13/12/11 - 21st Century IT System for Immigration

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"A significant Government investment in Immigration New Zealand’s IT system is a further step in increasing immigration’s contribution to the economy", says Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman.

Dr Coleman today announced the Government is contributing $75 million towards a new IT system.

‘’This IT initiative is a major step up in INZ’s ability to provide timely, responsive and secure immigration services,’’ says Dr Coleman.

‘’We are competing worldwide to recruit skilled and talented people, and a new system will help speed up the processing of visa applications and allow applicants to do more online. Providing a fast and modern service is critical in attracting skilled migrants who can help grow the economy.

‘’The existing IT system is over 15 years old and is reaching the end of its technological lifespan. The cost of even simple changes is high and cannot be maintained over the long term. It‘s also significantly impairing our ability to provide standards of service and security comparable to other nations.’’

The new Immigration Global Management System (IGMS) will provide an agile system that enables more online processing and automation of simple tasks for clients and employers and the ability for all data to be accessed by INZ offices worldwide.

The system will also provide biometric capability which offers significant improvement in identity management and enhanced security.

Customers applying for visas will also have their own individual online immigration accounts that will enable them to enter all their details online and track progress on their applications. Implementation of IGMS is scheduled to begin in early 2012.

(Source The Beehive, J Coleman)

12/12/11 - New Minister of Immigration

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Otaki Member Of Parliament, Nathan Guy, has been named New Zealand's new Minister of Racing. It is believed the 41-year-old National Party MP has no previous connections with harness racing.

In announcing his cabinet line-up this morning (Monday December 12) New Zealand Prime Minister also named Guy as the Minister of Immigration, Veterans' Affairs and Associate Minister for Primary Industries.

As for Nathan Guy, who is he?

Guy is a farmer from near Levin. He has been involved in various agricultural sector trusts and councils, and studied farming at Massey University. He has served several terms on the Horowhenua District Council.

Guy's great-grandfather was chairman of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company when the last spike was driven on the company's line at Otaihanga, an event re-created on 19 February 2011 when Guy drove the last spike at the new Waikanae Railway Station opening ceremony.

In the 2005 election, Guy was a candidate for the National Party, standing in the Ôtaki electorate and being ranked 39th on the party list. He narrowly lost the election to Labour's Darren Hughes, by a margin of 1.00% or 382 votes. He entered Parliament as a list MP.

In the 2008 election he was again the candidate for Otaki, this time defeating Hughes by 1,354 votes

On 15 June 2009, Guy was selected as the new Minister of Internal Affairs, the National Library of New Zealand and other posts previously held by Richard Worth, who had resigned after allegations of sexual harassment.

Craig Foss was the previous Racing Minister. He took obver from John Carter, who retired.

(Source Harnesslink)

12/12/11 - John Key names new Cabinet

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Prime Minister John Key today named the following ministerial roles;

1. John Key - Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Minister Responsible for Ministerial Services, Minister in Charge of the NZ Security Intelligence Service

2. Bill English - Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance

3. Gerry Brownlee - Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery, Minister of Transport, Leader of the House, Minister Responsible for the Earthquake Commission

4. Steven Joyce - Minister for Economic Development, Minister of Science and Innovation, Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment, Associate Minister of Finance

5. Judith Collins - Minister of Justice, Minister for ACC, Minister for Ethnic Affairs

6. Tony Ryall - Minister of Health, Minister for State Owned Enterprises

7. Hekia Parata - Minister of Education, Minister of Pacific Island Affairs

8. Christopher Finlayson, Attorney-General, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Associate Minister of Maori Affairs

9. Paula Bennett - Minister for Social Development, Minister of Youth Affairs

10. Dr Nick Smith - Minister for the Environment, Minister for Climate Change Issues, Minister of Local Government

11. David Carter - Minister for Primary Industries

12. Murray McCully - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister for Sport and Recreation

13. Anne Tolley - Minister of Police, Minister of Corrections, Deputy Leader of the House

14. Dr Jonathan Coleman - Minister of Defence, Minister of State Services, Associate Minister of Finance

15. Tim Groser - Minister of Trade, Minister Responsible for International Climate Change Negotiations, Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs

16. Phil Heatley - Minister of Energy and Resources, Minister of Housing

17. Kate Wilkinson - Minister of Conservation, Minister of Labour, Minister for Food Safety, Associate Minister of Immigration

18. Nathan Guy - Minister of Immigration, Minister for Racing, Minister of Veterans' Affairs, Associate Minister for Primary Industries

19. Craig Foss - Minister of Commerce, Minister of Broadcasting, Associate Minister for ACC, Associate Minister of Education

20. Amy Adams - Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Associate Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Outside Cabinet:

21.Maurice Williamson - Minister for Building and Construction, Minister of Customs, Minister for Land Information, Minister of Statistics

22. Chris Tremain - Minister of Civil Defence, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Associate Minister of Tourism, Associate Minister of Transport

23. Jo Goodhew - Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Minister for Senior Citizens, Minister of Women's Affairs, Associate Minister of Health

24. Chester Borrows - Minister of Courts, Associate Minister of Justice, Associate Minister of Social Development

Support party ministers;

United Future leader Peter Dunne - Minister of Revenue, Associate Minister of Conservation, Associate Minister of Health

Act Parliamentary leader John Banks - Minister for Regulatory Reform, Minister for Small Business, Associate Minister of Commerce, Associate Minister of Education

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples - Minister of Maori Affairs, Associate Minister of Corrections, Associate Minister of Education

Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia - Minister for Whanau Ora, Minister for Disability Issues, Associate Minister of Health, Associate Minister of Housing,Associate Minister for Social Development, Associate Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment

(Source Otago Daily Times, APNZ)

06/12/11 - Treasury tips slower growth on euro woes

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The Treasury has slashed its forecast for economic growth next year, citing the ongoing crisis in Europe.

It said yesterday that its forecast in the October 25 pre-election economic and fiscal update (Prefu) had assumed that European governments would manage the crisis without too much more damage to the real economy.

But financial tensions had escalated, it said, and dragged down growth forecasts for New Zealand's trading partners.

It pointed to the rebuilding of Christchurch - expected to begin in earnest in the second half of next year - a later start to official cash rate rises and a lower exchange rate as offsets to global weakness.

Even so, it now expects New Zealand's economic growth in the year to March 2013 to be closer to 3 per cent than the 3.4 per cent it had forecast in the pre-election update.

Growth was also likely to be lower in subsequent years but still well above the downside scenario it had sketched in the Prefu, which projects tax revenue a cumulative $14.5 billion lower than the central scenario over the four-year forecast period.

But already, one-third of the way through the Government's financial year the operating deficit is bigger, by $1.2 billion or 20 per cent, than the Prefu track projected.

Crown financial statements for the four months to October 31, released yesterday, show tax revenue of $500 million or 2.8 per cent below forecast.

The PAYE take was $421 million or 5.8 per cent lower than expected, but the Treasury said economic data to date indicated underlying wages and salaries were only slightly below Prefu forecast and the shortfall should reverse out over coming months.

The GST take was $232 million or 4.7 per cent below forecast. Offsetting those shortfalls is the company tax take, which was $229 million or 8.6 per cent above forecast.

"Recent public profit announcements indicate that taxable corporate income may be higher than assumed in the Prefu forecasts," the Treasury said. It described the variances between actual and forecast revenue as within normal variability.

"However, heightened economic risks remain, arising out of the current European sovereign debt environment, as highlighted in Prefu, which would affect tax revenue should these risks be realised," it said.

Nearly half the revenue shortfall is offset by lower-than-forecast expenditure - largely reflecting delays in some Treaty settlements and rail projects.

The operating balance, excluding gains and losses, is $3.36 billion in the red, 4 per cent more than forecast, which the Treasury describes as being "on target".

However, the bottom-line operating balance, a deficit of $7.5 billion, is $1.2 billion or 20 per cent higher than forecast largely because of a $1 billion increase in the estimated liabilities of the Government Superannuation Fund, which pays public servants' pensions. They are evidently living longer.

