The Indian Weekender, 26 February 2021

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6 NEW ZEALAND Friday, February 26, 2021 The Indian Weekender COVID-19: Immigration Minister used special powers given by NZ parliament on eighteen occasions, reveals Immigration NZ SANDEEP SINGH Immigration Minister has used special powers given by New Zealand parliament under the hurriedly enacted Immigration (COVID-19 Response) Amendment ACT 2020 in May last year, eighteen times thus far. Kirsty Hutchison, Immigration Policy Manager at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, told the Indian Weekender in response to a query regarding the number of times the Minister had used those special powers since May 2020 when this law was first enacted. The latest decision where Immigration Minister had used those special powers was on Friday, February 19, about the easing of visa restrictions for visitors in New Zealand. In May this year, twelve months will complete since the special powers bestowed on the Immigration Minister under Immigration (COVID-19 Response) Amendment ACT 2020 as an urgent response to Covid-19 lockdown and border closure and will automatically lapse. According to many media reports in late April 2020, there were around 350,000 temporary visa holders onshore – of which 200,000 may have held work visas where those employment conditions may need to be varied; 70,000+ student visa holders may need visa conditions relaxed to enable them to change their course or work extra hours until education providers are able to open again, and 55,000+ visitor visa holders may need to continue to have the expiry date of their visas extended if commercial flights out of New Zealand continue to be unavailable. This was over and beyond tens of thousands of temporary visa holders who were stuck overseas at the time of border closure and continue to remain stranded overseas as the government continues to drip-feed only a small number back into the country. It was in response to these mammoth challenges related to immigration arising from sudden border closure that the law was then rushed through the Parliament at record speed after being first introduced on May 5, 2020, first reading (May 5), Second Unique online concert featuring Sonu Nigam songs this Saturday IWK BUREAU On Saturday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. (New Zealand Time), a bunch of brilliant musicians will weave together a magical, hour-long, cross-genre live-cast online concert titled ‘Raaga Celebrities’. The concert, which is free to view, features well-known Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam’s timeless songs innovatively interpreted through the lens of Carnatic and Hindustani music. Raaga Celebrities has had rave reviews in places like the US, Europe and Asia and is being brought to Australasia by the Auckland-based Mohan Nadkarni Foundation and CFI Events. The organisers and sponsor India-based AU Bank partner with Indian diaspora organisations worldwide to take the concert online to specific locations. Conceived and executed by 72/35 Southern Street, a Mumbai based band of super talented singers, instrumentalists, percussionists and arrangers, Raaga Celebrities straddles genres bringing popular music and traditional, classical roots together seamlessly. So, this innovative format entertains while it informs, making the audience experience so much richer. What’s more, the visuals are stunning too, with a multicamera setup and a host of the technically savvy crew bringing you the best possible production values in an online concert. Interestingly, this Saturday’s concert is geo-locked to the Australasia region and can be viewed only in New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. Raaga Celebrities is free to join, but you must log in with their emails. Also, it’s a live-cast and cannot be viewed later. People interested in attending the virtual concert need to register ahead. The following link directs people to register: https:// www.72by35southernstreetmusic. com/auckland_27022021. People are encouraged to share this link and information with interested friends residing in New Zealand, Australia and Fiji (do specify NZTime). All one has to do to join is to register by email. What: Raaga Celebrities Where: Online When: 7:30 p.m. NZTime Reading (May 12-14), Royal Assent (May 14) and eventually entering into force on May 15. At that time, many observers had expressed concern about the speed of the enactment of the law and the need for those seemingly sweeping and discretionary powers for the Immigration Minister. The government had then assuaged those concerns saying that such discretionary powers were necessary for the Minister to act expeditiously for a large group of temporary migrant workers who could otherwise be not helped by Immigration New Zealand under existing powers and framework. Given that it has been nine months since the law was first enacted, the Indian Weekender had sent a query to INZ to understand how effectively those powers were used. In that regard, September and December last year has been the months when the maximum number of decisions were taken by the Minister using those special powers (seven & four times respectively). Some of the key decisions taken in the month of September by the Minister using these powers include Vary travel conditions on resident visas to extend the time available for offshore resident visa holders with expired travel conditions to travel to New Zealand, Grant resident visas to offshore persons whose resident visas