21/12/16 - NZ migration, tourism set new records in November, extending boom year

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New Zealand's booming migration and tourism set new records in November, with arrivals continuing to increase and departures steadily lower.

Annual net migration reached 70,400 in November, setting a new record, driven by more migrants from the US, Australia and Malaysia. Migrant arrivals rose 4.8 per cent to 126,7000 in the year, also a new record, while migrant departures dipped 1.6 per cent to 56,300.

Short-term visitor arrivals, which includes tourists, people visiting family and friends and people travelling for work, reached 3.45 million in the year ended Nov. 30, up 12 per cent from the year earlier, Statistics New Zealand said.

A swelling population stoking more activity and record inflows of tourists helped offset the impact of weak dairy prices earlier in the year, underpinning an economy growing at a rapid pace. At the same time, a rising population has posed problems for policymakers by fuelling demand for an already-stretched housing market in Auckland, while restraining wage growth.

The nation's per-capita growth has been anaemic.

"Net migration is continuing to run at record annual highs as arrivals continue to tick higher, while departures remain low and steady. Meanwhile, tourism continues to perform strongly," ASB Bank economist Daniel Snowden said in a note. "Once again, Stats NZ has had issues with a full data release, with much of the detail unavailable. However, it looks as if once again new arrivals are the main driver, although there was another small dip in departures. Both are a continuation of recent trends. As usual, around a third of arrivals were Australians or returning NZ citizens."

Today's data show a 17 per cent uplift in the number of visitors holidaying in New Zealand in the year, with most holidaymakers from Australia, China or the US. On an annual basis, Australians made up 554,784 of the 1.8m holidaymakers, while China was the second-biggest pool at 312,480.

Net permanent and long-term migration was dominated by arrivals from Asia, who made up about half of the 70,400 arrivals. Some 10,280 migrants came from China, up 17 per cent from a year earlier, while 9,100 came from India, down 31 per cent.

Of those new migrants who arrived in the year, a net 33,536, or 48 pe rcent, settled in Auckland, followed by a net 9.5 per cent moving to Canterbury, net 5.1 per cent going to Wellington and net 3.9 per cent settling in Waikato.

Most holidaymakers came from Australia, with 42,176 Australians travelling to New Zealand in the month. Business visitors rose 3.6 per cent in November from a year earlier to 31,216, and increased 5.2 per cent on an annual basis to 289,152, two-thirds of whom came from across the Tasman.

(Source: NZ Herald BusinessDesk, Sophie Boot)

18/12/16 - Every migrant is a human being with human rights,' says UN chief on International Day

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Despite appearances and media spin, "migration does not have to be chaotic or seem like an invasion," and as yet another turbulent year for millions of people on the move comes to an end, the United Nations is marking International Migrants Day with a worldwide call for more cooperation and a resolute rejection of intolerance and policies driven by xenophobic rhetoric.

"We have seen the continued devastating effect of armed conflict on civilian populations [...], witnessed the unacceptable loss of thousands of lives of people in transit in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, and the rise of populist movements that seek to [...] blame [refugees and migrants] them for various ills of society," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message on the International Day.

Yet, within this turbulence there are rays of hope, with concerned citizens and communities opening their arms and hearts. There has also been a promising international response, culminating with the New York Declaration adopted in September at the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants.

"It is now crucial that governments honour and build on their commitments to govern large movements of refugees and migrants in a way that is compassionate, people-centred, gender-responsive and rooted in fundamental human rights," said Mr. Ban, calling the Declaration a critical step towards the adoption of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration in 2018.

Underscoring that "every migrant is a human being with human rights," the UN chief said that to protect and uphold those rights stronger international cooperation is needed among countries of origin, transit and destination that is guided by international law and standards. "We must reject intolerance, discrimination and policies driven by xenophobic rhetoric and the scapegoating of migrants. Those who abuse and seek to harm migrants must be held to account."

Picking up that thread, William Lacy Swing, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN focal point agency on the issue, said: "The upheaval we see all around in our politics should serve as a wake-up call to prepare rather than panic. We need to mould the future rather than ignore it [by] embracing the inevitability of migration, changing the perceptions of migrants among our publics and better integrating migrants in our societies."

UN migration chief: it is vital to "let the positive side of migration be told"

More must be done to rectify the current “toxic narrative” of migration, says UN migration chief William Lacy Swing, calling on the international community to show political leadership in dispelling the misconceptions surrounding migration, as well as combat rising xenophobia in various parts of the world.

"There is a real demographic revolution going on today and it is up to us to manage it for the benefit of all," he continued, noting that while most migrants simply want an opportunity and would welcome even a temporary one, with the right support, those that stay will contribute to whatever society they settle in, whether it is economically or culturally.

