The cost of Immigration New Zealand incompetence.
You just cant trust what Immigration New Zealand tell you – even when you are a Kiwi!
Ngaire Reid fired Nicholas Boer from Reid Research Services, a market research company, in April last year after speaking to an Immigration New Zealand call centre. An operator told her that Boer was not legally allowed to be working for her because he was listed as working for another company on an interim work visa.
“Technically he shouldn’t be working at all,” the call centre employee said.
Asked what would happen if Boer continued to work for Reid, the Immigration staffer said: “You’ll technically be breaking the law because he doesn’t have a current work visa.”
The INZ Website says:
The Immigration Act 2009
Under the Immigration Act 2009, an employer must not employ a foreign national who is not entitled to work in New Zealand or not entitled to work for that employer. This applies whether or not the employer knew that the foreign national was not entitled to work.
What are the penalties for employers who employ foreign nationals not entitled to work in New Zealand?
Penalties for offences committed by employers are:
- The maximum penalty for allowing a foreign national who is not entitled to work in the employer’s service to do that work is a fine of NZ$10,000.
- The maximum penalty for allowing or continuing to allow a foreign national to work while knowing that person is not entitled to work is a fine of NZ$50,000.
- The maximum penalty for exploitation of a foreign national whom the employer has allowed to work while knowing that person was not entitled to work is:
- imprisonment for seven years, or
- a fine of NZ$100,000, or
- both.
So it is up to the employer to find out if the employee is legally allowed to work here. To do that – you need to be able to trust that INZ are telling you the truth. And once INZ had told Ms Reid that her staff member was not allowed to work here – she could have been fined up to $50,000. Which, funnily enough is exactly what INZ’s incompetence and false records cost her anyway:
Reid then terminated Boer’s contract. She said she was fearful of acting illegally and did not want to face a fine for continuing to employ him. But she did not talk with Boer about this and instead just sent him a termination letter.
But it turned out Immigration made a mistake, later admitting it had incorrectly recorded information about Boer into its systems which led to the mistake.
Boer filed a personal grievance to the Employment Relations Authority which ruled that Reid did not undertake an investigation into whether the information from Immigration was correct and terminated Boer’s contract without notice.
It said Reid should pay out more than $10,000 in lost wages and distress compensation. Reid’s legal bills mean the total cost is in excess of $50,000. It is understood Boer received legal aid.
Now I actually agree – Ms Reid should at the very least have discussed the issue with Boer – who could presumably have told her it was a typical INZ stuff up, and they could at least have tried to sort it out. However – unless Ms Reid is an immigrant herself, and was aware of just how many screw ups INZ have been known to make, and that their call center staff have a tendency to spout crap – how would she have known to not trust what she was being told? It’s the immigration department!
Did the Call Center Staffer advise Ms Reid to use the online VisaView System? A new system designed to let employers see visual proof of an immigrants record?
But the second issue is that according to the article – even the VisaView record would have been wrong. It wasn’t that the staffer gave the incorrect info – it’s that the records INZ had that the staffer was reading – was incorrect. So VisaView would also give misleading records. When VisaView was first released I blogged about this – and raised the issue then that it was all well and good an employer being able to check your record - but we as individuals can’t use VisaView to check our own records and make sure it is correct.
Immigration has said the mistake was the result of human error and “lessons had been learned from the case”. It has apologised to Boer. But it has not apologised to Reid or her company.
Despite Reid twice confirming the information with Immigration there had been no apology to her.
“If I make an error in my business I put it right,” she said. “There was no communication to me. Even though the manager admitted there had been an error he didn’t come up and pat me on the back and say `I’m really sorry Ngaire’.”
An Immigration spokesperson told the Sunday Star-Times: “These errors however are rare and INZ has a series of processes and checks in place to minimise their occurrence. We have apologised to the applicant [Boer] and are very sorry for the initial mistake that led to the confusion.”
Reid told the Star-Times that Immigration had been “diabolical” to deal with and the authority’s decision “stunned” her. Reid said the payout was a huge cost in difficult economic times. She was considering appealing the ruling but the cost might make it impossible.
This is just typical. Immigration Incompetence has led to a guy losing his job, and the company that relied on their information losing $50,000. And all INZ can say is “oops”. They should at least cough up the legal costs, and fire the person who screwed up the records.
