All in News
A car washing business, called Car-Fe Limited, in Auckland has paid $35,151 in arrears to 97 employees following a Labour Inspectorate investigation which found multiple breaches of employment law. The company's sole director, according to the Companies Office, is former All Blacks star Matthew Ridge. The investigation revealed that Car-Fe Limited underpaid holiday pay, failed to keep proper wage, time and holiday records, or provide employment agreements
From "I did not know that there was an election", to friends that followed every step. It seems to depend partly on how often people have had a chance to go back to the Netherlands. The more they have been back, the more they still feel connected with the politics. Of those who have followed it, there seems to be a huge feeling of astonishment that even in the country that we left as a country that is very liberal and very pro freedom of speech, culture, religion etc, it is possible to give a man as Geert Wilders such a following.
As a new CityCouncillor elected in October 2016, Ihave become aware that many people are unaware ofhow to get involved and have influence onthe decisions made in the community. At a recent International Women's Day event which highlighted the fantastic work thatthe SHAKTI refuge does to support migrant and refugee women who are victims of domestic violence, I shared the following information so people wouldunderstand the processes.
To acknowledge the monumental effort migrant construction workers have put in to rebuild the Garden City after the 2011 Earthquake, several community organisations have come together to say “thank you” to them on March 26. The initiative is the brainchild of Rob Ferguson, Chaplain in the city, Durham St Methodist Church, who leads its community ministry called Streets.
At a function held recently at the Selwyn District Council (SDC) headquarters in Rolleston, the members of the organising committee of the inaugural Selwyn multicultural festival, called CultureFest, which was held in October last year, were appreciated for their contributions to its success. SDC CEO David Ward and Chairman, Rolleston's 150th Anniversary Celebration Committee, Councillor Jeff Bland, presented the team members with the certificates of appreciation and copies of the special booklet prepared to commemorate the Rolleston's milestone. The team members included Dave Tippett (SDC), Surinder Tandon (Rotary Club of Lincoln and Christchurch Multicultural Council - CMC), Archna Tandon (CMC), Kevin Park (Canterbury Migrants Centre), Rachael Inch (SDC), and Joyce Davey (Rolleston Newcomers Network).
On March 11, Christchurch observed a memorial service at the Botanic Gardens World Peace Bell to commemorate the Tohoku area earthquake and tsunami, which hit the regions six years ago on March 11, 2011. Notably, Christchurch sister city in Japan - Kurashiki, also observes a memorial service for the February 22 Christchurch earthquake. Speakers at the event included Cuty's Mayor Lianne Dalziel, Japanese Society President Kazzy Matsuzaki and David Bolam-Smith, member of the New Zealand chapter of World Peace Bell Association. Everyone present rang the World Peace Bell to offer their prayers for world peace.
Police on March 15 unveiled a new Wall of Remembrance at the New Zealand Police Dog Training Centre commemorating the 24 police dogs who have been killed on duty since 1972. The 6m long x 2m high rock and panelled wall was unveiled by Deputy Commissioner: District Operations Viv Rickard and Minister of Statistics and Associate Justice Minister the Hon Mark Mitchell who is a former dog handler.
The Parliament on March 15, passed Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Bill through its third reading, which will establish a new legal framework for the Whanganui River, Te Awa Tupua. It recognises the river as an indivisible and living whole from the mountains to the sea. Te Awa Tupua will have its own legal identity with all the corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a legal person.
In conversation with Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, National List MP
In conversation with James Shaw, Co-leader, Green Party
In conversation with Dame Susan Devoy, Race Relations Commissioner, and Rakesh Naidoo, her Strategic Advisor on race relations
The couple presently in Christchurch, who recently lost an appeal seeking refugee status in the Immigration and Protection Tribunal, is alleging that their daughter is continuously sick while in care of Child, Youth and Family, and no proper medication is being given to her. “The Social Worker in-charge also has no idea about the child's health,” said the woman. “Ever since our child was removed, we have not being advised by anyone from Child, Youth and Family on the next course of action. We are in complete dark about what is going on. And being migrants and new to this country, we don't know how things work here,” she added. Meanwhile, CYF denies the allegations. Also, when contacted the Indian High Commission in Wellington confirmed that they have advised CYF that the child should be returned to her parents.
National List MP and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Police, Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, is encouraging the Indian community to name and shame those who are engaged in exploiting recent immigrants from India.
Free admission will give you the opportunity to see three first-rate films at the Japanese Film Festival, which begins at the Charles Luney Auditorium, St Margaret’s College, 12 Winchester Street, Merivale, on Wednesday, March 15.
As political parties kick off their election campaigns, Labour MP’s Megan Woods and Ruth Dyson, and labour candidates, Anthony Rimell candidate for Ilam, Jo Luxton candidate for Rangitata, Tony Condon candidate for Selwyn and Duncan Webb candidate for Christchurch Central, recently met with representatives of the Canterbury Refugee Council.
Almost six years after suffering extensive damage in the 2011 Earthquake, ISKCON Christchurch opened its door again at a newly-constructed Hare Krishna Centre at 83 Bealey Avenue on March 3. The grand opening ceremony titled Revival was held over three days, and featured fire yajnas, kirtans, aartis, guru pujas, and an initiation ceremony by Indradyumna Swami. Installation of the deities including that of Sri Sri Nitai Gaurachandra was also part of the ceremony.
Health Minister Jonathan Coleman has launched the $6 millionCommunity Resilience Partnership Fund to support the grassroots community projects underway around Christchurch which are helping community wellbeing, resilience, and psychosocial recovery following the earthquakes. "The Government has partnered with Christchurch City Council to each invest $1 million a year for the next three years into the Fund. This initiative was signalled in Budget 2016 and targeted grants are now available," said the Minister. Grants may be one-off, multi-year or graduated investments over three years, with the level of funding decided on a case-by-case basis.
Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse has announced new measures to stop employers who breach immigration and employment law from recruiting migrant workers, which will come into effect on April 1, 2017. This includes introducing stand-down periods during which time employers who flout the law will be banned from recruiting further migrant workers.
E tū, the biggest private sector union in New Zealand, which was created in 2015 from the merger of several unions, and “provides members with services like workplace representation, legal advice, a freephone support centre, education on work-rights and a political voice”; is now aiming to unionise the construction workers who have immigrated from Philippines and have been an integral part of the Christchurch rebuild in the last six years.
Among other things that are unique about Mtech Games – one of the leading companies in New Zealand exploring the possibilities for virtual reality in the rehabilitation/medical space and beyond - are curse-words-learning-Fridays. “That's another great advantage of having a multicultural and multilingual team. We now know almost all the swear words in Spanish, Hindi, Chinese, Dutch and Danish. Few weeks back, someone from Scandinavia was visiting us. So the team got to learn some Icelandic swearing too,” quipped Brook Waters, CEO and co-founder of the company, which employs 12 employees from eight different nationalities.