For its part, UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, noted that there are more than 244 million migrants in the world, almost half are women, and with ongoing movements of refugees and migrants, it is critical that the global community comes together with unified and gender-responsive solutions that address both the opportunities and challenges that migration presents.

The New York Declaration underlines the need for promoting and protecting the rights of migrant women and girls at all stages of migration. Moreover, the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration in 2018 is expected to become a dynamic vehicle for migration governance, which sees migrants, including women and girls, as agents of change with valuable skills, powerful voices and the potential for leadership.

(Source: UN News Centre)

07/12/16 - Investor policy changes to encourage growth

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Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse says changes to the migrant investor policy will encourage investments that provide greater economic benefits for New Zealand.

“There’s no doubt the Migrant Investor categories are performing well with $2.9 billion invested since they were launched in July 2009 and a further $2.1 billion in funds committed,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“However, around two thirds of investment is currently placed in bonds and the government believes there is an opportunity to rebalance this towards growth-oriented investments.

“That is why we are making changes to increase the amount and performance of investment while better recognising the non-financial contribution of migrant investors.”

The changes include:

• Doubling the funds Investor 2 migrants must invest to $3 million
• Removing the need for Investor 2 migrants to hold $1 million in settlement funds
• Recognising higher levels of business experience and English language skills through changes in the points system
• Increasing the annual cap of approved Investor 2 migrants from 300 to 400.
• Rewarding investment in growth-oriented investment with incentives such as bonus points, priority processing, and a financial discount.

“Many investors tend to move into growth focused investments as they become more familiar with the New Zealand environment. These changes will encourage them to do so earlier in the process while incentivising investments that deliver greater economic benefits for New Zealand,” Mr Woodhouse says.

The changes will come into effect in May 2017.

(Source: Beehive)

01/12/16 - This is the most dangerous time for our planet - Stephen Hawking

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As a theoretical physicist based in Cambridge, I have lived my life in an extraordinarily privileged bubble. Cambridge is an unusual town, centred around one of the world’s great universities. Within that town, the scientific community that I became part of in my 20s is even more rarefied.

And within that scientific community, the small group of international theoretical physicists with whom I have spent my working life might sometimes be tempted to regard themselves as the pinnacle. In addition to this, with the celebrity that has come with my books, and the isolation imposed by my illness, I feel as though my ivory tower is getting taller.

So the recent apparent rejection of the elites in both America and Britain is surely aimed at me, as much as anyone. Whatever we might think about the decision by the British electorate to reject membership of the European Union and by the American public to embrace Donald Trump as their next president, there is no doubt in the minds of commentators that this was a cry of anger by people who felt they had been abandoned by their leaders.

It was, everyone seems to agree, the moment when the forgotten spoke, finding their voices to reject the advice and guidance of experts and the elite everywhere.

What matters now, far more than the victories by Brexit and Trump, is how the elites react

I am no exception to this rule. I warned before the Brexit vote that it would damage scientific research in Britain, that a vote to leave would be a step backward, and the electorate – or at least a sufficiently significant proportion of it – took no more notice of me than any of the other political leaders, trade unionists, artists, scientists, businessmen and celebrities who all gave the same unheeded advice to the rest of the country.

What matters now, far more than the choices made by these two electorates, is how the elites react. Should we, in turn, reject these votes as outpourings of crude populism that fail to take account of the facts, and attempt to circumvent or circumscribe the choices that they represent? I would argue that this would be a terrible mistake.

The concerns underlying these votes about the economic consequences of globalisation and accelerating technological change are absolutely understandable. The automation of factories has already decimated jobs in traditional manufacturing, and the rise of artificial intelligence is likely to extend this job destruction deep into the middle classes, with only the most caring, creative or supervisory roles remaining.

This in turn will accelerate the already widening economic inequality around the world. The internet and the platforms that it makes possible allow very small groups of individuals to make enormous profits while employing very few people. This is inevitable, it is progress, but it is also socially destructive.

We need to put this alongside the financial crash, which brought home to people that a very few individuals working in the financial sector can accrue huge rewards and that the rest of us underwrite that success and pick up the bill when their greed leads us astray. So taken together we are living in a world of widening, not diminishing, financial inequality, in which many people can see not just their standard of living, but their ability to earn a living at all, disappearing. It is no wonder then that they are searching for a new deal, which Trump and Brexit might have appeared to represent.

‘In sub-Saharan Africa there are more people with a telephone than access to clean water.’ Photograph: Andy Hall for the Observer

It is also the case that another unintended consequence of the global spread of the internet and social media is that the stark nature of these inequalities is far more apparent than it has been in the past. For me, the ability to use technology to communicate has been a liberating and positive experience. Without it, I would not have been able to continue working these many years past.