And Ms Reid should probably be firing off a complaint letter to the ombudsman, because clearly INZ are not treating the VisaView system with the respect it deserves, and are not bothering to take care with the information it provides. I doubt however that Ms Reid will ever take the risk on hiring an immigrant again!
TelstraClear muppets.
In our ongoing search for some internet in the center of wellington that gets above Dial-Up speed without breaking every 5 minutes – we contacted TelstraClear. Simply because a few weeks ago there was an article in the Dom Post about a new really-really mega fast broadband option in the cities of Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch.
TelstraClear has launched a significantly faster broadband service in Wellington.
The 100 megabit-per-second broadband service is offered on its cable networks in the capital and Christchurch, priced at $115.95 a month.
The fastest service that customers could sign up to on the cable networks before today’s relaunch was 25Mbps.
The new service comes with a 100 gigabyte data cap.
GREAT! We currently pay xNet about $70 a month, plus $1 per Gig. Now because the access and speed is so monumentally crap – we only use about 5gigs a month (it’s a good job we don’t want to illegally download a load of TV or Movies!) Given that I spend most of my day online, and hubby works as an IT Contractor and works at home in the evenings – this paltry level of downloads we manage to get says it all really.
That’s what we have right now as I am writing this.
So $115 a month for an allowance of 100gig is actually ok. If it actually works, and we can get it up on The Terrace.
So I contacted TelstraClear via their website to find out if I could get the service in our CBD apartment just 10 minutes walk from Parliament. I really wish I hadn’t.
It went like this:
Do you have availability for the new 100mbs naked broadband in the [Widget ] Apartments on the Terrace (Number Given)?
Thank you for your interest in TelstraClear.
To enable us to check the connectability of your address to our network, can you please supply us with the exact details of the address to have service (i.e. Unit number, street number, street name, suburb, city).
Please advise us of these via return email, along with your daytime contact details.
Depending on the location of your property you may be able to connect to TelstraClear’s cable network. This network is available in many suburbs of Wellington and Christchurch, and the majority of the Kapiti Coast.
If you are within our cable network area, you will be able to take advantage of our InHome products and services. The key benefits to InHome are that you can have phone line, cable broadband and cable TV (including SKY) all in one package. Fantastic and competitive toll products are also available through TelstraClear.
Please visit our website at the address provided for more information:
The Address is
Unit (Number)
(Number) The Terrace
Wellington
6011
Hello Avalon,
Thank you for your email.
Could you please advise us how would this show in New Zealand post as this is still not showing in our database.
Also, kindly include on your response your daytime contact number for us to arrange a callback request to our Sales Team.
If you look up the NZ post address finder you will get:
(Number) The Terrace
Wellington 6011
We are in Apartment (Number)
I am somewhat concerned that if even this is difficult – relying on Telstraclear for broadband may be a bit “hopeful” 
Please confirm before I give you my phone number.
Many thanks
(I’m guessing that the pillock on the other end of this conversation was just too bone idle to look this up. Several companies here cannot do anything unless you give them the address as exactly written by NZ Post. Which is a pain in the arse when our home in the Wairarapa is listed at NZ post as being in the wrong area).
Hello Helen,
Thank you for your clarification.
I am pleased to advise you that the address provided is showing in our system and this address can have New HomePlan packages.
With that being said, kindly advise your daytime contact number for us to create a callback request to our Sales Team to discuss the terms further.
At this point I gave Hubby’s phone number (he can ask the right questions). We got a call last night, from someone who didn’t have is name right, didn’t know what we wanted, didn’t know where we lived, or even which city we were in, wanted to know if we had given them a copy of our driving license (??) and couldn’t help us anyway as it wasn’t his department.
I emailed the “customer service team” to ask what the hell that was about – and if they could ensure that the next person who called actually knew something. This was passed on. This morning I received the following email:
Thank you for your email.
I have phoned and left a message with [hubby] with regard to getting you connected. Unfortunately we do no have the cable service in your apartment complex to provide the 100mbs plan however we do have some fantastic promotions for your area currently that we would love to discuss. What would be the best time to contact either yourself or [hubby] ?
ARGGGGGHHHH!
Weet-Bix vs Weetabix Part 2: The Taste Test
I managed to get hold of some highly illegal UK Weetabix. Now I won’t say where I got it from so as not to bring the might of the evil Sanitarium company down on the shop. Nor will I say whether I bought it from a small company or a major supermarket.
