravity and date of the offending, the availability of the information source, whether there is a suspect, their history with INZ, reputational risk to INZ, whether the suspect is Indian (the current system focus of the high harm definition) and whether there is evidence available."

The 'harm model' spreadsheet shows how demographic details such as gender and age were included among the criteria.

Some of the spreadsheet and all of the recommendations in a report on the extended harm model were redacted.

The spreadsheet included profiles, the first of which is for people under investigation for serious offences.

The second is for "male with partnership application following Visa application decline" and the third "male student with low attendance at PTE (private training establishment). Likely to be working unlawfully".

Immigration lawyer Richard Small said the second and third criteria were an unstated euphemism for Indian overstayers, even though India accounted for only the fourth largest number of overstayers.

The inclusion of Indians as one of the two trials, and a points matrix where "Indian" was one of the criteria to prioritise cases was racial profiling by any other name, he said.

There had always been a priority list - such as deportations for serious criminals - but he said the trend was towards algorithms.

"You can have some risk indicators if they are neutral and socially acceptable - I don't think one that says Indian is acceptable. I think that's way too broad and you need to be a lot more nuanced," Mr Small said.

"If INZ want automatic selection of 'bad people' to take away common sense judgment and then not have transparency to explain how decisions were reached, you're going to have an element of suspicion and risk disconnection with certain communities."

Even if it had not got to the stage of automatic profiling, there was evidence of poor and nontransparent record-keeping, without checks and balances, he said.

The documents also suggested compliance teams wanted to work more closely with visa decision makers, including those dealing with so-called Section 61 appeals, which can regularise the immigration status of an overstayer.

That raised concerns that the compliance priorities were weighing on visa decision-making, Mr Small said.

Assurances to the Privacy Commissioner that facts would be recorded in visa decisions when an exemption to the Privacy Act was brought in were not being honoured, he said.

"We've got a situation where we've got no transparency about how the facts are considered in individual cases," he said.

"Where this seems to be leading is to pre-deciding applications, pre-determination.

"Now that's not good for the immigration system. You can certainly signal risks, that's fine.

"But I think the risk is it becomes virtually a done deal, before the application even hits the desk, physical or electronic, Immigration's mind has already been made up."

In a statement, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) said a High-Harm pilot Model that focused on overstayers was implemented in July 2014 and was used to develop a spreadsheet for prioritisation in 2016.

INZ manager Peter Devoy confirmed that both the pilot programme and the Compliance prioritisation spreadsheet were no longer in use.

"The Privacy Commissioner noted that the analytical tool under discussion has not been used for 'racial profiling' nor does it appear to have been deployed in any way that would cause concern.

"Noting that terms such as "profiling" cause public concern and suspicion, both the Privacy Commissioner and the Human Rights Commission have offered to assist INZ in the development of any future technology or initiative of this type. There will be full engagement with both offices in any such future activity."

INZ said questions about whether the data models had informed decision-making processes, whether Indian immigrants were still being targeted for compliance action and if the profiles on the harm matrix were priorities for deportation would be treated as a separate Official Information Act request.

Compliance Risk and Intelligence Services general manager Nicola Hogg said the State Services Commission's

Continuous Improvement team worked on the early stages of the Compliance team review, which produced the pilots and spreadsheet.

In April, INZ said it had not evaluated the total number of people deported using the pilot - but did say it was certain there had been what the department called "high priority" deportations as a result of the modelling.

Migrant Workers Association spokesperson Anu Kaloti said decision makers should be looking at cases more holistically as many immigrants had fallen victim to previous government policy on international education.

"There should really be a huge outcry and rage at this," Ms Kaloti said.

"It definitely sounds like racial profiling to me. And what should be done? There should be a huge inquiry into this," she said.

"I know they do have policies and guidelines so they should stick to their guidelines, they should not be allowed to operate outside of those frameworks."