But it also means that the lives of the richest people in the most prosperous parts of the world are agonisingly visible to anyone, however poor, who has access to a phone. And since there are now more people with a telephone than access to clean water in sub-Saharan Africa, this will shortly mean nearly everyone on our increasingly crowded planet will not be able to escape the inequality.

The consequences of this are plain to see: the rural poor flock to cities, to shanty towns, driven by hope. And then often, finding that the Instagram nirvana is not available there, they seek it overseas, joining the ever greater numbers of economic migrants in search of a better life. These migrants in turn place new demands on the infrastructures and economies of the countries in which they arrive, undermining tolerance and further fuelling political populism.

For me, the really concerning aspect of this is that now, more than at any time in our history, our species needs to work together. We face awesome environmental challenges: climate change, food production, overpopulation, the decimation of other species, epidemic disease, acidification of the oceans.

Together, they are a reminder that we are at the most dangerous moment in the development of humanity. We now have the technology to destroy the planet on which we live, but have not yet developed the ability to escape it. Perhaps in a few hundred years, we will have established human colonies amid the stars, but right now we only have one planet, and we need to work together to protect it.

To do that, we need to break down, not build up, barriers within and between nations. If we are to stand a chance of doing that, the world’s leaders need to acknowledge that they have failed and are failing the many. With resources increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, we are going to have to learn to share far more than at present.

With not only jobs but entire industries disappearing, we must help people to retrain for a new world and support them financially while they do so. If communities and economies cannot cope with current levels of migration, we must do more to encourage global development, as that is the only way that the migratory millions will be persuaded to seek their future at home.

We can do this, I am an enormous optimist for my species; but it will require the elites, from London to Harvard, from Cambridge to Hollywood, to learn the lessons of the past year. To learn above all a measure of humility.

(Source: The Guardian)

05/12/16 - Schools with thousands of foreign students 'similar to failed college in cheating scandal'

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Schools with thousands of international students have been called in for a warning meeting after top officials feared they showed similar problems to a college which shut down after a cheating scandal.

NZQA deputy chief executive Grant Klinkum and Immigration NZ deputy chief executive Nigel Bickle asked the 18 education providers involved to explain why more than 30 per cent of their Indian student visa applications were refused.

Immigration NZ has described rejection rates at this level as "serious cause for concern" in a market riddled with fraud.

A spokeswoman for Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce said NZQA and Immigration believed the schools showed similar characteristics to the International Academy of New Zealand, which shut down in August after two staff went public with claims they were told to prepare fake results for more than 250 English language tests.

When the IANZ students were forced to sit independently monitored retests, only 14 per cent passed and 70 fell well short of the standard required to take their courses.

The spokeswoman said the shared characteristics with IANZ included many students from one nationality, falling evaluation ratings, a history of student complaints, rapid enrolment growth, Immigration concerns over agents used by the schools and NZQA concerns over their business diploma programmes.

The providers were of concern to NZQA and Immigration NZ and would be subject to stronger scrutiny, which could include unannounced inspections.

However the head of one school called to the October 31 meeting in Immigration NZ's Auckland office, Newton College of Business and Technology director Paul Chalmers, has questioned the figures and called the process "a shambles".

Chalmers said 15 out of 26 students identified by Immigration NZ as being declined entry to New Zealand for financial irregularities were in fact approved and at his college.

Chalmers added that his college took the issue of fraud in the Indian student market very seriously and was sending all applications to an independent law form for vetting.

Immigration NZ said it stood by its figures but noted that a provider could submit more information.
The meeting follows a series of high-profile problems in international education, which has become New Zealand's fourth biggest export industry worth $4.28 billion a year.

Worried officials have warned the Government that low-skilled former international students working mainly in shops, hotels and restaurants make up almost half the country's intake of skilled migrants.

Figures supplied to the Herald under the Official Information Act suggest most or all of the schools called to the August meeting were part of a wider group of 58 education providers - including 10 of the country's 16 polytechnics - which had more than 30 per cent of Indian student visa applications rejected from December 1 2015 to September 30 2016.

Most had more than half their applications rejected. The refusal rates went as high as 100 per cent and eight schools had more than 300 students declined.

Waiariki Bay of Plenty Polytechnic (now renamed Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology) had 570 students declined entry, the second-highest number on the list and a 57 per cent rejection rate.

Interim chief executive Neil Barns said he was not invited to the meeting but had received a personal call from Klinkum at NZQA and assured him Toi Ohomai would make improvements.

The institute was now sharing information on visa applications with Immigration NZ's Mumbai office and checking its existing agents for fraud. Its decline rate had dropped to to 31 per cent in September and 37 per cent in October.

