Migration: the spectre at the feast
The challenge posed by migration pressures is real and often underestimated. They are greater today than ever before in modern history.
International
im/migration
Indications of wages rising
It sounds like the Industrial and Trades sector of the economy has had a significiant wage rise over the last year. While we wait for the wages stats data, this is an interesting indicator. The national median hourly pay in the sector is now $27 an hour, up $2 from 2020/21. But this isn’t just here, the world labour market is shifting just as the supply chains are.
Immigration: we can’t keep succumbing to fear tactics
President Peaches
I’m moving to the country, gonna eat a lot of peaches! Donald Trump has yet another bizarro, almost Freudian, moment as his threat to invoke a national emergency to fund his wall falls flat. Peaches, people! Not impeachment, peaches!!!
“For the good of all, the poor come first.”
Those were the words spoken by Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) during yesterday’s Presidential inauguration where he promised to end Mexico’s disastrous neo-liberalism.
The Humanity.
Thoughtless thugs. Killers.
Nett migration – still coming in fast and not going out.
Statistics NZ has released the latest nett permanent and long term migration figures for the year to date at October 2017. There is a slight fall from a few months previously. But it remains a sustained high putting major pressure on infrastructure and resources – especially in Auckland. We need to massively cut any new migration here for years to catch up with the work.
Austria and Europe
Europe is showing a worrying trend to the right as anti immigration parties are voted into office. Austria provides the latest example.
Donkey Dick Duncan
Gross political incompetence, not immigration, is what lies behind and beneath New Zealand’s infra-structure problems. Only a excited donkey’s dick waving in a stiff breeze might point accusingly towards immigrants and immigration as the problem.
Bryan Bruce’s documentary ‘Who Owns NZ Now?’
Reviewed on Stuff: “Who owns New Zealand now? The NZ On Air-funded documentary that screened on Three on Tuesday, September 12 confronts the housing crisis head on and it’s an eye-opener.”
Stupid myths on immigrant construction workers
One of the dafter myths about the current burgeoning immigration industry is that we need skilled immigrants for the construction industry. As usual the talkback idiots are wrong. We don’t get many. We need more. We need to get rid of the migrant dross to get them. A Kiwibuild quota is a good idea.
Transport in Auckland and National’s deliberate incompetence
National appear to be completely uninterested in spending Aucklander’s transport taxes on Auckland. Instead they want to put in roads that have no economic measurable benefits for Auckland except to increase the road congesting trucks on our roads. Why do National hate Auckland?
National again subsidises their land banking contributors from taxpayer funds.
The announcement that National were granting infrastructure funds to develop housing projects in the far north and south of Auckland caused me some amusement. Wisely Auckland council resisted this boondongle that only benefits land bankers, speculators and their political party (National) for some time. To the point where National used taxpayer funds instead.
Nat U-turn on immigration must include protection from exploitation
The Nats have U-turned on their immigration restrictions. It must come with better protection for migrant workers. The way we exploit them in NZ is shameful.
Maori Party proposes immigrant slave labour!
Is how the media would report the plan – to have immigrants work here for 2 years unpaid – if it was a Labour Party policy. (Lookin’ at you Newshub)
Non-news News and News Non-news
A politician said their party would insist on being a part of government depending on the vote falls in September, while another gets called out for his habitual stirring at the pot of ethnic division. In a place like the South Africa of old, we all know which one would be the story. But this is New Zealand and this is now.
Citizenship – one law for the rich
As other citizenship cases are compared to Peter Thiel, it starkly highlights our “one law for the rich” approach.
The Green Party clarify their position on immigration
We stand for an Aotearoa that stands up to racism and scapegoating and xenophobia.
When immigration means exploitation
Those arguing for unrestricted immigration are – wittingly or unwittingly – fueling higher levels of exploitation in NZ.
Immigration and economic growth
English’s scaremongering about Labour’s immigration policy does nothing but highlight the fundamental weakness of our economy. Just how anemic are we after 9 long years?
Labour oppose visa scams – Nats would rather have the quick bucks
Labour is right to stress the many advantages that immigration brings to NZ, and right to address the major way in which it is being abused – student visa scams. Bill English has made National’s position clear, they would rather have the quick bucks.
Labour’s immigration policy
On first impressions Labour has done a good job of trying to balance the needs: to acknowledge the positive role of immigration in NZ, slow down immigration while infrastructure catches up, and target immigration effectively.
Little on immigration
A good piece by Andrew Little in The Herald, setting out Labour’s position on immigration (with policy to come).
Hickey’s chart of the week
Immigration debate – Peters goes full racist
Yesterday Winston Peters chucked a gallon of petrol onto the smouldering immigration debate.
Immigration in election year
National is about to execute a flip flop on immigration, not for any constructive reason, but to try and head off Winston Peters’ big issue.
What are we America now?
Last night ONE News had an important exclusive on Syrian-born Kiwis who say they are being subjected to “intrusive and unnecessary searches” at our border, including demands to pass over social media passwords. This needs an investigation, and if some officers are crossing the line, it needs to be dealt with quickly.
National’s flawed RMA ripoff still failing
Maori Party Co-Leader, Marama Fox, is playing hardball over Nick Smith latest attempts to weasel out of commitments on the deeply flawed RMA changes that National has spent the last few years trying to find any support for in Parliament. The bill is crap. The Maori party should just drop it regardless how many baubles they think they will get from it.
Two editorials on immigration
Two very contrasting opinion pieces on racism, housing, jobs, and the immigration debate.
English hammered on ‘druggies’ smear
English will be worried that he got hammered like this, when Key got away with all sorts of insults and lies. And if you think your fellow Kiwis are useless workers you’re doing it wrong.
Bill’s bigoted drug reckons vs the evidence
Some folks Bill knows are telling him stuff and he’s basing immigration policy on it. The facts say otherwise. Bill English is full of shit and it’s time that more media called him on it.
Auckland NIMBYs refused
If Auckland as a city wish to retain representative samples of our past, then we should concentrate on how to preserve those rather than trying to deny the migration that increases its population by something like 50 thousand people per year. This is a working city – not a museum.
We need to talk about immigration
How does the left discuss the immigration debate so that it can counter the anti immigration sentiments fostered by the likes of Donald Trump, Theresa May and Malcolm Turnbull?
“Middle East leftovers”
Compassionate conservatism in action. No wonder English was so tame in his criticism of Trump’s Muslim ban.
Americans Killed By Terrorists since 9/11.
Killed in the USA?
Justin Lester: No matter where you come from, you are welcome here
The PM may not know where he stands but the Mayor of Wellington does.