(Source: MSN News)

29/06/18 - 200 Indian students visas being reviewed over Ombudsman complaint

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Immigration New Zealand (INZ) is reviewing more than 200 Indian student visa applications after the Ombudsman criticised some of its decision-making processes.

It follows the deportation of a group of students after their offshore agents used fake documents to get them into the country. 

Student Vikram Salaria's quest to study and settle in New Zealand has been met with heartbreak. His school was recently shut over quality issues, and last year his wife and daughter were among those deported after seeking refuge at a church. 

"It's the same like criminals, yes. We didn't do anything... haven't done anything," he told Newshub. 

He says unscrupulous agents faked information in his wife's application - without her knowledge.

And the Ombudsman "identified some concerns about the level of analysis undertaken by immigration officers before declining applications on character grounds".

However he didn't disagree with the decision to have her deported.

"The Ombudsman has criticized INZ for their processes, their inconsistency," says immigration lawyer Alastair McClymont. 

Immigration Minister Iain-Lees Galloway says overwhelmingly, the Ombudsman "has found that INZ acted appropriately, but where shortcomings have been identified, INZ have indicated that they will take steps to rectify that.

"Part of that will involve an audit of 213 cases. Mr Salaria's wife's case will also be looked at. "I talked with her and she is very hopeful that she can come back over here," says Mr Salaria.

But there's no certainty about whether that's likely or not. Mr Galloway says he wants to look at the report and consider what the options are. 

Mr McClymont made the complaint, and says the decision is encouraging. But some aspects trouble him because the Ombudsman found false information is a deportable violation - even if it was the agent who lied, rather than the student. 

"The Ombusman is saying that after signing that form, the student is solely responsible for everything," he says.

Mr McClymont adds that this could lead to fewer students reporting irregularities in their applications, as they'll know it'll lead to deportation.

INZ says it's still working out the scope of its audit and will report back in four months. 

(Source: Newshub, Michael Morrah)

28/06/18 - Government to make it easier to hire overseas construction workers in face of labour shortage

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The government is proposing changes to make it easier to employ workers from overseas to work in the building and construction industry.

There’s officially a shortfall of 30,000 workers. (Source: 1 NEWS)

The KiwiBuild Skills Shortage List would mean construction firms can go through a quicker process to hire staff, when they cannot recruit locally.

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said it was estimated that the country was 30,000 workers short, particularly plumbers, electricians, engineers, builders and project managers.

"This is a broader, more comprehensive and quicker approach for the construction sector to get the skilled workers it needs than the 'KiwiBuild Visa' that was proposed last year. It's clear we need workers to be available more quickly."

These proposals aim to speed up the process and circumvent the need to create a new visa category.

Mr Lees-Galloway said the list could be in place in about six months.

"However, any changes would be time-limited so that the sector doesn't become permanently dependent on migrant workers, but does allow time to train up Kiwis".

"We want a sustainable construction workforce to provide opportunities for New Zealanders to train and work in the sector, but that doesn't happen overnight, which is why we need these changes for the short term."

The proposed changes to the immigration settings will introduce:

• The KiwiBuild Skills Shortage List to provide an expedited process to fill specific roles for which it is known demand exceeds domestic supply.
• An employer accreditation or alternative pre-approval model for the construction sector to provide certainty and flexibility for employers who exhibit good practices to recruit overseas workers and allow for simplicity and speed of processing visa applications
• Specific requirements to accredit labour hire companies to manage the risk of worker exploitation and the potential for under-cutting of wages and conditions of New Zealand workers that may result and to incentivise good employment practices.

(Source: RNZ rnz.co.nz)

27/06/18 - Government plans to make hiring foreign building workers easier

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The Government plans to make it easier for foreign building and construction workers to be hired to get its KiwiBuild programme and other projects moving.It is proposing a new KiwiBuild skills shortage list. That is in addition to the existing immediate skills shortage list, Canterbury skills shortage list and long-term skills shortage list.

