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4 Celebrating beef and sheep’s best Vol 21 No 41, October 23, 2023
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Job check snarls visa processing Neal Wallace
NEWS
A
Employment
NEW process to fasttrack the work visa applications of skilled migrant workers is proving slower than the one it replaced, leading to concerns of a worker shortage in the new season. Immigration NZ (INZ) is taking between six and 10 weeks to process Accredited Employer Workplace Visa (AEWV) applications, a process introduced in October last year to accelerate processing of this class of visa. “It is slower than the previous scheme and my members are telling me it was easier during covid to get an airline ticket and a place in MIQ for a foreign worker than dealing with this,” Rural Contractors NZ chief executive Andrew Olsen said. Rural Contractors NZ, the Meat Industry Association and BusinessNZ said Immigration NZ needs to improve its performance. Olsen said he believes delays are due to the requirement that employers, even though they are accredited, must advertise and prove there are no New Zealand residents available who want the job. Sources said this requirement was introduced after an INZ whistle-blower revealed some migrants were arriving in NZ
to find that the jobs they were promised were not available. Olsen said depending on the season, his sector may need up to 500 specialist machinery operators. This is the first year it has operated under the policy and he is unequivocal about what should happen. “The piece that needs to be thrown out, not overhauled, but thrown out, is the job check requirement. “Employers have to go through the time and expense of advertising a role to NZ residents that no one is going to apply for.” Being a regulation, it can be easily changed, a point he has made to prime minister-elect Christopher Luxton. A government requirement of those accessing skilled migrants is that they must pay rates at or above the median wage, which Olsen said has driven up wages. In February the median pay rate for the sector will be $31/hour. The Alliance Group told farmers at a road show this week that it is concerned it may be unable to source the required number of skilled migrants. Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva said her members are experiencing delays in the processing of skilled migrant visas, which the MIA has raised with INZ. Continued page 3
Wetland takes shape in Otago Clint Hughes, left, the owner of Matukituki Natives, and Thomson Catchment Project Committee member Roger Williams take a break from constructing the 5ha Thomson Wetland near Omakau in Central Otago. Photo: Nicola McGrouther
New hope for possum control Researchers have mapped the genetic code of the brushtail possum, which they say could provide new control options, like using the gene for the scent in urine to lure them towards traps. Photo: Tim Hore
NEWS 5 Redundancies at Massey University will impact primary sector research and staffing.
Sector leaders identify key areas they say demand attention from the new government.
News flash, the country’s media are not actually out to get farming, Daniel Eb says.
NEWS 3
POLITICS 6,7
OPINION 15
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