ISSUE
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Friday, September 20, 2024
Volume 17 . Issue 26
In these past months, the increasing crime, especially ram raids, has concerned New Zealanders the most. In recent months, New Zealand has witnessed daily reports of gang crime, ram raids and robberies, making rising crime in NZ a national concern. News articles about crime in Auckland are a daily occurrence.
The news of the death of Indian national Janak Patel, who was fatally stabbed during an alleged robbery at the Rose Cottage Superette in Sandringham on November 23, shook the entire community to the core. Not only this, just days ago, on December 17, in an attack at Irvine St dairy in Hamilton, a dairy worker lost a finger and a thumb after a machete-wielding robber attacked him during a violent robbery.
Shopping malls, high-end stores, dairies and even parlours are being hit by vehicle-mounted thieves targeting clothing, cigarettes, luxury goods, and other attractive portable items.
Once known for its low crime rates, New Zealand is no longer safe. Frustration is mounting among the business and wider community as the relentless ram raids and burglaries cost them “stock, staff, and sleep.”
Protests asking the government to take immediate steps and stricter actions against the offenders were also held in different parts of the country.
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited NZ in October and became India’s first foreign minister to visit New Zealand since 2001. Apart from holding bilateral meetings with NZ ministers and officials, he formally inaugurated the new Chancery building at the High Commission of India in Wellington and attended the Indian Weekender Kiwi-Indian Hall of Fame in Auckland, where he was the guest of honour and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was the Chief Guest.
Dr Jaishankar was recognised as a “Global Indian Icon” on behalf of the Kiwi-Indian Community in NZ by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the Indian Weekender Kiwi Indian Hall of Fame in Auckland on October 6. He was presented with an exquisitely carved koru specially crafted from kauri wood for the occasion.
At a press conference with NZ foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta in Auckland, Jaishankar was publicly critical of New Zealand’s unwillingness to renew visas for Indian students who had left New Zealand during the Covid-19 pandemic and called for ‹fairer and more sympathetic treatment›.
Talking about the diplomatic between her and Jaishankar, Mahuta was quoted as saying, “Our meeting was an important opportunity to continue the momentum in the relationship, build on the reopening of our borders, and meet once again in person. Despite the world’s challenges, we can be optimistic about our future,” Nanaia Mahuta said.
This year brought relief for many migrants who dreamt of making New Zealand their home. On October 12, Immigration minister Michael Wood made the much-awaited announcement to confirm the reopening of the parent and skilled migrant residence visas.
For those 1800 previous Post Study Work Visas holders who missed out because of the border closure in 2020-21 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the govt announced that they would be provided with a 12-month Open Work Visa.
The Green List settings also expanded to include more professions in healthcare, education and construction sectors to give a competitive edge in a highly competitive global environment. Registered nurses and midwives were given an immediate pathway to the residence, including those already in New Zealand, from December 15, 2022.
It was also announced that from March 2023, the work-to-residence pathway will be further expanded to include all teachers and will add in additional roles such as drain layers, motor mechanics and skilled civil machine operators.
Other changes included automatically extending employer accreditation by 12 months if their first accreditation is applied for by July 4 2023. Introducing a streamlined Specific Purpose work visa to help keep the approximate 2,500 long-term critical workers already in the country to continue to work in their current role for up to three years.
New Zealanders faced pressure at the pump, mayhem with their mortgages, and a crisis at the checkout. The cost-of-living crisis only got worse in 2022 and continues to be so.
New Zealanders are being warned to “prepare now” for what ASB predicts will be a “challenging 2023” due to “stubbornly high” inflation and an official cash rate expected to hit a 14-year high. On Tuesday, ASB released its December quarterly economic forecast, predicting New Zealand will enter a recession in 2023 with rising unemployment, high inflation and climbing interest rates. “Prepare now for a challenging 2023,” ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley had said.
Inflation sat at 7.2 per cent in the September quarter, down from 7.3 per cent in the June quarter. New Zealand’s reserve bank has forecast that the country will tip into recession in 2023 and has lifted the official cash rate by an unprecedented 75 basis points to 4.25%.
Moreover, the Reserve Bank’s official cash rate (OCR) is forecast to rise to 5.5 per cent by mid-2023.
The bank was also forecasting house prices to drop up to 25 per cent from last year’s peak, with prices expected to stabilise in 2024.
New Zealand’s international border opened to all visitors, including from non-visa waiver countries and international students, from 11:59 PM, July 31 2022. From July 4, all work visa categories were open for applications, including the Accredited Employer Work Visa, and from July 31, all student and visitor visa categories reopened. The maritime border will also reopen on July 31.
“As we warmly welcome the world back to our shores, it’s the perfect time to showcase New Zealand to the world,” Immigration Minister Michael Wood had said.
In 2021, New Zealand had some of the world’s strictest pandemic restrictions, including lockdowns triggered by a single Covid case, extensive testing and numerous public health mandates.
New Zealand first announced a phased reopening plan in February. It allowed vaccinated citizens to return from Australia that month and those coming from elsewhere to return in March.
NZ started welcoming tourists from more than 50 countries on a visa-waiver list in May 2022.
New Zealand borders shut in March 2020 to keep out Covid-19.
Another significant milestone was that after two years, two months and 17 days since its first facilities were stood up, MIQs finally closed on June 27’2022. Auckland’s Holiday Inn, Jet Park, and Waipuna hotels were the last MIQ facilities in operation.
At the height of Covid 19 pandemic, MIQ operated a total of 32 facilities in Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Wellington and Christchurch.