Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi (RNZ Photo) Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi is considering a revamp of New Zealand’s largest residence programme. He said that a review of the Skilled Migrant Category (SMC) is a priority. Thousands of immigrants and their families are…
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Indian Newslink Leader Auckland, February 28, 2021 Environment Minister David Parker has done well to introduce proposals to reform the Resource Management Act (RMA), rather dump it and replace it with modern and more manageable statutes to allow developmental activities. That the RMA is an obnoxious piece of legislation has universal acceptable. But as journalist Thomas Coughlan told ‘The Detail’…
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Exercising locally is a great idea (Image from Auckland Council Website) With a week of lockdown ahead, and the last gasps of Summer Sun, it is tempting to get out and about right now but Aucklanders are asked to keep their exercise local. But it is…
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Wellington, February 28, 2021 There are no new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand today, but Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is still urging people to stay home and for anyone with symptoms to immediately get tested. Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield told a media conference that he was confident that Level 3 was appropriate at this point in…
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Professor Anil Thapliyal Auckland, February 26, 2021 I always loved listening to the late Sir Ken Robinson’s TEDx Talks. He used to say that our school system educates us out of our innate ability to take risks in a world where it is common to frown upon mistakes. While it is tempting to wait out the pandemic by doubling…
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Balaji Chandramohan New Delhi, February 25, 2021 The appointment of former Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna as Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) has created ripples in the complex geopolitics of the Pacific Islands which is already adding mystique to those viewing from a distance. The Pacific Islands region is dominated by the ever-increasing one up among the…
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Supplied Content Wellington, February 24, 2021 Twelve students from low-decile Wellington secondary schools are on the road to realising their potential at Victoria University of Wellington. They are among the recipients of the 2021 Nga Hoe a Kupe Pathfinder Scholarships. The scholarships, backed by the University and its donations arm, the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation, are unique, awarded to youngsters who have demonstrated resilience, rather than being based solely on academic ability. …
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Wellington, February 25, 2021 More than 100 Victoria University students have been told that they cannot move into their accommodation because it is deemed structurally unsound. The University told parents in an email that engineers have advised the James Hutchinson wing of Weir House is to be closed because of “unexpected internal vulnerabilities.” A detailed seismic assessment of the almost…
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Sourced Content Wellington, February 24, 2021 Workers will be able to take leave for sickness or bereavement from their first day in the job under a planned revamp of the complicated Holidays Act. Parents will also be paid at their full rate for holidays on returning from parental leave, removing a fish-hook which currently leaves them out of pocket. Voice…
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From The Detail (RNZ) Wellington, February 24, 2021 Thirty years after it came into force, the legislative Frankenstein’s monster that is the Resource Management Act will be reformed over the next few years. It is hard to overstate just what a big deal this is. Over the years, the Act has more than doubled in size. It clocks in at…
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