Bill English's newsletter is worth a read this week. He talks about the "extravagantly stupid Building Act", and the seemingly crazy business of the working overstayers evicted today.
"The staff concerned had been refused work permits and are now overstayers. But why were they refused work permits? It's almost impossible to get staff for hospitality jobs in Queenstown, and all sorts of non-New Zealanders are getting work permits to fill the gap. Takaro is isolated and its requirements specialised, and they just can't get any suitable staff.
Takaro is setting out to establish itself as part of the "spa industry", where high net wealth individuals pay large amounts of money to spend time on health and wellness. We need this tourism business and more like it. So did these immigrants break all the rules, or is it a case of bureaucratic bumbling? I want some answers."
During the election campaign I stood in for the Mana candidate at a Porirua College meeting. Bill English stood in for Chris Finlayson. I was impressed with his easy manner with the students. Trumped Winnie Laban. He's smart and one of National's best.
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Questions that remain wide open for investigative journalism:
(1) Where are the local job applicants and did they get the impression the interviews were conducted in good faith? The job adverts implied applicants needed to be devotees/graduates of Ai Ping/Phenomena.
(2)Where did the money go? Guests at Takaro pay $NZ800-plus/night but the eastern European "staff" work for their board. Ai Ping and Sasha were reaping a similar harvest in the days of the Phenomena Academy when the penniless Croatian students worked to stay there (on "scholarships") while the US students gained indefinite tenure by handing Phenomena everything they owned. As the Revd. Moon discovered decades ago, high income and nil overheads are a winning formula.
(3) Are Ai Ping and Sasha still plugged in to the Takaro money pipeline? What exactly did the present owners buy? The Peace Resort site makes it clear the business is still allied to the organisation's other incarnations in Europe.
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