Podcasts about immigration new zealand

A Samoan national has been jailed for four years for exploiting illegal migrants. Immigration New Zealand general manager of immigration compliance and investigations Steve Watson spoke to Alexa Cook.

Machines will take over more jobs at Immigration New Zealand under a multi-million-dollar overhaul of visa systems. immigration reporter Gill Bonnett spoke to Corin Dann.

A New Zealand-born teen threatened with deportation has mixed emotions, now that he's allowed to stay in the country. Daman Kumar faced deportation with his long-time overstayer parents to India, a country he'd never visited. Associate Immigration Minister Chris Penk has granted the 18 year-old a resident visa - but has ordered Kumar's parents to leave immediately. Kumar's lawyer, Alastair McClymont, says they're unlikely to be forced out any time soon. "Usually, you know, Immigration New Zealand are pretty good at talking to people in this sort of situation and trying to negotiate a voluntary departure." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

18 year old Daman Kumar has been classed as an overstayer because he was born here while his mother did not have a valid visa. The pair had until today to leave the country or be served a deportation order by Immigration New Zealand. But that's been put on hold and the family's lawyer said they're waiting on a decision from Associate Immigration Minister Chris Penk who's looking over the matter personally. Finn Blackwell has more.

On the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast for Thursday the 12th of December. The government has a new plan for the Cook Strait ferries - but there was a noticeable lack of detail. Labour's Tangi Utikere reacts. A new multi million dollar loan to purchase Mount Ruapehu's liquidated Whakapapa ski field. Dave Mazey is heading the new venture and joins the show to talk about his plans. Staff at Immigration New Zealand have been sacked or given formal warnings for sending inappropriate messages about migrants to each other - should we be more careful about what we send on work platforms? Get the Early Edition with Andrew Dickens Full Show Podcast every weekday on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An employment expert says there's a balance between free speech and unprofessionalism when dismissing staff for making inappropriate comments. 16 Immigration NZ staff have been disciplined for derogatory messages about visa applicants on Teams. 10 workers have been either dismissed or issued a formal warning already. Max Whitehead told Andrew Dickens employers need to be careful of free speech. He says people are entitled to say what they want to some extent, but an employer is likely to be reactive to comments. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Auckland University's keen to work with Immigration New Zealand in a bid to boost international enrolments. Data shows enrolments are up year-on-year but lag around 7% behind pre-Covid levels. Auckland University Vice Chancellor Dawn Freshwater told Mike Hosking there's already some work going on in terms of automation and support for international applications. She says visa processing times are critical. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Free Speech Union is considering legal action over a far-right US commentator being banned from the country. Candace Owens promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories, has downplayed aspects of the Holocaust and has made offensive comments about Muslims. Immigration New Zealand has denied her a work visa for a speaking tour - because she was banned from Australia. Free Speech Union Chief Executive Jonathan Ayling says they think the Crown has acted unlawfully. "Yes, we'll definitely take them to court - we're going to appeal to the Immigration Minister first though, and any associate Immigration Ministers. Chris Penk is the one who deals with appeal cases like that." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Immigration New Zealand is investigating the visa status of a YouTube celebrity who's been travelling New Zealand. But what counts as work, these days? Making a sponsored Instagram post doesn't have quite the same ring as mucking in on a farm. 

Immigration New Zealand says businesses and migrants should not expect better visa services following a hike in fees. Gill Bonnett reports.

A new report has found only 1.38% of visas are for skilled residents. The Office of the Auditor-General has been looking into Immigration New Zealand, and says a greater focus needs to be put on attracting skilled residents. Senior Performance Auditor Lucy Mouland told Mike Hosking that if the agency improved its systems, it could give New Zealand a competitive edge internationally. She says skilled residents are the people our country needs to meet future challenges, so more must be done to draw them in. Immigration New Zealand has released a statement welcoming the report, saying they accept the findings in principle and are looking into how they can implement them in line with INZ's current work programme, priorities and resources. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Far-right commentator and conspiracy theory promoter Candace Owens has been blocked from Australia. The American announced a speaking tour of Australasia next month. Australia has cancelled her visa application, while Immigration New Zealand is still assessing it. Australian correspondent Murray Olds told Tim Beveridge it seems Owens was originally allowed to come to Australia before being blocked. “Is there a right of appeal? I don't know. The people who are promoting her and are want her to come here no doubt will be looking at avenues like that.” LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of Immigration New Zealand employees have been off work for several weeks following allegations of inappropriate and unprofessional behaviour, political editor Jo Moir speaks to Susana Lei'ataua.

