Bay News: Tall ships set to sail; Hokianga museum opens; horticulture training
31 Dec, 2020 04:00 AM
11 minutes to read
Vessels jostle for space at the starting line off Russell during this year s Tall Ships and Classic Invitational Race in the Bay of Islands. The 46th annual regatta gets under way on January 9. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Vessels jostle for space at the starting line off Russell during this year s Tall Ships and Classic Invitational Race in the Bay of Islands. The 46th annual regatta gets under way on January 9. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Northern Advocate
Sailing the ocean blue, tall ships and true .
Comprehensive visa changes allow onshore migrants to help fill labour shortages livenews.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from livenews.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“Desperate” hospitality operators will welcome the visa extensions, says Hospitality NZ. “This is a game changer for the hospitality sector with the high season right on us,” Hospitality NZ chief executive Julie White said. “Extending employer-assisted work visas and Working Holiday visas for six months, and postponing the stand-down period for low-paid Essential Skills visa holders will potentially give desperate operators access to many thousands of chefs, duty managers, and wait staff right when they need them so they can make the most of the summer season.” Many businesses depended on summer trading in order to make it through the year, and being unable to find staff would have made next winter harder than the post-lockdown period, she said.
Eric Crampton: Why banning RSE workers here won t improve wages for local agricultural workers
17 Dec, 2020 10:00 PM
7 minutes to read
Pre-Covid, some 14,000 workers could arrive to assist on New Zealand farms during the seasons when they are needed. Photo / File
Pre-Covid, some 14,000 workers could arrive to assist on New Zealand farms during the seasons when they are needed. Photo / File
NZ Herald
OPINION:
They thought banning migrant farm labour would boost wages for native-born farm workers. They were wrong. And New Zealand may be getting ready to repeat their mistake. On December 31, 1964, the United States ended the bracero agreements between the US and Mexico, after two years of tightened restrictions. The agreements, which began in 1942, regulated the movement of lower-skilled migrant labour – particularly for seasonal agricultural work. By the early 1960s, about half a million Mexican farm workers migrated to American farms for seasonal agricultu
PACER Plus highlights
PACER Plus is a trade and development agreement which streamlines trade, cuts red tape and reduces compliance costs.
For Pacific Island countries, the agreement helps to increase exports and attract investment. It reduces tariffs across the region, improves transparency for businesses, and provides more liberal rules of origin, which makes it easier to determine what qualifies as a Pacific Island product. It helps to create opportunities for Pacific exporters to get their products and services into Australian and New Zealand markets, and trade throughout the region.
PACER Plus improves market access for New Zealand suppliers and investors. It provides greater certainty around tariffs and creates efficiencies in clearing customs. It also provides New Zealand businesses with legal protections that guarantee market access and treatment equivalent to that given to local and foreign competitors, unless subject to specific exceptions.