There would be an easier process for companies who met certain requirements to recruit foreign tradespeople from overseas, and labour hire companies could gain accreditation to also recruit from overseas, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway and Building and Construction Minister Jenny Salesa announced today.

The visas issued to the foreign workers would be for only a limited time as the local workforce was built up, but Lees-Galloway could not put a timeframe on that today.

"We want to make it absolutely clear that this is a temporary solution."

It is estimated that the country is around 30,000 short of the workers it needs for all the housing and infrastructure work planned.

That includes the Government's promise to deliver 100,000 homes in 10 years.Under the new measures, local building and construction companies will have to take on apprentices if they want a slice of the KiwiBuild work as a condition of the procurement process.

"We've received around about 100 responses to our proposals for KiwiBuild houses. All of them had to give us, in terms of the criteria, that they're going to be doing skills and training for young people," Salesa said.

In December last year, Lees-Galloway added seven building-related occupations to the immediate skills shortage list, saying it would make it easier for employers to get the people they needed.

In the lead-up to last year's election, Labour campaigned on immigration cuts of 20,000 to 30,000 through tightening visa requirements and introducing a "Kiwibuild Visa". That idea, in which residential building firms would have to train a local if they hired a worker from overseas, has now been dropped.

National leader Simon Bridges today called it "rank hypocrisy" that Labour was going to slash immigration before the election but now acknowledged a need for skilled migrants.

"We've always said actually you need sensible immigration for the skills and the capital they bring and now it seems very belatedly the Government's come around to this."

Housing Minister Phil Twyford, who this week asked for registrations of interest from New Zealand and overseas in setting up factories to make KiwiBuild houses, yesterday said in Parliament that the Government was not planning on bringing in workers from overseas.

Today National's housing spokeswoman Judith Collins asked Twyford what discussions he'd had with Salesa about bringing in "1500 KiwiBuild Visa workers from overseas to build KiwiBuild houses".

Twyford said he'd had many discussions with Salesa.

A Cabinet paper from Salesa on the action plan on construction skills suggests one way of increasing New Zealand's own workforce is the "Dole for Apprenticeships" scheme.

The scheme would give employers a wage subsidy for offering apprenticeships and full-time, permanent work to those on benefits, particularly young people.

The Cabinet paper also acknowledged that KiwiBuild's use of modular building methods would change the skills and labour needs of the workforce and require "significant investment" by the sector in new technology.Lees-Galloway expected the KiwiBuild Skills Shortages List to be in place in about six months.

The proposed changes to the immigration settings will introduce:

• A KiwiBuild Skills Shortage List to provide an expedited process to fill specific roles for which we know demand exceeds domestic supply;
• An employer accreditation or alternative pre-approval model for the construction sector to provide certainty and flexibility for employers who exhibit good practices to recruit overseas workers and allow for simplicity and speed of processing visa applications
• A specific requirements to accredit labour hire companies to manage the risk of worker exploitation and the potential for under-cutting of wages and conditions of New Zealand workers that may result and to incentivise good employment practices.

(Source: NZ Herald, Lucy Bennett)

13/06/18 - Migrant's advice to those thinking of giving up on NZ dream: Swallow your pride, let the experts help

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"Swallow your pride" and "let the experts help" - that's one migrant's advice to frustrated migrants thinking of giving up on New Zealand.

Lyla Chia Lin-Lee, 32, moved to New Zealand from Taiwan in 2016 after she married a Taiwanese-New Zealander, but said she struggled to adapt.

"I used to work in a big semi-government-owned financial services company and found New Zealand so different and that the market here is so much smaller," she said.

"After sending out hundreds of job applications, I couldn't even secure an interview and it really dented my confidence."

Lin-Lee said the thought of giving up and going back to Taiwan crossed her mind.

In the year to April, 30,000 non-New Zealand citizens who had been living here on a permanent or long-term basis left this country, according to Statistics New Zealand.

This was an increase of 23 per cent on the year before.

"I found settling in New Zealand really tough, but I am married to a Kiwi and I had to find a way to make things work," Lin-Lee said.