Barns said he fully supported the official crackdown because it was well known in the industry that some schools were just vehicles for immigration and cheap labour.

"Some of these providers are not involved in quality education. It's a front to get students through into fairly much indentured labour in New Zealand."

He said it had taken New Zealand years to recover from the collapse of the Modern Age English language school in 2003, which sent a message to China that New Zealand's entire international education market was not to be trusted.

"India has that same risk about it for us. If we don't get on top of these issues, the Indian public as well as governments in India and New Zealand will lose confidence and we'll lose our market."

Labour tertiary education spokesman David Cunliffe said there was a system failure within the PTE sector.

"The quality appears to be highly variable and the rate of documented rorting is climbing very quickly. I've had very reputable PTE managers and owners coming to me saying they're very worried because their brand is being diminished by fly-by-night operators."

Joyce said New Zealand had run into issues with parts of the Indian market, as many other countries had done.

"I think some people have abused it. We've tightened it up a lot recently in response."

The Government had brought back external English tests, introduced a code of practice which made providers liable for their agents' actions and announced a new English test for immigrants and a higher points threshold for skilled migrants.

The changes have already had an effect. Immigration New Zealand's student visa newsletter said applications from India had almost halved from 4524 in July and August last year to 2382 in the same period this year.

(Source: NZ Herald)

05/12/16 - Student visa fraud: 'It's not about education'

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Ask an experienced teacher what needs to change on the front line of international education and the response is blunt.

"We need to blow the whole thing apart and start being honest about what's happening," says the teacher, who the Herald has agreed not to name. "Because it's not about education at all."

"I'd like to see New Zealand recognise that it's a scam, because that's at the heart of this. What's really behind it is they're coming for visas, not quality education."

The teacher, who has worked at several private training establishments (PTEs), says far too many institutions routinely accept students despite their hopelessly poor English and give them answers to ensure they pass.

Several other staff members who have spoken to the Herald say the same.

Critics point to results at the disgraced New Zealand International Academy, which shut down in August after two staff went public with claims they were told to prepare fake results for more than 250 English language tests. When the students were forced to sit independently monitored retests, only 14 per cent (46 out of 329) passed and 70 fell well short of the standard required to take their courses.

A former IANZ student approached the Herald to complain - not about the poor education but because he could no longer get a work visa. Asked if he knew about students being given answers, he replied; "The process is the same since they opened.

"You're not a thief until you get caught. People who finished a month before me, they've got their work visas. This is unfair."

Labour's tertiary education spokesman David Cunliffe says the Government has allowed "visa factories" like this to flourish, turning New Zealand into a supermarket for low-grade diplomas which do nothing to solve the country's real skills shortages.
Cunliffe adds that there's nothing wrong in principle with offering students an education and employment package to come here.

"However you would expect the course to be real, the pass rates to be genuine, the students to be real and who they say they are, and the courses offered to be broadly in line with the needs of the economy."

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce has defended the system, saying most international students either go home after study or go on to a worthwhile job.

"Most providers do a very good job but there have been a number of providers that have not and NZQA and Immigration NZ are working hard, so they either shape up or ship out."

International education is big business. Last year it collected more than $1 billion in student fees alone and was worth an estimated $4.28 billion, including student spending on living costs. It has become New Zealand's fourth biggest export earner behind tourism, dairy and meat and the Government is aiming for returns of $5 billion by 2026.

Each year almost 100,000 international students pay for tertiary level courses in New Zealand, with two thirds settling in Auckland, where many live and work in the CBD.

Almost half now take low-level diplomas rather than degrees - typically costing about $16,000 for a Diploma of Business at a private training establishment (PTE).

However international education has also been plagued by public scandal for years, including the collapse of the Modern Age language school in 2003, which wrecked the Chinese market for years, and a string of bad practices highlighted by the Herald and other media since 2009.

The current crisis began in 2013 when NZQA allowed many PTEs to do their own English-language testing on prospective students, instead of using external results.

Indian student numbers soared from 12,093 that year to 29,235 last year and visa fraud became rampant. The policy was reversed in October last year but the damage was done.

In the year to June half the student visa applications from India were declined, mainly because of suspected fraud - a far higher rate than for any other country.

An investigation in March by Immigration New Zealand's Mumbai office, which processes all student visas from Indian nationals, found "significant, organised financial document fraud" by agents in the southern city of Hyderabad. The fraud involved a bank loan letter (originally genuine) showing a student had access to funds to pay school fees , which was used fraudulently for other student applications.

The investigation identified 57 agents and 15 corrupt bank branch managers using the scam, which was described in emails as "a significant threat to NZ's education integrity" with possible links to organised crime. Five out of India's 10 biggest agents to New Zealand were involved, three of them extensively, and the overall fraud rate was estimated at 29 per cent.