are no longer valid to extend the time available for their travel to New Zealand; Extend visas held by certain employerassisted workers, and by the partners and dependants of work visa holders, to enable them to remain lawfully in New Zealand (and to work, study, or visit as appropriate). There were around 5,600 resident visa holders who were offshore in September 2020 with travel conditions that had either expired or were to expire soon that may have benefited from Minister’s decision under those powers. One of the earliest decisions taken by the Immigration Minister potentially helping a large cohort of temporary visa holders (16,500) was in July 2020 related to extend temporary work visas to enable people whose visas would other expire to remain and work lawfully in New Zealand. The months of October and November were expectedly quieter with the elections and new government formation process, with only two decisions being taken at the start of the month related to Grant supplementary seasonal employment visas to onshore persons whose visas are expiring and Grant new RSE limited visas to persons who were previously granted limited visas as stranded RSE workers. The powers will automatically lapse by mid-May this year – with thousands of temporary visa holders, including partners of NZ citizens, residents and work visa holders, post-study work visa holders, open work visa holders, among others – still stuck overseas. It remains to be seen if the Minister for Immigration will be using those unprecedented special powers to allow thousands of temporary visa holders who were ordinarily resident in New Zealand back into the country before the special powers lapses soon. High Commission issues notice for Indian passport holders on PCC applications RIZWAN MOHAMMAD The High Commission of India in Wellington has issued a notice earlier this week for Indian passport holders applying Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) outlining specific directions when making an application. The five-point notice clarifies doubts and states correction on common mistakes made by applicants when applying for PCC. The notice has encouraged people making applications to the High Commission to keep a copy of the PCC form submitted for future references. The notice has also requested people to ensure they attach ‘a return courier bag with tracking facility for the return of documents once the High Commission issues PCC. High Commission has asked applicants to pay the revised fee of $42 for PCC application and not $40 failing which the application might be returned or put on hold. It has been observed that applicants for PCC are still sending old fee of $40, whereas the correct fee is $42 now. Please note that such applications may be put on hold or returned “It has been observed that applicants for PCC are still sending old fee of $40, whereas the correct fee is $42 now. Please note that such applications may be put on hold or returned,” the notice read. Since changes in PCC applications last year, High Commission has once again confirmed that original passports need not be sent along with the PCC application. “Only JP attested coloured copy of front and back page of the passport is required for the application, original passport is no longer needed,” the notice said. High Commission also stressed getting the coloured copy of the front and back of the passport attested by Justice of the Peace (JP) before sending with the PCC application, which is mandatory and failing which the application will be returned. The full procedure for applying PCC with the High Commission can be found in the link https://www.hciwellington.gov.in/ page/police-clearance-certificate/.
The Indian Weekender Friday, February 26, 2021 NEW ZEALAND 7 IRD’s online, phone services to be closed this weekend IWK BUREAU Inland Revenue’s online services and phone lines will be closed this weekend as the transformation of the tax system continues. From 5 p.m. Friday 26 February myIR and voice services (SPK2IR) will be unavailable and IR’s phone lines will be closed. Customers using the software will also be affected. It also means applications for the Resurgence Support Payment can’t be made over the weekend because the application is through myIR. All systems and services will resume by 8 a.m. on Monday 1 March. Monthly and bi-monthly GST payments, returns, and provisional tax instalments are due by 28 February. This date falls on a Sunday, so as per the normal process, the deadline will be Monday 1 March to submit before late fees apply. Provisional tax instalments are also due Monday 1 March. GST filing cannot be completed during this closure, but customers can file early before 5pm on Friday or when our systems are back up and running on Monday morning. Employment Information (EI) returns for Payday Filing that are due over the weekend closure can also be filed early. The days during the temporary shutdown will not count as working days for filing periods. Customers can still pay their tax bill through their bank as normal and the IR website will remain available. Tax agents can still submit returns by E-File during this period – IR will process them when all systems are back online. Working for Families payments won’t be affected. If a customer normally receives their weekly payment on a Tuesday, their next payment will be Tuesday 2 March. If normal payment day is a Wednesday, the next payment will be Wednesday 3 March. During the shutdown changes will be introduced to: • paid parental leave for individuals • New Zealand foreign