Wensley joins race
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Employers pose questions Roy Pilott
editor@thewanakasun.co.nz
ānaka businesses are being encouraged to
W voice opposition to stringent conditions
attached to the Government’s Accredited Employer Scheme. Wānaka Community Board member Chris Hadfield owns Ritual Espresso Café and says when the ski season is in full flow the scheme in its present form will make it difficult for employers to bring people in.
“It’s stupid,” he said. “To sponsor someone into the country you have to be an accredited employer and that involves $1000 in costs, and paying advertising, recruiting and visa fees.” He has put together a group of business people in town “to get as many local businesses as possible” involved in fighting the proposed regulations. Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi told the Wānaka Sun this week accreditation was relatively “light touch, but important”. He said it meant Immigration New Zealand
could check a business was genuine, and that the people running it had a good track record when hiring migrants. “This helps address migrant exploitation, and helps prevent poor employers from hiring migrants, providing a level-playing field for those employers doing the right thing.” Waitaki MP Jacqui Deans said she had met Wānaka business owners and knew “all too well” the concerns they had with the Government’s handling of immigration. “The Government’s broad brush approach isn’t
working for them – they need a more nuanced approach to immigration that reflects the challenges they face. “After two years of closed borders, businesses are desperate to get back up to full steam, but a critical shortage of workers means they can’t. Additional concerns around the increase in cost of employing any workers that do make it through the border just exacerbates the difficult position they find themselves in.” Continued on page 3
Sign here please... Beijing Winter Olympics gold and silver medal winner Zoi Sadowski-Synnott was awarded the Bruce Grant Memorial Trophy for the district’s overall sports person of the year on Thursday in Wānaka. She was unwell and missed the ceremony – but did join her fellow snow sports stars to parade in her home town on Sunday before signing dozens of posters for admiring fans. Zoi was pictured at the signing table in the Lake Wānaka Centre with Adam Hall – another winner at Thursday’s Central Otago sports awards function. Sunday’s parade in glorious May weather preceded a signing session which attracted 450 youngsters and saw the sports stars put their autographs on hundreds of posters. Check out pictures from the two events inside the Wānaka Sun today on pages 2 and 11. Photo: Tommy Pyatt
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