She attended an expo that year which she said changed her life.The ANZ Migrant Expo, created to help migrants settle in New Zealand, will be held at The Cloud on Auckland's waterfront this Saturday, June 16, for the sixth year running.

There, Lin-Lee said, she received help from human resources professionals to change the way her CV was written.

She also made connections with Chinese community groups and local public services, and new friends who were also recent migrants.

Now Lin-Lee is working as a trade support professional in Albany on Auckland's North Shore, and is also expecting her first child.

"When I first came, I depended on Google and thought I could do everything myself," Lin-Lee said.

"But I want to say to other migrants, sometimes when you swallow your pride and let the experts help, that's when things start to happen."

The expo this year will focus on helping migrants understand New Zealand's education system, employment, living and community support offerings.

There will be eight seminars and more than 70 stalls, and entry is free.

Jack Hou, ANZ's head of migrant and Auckland Asian banking, said the expo was created to help new New Zealanders access practical advice and public services as they settle into life in Aotearoa.

Annual next migration is down 4800 from a high point a year ago.

(Source: NZ Herald, Lincoln Tan)

12/06/18 - Is public service working for MPs or the public?

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OPINION

Housing New Zealand (HNZ) accepted junk "science" to needlessly cause mayhem and cost to a large number of tenants and landlords and taxpayers through evictions and cleanups. Prime ministerial chief science adviser Peter Gluckman's report was trenchant.

The Ministry for Primary Industries did not strictly enforce the National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) system for cows. Mycoplasma bovis spread, at vast cost to farmers and taxpayers.New information was obtained by RNZ on the failure by the Transport Agency (NZTA) in 2016 to ensure independent testing of what turned out to be dangerously defective steel from China destined for Waikato expressway structures.

Add retired Employment Court Judge Coral Shaw's grim report in May on the dysfunctional culture in the Human Rights Commission (HRC), including tension between commissioners and between them and staff and a "chronic" lack of resources. The HRC is the official monitor of how well the citizens treat each other.

Then there are the gaps in the handling by the Earthquake Commission (EQC) of the Christchurch house rebuilds, including, acting Customs boss Christine Stevenson's report found, a lack of reliable data.State Services Minister Chris Hipkins came into office determined on sweeping changes. State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes also wants big changes.

Before Parliament is a bill from Mr Hipkins tightening controls on the sprawling range of Crown entities - including HNZ, NZTA, the HRC and EQC - that operate under boards appointed by ministers, with varying degrees of autonomy. Hughes will sign off future chief executive salaries and conditions and apply the public service code of conduct to Crown entity boards and board members.

The SSC is now cleaning up the HRC. But where was the SSC in the meth, NAIT and steel fiascos? Do these reflect wider management deficits?

For example, was HNZ too keen to serve ministers' wishes to be seen as tough on drugs?

There is a widely held view, including among public servants, that officials in the past two decades have focused too tightly on serving ministers, even at times anticipating and then serving up what their ministers might want to hear. Mr Hipkins sums it up as them asking ministers: "What advice would you like?"

Critics say there is a wider duty: to keep in mind, and thus serve, the public's broad and future interests and needs.

A low point was the leaking of deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters' superannuation overpayments details last year, which has led to a $400,000 lawsuit. Another was Treasury acquiescence in then-Finance Minister Steven Joyce's apparent electioneering at the release of the supposedly independent pre-election economic and fiscal update.

This attitude spilled into deference to ministers or, worse, the party-political advisers in their offices, over Official Information Act requests.

Mr Hipkins wants proactive release of cabinet advice, though one or two of his ministerial colleagues have not quite kept up.

Officials operate under the State Services Act which implies their role is to serve the state: that is, ministers. The last big reform in 1988 tightened that through contracts chief executives signed with ministers.

The SSC is drafting replacement legislation, a Public Service Act (perhaps - though unlikely - with three commissioners, not one as now). This will aim to restate the wider public interest and lay out a set of principles and purposes. Mr Hughes and Mr Hipkins both talk of "stewardship".

