Waikato Business News April/May 2021

12 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS April/May 2021
Why are we waiting…?
As is my style, I always wait until the last possible minute to
write this monthly article. I tell myself that we are definitely
due for some worthwhile immigration news…but, alas, we
are still waiting.
What are we waiting
for? Where do
I begin? Firstly,
the main category by which
migrants progress to obtain New
Zealand residence is the Skilled
Migrant Category (SMC) which
is a points-based and primarily
job dependent category. Applicants
who lodged their SMC
residence applications in early
August 2019 only now have
their applications allocated for
processing. Why are these applications
taking 20 months to get
to this stage? This is because we
are waiting on the Government
to decide on the New Zealand
Residence Programme, which
sets the target for the number of
people who can be approved for
residence under all categories in
an 18 month period. The current
Residence Programme expired
on the 31st of December 2019
and has yet to be officially
updated, and Immigration New
Zealand (INZ) is only mandated
to approve resident numbers
in line with the Residence
Programme. Last month it was
reported that there are almost
12,000 SMC applications, comprising
some 26,000 people,
whose applications are waiting
to be allocated…and they must
continue to wait, and hope that
the Government sanctions a
new Residence Programme
with a higher target which will
enable INZ to process their
applications at a faster rate.
The first stage of the SMC
application process is to make
an Expression of Interest (EOI).
Previously, EOI selections were
made every two weeks, with
successful applicants being
issued an invitation to apply
for residence then proceeding
to lodge their residence application.
EOI selections were
suspended in April 2020, a year
ago, and have not yet resumed.
However, applicants who meet
the criteria to lodge an EOI have
been able to continue to do so
and there are now around 9,000
EOI’s (who have each paid $530
= a total of $4.7m!) sitting in
the EOI pool – waiting for EOI
selections to resume. The suspension
of EOI selections means
that migrants working in many
key roles in New Zealand, such
as teachers, nurses, doctors,
engineers, plumbers, electricians
and many others cannot actually
progress their NZ residence in
order to secure their future in our
country. The Minister of Immigration
announced in February
that a decision on the resumption
of the EOI selections would be
made before the end of March.
We are now at the end of April
and…we, and 9,000 others, are
still waiting…
The Minister of Immigration
has also announced that the
SMC is under review. It is very
appropriate that this review, with
the normally highly dynamic
Richard Howard
immigration landscape subdued,
be undertaken as this current
opportunity is unlikely to
present again. We support such a
review but, this will take time…
and in the meantime, we are
fielding enquiries for migrant
workers who are tired of waiting
and are looking to pack their
bags for Australia and Canada.
Skilled migrants are, and
always have been an important
part of how New Zealand grows
and develops into the 21st century.
It’s in the best interests
of employers and communities
alike to have skilled migrants
being given clarity on how they
obtain residence, allowing them
to buy a house, settle down raise
a family and be an active part
of their community, planning
their future in New Zealand.
When put into this context, is
it not a fair question to ask of
government, how much longer
are we to wait?
Small-town Kiwi
business leading in
e-bike innovation
Cutting edge technology and Kiwi innovation isn’t only found in
the big cities – one small South Waikato town is leading the way
in the creation and sale of electric motorbikes.
When Tokoroa local
Tazmin Lowen,
28, suffered a
life-changing accident at
work in 2019, he was forced
to re-evaluate his life. Waking
up in hospital after being
almost fatally gassed by chlorine,
Lowen reflected on his
passions and what he wanted
to get out of his work. He narrowed
it down to a few key
points: it had to be environmentally
friendly, innovative,
and preferably involving his
love for motorbikes.
Electric motorbikes
weren’t available in New
Zealand before Lowen started
tinkering with them in his
own shed, eventually developing
his first fully-fledged
e-bike in 2019. He started his
e-bike business, Lowen Tech,
off the back of this. Sur Ron,
one of the largest e-bike companies
in the world, found out
about Lowen Tech’s work
through his website and purchased
the bike from him, at
the same time commissioning
him for more work on making
custom e-bike parts.