A recent report by the United States' Department of State found New Zealand does not meet the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking. Thirty-three countries, including Australia, Canada, the US and UK did meet the standards. Immigration New Zealand's head of irregular migration and people trafficking Kylie Seumanu explains to Susana Lei'ataua why we're lagging behind.

The family of an Auckland couple ordered to leave New Zealand for overstaying their visas are in turmoil this morning. Loasi Latu and her husband have lived in New Zealand for decades, but have overstayed their visas by more than 20 years. They were told they needed to leave the country by last Friday but did not, believing a ministerial intervention was possible. But Associate Immigration Minister Chris Penk says he won't intervene, and he has asked Immigration officials to make contact with the family today to clarify what happens next. Mr Penk declined to be interviewed by Morning Report, but in a statement he said: “I acknowledge this is a difficult situation for Loasi Latu, her husband, and their family. However, for privacy reasons I cannot comment on specific details related to individual cases. "Immigration matters such as these are complex and involve balancing a range of factors. Many people every year are declined immigration status in New Zealand and while it is disappointing for the individuals concerned, to protect the integrity of our immigration system, it's important that we have a consistent and robust process for evaluating applications.  "A voluntary departure does not preclude people returning to New Zealand if they are able to obtain the necessary visa, but this will depend on the individual's circumstances. This is now an operational matter for Immigration New Zealand.” In a statement, the Latu family said it is still waiting to hear from the Minister. "The Associate Immigration Minister, Chris Penk, hasn't come forward to speak to us yet," the statement said.  "We already feel that New Zealand is behind us. Even the Prime Minister said in his Monday press conference that our situation is heartbreaking.  "It would be very hurtful if Mr Penk's commentary is in fact true, and he has reduced the seriousness of our case to an 'operational issue.' "Even more heartbreaking would be that they have told media before telling our family." The Green Party has thrown its support behind the family, urging the Minister to intervene. Green Party MP Ricardo Menendez March spoke to Corin Dann

An immigration lawyer says changes to a temporary work visa scheme don't address the root causes of migrant exploitation. Changes to the Accredited Employer Work Visa Scheme take effect from Monday. They include a minimum English language requirement for some roles and changes to the criteria for Immigration New Zealand to suspend employers. Immigration lawyer Alistair McClymont spoke to Corin Dann.

Agents say fraud and tougher rules are driving high refusal rates for foreign students applying from India. Immigration New Zealand says it is turning down about half the study visa applications coming from the Indian subcontinent. Most of the students it is declining have applied to study at polytechnics or private institutes. RNZ education correspondent John Gerritsen reports.

A review into a new visa category that sparked more problems than it solved is scathing about Immigration NZ's processes and systems.

Immigration New Zealand could have done more to minimise abuse of the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme. That admission from the country's top public servant in the wake of a critical independent review of the programme. Post COVID-19, the scheme made it easier for accredited employers to bring migrant workers into the country once the business was deemed a good employer and valid business. However, the Immigration Minister at the time, Andrew Little, was forced to launch a review after a whistle-blower alleged employer checks weren't being done. The review released today has found immigration bosses ignored staff concerns about the scheme. For a year, there was an increased risk of exploitation by unscrupulous agents and employers. 145 employers have now had their accreditation revoked and 53 have had their accreditation suspended. 174 active investigations on Accredited Employers underway. May Moncur, an employment law advocate speaks to Lisa Owen.

