The Immigration Minister must urgently reopen the frozen Skilled Migrant Category visa EOI pool and prioritise processing of residence applications for critical healthcare workers to keep them in New Zealand as we battle the Covid-19 outbreak, says National’s Immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford. “National is also calling on the Government
The Government must apologise to business owners and make sure no one misses out on wages after the wage subsidy applications closed unexpectedly early last night, National’s Social Development and Employment spokesperson Louise Upston says. “Government websites were clear that the wage subsidy applications would close at 11.59
GROUNDSWELL NZ In the lead up to November’s nationwide protest, a number of campaign actions will be undertaken. The third event is on today Friday 3rd September 2021 under the banner of “CAN YOU HEAR US”. At 12:30 pm all around New Zealand, Groundswell NZ are calling for
Answers are needed quickly from the Government over how a Covid positive person escaped from the Ibis Novotel Ellerslie MIQ facility, National’s Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says. “This is obviously a very concerning situation and will cause many people to worry about the safety and security of our critical
Forcing struggling businesses to reapply for the Covid-19 wage subsidy every two weeks will lead to closures and employees losing their jobs, National’s spokesperson for Social Development and Employment Louise Upston says. “It’s unreasonable that businesses have to reapply every two weeks for the wage subsidy. It adds
It’s clear Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) is going to be with us for some time, so it’s past time we fixed the festering issues with our current system. National is proposing five sensible improvements to the beleaguered Managed Isolation Allocation System. “New Zealanders overseas trying to come
Darroch Ball Co-Leader/Spokesperson Sensible Sentencing Trust “Vaccination priority must be given to our frontline police officers before any prisoner,” says Darroch Ball co-leader of Sensible Sentencing Trust. “Not least for the obvious reasons that our frontline officers are dealing with potentially infected people every second of the day, but
Small business owners need help urgently so that they can survive this Covid-19 lockdown and any future lockdowns so that they can continue to play a significant role in New Zealand’s economy as well as providing employment all over the country, National’s Shadow Treasurer Andrew Bayly says. “I
Labour’s decision to reject National’s motion for the Minister of Immigration to front the Education and Workforce Select Committee to answer questions about his and Immigration New Zealand’s role in how so many of our Afghan allies and their families who requested visas were left behind in
New Zealand’s vaccine rollout is, in fact a ‘winner’ – having just pipped Mexico to be the second slowest in the developed world, says Leader of the Opposition Judith Collins. “Based on their own data, Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins told the House yesterday we were no longer the slowest
That the Government still does not know how many New Zealanders and Afghan civilians who worked alongside our Defence Force remain stranded in strife-torn Afghanistan is appalling, says Leader of the Opposition Judith Collins. “I asked Minister of Defence Peeni Henare multiple times how many vulnerable New Zealand citizens and
Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister As parts of the country prepare to move down alert levels this week, I want to send a quick reminder of the Alert Level 3 rules to ensure that together, we can stamp out COVID-19 once more. First, though, I want to share a message for
The Labour Government’s latest press release reannouncing a business support scheme for some South Island regions provides nothing new for struggling tourism operators, says National’s Tourism Spokesperson Todd McClay. “Tourism businesses cannot open their doors in any part of New Zealand today. This reannouncement suggests it’s business
The Prime Minister has a habit of preparing various charts for New Zealand at her daily press conferences, but there’s only one chart that really matters and that’s the number of New Zealanders receiving at least one vaccination, Leader of the Opposition Judith Collins says. “The most important
The Labour Government must extend Covid support to new businesses established in the past six months, National’s Economic Development and Small Business spokesperson Todd McClay says. “There’s no doubt that our small businesses are doing it tough right now as the Level 4 restrictions in lockdown bite. “While
Free Speech Union In response to calls to deplatform keynote speaker, Milli Hill, from her scheduled speech at the biennial conference, the New Zealand College of Midwives (NZCOM) must maintain free speech and open scientific debate by proceeding with the event. Bullies threatening an authority like Ms. Hill have no
