Its in NZ governments best interest to support the plight of Kiwis in Australia to not return in the droves to NZ. The more people return the more pressure it puts on our NZ economy, employment, housing, health and overall infrastructure. Needless to say, many who are returning are doing so out of desperation and are more often than not needing to apply for emergency benefits and emergency housing once there. How is this fair on our NZ taxpayers? For those of us who have had to return we understand this concept all too well but have been given no other options except to be social outcasts and homeless on the streets of Australia. Our view is PM John Key would do well by our NZ economy if he helped to make things fair in Australia so those who desperately need support can do so from the place where they have been contributing taxes for years, ie Australia! It all seems so simple yet so hard for politicians who continually avoid the issue and bury their heads in the sand. This plight WILL NOT go away, instead, it will continue to grow like an aggressive cancer thats been untreated until one day there is no more denying its existence nor its devastation. Nga mihi Erina From the linked article below: Parliament opened this week with the traditional speech from the throne by the Governor General outlining the government’s agenda for the next three years. I wanted to hear what the third John Key government plans to do to address the three big issues facing the country right now: housing, child poverty and creating jobs for the numerous Kiwis who are either underemployed, unemployed or jobless. Child Poverty was hardly touched on, yet during the election campaign I suspect many voters would have felt encouraged by the Prime Minister’s acknowledgement and stated commitment to addressing the urgent needs of the poorest children in New Zealand. There were references to increasing flexibility - in the labour market; recruiting skilled expat New Zealanders from Australia; looking to reduce the number of people receiving a benefit and providing more support to first home buyers, but only if they are buying or building a new home. Right now, the Government is ramming its Employment Relations Amendment Bill through Parliament. It gives employers, not workers, more flexibility and choice. Employers can opt out of employment agreements and do not have to negotiate with unions in good faith. How will undermining the ability of workers to negotiate collectively in good faith ensure they get decent wages? How will removing the protection of workers’ rights to negotiate fair terms and conditions alleviate the struggles faced by a sector of our society who are working, but cannot make ends meet? In its preliminary statement before introducing Job Fairs in Australia, the government states “net migration to Australia has dropped considerably and the unemployment rate in New Zealand is lower than that across the Tasman”. To me that infers our rate of unemployment of 5.6 percent is acceptable to the John Key government. Why is it acceptable to have 137,000 Kiwis unemployed? By going out of its way to bring professional workers from Australia to fill professional jobs in New Zealand, National only reveals its lack of commitment to training and educational opportunities here. And remember Māori and Pasifika unemployment is still around 11 percent. Why would this Government focus on Job Fairs in Australia when Manukau Institute of Technology in South Auckland will reduce their staff and close off education, foundation courses? Why isn’t the government stepping in to ensure this doesn’t happen in our own backyard? Furthermore, the wage gap between New Zealand and Australia is so wide, there would need to be significant incentives to entice people to come home. While we all agree getting people into jobs is far better than to having them in the welfare system, simply moving people from one category to another doesn’t change a thing. Work sanction rules allow WINZ to cut benefits, irrespective of the risks to those with children. If beneficiaries do find jobs, many will be earning the minimum wage, others working two or three part-time or casual jobs; or working in jobs where hours differ from one week to the next. No matter how hard, or how long they work, they will find themselves unable to keep up with rent, electricity, and water payments. How do these circumstances alleviate poverty? They don’t. Finally, the Government’s extra support for first time home buyer fails to recognise the extent of the existing housing crisis. While buying a first home is the goal of most Kiwi families, at the moment there are many who aren’t living in a home at all. They live in cars, in garages, emergency homes or in boarding houses originally designed for singles and couples without children. For these families, being able to afford a home of their own is a far off dream. It should be the government’s first priority. Unfortunately it seems that National was right when it said during the election campaign, don’t put at risk what you’ve got now – meaning to those who are rich you’ll continue to get more of the same; to those who are poor you’ll also get more of the same. radiolive.co.nz/Sua-William-Sio-Tempting-ex-pat-Kiwis-back-to-NZ-jobs-may-cut-unemployment-stats-but-ignores-the-plight-of-our-domestic-unemployed/tabid/721/articleID/58236/Default.aspx
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 10:46:05 +0000
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