Immigration New Zealand has been criticised for ignoring concerns that its work visa scheme was allowing migrants to buy jobs and be exploited. The Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme was brought in after Covid-19 border closures led to a worker shortage. Since then, there have been countless stories about migrants being brought into the country, to find their jobs don't exist, and being forced to live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Now commentators say the policy needs to be fixed further or completely scrapped. Krystal Gibbens reports.

A review has found Immigration New Zealand didn't properly assess the risk of visa abuse when it loosened settings for its Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme. The scheme, launched 18 months ago as part of the then-Government's post-Covid settings, resulted in numerous cases of migrants paying to come here for jobs but arriving to overcrowded living conditions and little or no work. The Public Service Commission report also found staff at Immigration New Zealand raised concerns about migrants being exploited but say they were ignored. MBIE chief executive Carolyn Tremain spoke to Corin Dann.

A Public Service Commission report found the risk of visa abuse wasn't properly assessed by Immigration New Zealand when settings were loosened by the previous Government, as it sought a boost to its post-Covid workforce. The outcome was scores of migrants paying for jobs here but being left without work and living in overcrowded conditions. The report also found cases of staff at Immigration New Zealand being ignored by leadership when they raised concerns about migrant exploitation. Labour leader Chris Hipkins spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.  

Immigration New Zealand's boss says it's unacceptable staff concerns were ignored. The Public Service Commission's released its report on the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme, which began after a whistle-blower alerted the Minister to a lack of checks and balances. The review has found Immigration New Zealand should have done more to minimise migrant exploitation risk, when regulations loosened post-Covid. MBIE Chief Executive Carolyn Tremain says concerns were first raised internally last April. "What has occurred here is not good enough, and we're making sure that we have a two-way conversation with people about issues." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Immigration New Zealand is warning potential migrants to watch out for scam job offers and visas that seem too good to be true. The agency says scams on social media and apps like WhatsApp are becoming more commonplace. Steve Watson is the general manager of immigration compliance and investigation. Watson spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

The aviation industry says international student pilots are looking elsewhere to do their flight training due to New Zealand's visa processing times. Aviation New Zealand says visas can take up to sixty days to be processed, driving students to Australia and other countries. Immigration New Zealand has declined to comment, saying they have engaged extensively with Aviation New Zealand and will continue to do so. Aviation New Zealand chief executive, Simon Wallace, spoke with Charlotte Cook.

Self-serving, messy, and directionless. With record numbers pouring into the country, our immigration policies are under the microscope – and they don't stand up to scrutiny. 

The only chance 18-year-old Afghan refugee Arezo Nazari has of bringing her parents to New Zealand is through the government – and so far, three ministers have turned her down. 

More overstaying migrants have been found to be living in inhumane conditions.  Several overstayers have been found in a backyard shantytown in West Auckland, living in makeshift sheds and a dilapidated caravan. The Migrant Exploitation Relief Foundation has since filed a complaint about this case to Immigration New Zealand- and Auckland Council plans to investigate. Foundation trustee Casey Costello says it's important that these cases of migrant exploitation are being brought to light. "The circumstances are sad and tragic, but we have this underbelly to our workforce that is here illegally - we're not trying to protect the fact that there's illegal conduct going on - but we also want to get these investigated." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yoseph Ayele is the co-founder of Edmund Hillary Fellowship and is developing a Web3 fund for Africa. In conversation with Matthew Monahan. Watch this episode on video: https://youtu.be/5RjwgDKDVrE Watch a preview: https://youtu.be/CTrqNEpBSNs Edmund Hillary Fellowship (EHF): https://ehf.org Yoseph's Twitter: https://twitter.com/yosephayele/ THE REGENERATION WILL BE FUNDED Ma Earth Website: https://maearth.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@maearthmedia Community Discord: https://maearth.com/community Podcast Feed: https://feed.podbean.com/theregeneration/feed.xml EPISODE RESOURCES Enspiral: http://enspiral.com/ Global Impact Visa by Immigration New Zealand: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new-zealand-visas/preparing-a-visa-application/working-in-nz/getting-a-job/the-global-impact-visa Yoseph's talk at Devcon Bogatá: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X6HqcuL2Zk RELATED SEASON 1 INTERVIEWS Songyi Lee (Gatherings): https://youtu.be/FWnnjTw4cpY Joshua Vial (Enspiral): https://youtu.be/cyQKsANOwxQ Aya Miyaguchi (Ethereum Foundation): https://youtu.be/qloZm5_OnQk This interview took place during a Web3 hui in New Zealand in 2023. SOCIAL Farcaster: https://warpcast.com/maearth X / Twitter: https://twitter.com/maearthmedia Lenstube: https://lenstube.xyz/channel/maearth.lens Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maearthmedia/ Mirror: https://mirror.xyz/maearth.eth LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/maearth/ Lenster: https://lenster.xyz/u/maearth Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maearthcommunity TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maearthmedia