In a speech in March, Hughes said when he talks about "public service and the spirit of service", that "gets a hugely positive response as if I am articulating something that everyone believes in but no one talks about any more".

One reason is that the public service is "sliced very thinly" - as Hipkins (who wants a "career public service") puts it - into "silos", multiple separate agencies, each with managerial independence and separate staffs.

For two decades, public servants have agonised over how to break down those silo walls and widen their focus from narrow "outputs" contracted with the minister and from Sir Bill English's narrow "targets" for "better public services" to complex "outcomes" requiring flexible, seamless working across portfolio boundaries.

Another big challenge is managing teeming data in the digital age to enable outcome-focused decisions and actions without compromising privacy.

A third, related to those two, is smart use of science advisers. The energetic, enterprising Sir Peter appointed academic experts part-time to some key departments. That, coupled with Treasury insistence that those experts sign off on major new programmes, has helped sharpen some thinking.Ideology is easier than science. Ministers' ideology gave us charter schools and now their closure. Pressure groups, too, can bend ministers (and officials) away from science.So, will the new Public Service Act give us "better public services"?

Or will there still be the likes of meth scares, NAIT laxity and dud steel?*

Colin James is a political journalist with 45 years experience. He is a senior fellow of the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies.

(Source: Radio NZ, Colin James, Political Analyst)

02/06/18 - Govt proposes changes visa rights to crack down on migrant exploitation

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Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says the changes the Government is making to work visas for international students favour value over volume.

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway is changing the post-study work rights system to stop migrant student and worker exploitation.

Indian students deported from New Zealand, after their institute was shut down, are struggling to adjust to life back home.

International Student Association of Auckland marketing manager Violet Xu says international students sacrifice a lot to come to New Zealand and should keep their work rights.

The Government is overhauling the scheme that allows international students to continue to work in New Zealand, in an effort to stamp out exploitation.

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway expects the proposed changes will affect 12,000 to 16,000 people, and result in a drop in annual net migration.

The proposed visa changes, announced on Saturday, would see the requirement removed for post-study work visas to be sponsored by a particular employer - something that has led to some migrant workers being exploited by their employer without the freedom to speak out, for fear of losing their job and their right to live and work in New Zealand.

"There have been too many cases where migrant workers have been subject to exploitation because they are dependent on a particular employer to stay in the country," Lees-Galloway said.

The proposed overhaul would also significantly change the ability for international students to gain a visa post-study. Especially those who had completed a shorter, or non-degree-level qualification.

The length of post-study work visas for courses below degree level would be limited to one year. People who completed a course of less than two years would not be eligible for a post-study work visa.

Graduates would be able to apply for other visas after their courses finished, or their post-study work visas ran out. But they would need to meet the usual skills and labour market tests.

Where would immigration cuts come from?

• 10,000 fall - By limiting student visas and ability to work for those in low-value courses
• 12,000 fall - From restrictions on post-study work visas
• 8000 fall - By regionalising occupation lists and encouraging a Kiwis-first hiring policySOURCE: LABOUR PARTY

"Work experience in New Zealand is important to many students who come here to study.  My proposals retain this while restricting an avenue of exploitation," Lees-Galloway said.

"Too many students are being sold a false dream in New Zealand that the current post-study work rights can put students on a fast track to residency here."

This has led to a decline in the general skill level of migrants granted permanent residency, and fraudulent and frankly unethical behaviour from some agents, employers and education providers has led to students being exploited."

SOLD A FALSE DREAM

The changes follow a raft of horror stories of migrant work and student exploitation in recent years.

Each year, tens of thousands of Chinese and Indian families were sold a dream: they sent their children to study in New Zealand to study, with the hope of them gaining employment, and eventually setting up a permanent life at the bottom of the world.