"The depth and breadth of penetration of this education loan fraud across the Indian student market is rather concerning," wrote INZ risk manager Justin Alves in April. "So far there has been no agent we've looked at which hasn't been using it, to some extent or another."

Student visa applications from India have halved since last year, after the Government introduced a raft of changes, including the restored English test, a code of practice which makes providers liable for their agents' actions, a new English test for immigrants and a higher points threshold for skilled migrants.

But the fallout continues. In 2014 Immigration New Zealand warned the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) that a decline rate of 30 percent or more gave "serious cause for concern" about the education provider's quality control or business practices.

Figures supplied to the Herald under the Official Information Act show 58 education providers - including 10 of the country's 16 polytechnics - fell into this category for visas issued from December 1 2015 to September 30 2016.

All but 10 of the education providers listed had decline rates of 50 per cent or more. Decline rates went as high as 100 per cent and eight schools had more than 300 students declined.

On October 31 NZQA deputy chief executive Grant Klinkum and Immigration NZ deputy chief executive Nigel Bickle called 18 institutions who they believed had the most serious problems with high decline rates to a "please explain meeting" at Immigration NZ's Auckland office.

A spokeswoman for Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce said the providers shared similarities with IANZ. They were of concern to both agencies and could face stronger monitoring, including unannounced inspections, in future.

Written answers to parliamentary questions by Cunliffe have also established that Immigration NZ has 13 live investigations into potential student visa fraud at 12 tertiary education organisations (TEOs).

19 PTEs are classified by the Tertiary Education Commission as 'high-risk', with five ongoing Serious Fraud Office investigations and two providers at risk of default.

58 TEOs were investigated for potential probity (honesty) or major education delivery issues by either TEC or NZQA in 2015 (up by 61 per cent from the previous year). There were 46 investigations underway at August 1 this year.

Cunliffe argues that these figures don't even scratch the surface of the real problem, which he puts down a lack of monitoring and enforcement.

"The fact that the number is mushrooming, the fact that the Government's oversight is reactive and slow indicates that the problem is likely to be much worse than the stuff which has already surfaced. It's like a doctor going to a village and finding every 10th patient is sick with a disease but that eight of the other 10 haven't yet had a consultation."

He says NZQA should regularly make unannounced spot checks, instead of giving education providers six weeks notice that inspectors are coming to do a review.

Joyce responds that NZQA now has these powers to use in special circumstances. He strongly rejects claims the agency has been too slow to act, saying it has sometimes been hamstrung by legal action from proprietors.

"There's absolutely no reluctance on the part of either NZQA or Immigration NZ to investigate matters in relation to any provider that's not doing their job and anyone that suggests that is being a bit mischievous."

Darren Conway, chief executive of Languages International, has campaigned for years against dishonest practices in the sector. He says it's obvious that some schools cannot be running an honest operation as their fees are too low to cover the cost of teaching, let alone other overheads.

Conway also wants NZQA to do more unannounced checks on schools' academic work, which would reveal whether students were really handing in their own work.

Opinions are divided over whether most Indian students are victims or knowing accomplices. Dennis Maga, co-ordinator for the migrant workers union Unemig, describes the problem as "education trafficking" - luring students into New Zealand by deception for the fees or commission they bring.

But Conway argues students are often partly responsible for their own plight. For instance, he says, it's relatively easy for desperate Indian students and their families to get around the rule which requires them to show they have $15,000 of living expenses in the bank before they come here.

"The problem is they're cobbling that money together from family and friends, sticking it in the bank and once they get the visa they turn up with no money - which is why they're vulnerable to exploitation."

"It's their way of escaping"

Mandeep Bela says it's obvious Indian students don't come to New Zealand for the high quality of our courses, especially when they have good universities producing doctors and engineers back home.

"The long term goal is to settle in (New Zealand)," says the former international student, who now works for the migrant workers union Unemig.
"Study was only the pathway. Most of the migrants from India have said the same thing to me."

Migrant Workers Association organiser Anu Kaloti agrees. "A lot of the students are not coming here to study or acquire skills, it's their way of escaping," she says.

"There's a lot of inequality in India. There's a lot of corruption and a huge gap between the rich and the poor. It's not as bad as refugees... but it's not that far behind."

She says the young, mainly male Indian students are under huge pressure to gain residency, as their families have often borrowed heavily in the hope that the whole family will one day come here too.

"Parents are investing in their sons and they want a return on their investment. It sounds brutal to say that but it's true."

Unemig co-ordinator Dennis Maga says the big giveaway that international education is really about immigration is that Indian-based education agents send all their students to PTEs - which pay commission fees of up to 50 per cent - but not to our top universities, which pay nothing.