A group of migrants scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars for the promise of work in New Zealand now have just three days before they have nowhere to live. Immigration New Zealand officials are investigating the exploitation of Indian and Bangladeshi migrants after 144 were found living in crammed and unsanitary conditions in across 10 houses in Auckland. They were able to come here thanks to the recently-introduced Accredited Employer Work Visa programme, but when they got here the agents they paid were nowhere to be seen, nor were they jobs they were promised. Our reporter Finn Blackwell and camera operator Marika Khabazi visited some of them. Immigration NZ says it is now providing funding and resources to support the Indian and Bangladeshi nationals.. Compliance and Investigations General Manager Steve Watson, says an interim package includes $220 each a week in living cost support payments. Further support includes providing individual information packs for each migrant detailing their visa options if they want to stay in New Zealand. MSD is providing multiple job opportunity workshops The Ministry for Ethnic Communities is helping provide mental health support. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6336783622112

Immigration New Zealand is looking into nearly 200 employers as it runs a ruler over its problem-plagued Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme. Hundreds of workers have paid tens of thousands of dollars to come to New Zealand for jobs that don't exist when they land. Immigration New Zealand has received more than 750 complaints against employers. So far, seven have had their accreditation revoked and 11 have had theirs suspended. Another 63 are under assessment.. Last week, 115 migrants workers from Bangladesh and India were found living in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions without food in six houses across Auckland. National's Immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford speaks to Susana Lei'ataua. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6336557330112

Advocates for migrant workers who have been turned around at the border, or told not to travel here because they're at risk of exploitation, say they should instead be given open visas. Ten migrants have been turned around upon arrival in New Zealand, and up to 200 others warned not to come because they're caught up in visa scams - paying thousands of dollars for jobs that don't exist. A handful of employers are being investigated by Immigration New Zealand over the mistreatment of 115 migrant workers from India and Bangladesh. Last week Immigration Minister Andrew Little said the Public Service Commission would review the accredited employer visa scheme following whistleblower claims that checks on employers weren't being made. Anu Kaloti, Migrant Workers Association President, says the right thing to do now would be to allow those affected workers who'd already been granted visas to be given an open visa instead, that doesn't tie them to any one employer.

Immigration New Zealand is turning away migrants who have visas tied to employers under investigation. Ten people have been stopped at the border in the last two weeks, while almost 193 others have been told not to leave home. It comes as the government investigates more than 170 complaints against accredited employers. Mandeep Singh Bela is the president of Union Network of Migrants NZ. He spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

GLEN BENNETT to the Minister of Energy and Resources: How is the Government partnering with businesses to reduce their emissions? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his statements related to Government tax and spending decisions? SARAH PALLETT to the Minister of Health: What is the Government doing to reduce youth vaping? Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Justice: Does she still believe that the Government has the right priorities in justice? CHLÖE SWARBRICK to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by his statement that "in the economic circumstances that we are in at this time, we do not believe that major tax changes are appropriate"; if so, when would economic circumstances be appropriate for taxing wealth or capital gains? ANGIE WARREN-CLARK to the Minister for the Public Service: What reports has he seen about proposals for changes to the Public Service? ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Education: Will she make the Common Practice Model a legal requirement for teachers to follow, and on what date will the final content of the Common Practice Model be published? TERISA NGOBI to the Minister for Racing: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand racing industry? TONI SEVERIN to the Minister of Corrections: Is it still the Government's policy to reduce the prison population by 30 percent over 15 years? SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Transport: Does he stand by the Government's record on the delivery of light rail? NAISI CHEN to the Minister for Youth: What has the Government done to support our young people to make the most of their unique talents and have a sense of belonging and connection in their communities? ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Immigration: How many, if any, accredited employers have had their accreditation removed by Immigration New Zealand, and how many, if any, job tokens have been issued by Immigration New Zealand following an approved job check application from an accredited employer that is under investigation by Immigration New Zealand?