trusts , and • for unclaimed money Even during the current COVID-19 alert levels, Inland Revenue will continue to implement transformational changes so it can continue to respond quickly to the flow-on effects of the pandemic. For more information about tax relief and income assistance for people affected by COVID-19 visit www.ird.govt.nz/covid19 38-year-old charged with murder for the death of Fiji Indian man in Christchurch RIZWAN MOHAMMAD Police have charged a 38-year-old man for the death of a 33-year-old man in Christchurch whose body was found at a property in Armagh Street on Sunday, February 21. On Sunday evening, police were called by onlookers when a man was spotted walking with a hammer on Christchurch streets, with bloodstains on his cloth and neck. Emergency services earlier that evening were called after a report of a serious assault on a property on Armagh Street. Police apprehended the man with a hammer outside McDonald’s and appeared at the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday, February 23. Police have launched a homicide inquiry, and the accused will appear at the High Court in Christchurch on March 14. The accused has been granted interim name suppression. Soon after the reports of the incident on Sunday, community members started posting condolence messages on social media revealing the deceased’s name. The deceased was identified as Faiz Ali, a 33-year-old man who worked as a manager at an Indian grocery store, Krazy Price Mart. Faiz hailed from Sabeto in the Nadi region, Fiji and is also said to have moved to New Zealand in 2014. The family, shocked with the news, was mourning the death of their loved one and were already living in trauma after their father’s death exactly a month ago. “The family was left speechless with this tragic news,” FBC News in Fiji reported. Community via social media posts praised Faiz for his humility and cheerful nature and were shocked hearing about his murder. “He was a kind-hearted person and very Faiz Ali (Photo: Facebook) helpful, and did not have any grudges or fights with anyone, as far as I know,” his colleague Nishaal Nikesh told NZ Herald. Faiz was divorced, is survived by his mother, brothers and sisters, five-year-old son and nineyear-old daughter living in Fiji. Detective Inspector Kylie Schaare said police cordons remained at the Armagh Street property as they carry the scene examination. The police have also asked the public to contact them if they might have any relevant information pertaining to the case. The post-mortem was carried out on Monday, and his funeral was conducted on Tuesday evening ay Ruru Cemetery in Christchurch in the presence of community members. THE ALBERTON MT ALBERT’S LATEST URBAN VILLAGE 45% UNDER CONTRACT 3RD WEEK FREEHOLD STRATA TITLE RESIDENCES 2 BEDROOM RESIDENCES Priced From $1,035,000 3 BEDROOM RESIDENCES Priced From $1,085,000 We are currently selling 3 to 4 Residences per day. We highly recommend you visit our display suite asap as we anticipate being sold out by the end of February. PRICED FROM $1,035,000 SECURE ON $1,000 DOWN AND NOTHING ELSE TO PAY UNTIL SETTLEMENT* ARTIST IMPRESSION LARGE HOMES WITH SPACIOUS COURTYARDS & CONCRETE INTER-TENANCY WALLS Onsite Display Suite Open Daily 11- 2pm 19 Lyon Ave, Mt Albert ONSITE CAR PARKING ARTIST IMPRESSION ARTIST IMPRESSION ARTIST IMPRESSION WWW.THEALBERTON.CO.NZ HAYLEY SOK 021 132 8985 09 307 6340 ALASTAIR BROWN 021 333 290 09 307 6340 *Either by paying $1,000 initial deposit, and the balance of deposit secured by Deposit Guarantee (using existing equity in your own house property – New Zealand citizen or Permanent Resident, conditions apply) or balance of the Deposit in Cash. Please refer to Deposit Guarantee FAQ’S Marketing Brochure for more information. Every Precaution has been taken to establish the accuracy of the material herein at the time of printing, however, no responsibility will be taken for any errors/omissions. Prospective purchasers should not confine themselves solely to the content of this material and acknowledge that they have received recommendation and had reasonable opportunity to seek independent legal, financial, accounting, immigration, technical and other advice. The material herein was prepared solely for marketing purposes prior to the commencement of construction and the approval of necessary Territorial Authority consents. The final building design and materials are subject to Auckland Council approval. The Developer reserves the right to increase or decrease the number of residences and levels in each residence or building according to market demand and therefore sizes and layouts of residences may vary throughout the development. Changes may be made during development and all dimensions, finishes, fittings and specifications are subject to change without notice. All residences sale areas include ducts, gardens, patios, balconies, decks or fences as applicable and where shown. Sizes stated are measured in accordance with the clauses contained within the Sale and Purchase Agreement. All illustrations are artist’s impressions only. Loose furniture, feature and pendant lighting, window dressings and wall coverings are shown for illustration purposes only and are excluded from the Purchase Price. All illustrations and artist’s impressions of the landscaping to private courtyards, gardens and patios are indicative only and excluded Purchase Price.
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The Indian Weekender, 26 February 2021

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