"We are tracking towards the forecast $10.8 billion deficit for the year to 30 June, 2012 - down from over $18 billion last year. This is forecast to more than halve to $4.4 billion next year, before returning to surplus in 2014/15," said Finance Minister Bill English.

Revised down

• In its pre-election update, Treasury expected growth in the year to March 2013 to be 3.4 per cent.
• It now expects growth to be closer to 3 per cent.

(Source NZ Herald, Brian Fallow)

05/12/11 - What the property industry experts say

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With the uncertainty of the election over, New Zealand homeowners and buyers are hoping they can look forward to a prosperous 2012; but with unsteady European markets, it is unlikely the New Zealand economy and housing market will remain unscathed.

Property industry heads give Gill South their views of the current situation and what might be in store for us next year.

Mike Bayley, managing director, Bayleys Real Estate

The pendulum which reflects economic and social confidence in New Zealand continues to swing markedly between optimism and pessimism at increasing speed.

No sooner had the All Blacks lifted the Rugby World Cup and the ticker-tape parades were held, than the spectre of a general election campaign appeared and news of financial instability across Europe hit the headlines once more.

The cup was followed by a surge of new residential property listings. Data reflecting this comes not from any Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) monthly reports, nor data from QV, but by simply reading through HeraldHomes or the 'Houses for Sale' supplements in the daily provincial newspapers.

The increased number of listings has been plain to see. With a mix of four-week auction campaigns and traditional price-attached marketing, the natural flow-on results from this listing influx may take another few weeks to filter through into sales statistics.

However, the traditional spring 'flood' has been more a gradual building of activity this year - albeit a month or so later than usual because of the Rugby World Cup. The rise in listing activity has come across the board from $300,000 entry-level homes to high-end $1 million-plus residences.

New Zealand has weathered the current round of global financial jitters far better than many of its trading partners, partly buoyed by the diversion of attention to the Rugby World Cup tournament and associated partying. However, attention is now firmly back on more serious issues.

What will be interesting to see is the strength and depth of the log-jam of home buyers who have been bereft of choice for the past quarter. Anecdotally, we know that their appetite is sound and well-financed. The unknown factor is their fortitude in converting this appetite into transaction numbers.

Peter Thompson, managing director, Barfoot & Thompson

What will affect the Auckland housing market in the run-up to Christmas and in the early part of next year most is the modest number of new homes listed for sale. It is creating a tight market.

For the past six months, the market has been stable, with the number of homes being sold remaining constant on a monthly basis. Prices are edging up marginally and days to sell are in the low 30s.

A good guide as to the overall movement in prices this year is that, at the end of October, our average selling price for the 2011 year-to-date was more than $537,000, which is up about $7000 on the average price achieved during 2010.

With the coming of spring there has been greater activity, which is attributable to the seasonal change and prices are remaining marginally above last year's.

As auctions are scheduled right through to the Christmas holiday, we are expecting to sell more homes in December than has been the case in the past few years.

While the early part of 2012 is unlikely to see any material change to trading conditions, further down the track the prospects for a more active market are positive.

Given the forecast population growth of Auckland, the city faces a major shortage of accommodation and this will undoubtedly affect house prices in the more popular locations. In part, this can be seen in current sales, with suburbs ringing the central business district, the coastal suburbs and those in the main transport corridors attracting higher price increases than across the city as a whole.

Homes with values in excess of $1 million remain in strong demand. Past trading patterns show that as the state of the national economy improves and confidence grows, people will act on their housing plans.

Hayden Duncan, chief executive officer, Harcourts Group

New Zealand was gripped by the Rugby World Cup for three months and this has been reflected in the real estate market's activity. In New Zealand, we make decisions based on how we feel and we act on feelings of general confidence.

With the population about to embrace summer and the up-and-coming abundance of outdoor events and festivals, there's happiness. Low interest rates and the glow of our Rugby World Cup win also give us a lot to be positive about. Will this translate into a continued strengthening of the real estate market in New Zealand? We think so.

In the New Year, all eyes will be looking to Asia and Europe. For New Zealand, our economy will be affected depending on how these two markets perform.