A bit spike in enrolments of new migrant children, many of whom don't speak English, has come as bit of shock for some schools. In the past financial year, Immigration New Zealand approved almost 17,000 study visas for dependent children of people with work visas. This is 70 percent more than before the pandemic. Education correspondent John Gerritsen reports. 

Some principals say they are surprised by a spike in enrolments of new migrant students - many of whom do not speak English. It's putting unique pressure on schools, now faced with teaching English from scratch to large numbers of students. In the past financial year, Immigration New Zealand approved 16,899 study visas for dependent children of people with work visas. That's a 70 percent jump than before the pandemic. President of the Auckland Secondary Principals Association and Orewa College Principal Greg Pierce spoke to Corin Dann.

Questions to Ministers CHRISTOPHER LUXON to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all of his Government's statements and actions? HELEN WHITE to the Minister for Sport and Recreation: What has been the impact on New Zealand of co-hosting the FIFA Women's World Cup? Hon EUGENIE SAGE to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries: Does she agree with the statement in the State of our Gulf 2023 report, "recent events have underscored the precarious nature of the situation and the ecological tipping points we seem intent on testing"; if so, does she consider that the Hauraki Gulf Fisheries Plan is an adequate response to the situation? SORAYA PEKE-MASON to the Minister of Health: What has the Government done to support the health workforce? NICOLA WILLIS to the Minister of Finance: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions related to Government tax and spending decisions? INGRID LEARY to the Associate Minister of Finance: What is the Government doing to ban foreign buyers from the New Zealand residential property market? ERICA STANFORD to the Minister of Immigration: What percentage of all accredited businesses have had a post-accreditation check completed since the Accredited Employer Work Visa was introduced, and what percentage of Accredited Employer Work Visas logged with Immigration New Zealand have had a verification check completed since applications opened? VANUSHI WALTERS to the Minister of Police: What updates has she seen about the Police's use of laws to target gangs and organised crime? SIMEON BROWN to the Minister for Pacific Peoples: Is she confident that taxpayers' money is being spent appropriately at the Ministry for Pacific Peoples? ANNA LORCK to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What recent evidence has he seen that the Commerce Commission is acting in line with the Government's expectations? MARK CAMERON to the Minister of Agriculture: What advice, if any, has he requested from his officials about the Global Dairy Trade Price Index falling by 7.4 percent overnight, and what impact does he expect this price fall will have on New Zealand's economy? Hon MARK MITCHELL to the Minister of Police: Does she stand by her statement, "It is my view that New Zealanders feel safer"; if so, why?

A clinical pyschologist who interviewed Lauren Dickason says she was feeling overwhelmed hours before she killed her three children, believing she would not get a good psychiatric report, as required by Immigration New Zealand. The events of the fateful day were detailed by the witness in the Christchurch High Court today, sparking tears from Dickason. The 42-year-old admits killing her daughters Karla, Maya and Liane in 2021, but is pleading not guilty to their murders on the grounds of insanity and infanticide. Testimonies from the final expert witnesses were heard today, both of whom believe the woman has a legitimate defence. Our reporter Adam Burns was in court and a warning this story contains distressing content.