So
to Sanitarium.
We also managed to get hold of a second UK product made by a company called Heritage: Wheat Biscuits (sold via Nisa stores in the UK). Im not going to say where I go those from either. Just in case.
So, this test (totally non scientific) will be in three parts: Visual Comparison, Nutritional and Ingredient comparison, and taste (which clearly will be highly subjective – can’t do much about that.)
Part 1: Visual Comparison.
Left to Right: Weet-Bix (NZ), Heritage Wheat Biscuts (UK), Weetabix (UK)
Now, I’m really not sure anything else needs to be said about this, but for the purposes of trying to be less snotty – I cannot for the life of me see how anyone with working eyes can possibly maintain that you could mistake Sanitarium’s Weetbix for UK Weetabix. Clearly they are not the same product, and we should be allowed to choose which one to eat. I think it is interesting that the cheap UK Knockoff still looks like Weetabix and not like Weet-Bix. I do not know how, why or when the Weetabix company turned Weet-Bix into Weetabix as we see it above – but they did, and at that point it clearly became a different product.
Part 2: Nutrition and Ingredients.
On this score all three are pretty similar. The main difference is that in the Weetbix Product, after Wheat being the main ingredient, sugar and salt are next on the list. Whereas in the UK products, barley malt extract is the second ingredient. I am going to make a stab in the dark and say this is why the NZ product looks anemic and bland compared to the UK versions (Malt extract is dark in colour).
Part 3: Taste.
Ok, so five of us dived in (with mixed feelings as 2 of us don’t eat cereals at all and would have much preferred a bowl of bacon and eggs. But – for you lot – I sacrificed!)
The bottom line for us was that yes indeed – the Weet-Bix just doesn’t stand up to either the Weetabix or in fact the cheap UK alternative. Both of which had a stronger flavor (I’m guessing that this is the Malt Extract again), and both of them felt a bit more “sturdy”. In fact – as most people will know Weetabix quickly becomes sludge when you add milk. Well Weet-Bix turns a lot faster. So if you like some crunch – eat Weet-Bix really fast.
I thought it was interesting that in fact some of us actually preferred the taste of the Heritage Wheat Biscuits over the Weetabix. There’s not a lot in it – whereas the difference between Weet-Bix and the UK versions was very noticeable – but it does mean that if you cannot get Weetabix, but can find the Heritage Version – grab it.
I would also suspect that if you tried this test on Kiwis. then they would actually prefer the Weet-Bix, even up against Weetabix. You see this with the whole UK vs NZ Marmite – your preference comes down to what you are used to and what you grew up with.
Conclusion.
Weet-Bix and Weetabix are not the same product.
They don’t look the same, they have difference recipes and they don’t taste the same. For Sanitarium to use an 82 year old deal to prevent people from having the simple choice of what cereal to eat in the morning, is petty and contemptible. They are not the same product, and we should not be forced to eat their version of it if we don’t want to.
Far from them claiming that people may be confused and accidentally buy Weetabix when they really meant to buy Weet-Bix, I would suggest that the opposite is more likely for an ex-pat: that we buy Sanitarium Weet-Bix expecting it to be just a different name for Weetabix and find out that it is in fact nothing like we were expecting. This happens all the time when you move to a new country and have to work out what foods you like and what you don’t. Sanitarium are not special in this area – they are just the ones prepared to use lawyers to force us to buy their crap.
If it is true that the Weetabix company does the same thing in the UK and will not allow companies to sell to Kiwi Expats – then the same applies. Time to grow up people. Its not going to hurt your bottom line for crying out loud!
Weet-Bix vs Weetabix Part 1: The History
Following on from my blog about the legal bullying from Tax Dodging Sanitarium forcing us not to buy UK Weetabix and buy their crap instead, I actually started looking into this a bit further.
The history of Weetabix would probably surprise you – it did me anyway.
It turns out that Weet-bix is actually the original Weetabix product – created from a Kellogg’s Base product called Granose – basically Flaked wheat or other cereal grains. Which, in the Kellogg’s company turned into Cornflakes. Granose was invented in 1890, after the Kellogg’s brothers accidentally left Wheat grains out in the sun, and rather than waste them, they tried to flake them, and found that their clients actually liked the result.