If Asia struggles with further economic decline, export and funding lines may become more difficult. If Asia and Europe see their way through, New Zealand will be well positioned for economic growth and that will flow through to all property markets, especially the residential and rural sectors. This will benefit the broader New Zealand economy and the real estate markets as people's confidence in employment returns. With interest rates likely to remain reasonably low and no indications on the horizon to suggest a rise, the concern is still for the residential construction industry.

Reports of two to three years of inactivity are threatening a further housing shortage crisis. This will result in upward pressure on house prices due to simple supply and demand factors.

With the election now over, regardless of your political preference, continuity of government can only be a positive from an economic point of view.

Carey Smith, chief executive, Ray White, New Zealand

The real estate market continues to show improved signs for all sectors within property sales thanks to the continued low Official Cash Rate (OCR) of 2.5 per cent, steady immigration numbers coming to New Zealand and the National Party's return to government with an increased majority.

Prices have continued to firm, particularly across Auckland, where the average sale price has lifted during the past two months and is now $475,000, an increase since the beginning of the year of just below 4 per cent. The numbers of sales across Auckland has remained consistent during the past three months to be just below 2,000 per month and we expect this trend to continue throughout the final months of 2011 and during the first quarter of 2012.

Interestingly, there has been an increasing amount of property marketed by auction. It is at a record high of 26.4 per cent. Across New Zealand, sales numbers have also remained just above 5,000 per month and the average sale price has increased from $340,000, at the beginning of 2011, to $359,000 in October 2011.

It is expected the OCR will remain at 2.5 per cent at least until March 2012. This will continue to give confidence to firsthome buyers and investors, and will in turn keep the market remaining active in the second and third-home buyer areas.

The recent capital valuations received by property owners throughout Auckland are a definite reflection of the continued activity that has occurred in certain areas of the city. The outlook for property prices over the next period remains strong. With houses for sale having fewer days on the market and an active buyer pool, this should continue to drive sales across all sectors.

Keith Niederer, general manager, LJ Hooker & Harveys Group

The New Year market will be steady as it goes, there will be no records set for sales volumes. The European economy is in disarray which means interest rates may temporarily remain at current levels through the early part of 2012. Stock levels will increase as many owners assess their position.

Many Kiwis are reluctant to take on more risk borrowing on their existing family home - due to the expected impact of rates increases, petrol and the general cost of living.

The lessons learned over the past five years mean most homeowners will take a consolidated, conservative approach. With the European situation and our current exchange rate, more expats will see New Zealand as a safe haven, with more returning and investing back in New Zealand.

2012 will bring more first-home buyers to the market. Affordable interest rates and well-priced stock make common sense for first-home buyers to explore their options to purchase.

If you are contemplating listing your property on the market - let the marketplace, the buyers, value the property. A no-price strategy coupled with a date for a result means you have the opportunity to realise a premium price. Presentation and marketing will be more important than pricing in 2012, with the possibility of having multiple buyers competing. Well-presented homes are achieving quicker sales and often at premium prices. So the message is: no-price marketing and top presentation are key factors to produce a sale.

If you are in buyer mode, do your homework. If you see the property that ticks the boxes for you, move with confidence as time and time again we hear the old saying "we should have, we could have, we nearly did".

With a shortage of 30,000 homes across the nation, the cost of renting or buying is going to go only one way with material and building costs also moving up due to the demands from the Christchurch earthquake, Auckland's continued growth, and exports of building products. Now is the time to buy and sell.

In balance, it is a good time to buy and sell as the summer months of February, March and April traditionally have been very active.

2012 will see quality listings available in all price ranges with anything in Auckland under $600,000 being particularly sought-after by first home buyers and astute investors.

(Source NZ Herald, Gill South)

30/11/11 - UK strike tipped to cause travel chaos

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Airline passengers face chaos at immigration halls and school closures may force parents to take children into work this week as Britain's biggest strike in decades threatens to wreak havoc.

Labor union leaders have warned that the strike may just be the start of a wave of disruption, with public workers opposing government plans to reform pensions, demands that they work longer before receiving a pension and contribute more money each month.

The unions claim as many as two million border agency workers, teachers, garbage collectors, firefighters and other public sector staff will join the 24-hour strike which begins shortly after midnight, plunging air travel and many basic services into disarray.

Many strikers will also be motivated by Britain's painful austerity measures, which on Tuesday saw the government extend a limit on public sector pay rises through 2014.

Airport operator BAA, which runs London's Heathrow airport, has warned that passengers could face 12-hour delays as immigration staff leave their posts. Education officials say nine out of 10 schools will close.

"For most people, the size of this strike will be unprecedented in their lifetime,'' said John Kelly, a professor of industrial relations at the Birkbeck University of London.

Kelly said that if around 1.5 million to 2 million workers join the strike it would be the largest one-day walkout since the early 1970s. If the numbers exceed that, it could match Britain's 1926 General Strike, he said.

Prime Minister David Cameron has implemented an 81 billion pound four-year program of public spending cuts, aiming to tackle debts he accuses the previous Labour Party government of racking up before the 2010 election.

The Office for Budget Responsibility Britain's national economic forecaster predicted Tuesday that 710,000 public sector jobs will be lost by 2017 under government spending cuts, higher than a previous estimate of 400,000.

"Not only is austerity hitting growth, the way it is being applied means unfairness is growing,'' said Dave Prentis, general secretary of UNISON, the country's largest trade union which represents about 1 million health, education and law enforcement staff.

"The government's cuts and austerity agenda is hitting women, the young, and making those who are less able to pay plug the deficit,'' he said.

Prentis has already warned that the strike could be followed by more industrial action in the new year particularly if no deal on pension reform is reached.

Ministers insist that Britain has no option but to reform its public pensions because people are living longer, and because the gap between contributions and pension payments could rise to 9 billion pounds per year by 2015.

Cameron insists that the deal being offered to public sector workers is fair and said his government wouldn't be swayed by the strike which ministers estimate will cost Britain as much as 500 million pounds in lost productivity.

"It is not going to achieve anything and it will be damaging to our economy,'' Cameron said Monday, during a visit to the northwestern English city of Manchester.

Education Secretary Michael Gove accused militant labor leaders of spoiling for a fight with the government evoking ex-Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher's battle with unions during the 1984-1985 miners' strike.

Gove said that some labor unions involved in the latest action had won the support of less than 50 percent of their members for the strike.

"They want scenes of industrial strife on our TV screens. They want to make economic recovery harder they want to provide a platform for confrontation just when we all need to pull together,'' Gove said Monday in a speech.

Kelly said that Wednesday's action will be large in scale because it is being limited to 24 hours. Many of the infamous disputes of the 1970s and 1980s were drawn out over weeks and months.

Ahead of the walkouts, Middle East carrier Etihad Airways and Greece's Aegean Airlines said they had already canceled some flights into London scheduled for Wednesday. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Cathay Pacific have all agreed to waive fees for passengers who want to rebook flights.

Gatwick Airport has warned travelers to be prepared for "significant disruption.'' Other parts of London's transport network, including its subway, won't be affected.

Workers from across the public sector who are not planning to join the strike including some officials at Cameron's office are being drafted in to help staff immigration counters.

(Source NZ Herald, AP)

29/11/11 - Many non-voters likely migrants, says analyst

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Many immigrants could be among those who failed to vote in this election, and those from North Asia or North America and migrants who "felt very settled" were less likely to vote, a Statistics New Zealand analyst told a population conference yesterday.

Voter turnout for the 2011 election was the lowest in percentage terms in 120 years, and although there are no figures out yet, a large percentage of non-voters may be migrants.

A survey done jointly by Statistics New Zealand and the Department of Labour in 2008 just after a campaign to get people on the electoral roll found only 88.4 per cent of immigrants were enrolled, compared with the New Zealand average of 95.3 per cent.

However, the number of those who actually turned up to vote could be significantly lower, it is believed. About a million enrolled voters did not vote in Saturday's election.

"Migrants from traditional source countries like the UK and Ireland were significantly more likely than those from other regions, including South Africa, North Asia and North America," said statistical analyst Dr Anne Henderson.

New Zealand immigration policy approves about 45,000 new migrants annually, and citizenship is not a prerequisite for participation at the polls. Non-citizen permanent residents are granted national voting rights after one year of residency.

"New Zealand is one of only four countries that allows its residents who are not citizens to vote and it is truly a shame that many choose not to exercise their right to vote," Dr Henderson said.

Migrants likely to be "missing" from the electoral roll are those who feel dissatisfied, non-citizens, are single and aged between 24-29 years. Those who are managers, are in the lowest income bracket and employed but not in a full-time paid position are also less likely to be enrolled.

Dr Henderson said those who came under Immigration's family policy were also likely to be non-voters.

Skilled migrants were identified as a group that was most likely to vote.

More than 5000 migrant participants were interviewed between November 1, 2007, and October 31, 2009 for the department's Longitudinal Immigration Survey: New Zealand.

The survey also found a regression with age, with only about 84 per cent of migrants aged 60 up enrolled, down from 92 per cent for those aged between 30 and 39. About 81 per cent of those between 18 and 24 are enrolled.

The Korean Society, which estimates only 2 per cent of local Koreans voted in the 2005 election, believes the number could have again plummeted after seeing a rise in 2008.

"Last election, the community was excited with the introduction of National's first Korean candidate and there were several political forums organised specifically aimed at getting Koreans to vote," said Ted Min, secretary-general for the society.

"But this time there is no real burning issue, so I am not sure if many Koreans had taken part in the election."

Non-voter Eunice Guo, 28, an immigrant from Wuhan, China, said she did not understand the voting system here and did not vote because she did not know any of the candidates standing in her electorate.

(Source NZ Herald, Lincoln Tan)

24/11/11 - People trafficking surges in the South Pacific

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An alarming rise in people trafficking has emerged in Pacific Island states, often linked to transnational crime groups also involved in narcotics and other major crimes.

The islands have also become a transit point for other people trafficking operations as crime groups take advantage of weak laws, corruption, and inadequate border controls and documentation, a new report from the Australian Institute of Criminology warns.

It says crime groups are using natural disasters, poverty and migration to boost their operations, and are importing and entrapping workers from outside the region to work in industries from logging and mining to tourism.

Young women are used as currency in sex-for-fish trading deals and prostitution is on the increase, with an increasing risk of exposure to people smugglers, the institute's report, Vulnerabilities to Trafficking in the Pacific, said.

The report's authors, institute researchers Jade Lindley and Laura Beacroft, said that in the six years to 2009 Fiji, Guam, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu reported their belief that people had been trafficked into their countries.

The report said people trafficking targeted both legal industries and illegal operations run by organised crime in the region.

"Some members of Asian crime syndicates have migrated to the Pacific, gained citizenship and set up legitimate businesses to act as a cover for illegal activities, such as money laundering and large-scale drug transshipments," it said.

"Gambling and prostitution have been highlighted as forming part of a larger, more organised, syndicate of criminal activity in the Pacific region."

In one case the Australian Federal Police's Pacific Transnational Crime Co-ordination Centre was involved in the investigation of an incident of trafficking of persons from China into the Pacific for sex work and the use of fishing vessels to transport them.

In February last year a joint police and immigration raid in Fiji found nine Chinese nationals in breach of their visas, seven of whom were vulnerable women engaging in prostitution.

Transnational syndicates are not the only organised crime groups operating in the Pacific.

The report described the rise of local "cottage industry" groups, small-time operators at times linked to larger criminal syndicates based outside the region, creating chains that complicate the task of investigators and prosecutors.

The region is also being used as temporary transit points for people smuggling and a range of other organised transnational criminal activities, such as drug smuggling and exploitation of resources through illegal fishing and logging.

And the increasing movement of people into and out of the Pacific - in part driven by the need to find work abroad - adds to the dangers of both people trafficking and the vulnerability of migrants in their new countries.

The departure of Islanders also potentially increases the risk of people being trafficked into their former homes for work already increasing in fishing, yachting, cruise and cargo shipping, logging, mining and non-traditional agriculture such as coffee, and in tourism.

"Demand for workers in these industries is high and exploitative work environments are common, such as those identified by Fiji's United Nations Development Fund for Women, which then presents risks for labour trafficking," the report said.