Lowen Tech quickly
started gaining speed, and
was commissioned by Boyd
Motorcycles (Hamilton) and
Traction Motorcycles (Christchurch)
for as many as 20
bikes at a time. Since Covid-
19 hit New Zealand, shipping
delays have slowed his business
down, but the keen interest
remains.
Initially, Lowen says his
petrol-loving friends thought
he was crazy. “They didn’t
understand e-bikes or why I’d
possibly want to make or ride
one. They definitely didn’t
have that ‘cool’ reputation
that regular motorbikes traditionally
do,” he says. Before
too long, though, Lowen had
his friends convinced that
e-bikes were the way of the
future – primarily because of
their performance. The instant
torque and pure fun that can be
achieved in e-bikes is incomparable,
he says, coupled with
the fact that they’re zero-emissions
vehicles. Maintenance
of the bikes is also easier,
as they contain fewer moving
parts, and are cheaper to
run at just 20c to charge per
70km. Originally from Arapuni,
another small town in
the South Waikato, Lowen’s
move to set his business up
Putting an e-bike
through its paces.
in Tokoroa was a logical step
considering the town’s central
location, strong road links to
bigger cities, spaciousness for
his workshop, and supportive
local community. Tokoroa
is also home to the South
Waikato Motorcycle Club. The
next steps for Lowen Tech are
growing the business through
employing more locals, creating
more jobs within the
Tokoroa community.
Lowen is in the process
of applying for iwi grants to
complete tertiary business
courses, which he hopes will
translate into accessing sales
from bigger, overseas corporations.
He’s also in talks with
the South Waikato District
Council about the potential for
e-bike tours through Tokoroa’s
forests as a tourist activity.
Level 2
586 Victoria Street
Hamilton 3204
Level 3
50 Manners Street
Wellington 6011
07 834 9222
enquiries@pathwaysnz.com
pathwaysnz.com
Workplace sexual
harm targeted
An event aimed at preventing
sexual harm
and harassment in
the workplace will be held in
Hamilton in June.
Tautoko Mai Sexual
Harm Support is sponsoring
the day-long event that
will be MCed by Alison
Mau (leader of the #metoo
NZ Project) and opened by
Marama Davidson, the first
ever Minister for Family and
Sexual Violence.
Industry experts such as
NZ Rugby Union’s Eleanor
Butterworth will give insights
into how their organisation
has implemented change in a
male-dominated workplace.
Employment lawyer Steph
Dyhrberg will talk about a
new paradigm for complaints
processes, drawing on her
experiences tackling sexual
harassment in the legal profession
and managing complaints
for the Rugby Union.
Julie Sach, Tautoko Mai
societal change and quality
assurance leader, says the
event targets leaders, innovators,
HR, management and
change specialists who can
rethink and reshape their company
to identify sexual harm
and respond differently to the
way it handles sexual harm
complaints.
“There is no ‘one size
fits all’ solution and we need
organisations who are not
afraid to confront this issue
head on. Attendees will learn
how to identify sexual harm,
respond to complaints, how to
support victims in the workplace,
how to make the process
fair and where to go for further
advice,” says Sach.
“Tautoko Mai is committed
to achieving a society free
of sexual harm.”
Tautoko Mai Sexual Harm
Support is a collective of
trained counsellors, social
workers, educators, nurses,
doctors and clinical health
practitioners specialising in
sexual harm support services
in the Bay of Plenty, Greater
Waikato and Whakatane.
“People would be shocked
by how rife workplace sexual
harm actually is and the
far-reaching consequences of
it. It impacts not only the people
affected and their families,
but also organisational reputation,
productivity and culture”
says Sach.
Tautoko Mai saw a 31 percent
increase in their crisis
service in 2019/2020 from the
previous year, with a 226 percent
increase since the service
started in 2016. In the last
financial year, Tautoko Mai
has had 734 clients engage in
ACC counselling, an increase
on last year’s placements of
550.
Sadly, since the outbreak
of Covid-19, it has seen a staggering
increase in the number
of people reaching out for
help.
The day-long event will be
held at Mystery Creek near
Hamilton on Monday 14 June.
For tickets, go to https://www.
eventbrite.co.nz/e/its-timeto-talk-about-sexual-harmat-work-leaders-summittickets-138362581205