"Why not promote the courses actually being offered by AUT, Auckland University, Victoria and Otago?

"The people benefiting from this are the fly-by-night PTEs that did not even exist 10 years before. A lot of PTEs are popping up like mushrooms right now."
Immigration lawyer Simon Laurent says politicians are still reluctant to license education agents for fear of losing market share.

"A lot of the other countries who are in competition with us don't (license agents) either and they don't want to reduce New Zealand's competitiveness in the international student market.

"We're not first on the list already and they were worried about losing more traction in the market."

The Government and others in the industry argue many bad practices in recent years have involved licensed agents, so the change would not necessarily solve the problem.

International education in NZ

• $1 billion a year in student fees
• $4.28 billion, including student spending on living costs ($2.2 billion a year in Auckland, 2.7% of Auckland's GDP)
• NZ's 4th biggest export earner (behind tourism, dairy and meat)
• Supports 32,000 jobs
• Government target: $5 billion a year by 2026
• 115,875 international fee-paying students in New Zealand,
• 97,950 at tertiary level
• Almost half (43%) take low-value courses at private training establishments (PTEs)

Average annual spending by PTE student:

• $6972 tuition fees
• $22,755 living costs
• $29,727 total
Student visa fraud in India:
• 57 agents and 15 corrupt bank branch managers identified
• 5 out of 10 biggest agents involved
• 29 per cent detected fraud rate
Sources: Education New Zealand, Immigration NZ

A troubled history

• 2009: The New Zealand Academy of Studies is forced to close after it is caught selling a business diploma for $12,000.
• 2010: More than 150 international students gain fraudulent qualifications in less than a year from the API Institute of Education. Almost half pay for qualifications but never attend classes.
• 2010: Massey University's Albany campus has to get rid of about 50 students who enrolled in its business degree with fake diplomas from five local PTEs.
• 2012: Oxford International Academy, one of the schools producing the fake diplomas, is placed in voluntary liquidation in 2012 after NZQA expressed no confidence in the school. NZQA and Immigration take action against four other PTEs over similar issues.
• 2012: Chinese students are found to be in New Zealand on fraudulent visas, implicating 162 students and 24 unnamed local schools.
• 2015: Five institutions aimed mainly at New Zealand students are found to have overcharged taxpayers $25 million. Agribusiness Training Limited in Invercargill collapses in October owing $6.2 million and Masterton's Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre, is overpaid $7.5 million. Investigators cannot find many of the students who signed up for Maori performing arts programmes at Taranaki's Western Institute of Technology.
• 2015: The Serious Fraud Office and the Financial Markets Authority begin investigations into Intueri, which describes itself as the biggest PTE group in New Zealand, over allegations it has overstated student numbers. Intueri makes provision to pay back up to $5m for courses at Quantum Education Group and the NZ School of Outdoor Studies.
• 2016: The New Zealand International Academy closes months after two staff say they were told to prepare fake results for more than 250 English language tests. Only 14 per cent of the 329 students pass the independent retests.

(Source: NZ Herald)

05/12/16 - Shock announcement: New Zealand Prime Minister John Key resigns

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John Key is resigning as Prime Minister of New Zealand.

Key made the announcement at his weekly press conference this afternoon.

The Herald understands that Key's wife Bronagh asked him to resign.

Key, his voice shaking with emotion, said he told his Cabinet of his decision this morning

"This is the hardest decision I've ever made and I don't know what I'll do next."

Key cited family reasons for leaving, saying the job had required great sacrifices "from those who are dearest to me".

His wife Bronagh had endured "many lonely nights" and his children Stephie and Max had been put under "extraordinary levels of intrusion".

Key met his wife Bronagh while attending Burnside High School. The pair married in 1984 and have two children, Stephie and Max.

Bill English is expected to take over as Prime Minister and Steven Joyce is expected to take on the finance role.

The National Party caucus will hold a meeting on December 12 to decide the new party leader and Prime Minister.

Key said he would support whoever the caucus chose, but he endorsed Bill English as his replacement.

"There's no way I could have served out a full fourth term," said Key.

Being a politician had always come at a cost for his family.

Key said leaders seemed to stay too long and he felt this was the opportunity to go out on top.

He said he didn't have any plans. He was looking forward to enjoying a slightly quieter life in which he would take posts on boards and spend time travelling with his spouse.

He also said it was the right time to leave, as National were polling at nearly 50 per cent and the economy was growing.

Key cancelled his weekly scheduled interview with NewstalkZB at the NZME offices in Auckland this morning, and instead was interviewed over the phone from Wellington.

New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters said of the resignation: "The fact is that the economy is not in the healthy state that the Prime Minister has for so long claimed, and there are other issues which have caused this decision as well.