"For example, Fijian authorities became aware of employers in sugar mills seizing passports and other documentation belonging to migrant workers to prevent them from leaving the mills, while exposing the workers to harsh treatment."

And while small, cohesive communities can help counter traffickers, they can also offer them opportunities.

The report said patriarchal social systems dominated by male attitudes could allow "unchecked" abuse against women and girls, increasing their vulnerability to other harm, including trafficking. Combined with poverty, this hit education and employment prospects for women, contributing to an observed rise in prostitution.

"All of the factors described here may be contributing to the reported exposure of young women to a system where sex is traded for fish and fresh produce," the report said. "Such a system has been identified as widespread in the Pacific among local and international fishing trawlers."

The report also warned that natural disasters raised further dangers.

Rape, sexual abuse, kidnapping and people trafficking followed the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, with similar concerns reported after the October 2009 earthquake that devastated Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga.

TRADE IN BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS

How the traffickers operate:

• The case of 15 Indian families came to light in 2006. They had sold their land to pay between A$20,000 ($26,290) and A$38,000 for work and entitlement to New Zealand citizenship after five years. Instead, they spent five years in Niue, their passports were confiscated by their employers and they were forced to work for low wages and repay the costs of their travel from India.
• Also in 2006, seven Filipina and nine Chinese women were allegedly trafficked into Palau by four Chinese nationals. The Filipinas paid US$900 ($1210) for waitress work that would supposedly pay US$250 a month, and the Chinese women US$5000 for an expected US$2000-a-month job. Instead they were handed packets of condoms, their passports were confiscated and they were forced into prostitution, working seven days a week.
• In 2009, 13 Indians were lured to non-existent jobs in Fiji, allegedly by Indian and Fijian nationals aided by corrupt immigration officials.
• Last year an Indian national was convicted and sentenced to six years in jail for deceiving seven Indian nationals about work in New Zealand and taking them to Fiji instead. An immigration official identified them as possible victims of trafficking.

(Source NZ Herald, Greg Ansly)

23/11/11 - $2.4 m for research interns for business this summer

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An extra 140 undergraduate students will be funded to do research and development projects for New Zealand businesses this summer, Science and Innovation Minister Wayne Mapp announced today.

"We have huge demand from businesses so this year we have decided to award 341 internships instead of the 200 we initially intended,” said Dr Mapp.

Dr Mapp said funding for the annual programme has increased from $1.28 to $2.4 million and will allow some of our best scientific, engineering and technology undergraduate students to be placed with our innovative businesses over summer.

“This Government wants to see better connections and increased collaboration between the science and business communities. These internships contribute to this goal,” Dr Mapp said.

“This initiative has twin benefits: young, promising engineers, technologists and scientists will be able to prove themselves in a commercial research environment. And businesses have the chance to tap into the latest knowledge, insights and skills to contribute to new products, processes or services,” Dr Mapp said.

The undergraduate internships programme, administered by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, provides funding of $16 per hour (excl. GST) for up to 400 hours of work by the student.

Some 130 of the 341 internships are in the Canterbury region, as part of the government’s support package for businesses affected by the earthquake. Many of the interns from previous years later found jobs with the business.

(Source The Beehive)

22/11/11 - Foreign workers granted visas for city rebuild

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Skilled international workers have been granted visas specifically to help Christchurch rebuild after its devastating earthquakes.

The Department of Labour has released figures showing 71 visas were issued specifically for work associated with the Christchurch rebuild between June and October.

A department spokesman said the workers ''qualified for visas on the basis of skills shortages", particularly the specific Canterbury skills shortage list.

Of those granted visas, 15 were quantity surveyors, 13 were insurance loss adjusters, nine were civil engineers, and eight were construction project managers.

Most workers hailed from Britain and Ireland, which accounted for 51 of the visas issued.

However some had travelled as fair afield as Pakistan and India to work in the stricken city.

Where they came from:
Great Britain: 40
Ireland: 11
Philippines: 4
Malaysia: 3
USA: 3
India:2
Indonesia: 2
Germany:1
Italy: 1
Malta: 1
Pakistan: 1
South Africa: 1
Spain: 1

(Source The Press)