Now, Weet-Bix as Kiwis know it – was invented out of this by a Guy Called Bennison Osborne. He was an Aussie from New South Wales, and along with partner Malcolm McFarlane, a Kiwi worked for a company called Grain Products. Not Sanitarium. They sold the Australian rights to Sanitarium and 1928, and New Zealand rights to the product in 1930. 40 years after Kellogg’s accidental flaking of Wheat grains.
Now – this is bit confusing. The Wiki page for Weetabix says that they sold the rights. The Wiki page for Weetbix says that Sanitarium bought the company (Grain products also had links to the Seventh Day Adventist church – as did Kellogg’s.)
Weet-Bix, the cereal, was developed by Bennison Osborne in NSW, Australia in the mid 1920s. Benn set out to make a product more palatable than “Granose.” He tried his new product on his little nieces and nephews until he had it perfected, and in 1928 he registered the tradename “Weetbix” and production started at 659 Parramatta Road, Leichhardt, NSW with the financial backing of Mr. Arthur Shannon. Benn’s friend Malcolm Ian “Mac” Macfarlane from N.Z. joined him and proved a brilliant marketer. The product was so successful that in October 1928, Mr. Shannon sold the rights in the product to the Sanitarium Health Food Company, at which point Mac suggested that they take the product to N.Z. The product proved so successful in N.Z. that it quickly became apparent that it would be difficult to adequately supply the market from Australia. Again, with the financial assistance of Mr. Arthur Shannon, factories were established in both Auckland and Christchurch. The enterprise was such a great success that Mr. Shannon again sold out (in 1930) to the Sanitarium Health Food Company.
They took the product to South Africa and Britain, creating a new company to do so, “British & African Cereal Company Pty. Ltd.”at which point they changed the name in Britain to Weetabix, but retained the name WeetBix in South Africa.
And thus a generation of confused Ex-Pats was born.
In 1933 Mac the kiwi left the company, and in 1936, Bennison Osborne also sold his share and left for the USA, at which point the name of the company changed in the UK to Weetabix.
Now, in 2012, Weetbix is sold in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.
Weetabix is manufactured in the original UK factory in Burton Latimer, and in the USA and is exported to 80 countries. NZ is not one of those countries because, it seems, of a deal done 82 years ago.
Which is, in this day and age pathetic. And I think shows that over time, Weetabix won hands down and left Sanitarium in the dust – which is funny since that is what Weet-Bix tastes like.
Coming up: Weet-Bix vs Weetabix Part 2: The Taste Test.
Dodgy Overstayers can be British too.
With thanks again to Deb.
When people talk about Overstayers – they tend I have noticed to assume that the overstayer is Asian, or a Pacific Islander. But it is always worth remembering that this is not necessarily the case.
An English overstayer is due to fly home, leaving his Christchurch demolition and recycling business in what appears to be dire financial straits and potentially with a huge mess to clean up.
Chris Skelly, a director of Skelly Holdings and the Canterbury Resource Recovery Centre (CRRC), began in the demolition industry after the Canterbury earthquakes, and his companies have two demolition dumps, both of which breach Environment Canterbury (ECan) rules.
The huge warehouse is packed with unsorted demolition material that comes from Skelly’s own demolition projects and from other contractors.
CRRC charges a lower dumping rate than the Burwood landfill site, which makes it attractive to contractors looking for cheaper disposal options.
The demolition material is being stored and processed on the north side of the warehouse in contravention of ECan discharge rules.
The yard has been in trouble with ECan since December, when neighbours complained about a large mound of concrete rubble that was causing a dust and noise nuisance for businesses. An ECan abatement order relating to the concrete pile gave the company until this Monday to remove the material, but some of the mound remains.
Skelly’s companies have several large debts and at least two companies have taken legal action to recover monies owed.
Dan Smith, of Daniel Smith Contracting, said his company had hired Skelly a loader between October last year and February and was owed about $19,000.
The loader had been returned damaged, he said.
Otago truck hire company Otago Commercial Hire has begun legal action to recover about $60,000.
Porter Hire is also believed to be owed a large sum.
The Skelly companies’ new general manager, Richard Peters, said Skelly had booked to leave the country this weekend after reaching a “compromise” with Immigration New Zealand (INZ).
INZ was not “directly” forcing him to leave the country, Peters said, but he would not say whether INZ would allow Skelly back into New Zealand.
Ok – so there are three separate issues here: one being he seems to be contravening environmental rules about dumping, two – his business is financially in the crapper and three – he seems to have immigration issues
Skelly recently married a Russian woman, to whom he transferred 99 per cent of the shares in Skelly Holdings in April. She is pregnant.
I’m not really sure that her pregnancy has much to do with anything. But I imagine if the share transfer is found to have been done solely to avoid paying creditors, a court will reverse the transfer. Setting up Asset Protection is a great idea – but you actually need to do it well in advance, otherwise the protections can be overturned.
A contractor, who did not want to be named, told The Press he thought a real danger existed if the company went broke and had no funds left to clean up the two huge piles of demolition materials that had been dumped cheaply by Skelly’s companies or other contractors.
He said KiwiRail, which is owned by New Zealand taxpayers, might have to clean up the site.
Skelly told The Press on Tuesday that he was going home for a holiday and to take care of family issues. He denied having any problems with INZ.
He deflected further questions by arranging a face-to-face meeting later in the day, but did not turn up. Instead, Peters made himself available to answer questions.
Peters admitted the business was having difficulty paying its debts but said it was “working through” the problem.
The company intended to recycle the demolition materials piled in the warehouse and a business model had been developed that meant the business was viable.
He expected to see Skelly return to New Zealand, but even if he did not, the business could carry on without him.
While it was true the business could fold and leave a mess for someone else to clean up, that was a `negative” way of looking at the situation, he said.
All sounds a bit murky to me. But I guess the test will be whether he comes back to New Zealand (if INZ let him). If he does a runner and doesn’t come back (or can’t come back) then presumably creditors will be stuffed. Its actually a very Kiwi way of doing business from my experience.
ECan compliance monitoring team leader Nathan Dougherty said Skelly Holdings had consent to store materials under cover at the KiwiRail site but no consent to dump in the outdoor area.
The company had dumped further material at the site since ECan had served its abatement notice and had yet to fully dispose of its pile of concrete rubble. ECan was still considering what action it should take, he said.
Skelly is believed to have arrived in New Zealand at least three years ago and first worked on an Ashburton farm. He remains an accredited demolition contractor with the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera).
So presumably his immigration status was good enough to enable him to work and then become accredited by Cera.
I think it’s worth noting that while the headline of the article was
Overstayer set to leave illegal dumps behind
there’s actually nothing in the article that actually shows he is in fact an overstayer. You also need to bear in mind that “overstayers” may not necessarily be trying to dodge the rules or rip off the system. Many people become overstayers due to inefficiency in the immigration system which does not allow you to apply for a new visa until your current one has run out. There could also be delays in issuing a visa while INZ demand more information. Often spurious demands that make no sense to anyone except the bureaucrat making your life difficult.
Emigrate – but don’t get scammed.
With thanks again to Deborah for the headsup.
Who like me, cannot see who people get so easily scammed – but this is the latest one and targets people from Nepal and Bhutan. Thankfully that’s not many people, but it’s success suggests that other targets may follow. So wise up.
A migrant has paid more than $1000 to a man claiming to offer New Zealand citizenship in a new phone-calling scam.
The phoney caller introduces himself as being from the non-existent ”Asian Minority Group of Internal Affairs in Wellington” and appears to be targeting migrants from Nepal and Bhutan.
It has prompted a warning from the Internal Affairs Department to stop any more migrants paying money for ”documentation fees” via Western Union.
Internal Affairs’ general manager for regulatory and compliance operations, Maarten Quivooy, said the Department had received several calls about the scam.
”The phoney caller appears to know detailed information about the families he is ringing and explains that he can provide citizenship but money needs to be paid via Western Union to Nepal for certain document transfer fees.”
One person made two payments via Western Union of $984 and $485. Anyone else who had paid money to the phoney organisation was asked to contact police and Western Union.
1. Anyone asking for money via Western Union – laugh and put the phone down.
Which does beg the question: how on earth are Western Union still allowed to operate???
2. No one will ever call you offering you legitimate citizenship. You have to earn it and apply for it.
Citizenship in New Zealand is handled by the DIA: Department of Internal Affairs. (Not Immigration New Zealand)
3. Same for Residency.
Sometimes the mind boggles.
Are INZ just mucking people around?
Hat Tip to Deborah with thanks!
Dale Crebo and Louise Moore arrived in Palmerston North in October 2005 on temporary work visas with sons Crispin and Jedd.
Two months after they arrived, a doctor diagnosed Jedd, now 11, with duchenne muscular dystrophy, a severe muscle-wasting disease that will shorten his life drastically.
The couple decided to apply for residency under the skilled-migrant stream, with Mr Crebo, who worked in IT, as the main applicant.
But they were told that Jedd was classified as a “medical burden” because he was receiving funding under the Ongoing Resourcing Scheme, or ORS, which provides for a teacher aide at his school.
The couple offered to homeschool Jedd and have the funding withdrawn, but were told that once he had qualified, there was no way to stop it.
Here is the problem – many people come up against this with medical issues. Once you have residency – any promises you make now that you with (in this case) homeschool a child or in most cases use only private medical care, can be broken. There is no way for the government of New Zealand to stop a resident accessing public health care, or indeed ORS Funding.
“We’d just like to stay as a family, that’s where our support is. We don’t rely on anyone but family,” Mrs Moore said. “When Jedd got diagnosed, we got bombarded with services that were available for him. It was so overwhelming but we declined them all because we are young enough to look after him ourselves.”
No this is what I really don’t get. We won’t give this family a residence visa because of the drain on services – but he was diagnosed 6 years ago, and they have been given renewed work visas in that time, and access to the same services. Does this make sense to anyone??? The “burden” on the system will be exactly the same with a residence visa as it seems to be now. If ORS funding can be accessed on a Work Visa, then INZ should in effect not renew the Work Visa if it would refuse a Residence Visa. To do otherwise is in my opinion inhumanly cruel.
As the process dragged on, Mr Crebo’s IT job was given to someone else and the family’s application was scrapped because they no longer qualified.
They appealed to the Immigration Protection Tribunal but were turned down because being close to Mrs Moore’s sister and mother, who arrived earlier and already have residency, was not deemed a strong enough reason.
This happens an awful lot I’m afraid. I have read so many cases at the Tribunal where the same thing has happened – closeness to family is not deemed special. In a land where the concept of Whanau is so important I find it pretty insulting to be honest. Family only matters if you happen to be Maori. The rest of us can get stuffed – our families are of no consequence. Be aware.
I have tried to find the case at the Tribunal Website – but it doesn’t seem to have been made public yet.
A plea was also sent to Associate Immigration Minister Kate Wilkinson, but her office refused to get involved.
The couple have looked into returning to South Africa but they have no remaining family there and a lack of support would mean one of them would have to give up work.
“My whole family is here, we’ve got no family in South Africa, it’s not like we can just hop on a plane and go back. First of all we don’t even know how to get Jedd on a plane.
“This is kind of like discrimination against a boy in a wheelchair. After reading the UN discrimination rights, they’re really not considering that family is all we’ve got … we don’t have 20 other members waiting in the background.”
I do think this is highly unfair – though I can completely understand why they feel that way. We actually don’t have a right to immigrate here. The entire immigration system of any country is at its heart based entirely on the ideal of discrimination. That works for the family because Mr Crebo works in IT. If he worked as a sausage stuffer he would be discriminated against by the INZ system because NZ doesn’t want Sausage Stuffers – they want IT professionals. They are also allowed in because they come from South Africa. If they came from any number of different countries – they would be discriminated against.
I have alwasy felt that the minute you apply to immigrate to a country like New Zealand, with a strict immigration policy – you are accepting that discrimination is OK as long as it works in your favour. The downside is that it can just as easily work against you. That does not however excuse INZ from keeping a family hanging like this with constant work visas while denying residency.
Since having their appeal turned down, the family have been applying for work visas every six to 12 months, but each time, they have to fight to prove their son is not a burden.
I have to say I think that should have been the crux of their argument – but I have no idea if it’s possible to argue that: 6 years+ of work visas is basically residence anyway – and INZ are just mucking them about (and charging them each time). If this really was an issue – then the work visas should be denied.
They are now preparing to apply for residency again, with Mrs Moore, who works as an office manager, as the main applicant.
Immigration New Zealand spokesman Steve Jones said only the tribunal could take into account humanitarian factors when considering an application.
The initial consideration of a medical waiver looked at several factors in weighing the potential value of the family along with the costs of Jedd’s medical condition and ORS funding, he said.
Education Ministry special education group manager Brian Coffey said he could not comment on individual cases, but acknowledged it was a difficult situation.
A spokesman for Ms Wilkinson said there had not been any recent contact with the family and the minister would not discuss individual cases with the media.
I think this is actually quite a tragic case. It looks like the family just didn’t know that their son was this ill when they first came here, so this is not a case of anyone trying to fiddle the system. At the heart of this though is the unacceptable treatment of a family in claiming they aren’t good enough (or close enough as a family) to deserve residency, but good enough despite all the same factors for ongoing work visas. Work visas do not give a family stability.
Unfortunately as is almost always the case with articles in the media like this – the devil is usually in teh detail. If I ever manage to find the case notes at the tribunal – I will post again with more detail.
Lest We Forget: Anzac Day 25th April 2012
Real Live Dragons in Auckland…
Ok, so maybe not – but hey – I’ll take what I can get!
Today seems to be the last shows of How to Train Your Dragon Arena Spectacular in New Zealand – but it is off on it’s travel round the rest of the world. If you can get tickets to a show (with or without Kids) I strongly recommend doing so. It has been shown in Australia and New Zealand, and dates for the rest of the world are not yet available- but you can sign up for news of when it heading your way.
We had already seen Walking With Dinosaurs last year in Auckland (nothing much ever comes to Wellington), and decided there and then that no matter what we would be getting tickets for Dragon as soon as they were availavble. We managed top get early ticktes with a Visa Card as most things have a Visa Card Presale period.
With tickets for 2 of us costing $212.00 it wasnt cheap – especially as we also had to get flights and a hotel – but it was worth every cent.
Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone.
~Jim Fiebig
Neither does it stop you grinning from ear to ear at the sight of a flying dragon!
Coca-Cola – not to be drunk by stupid people.
A thirty year old woman died in New Zealand in February 2010. An inquest was heard on the issue in Invergargill on Friday. At which point it was revealed that she drank around 7.5 l of coke a day.
Now – I don’t know many people who can drink 7.5l of any liquid a day – in fact to do so is pretty bloody dangerous – even if its water.
But the mind boggles about how you manage to down that much fizzy drink.
Oddly – it left her seriously ill for at least a year before she died, from Hypokalemaia (not enough potassium) and heart issues, presumably from the sheer gob smacking amount of caffeine she was consuming.
What makes this truly sickening is that the family are blaming Coca Cola for the death, and want warnings on the drink to prevent someone else dying from not somehow being aware that getting all your calories from 7.5l of ca coke a day is dangerous.
The court heard Ms Harris had a poor diet and was a heavy smoker, with a 30-a-day habit.
But her family is convinced her Coca-Cola consumption played a part in her death – and they say the popular drink should carry warning signs.
It just defies belief that someone drinks that much coke, and smoke 30 fags a day can’t claim to have known that this was a stupendously bad idea. And the family – well there are warning signs all over fag packets that smoking them with KILL YOU. She still lit up and smoked them. A warning sign on the coke bottle would have been similarly ignored.
Since she had been unwell, she did not eat breakfast, ate only snacks at lunch and often went without dinner.
All her teeth had been removed because they were rotting, prompting a dentist to remark about drinking too much Coke.
Mr Crerar asked Mr Hodgkinson if he knew that not having a balanced diet was bad for a person.
He replied: “Yeah, I suppose so. It’s different being able to afford it with eight children. We ate what we could, when we could.”
If you can afford to (literally) burn around $30 a day on smoking – you have absolutely no excuse for not being able to afford to feed your children.
Mr Crerar also suggested that even if Coke bottles had warning labels on them, Ms Harris may not have heeded the advice, as she was a smoker and all cigarette packets carried health warnings.
I think the real reason for trying to blame Coca Cola here is summed up by :
The family were hoping to obtain compensation from Coca-Cola for the children, who were now in care.
Says it all really. Its also worth knowing that it looks like Mr Hodkinson has previously been reported as sending death threats to Coca Cola and it’s staff. Hope they throw the book at him! And not a single damn cent!
Avalon’s Guide On Facebook
-