"The New Zealand public should have been informed of this a long time ago.

"Clearly the Prime Minister does not believe the superficial polls any longer.

"Contrary to certain perceptions the Prime Minister and his Finance Minister are unable to muddy the waters anymore."

Key has led the National party since 2006.

Key built a career in foreign exchange in New Zealand before continued success in the industry overseas.

He entered Parliament in 2002 as National's representative for Helensville. In 2004 he was appointed Finance Spokesman for the party and succeeded Don Brash as party leader in 2006.

Key led his party to win the election in November 2008 and repeated the victory in 2011 and 2014.

Key has governed the country through the recession of the late-2000s, formed the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority in response to the aftermath of the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake and created a much-protested policy for the partial privitisation of five state-owned enterprises.

Key has also withdrawn the NZ Defence Force from Afghanistan and worked to establish the TPP with the United States.

(Source: NZ Herald)

29/11/16 - Visitor tax a growing global trend

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Auckland would be joining a global trend if it started charging a levy to tourists staying in the city.

In his first budget proposal, newly-elected Auckland Mayor Phil Goff yesterday outlined a plan to implement a visitor levy on hotels and accommodation, a scheme which he said could raise between $20 million and $30 million.

Bedroom taxes, rental car taxes, meal taxes, arrival and departure taxes are just some of the ways that central and local governments elsewhere are taking advantage of the tourist dollar.

According to the Economist, governments love tourist taxes because the burden of paying them falls to out-of-towners, and they can't vote.

Just yesterday, the Australian Government introduced a 15 per cent "backpacker tax" on working holiday visitors, which tourism operators fear could drive more tourists across the ditch to New Zealand.

In the United States, international visitors have to pay $14 upon entering the country, $10 of which goes to its Corporation for Travel Promotion.

Some US cities manage to hit travelers at every opportunity with a raft of additional taxes.

According to Forbes, if someone visited Chicago and spent $360 per day - $146 on a hotel room, $129 on meals and $85 on a rental car - the city piles on an extra $56.90 in taxes, including America's highest car rental tax of $19.70.

New York has the country's highest hotel tax of an average of $26.50 per night, bringing its total tourist taxes to $53.61 per day.

Widely regarded as one of the world's most expensive tourist destinations, Italy introduced a swathe of local tourist taxes in 2011. Tassa di soggiorno vary across regions and hotel star ratings and, when combined with VAT, coach permits and parking fees, a standard 7-night tour of Italy can cost upwards of $106 per person in hotel taxes and coach fees.

One unusual model of tourist tax is Bhutan, where all visitors must pay $353 per person per day during peak season, with an additional $42 - $56 surcharge if you're in a group of two or less. This covers accommodation, transport, a guide, food and entry fees.

Goff's proposal has been met negatively by the country's tourism sector. Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Chris Roberts said the council should be supporting tourism growth in Auckland, not trying to fleece the golden goose. Hospitality New Zealand spokeswoman Rachael Shadbolt told Newstalk ZB that it could very well put people off from coming here, even if it only works out to be a $6-10 surcharge.

(Source: NZ Herald, Matthew Theunissen)

29/11/16 - An old article that seems very applicable now again.

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26/03/12 - Minor offences could harm visa chances

Immigrants convicted in New Zealand of minor offences such as drink-driving may not be granted further visas to remain in the country.

Immigration NZ has made amendments to its operational instructions, effective today, to enable its officers to decline subsequent visas.

Rob Stevens, the agency's service support general manager, said it would apply to offences such as burglary, shoplifting, drink-driving, disorderly behaviour and possessing or cultivating cannabis.

"These instructions will include any applicant who has been convicted at any time of a criminal offence in New Zealand for which the court has the power to impose a term of imprisonment of at least three months," Mr Stevens said. It will also make it tougher for visa applicants who left the country before a deportation order was served.

"The change means that people who have been served, or would be served, a deportation liability notice as a result of a conviction but who leave either during the 28-day appeal or before the deportation order has been served will now be able to be declined a further visa."

There was no scope under current immigration instructions to deny them a visa, Mr Stevens said.

However, immigration officers have been told they have the discretion to grant a character waiver in cases where it would be "unduly harsh" to decline a visa.

The changes are part of the agency's efforts to make sure that undesirable migrants and visitors do not enter or remain in New Zealand.

Last year, nearly 1200 people were prevented from boarding New Zealand-bound aircraft due to concerns.

Steve Stuart, Immigration's intelligence, risk and integrity general manager, said the implementation of border protection strategies including the introduction of "advance passenger processing" had helped reduce the number of "inadmissible" migrants.