Questions to Ministers DAN ROSEWARNE to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What is the significance of the US Secretary of State's visit to New Zealand in terms of bilateral relations? NICOLA WILLIS to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions on tax policy? ANGELA ROBERTS to the Minister for Women: How is the Government delivering for women? GOLRIZ GHAHRAMAN to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Is she confident that the Government's consideration of joining AUKUS Pillar Two is aligned with its stated independent and Pacific-centric foreign policy stance? SIMEON BROWN to the Minister of Transport: What are his priorities as Minister of Transport? Dr ANAE NERU LEAVASA to the Minister of Health: What is the Government doing to improve the mental health and wellbeing of New Zealanders? Dr JAMES McDOWALL to the Minister of Immigration: What is the total investment value of all Investor 1 and 2 applications that are currently with Immigration New Zealand, if any, and how does that figure compare to the total unweighted investment value of Active Investor Plus visa applications? ANDREW BAYLY to the Minister of Revenue: Does she support a wealth tax, and does she support the principles contained within the Taxation Principles Reporting Bill? MARJA LUBECK to the Minister of Justice: How has the Government enabled communities and hospitality businesses to get behind the men's Rugby World Cup later this year? PENNY SIMMONDS to the Minister of Education: Does she consider that the $65 million of Vote Tertiary Education funding allocated to set up the six workforce development councils has provided good value for money? NAISI CHEN to the Minister for Economic Development: How does the new Aerospace Strategy support Government goals for a high-wage, low-emissions economy? CHRIS PENK to the Minister for Cyclone Recovery: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions in the six months since the Auckland Anniversary weekend flooding events and in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle?

Zambia's coach has touched down in New Zealand denying claims of sexual misconduct against his players. According to an article in the Guardian, Bruce Mwape was investigated late last year following allegations of sexual abuse in the team. The allegations were raised with the Football Association of Zambia, which said it had referred the investigation to police and to football's governing body, FIFA. The Guardian's report quotes an unnamed source who says players have received threats of punitive action should they speak up about Mwape's behaviour. But as it stands, Bruce Mwape remains head coach of the team known as "the Copper Queens". Some of them arrived to a rapturous Zambian welcome in Auckland this morning before they travelled to their host city of Hamilton. Our producer Matthew Theunissen managed to ask Bruce Mwape a few questions as he made his way from the arrivals gate to the team bus outside. We have sought comment from football's governing body FIFA, Immigration New Zealand, and the Football Association of Zambia but are yet to receive any response.

Immigration NZ is investigating concerns some businesses with accredited employer status are exploiting migrant workers. RNZ reported on the cases of dozens of chinese migrant workers left jobless and out of pocket after paying thouand of dollars for work visa , only to be dismissed by their employer shortly after arriving. Most have come to Aotearoa on the Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme. That's a fast track programme that allows companies to apply for accreditation as long as they meet certain criteria including being financially sound and having a history of complying with immigratiomn and employment law. Immigration New Zealand's general manager Richard Owen talks to Lisa Owen. [embed] https://players.brightcove.net/6093072280001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6330552234112

Three Chinese migrant workers who were sacked within a month of each other by the same employer say they've been ripped off. They are among at least a hundred workers who are unemployed after paying thousands of dollars for their accredited employer work visas. Immigration New Zealand says it's had hundreds of complaints linked to the visa since September last year. Our reporter Lucy Xia has the story.

Questions to Ministers TEANAU TUIONO to the Minister of Agriculture: Has he seen the call in the Climate Shift plan, released last week, to "Transition intensive dairying to low emissions farming by phasing out synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and imported animal feed, reducing herd size, and banning new large-scale irrigation schemes"; if so, does he support it? SHANAN HALBERT to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? NICOLA WILLIS to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all of his Ministers? Dr JAMES McDOWALL to the Minister of Immigration: Can football fans from non - visa waiver countries wishing to take advantage of this month's release of additional tickets for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup come to New Zealand to watch games that start in 28 days, and how many days does it currently take Immigration New Zealand, on average, to process 90 percent of visitor visa applications for non - visa waiver countries? SARAH PALLETT to the Minister for Women: How will Budget 2023 deliver for women? Hon LOUISE UPSTON to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: How many more people are on the jobseeker benefit today compared to September 2017, and how much higher are jobseeker benefit numbers expected to climb, according to Treasury's forecast from the Budget? TAMATI COFFEY to the Minister of Tourism: What recent announcement has been made regarding the tourism industry's transformation to be more environmentally responsible? MATT DOOCEY to the Minister of Health: Is it correct that reported waiting times for children seeking mental health treatment in the Wellington region increased from 28 days in 2018 to almost 70 days in 2022, and does she agree with the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission's statement that "There are persistent workforce shortages, and we are yet to see a clear strategy and roadmap to grow and develop the workforce we so desperately need"? IBRAHIM OMER to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: What recent announcements has she made in response to Iran's ongoing human rights abuses? PENNY SIMMONDS to the Minister of Education: What is the unaudited draft financial surplus or deficit for Te Pukenga for the financial year ended 31 December 2022? TERISA NGOBI to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs: What progress has the Government made for Kiwi consumers this week? HARETE HIPANGO to the Minister for Children: Does he stand by all of his statements and actions regarding Oranga Tamariki?

Tokelau is experiencing its first Covid-19 community outbreak, it is now officially the second to last country in the world to experience community transmission. Immigration New Zealand says it is not dragging the chain in processing refugees from Nauru under the New Zealand - Australia Resettlement Arrangement. 31 of the 150 people meant to be resettled by 30 June have arrived so far. Fiji's 2000 coup leader George Speight is seeking a pardon. And Tonga is mourning the loss of her Royal Highness Princess Mele Siu'ilikutapu. She passed away at Auckland Hospital on 28 May.

A Chinese overstayer whose wrist was broken during a dawn-raid in Auckland last year claims Immigration New Zealand created a cover-up story. The 47-year-old man, who wants to be known as Chen, was flatting in a house in west Auckland - when eight officers raided their home around 6am. Earlier this month, it emerged 20 people have been arrested at dawn between last July and April this year, despite the government in 2021 delivering a historic apology for the 1970s-era tactic. Chinese nationals were the largest group affected by recent raids, making up about half of those targeted. Our reporter Lucy Xia has the story.

Foreign students are returning to New Zealand at a faster rate than before the pandemic. In the past eight months, Immigration New Zealand has approved more than 32,000 study visas for first-time international students. Universities appear to be doing well but there are indications schools and polytechnics are not. RNZ education correspondent John Gerritsen has been looking at the numbers and spoke with Ingrid Hipkiss.

The head of Immigration New Zealand says she will personally sign off on any further dawn arrests of overstayers. The government wants such arrests to stop unless there's serious risk otherwise it's an extreme case. It's been revealed nineteen people have been arrested at dawn between last July and April this year. Of the 19, 10 were Chinese, 4 Indian, 2 Tongan, and one each from Samoa, Malaysia and Indonesia. Alison McDonald, head of Immigration New Zealand, spoke with Ingrid Hipkiss.

A south Auckland lawyer is speaking out about dawn raid tactics still being used to apprehend pacific immigrants accused of overstaying. One of Soane Foliaki's clients had police knock on his door at 5am, scaring his family before taking him into custody. A lawyer for Community Law South Auckland, Foliaki was at the dawn raid apology given by then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2021 but says Pasifika people will be disgusted to learn the tactics are still in use. Immigration New Zealand says there've been about 18 arrests following early morning raids between July and April this year. Soane Foliaki spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

Rainbow community groups are taking the Immigration Minister to court over the decision not to block a controversial anti-transgender activist coming to New Zealand. Immigration New Zealand decided not to revoke a visa application by Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull - known as Posie Parker - who is due to speak in Auckland on Saturday. Gender Minorities Aotearoa, InsideOUT Kōaro, and Auckland Pride filed for a judicial review in the High Court. Executive Director of Auckland Pride, Max Tweedie talks to Lisa Owen.

Immigration New Zealand is reviewing whether a controversial anti-transgender activist will be let into the country. Posie Parker is on a travelling tour around Australia, before heading to New Zealand this weekend. Wellington's Mayor says there's nothing she can do to stop her using a public space for her rally. Our reporter Rachel Graham has more