Misleading the Public, Unchallenged: Immigration Powers and a Failure of Scrutiny

New Zealand immigration powers and law changes explained

How ministerial claims about immigration law reform went unchallenged – and what that reveals about the failure of Radio New Zealand to hold power to account. Listen to the full RNZ interview On Thursday 30 April, an interview on Radio New Zealand offered more than a discussion of immigration policy. It exposed a deeper problem: […]

Is Migrant Worker Exploitation Really What We Think It Is?

migrant-worker

We hear a lot about migrant worker exploitation in New Zealand. Governments promise crackdowns. Ministers announce tougher penalties. Employers are named and shamed. The story we’re usually told is simple: a bad employer takes advantage of a vulnerable worker, and the solution is to punish the employer harder. But I think that story is far […]

The Skilled Migrant Changes and New Zealand’s “Permanent Temporary” Workforce

New Zealand Skilled Migrant changes and immigration reforms concept

The government says its Skilled Migrant reforms will fix the system. But the deeper problem with New Zealand’s immigration model remains untouched. New changes to the Skilled Migrant Category promise improvements, but they also reveal a deeper problem: an immigration system that increasingly relies on migrant labour while denying many workers a realistic path to […]