"An increase in the number of passenger arrivals over the last five to 10 years has been matched by a decline in the number of inadmissible passengers arriving," Mr Stuart said.

In 2007, 1328 people were turned away at the border, but that number declined to 858 in 2010, and 684 last year.

Plans are also under way to make airlines accountable for the passengers they bring to the country.

(Source: NZ Herald, Lincoln Tan)

28/11/16 - Black Friday and Cyber Monday keep tills ringing

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Consumers across the world pumped more than $US6 billion ($8 billion) into the retail sector, of which Australia played its part, during the frenzied shopping days known as Black Friday and extending into Cyber Monday.

Two-day sales starting on Thanksgiving in the US last Thursday, totalled $US5.3 billion, marking an 18 per cent increase from a year earlier, according to a report from Adobe Systems.

Black Friday shoppers seek early deals

Thanksgiving is becoming the new Black Friday with shoppers lining up across the US hoping for the best deals.

Amazon, the giant internet business, says many of the best Black Friday deals on its site heat up during the "Turkey 5".. 

"Customers want to shop anywhere, any time, and any way, especially during the five super popular days for online shopping running from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday," Amazon vice-president Steve Shure said.

While it's an American tradition, it marks the start of the lead-up to the busy Christmas period in Australia. But evidence suggests that more buyers are going online for bargains and convenience, which could force more discounting to entice shoppers back to traditional bricks and mortar shops.

According to Wikipedia, the earliest evidence of the phrase Black Friday applied to the day after Thanksgiving in a shopping context suggests that the term originated in Philadelphia, where it was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic that would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. 

This usage dates to at least 1961. More than 20 years later, as the phrase became more widespread, a popular explanation became that this day represented the point in the year when retailers begin to turn a profit, thus going from being "in the red" to being "in the black".

But as a reflection of the times, spending via mobile devices on Friday in the US increased 33 per cent to an all-time high of $1.2 billion. In-store visits dropped a combined 1 per cent during the two days from a year earlier, ShopperTrak, a retail data provider, said.

Aussies love US brands

Australia Post's eCommerce general manager Ben Franzi  said in the lead-up to this year's Black Friday-Cyber Monday Sales, monthly registrations for the group's US freight forwarding service, ShopMate, tripled. 

"In the past month we had about 13,500 new registrations, compared with our monthly average of 3000 to 4000," Mr Franzi said.

"Online shopping is continuing to gain popularity in Australia, with sales increasing 15.9 per cent in the six months to June 2016.

"We are continuing to see strong growth. In the lead-up to Christmas, which is our busiest time of the year, we are processing more than 1 million parcels a day."

Mr Franzi said most Australians shop online locally, with domestic purchases accounting for more than 70 per cent of all online sales.

"The US continues to be a popular buying location for Australians who are looking to purchase brands and products that they wouldn't normally be able to buy locally," he said.

Australia Post is offering ShopMate customers 15 per cent off shipping until December 31, 2016.

Not to be left out from the frenzy, Solomon Lew's Premier Investments' Portmans apparel store, among others in its stable, had a 30 per cent Black

Friday sale, which morphed into a Cyber Monday sale which ends at midnight on Monday.

The South African-owned Freedom Furniture did the same, as did the UK apparel store TopShop TopMan, which offered 30 per cent discounts in its Australian stores.

While not calling it a Black Friday sale, the Country Road clothing chain held a three-day, 25 per cent off homewares and accessories "event", which ended on Sunday night.

Online sales to rise

According to the NAB online retail sales index, in dollar terms, Australians spent $18.1 billion on online retail in the 12 months to November 2015 and while the data is not yet available for this year, suggestions are that it will be higher.

That rate of sales indicates that online spending is the equivalent to 7.3 per cent of spending at traditional bricks & mortar retailers as measured by the ABS.

Daniel Bracken, Myer chief merchandise and customer officer, and deputy chief executive said the group's customers closely follow global retail trends and "so we offered our own Myer Super Cyber Sale on Friday and Saturday".

"Customers enjoyed great offers online and in our stores, with small electrical appliances and cosmetics among the most popular purchases," Mr Bracken said.

"Our Melbourne customers were also treated to a Christmas carnival on Saturday, with live performances and entertainment to bring Christmas shopping to life in Bourke Street Mall."

According to CommSec chief economist Craig James, the latest data paints a positive picture for Australian businesses as the country moves into the Christmas spending period, showing continued recovery in spending after uncertainty around Brexit and the federal and US elections.

"Spending slowed from December 2015 through to April 2016. But in an environment of improved certainty, low interest rates and consumer confidence, we're now seeing spending expand at faster than the average monthly rate over the past decade."

Growth was strongest in NSW, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, and in industry sectors such as amusement and entertainment and government services.

(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald)