Good morning and welcome to the Bulletin. In today’s edition: Collins outlines the plan forward for National, no spread of Covid spotted yet in Northland, and students return for climate protest. In front of a Rotary Club at the Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, National leader Judith Collins yesterday set out her party’s priorities for the … Read more
Immigration NZ has deemed a golf course designer and three ‘shapers’ to be critical workers, approving their entry to work on an American billionaire’s two courses in Northland. Rebecca Stevenson of BusinessDesk reports. A golf course designer and three “shapers” have been approved entry to New Zealand as critical workers for US billionaire Ric Kayne’s … Read more
Only one is really easy, but most of them make sense, in a bleak way. Envious of New Zealand progress in campaigns against things like viruses and armed police forces, Americans have been visiting the Immigration NZ website again, and alighting on enticing official messages on the Immigration NZ website newzealandnow.govt.nz. It turns out these … Read more
Who would leave the safety of Covid-free New Zealand to travel to the US during a pandemic amid escalating racial tensions? Well, I would – but only for three very special reasons. My whakapapa extends from the tangata whenua (people of the land) of Aotearoa and across the Pacific to Samoa, Europe and beyond. I … Read more
From golden beaches to lush kauri bush, a visit to Te Tai Tokerau offers a true showcase of New Zealand’s natural splendour. We’ve put together a list of all you need to know before you explore the Far North this summer. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should be … Read more
A wild, hilly spear studded with brilliant beaches and thrilling bush, the Coromandel Peninsula is a magic geographical cul-de-sac. Here’s how to explore this stunning part of our backyard. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should be sorting out their NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority). Head to the Immigration … Read more
What does a celebrity have to do to get a slice of our paradise? Like the kid in primary school with the yummiest lunch, everyone wants a piece of New Zealand. More specifically, when Americans (and Brits and Australians) don’t like an election candidate, they threaten to move to New Zealand. The day after George … Read more
Extremist Baptist pastor Steven Anderson has just been blocked from entering New Zealand, making us the 34th country to reject his hate speech-filled sermons. American pastor Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church has been denied entry to New Zealand on character grounds, putting a stop to his plans to preach sermons in Christchurch … Read more
Sunshine capital? Check. Rich artisan tradition? Check. Incredible sausages? That’s a big check. We’ve put together a list of all you need to know before you explore the truly gorgeous Nelson region this summer. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should be sorting out their NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic … Read more
Two years on from her open letter to Andrew Little on his vow to slash immigration numbers, Israeli-born Yael Shochat, who owns Ima Cuisine in Auckland, writes about the harm the changes to the work-to-residence visa will do to the hospitality industry. Last week I, like many who employ immigrants, received an email from Immigration … Read more
After the minister suspended its profiling pilot, Immigration NZ has released a spreadsheet and a briefing note. Tze Ming Mok is deeply, deeply unimpressed. An RNZ producer contacted me last night to share a PDF of Immigration NZ’s profiling spreadsheet and briefing note that they had released to the media. She had been contacting a … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to the Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government prepares ground for a no-treats budget, Waikato DHB pulls out of expensive app failure, and a controversial immigration programme put on hold. The government is preparing the ground for a treat-free Budget by pointing to the situation they inherited. At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, PM … Read more
If you remove statistical models and computational algorithms which reveal discriminatory assumptions or outcomes, you’re not removing discrimination, you’re just making it less transparent, writes Danyl Mclachlan. Imagine you’re the head of Immigration New Zealand. Part of your job is to deport people who are in the country illegally. You have limited resources: you can’t … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Immigration NZ’s racial profiling algorithm slammed by critics, showdown at Select Committee over Radio NZ meeting, and the Christchurch re-repairs cost gets even bigger. Immigration NZ has been piloting a data modelling programme to identify groups of overstayers “who are likely to commit harm in the … Read more
Racial profiling by Immigration NZ is a tale as old as time (Dawn Raids anyone?), but if the ‘harm team’ has its way they’ll be workshopping it into our very own dystopian scifi blockbuster, writes Tze Ming Mok. Immigration NZ has apparently caught its own minister off guard by talking openly about plans for a … Read more