While only 17 per cent of them would gain permanent residency, along the way many were exploited and taken advantage of by dodgy education providers and employers. In some cases, those running the educational institutes, which doled out near-meaningless qualifications for a hefty sum, also owned businesses in the hospitality, horticulture, and retail industries.

Those who gained post-study visas were bonded to their employer, and an some cases forced to work long hours, for less than minimum wages, and live in poor conditions. Exploited workers did not want to blow the whistle on their employers for fear of losing their job, and their spot in New Zealand.

Groups including the Migrant Workers' Association and Unite Union had called on the Government to remove the provision that tied workers to employers, giving them the freedom to find a suitable job, and speak out against any exploitation or abuse.

Unite Union organiser Joe Carolan said the migrant worker sector had felt betrayed by the Government, which had made big promises to clean up the industry, and help those students who had been exploited and then deported, ahead of the election.

During the election the migrant population were used as "scapegoats" for Auckland's population issues - something you'd expect from Donald Trump, not left-wing Kiwi politicians, he said.

And post-election a crackdown on dodgy education institutes and employers had left the Indian community feeling targeted.

Carolan also criticised the Government for not following through with its promise to help students whose supporting visa documents were forged by agents in India, leaving to be deported with no qualification.

The removal of the employer sponsorship requirement was a good step towards ending exploitation, he said.

Lees-Galloway said international education was a significant service export industry, and the Government was committed to ensuring it remained "an attractive and credible offering".

Immigration settings were a crucial component to achieve that aim, he said.

"We must protect our reputation by ensuring that the students who are coming here are motivated by a great education and a positive experience."

But some students, like University of Auckland food science student Violet Xu, said international students sacrificed a lot to come to New Zealand and restricting their work opportunities afterward was "unfair".

"It seems the Government is shutting us out. We're here to make this a better place. We're not criminals," she said earlier this month.

CHANGES WILL MEAN BETTER QUALIFICATIONS

Universities New Zealand executive director Chris Whelan welcomed the changes, saying it might reduce the number of students coming to New Zealand, but it would improve their outcomes.

"Rather than forcing students into some very shonky work arrangements, they can focus on finding proper, high-quality employment," Whelan said.

The proposed changes provided a good incentive for people to gain degree-level study, meaning they would be more likely to find "meaningful jobs for themselves, but also jobs that are meaningful for New Zealand".

Whelan admitted this would likely mean slightly better business for universities, which offered about 80 per cent of degree-level qualifications, but the financial gains would be "on the margins".

"If there are people who are still aspiring to coming to New Zealand, this may not be as cheap or as easy, but it's sure as heck going to lead to better outcomes for them."

Immigration New Zealand granted 12,474 open post-study work visas last year, and declined 210.

A further 7,262 employer assisted post-study work visas were granted.

PROPOSED CHANGES

Remove the requirement for post-study work visas to be sponsored by a particular employer

Provide a one-year post-study work visa for non-degree level 7 or below qualifications

Provide a three-year post-study work visa for degree level 7 or above qualifications

Require students completing non-degree level 7 or below qualifications to undertake at least two years of study in order to gain eligibility for post-study work rights

Require international students studying level 8 or 9 qualifications to be in an area specified in the Long Term Skills Shortage List in order for their partner to be eligible for an open work visa, and in turn the partner's dependent children to be eligible for fee-free compulsory schooling

The public will have the chance to have its say on the proposed changes, with consultation opening on Tuesday.

If you are a victim of exploitation, or have witnessed behaviour that could be considered exploitation, you can call MBIE on 0800 20 90 20.

(Source: Stuff, Laura Walters)

TNC comments:

• In my opinion this is a clear example that the education sector who are "recruiting" students offshore, need to be licensed in the same manner as Licensed Immigration Advisers! In other words, the education sector should be required or obliged to use licensed immigration advisers. 
• In my opinion, changing or restricting a post study work visa does not stop employers being greedy or would stop employers abusing immigrants. It is the employers who need to be taught what is fair and right! They need to be taught that exploitation is not right!