The Indian Weekender, 15 April 2022

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6 NEW ZEALAND Friday, April 15, 2022 The Indian Weekender NZ Telugu Association celebrates Ugadi Uthsavam at Sai Mandir NAVDEEP KAUR MARWAH the attendees, Rajeeva Moturu, said, “I was amazed by the amount of work The Telugu community in this association puts into celebrating Auckland came together in cultural events. full enthusiasm to celebrate "This event was a true essence of Ugadi Uthsavam (Telugu New Year) the Ugadi celebration, where there on Saturday (April 9) afternoon. were fun activities, including singing The event, organised by the performances for one and all. It was New Zealand Telugu Association pleasing to see kids singing Telugu (NZTA) (a charity organisation songs showcasing our culture. established in 1998 to maintain the "I would like to specially mention culture of the Telugu people) at Sai the traditional mouth-watering dishes Mandir in Onehunga, saw everyone they planned for this event served on in a gala mood. Banana leaves. From savouring authentic Telugu The event was very well food (which is a mix of six different planned and adhered to all the ingredients such as sweet, sour, salt, Covid-19 protocols.” bitter, pungent, and spice) to singing Sindhuru A, another guest at performances that paid a heartfelt the event that had attendance only tribute to the late Telugu lyricist through registration, also expressed her delight about being at the event. legend Sirivennela Seetharama “I enjoyed the event, filled Sastry, the event had something to withmelodic musical performances offer for one and all. and a heartfelt tribute to Sirivennela The celebration, which took place SeetharamaSastry. in two sessions, saw around 320 "The delicious traditional meal people attending throughout the day. served with love by the committee “I would like to take this members made me nostalgic opportunity to thank all the attendees about the festivities back home," who have registered and attended said Sindhuru. our Ugadi Uthsavam and made it a grand successful event for their Executive members of NZTA during the Ugadi celebration unconditional support. fellow committee members and community events in the future Secretary, NZTA. "I want to acknowledge the volunteers alike. to celebrate our Telugu culture,” The attendees, too, had all the great hard work and dedication of I look forward to doing more said Suneel Kuncha, General things to say about the event. One of Kiwi-Indian community leader urges West-Aucklanders to sign a petition to save Waitakere Hospital SANDEEP SINGH A Kiwi-Indian community leader is urging West Aucklanders and the broader community to sign a petition to save the Waitakere Hospital. Sunil Kaushal, who is also President of West Auckland based Waitakere Indian Association (WIA), is on a mission in his personal capacity to advocate and garner as much support as possible for a currently ongoing petition to get the government’s attention back toward the Waitakere Hospital. Launched by Waitakere Health Link, the petition seeks to bring back the now diminished attention of the Ministry of Health, which has declined the funding request for financing the increased services and facilities at Waitakere Hospital. The next round of funding is not due until 2024-25. Notably, Waitakere Health Link and Waitemata District Health Board have been working on a Master Plan for Waitakere Hospital since 2000 to become an acute general hospital. Since then, incremental progress has been made with the opening of an Emergency Department 24/7 in 2011. However, that incremental work has come to a halt with the government declining the latest round of funding request, saying it “does not believe it can make recommendations of the progression of the programme Business Case” submitted by the Waitemata District Health Board and have deferred the future development of Waitakere Hospital to the new NZ Health Board entity. The letter from the Ministry of Health rejecting the funding plea also says, “The Northern Region DHBs did not identify the Waitakere Tranche One Business Case as a Sunil Kaushal with family priority for Budget 2022 funding (covering the financial years 2022/2023 and 2023/2024)”. In response to that rejection, Waitakere Health Link believes that there is a lack of understanding of the urgency to meet the increased capacity needed to provide adequate services to the West Auckland population, which is a deprived and one of the fastest-growing in the country. Waitakere Hospital has the lowest bed numbers for the population at 1.2 per 1000 population. Waitakere Health Link is asking for the reinstation of the Waitakere Hospital Master Planning Programme Business Case into the current financial year and funding approved before June 2022. Kaushal, a West Auckland resident for more than 20 years and a selfavowed “Westie,” is taking it upon himself to augment the effort of Waitakere Health Link by setting up a separate website and advocating on social media. The building has gone past their use-by date, and it’s not about keepspending money to renovate them again and again. The health minister, with a stroke of his pen, can make that decision to endorse it Commencing his efforts on social media on April 7 – the World Health Day–Sunil had launched a website https:// www.savewaitakerehospital. nz/ and appealing to Aucklanders to sign the petition (available at www.change.org). Sharing his motivation for launching his advocacy on social media for supporting this petition, Sunil said, “We have all seen the importance of a reliable and worldclass health system during this pandemic. I was shocked to hear that even for a small operation like appendectomy, which is common for kids, we have to rush to North Shore after being diagnosed from Waitakere Hospital.” “I have personally and with my family seen the importance of how important it is to have a quick diagnosis - it’s a matter between life and death.” “People of West Auckland have been calling for the upgrade for the last 30 years, and if the government does not act now, it will be over two generations missing out on a firstworld health system in our back yard. “The building has gone past their use-by date, and it’s not about keepspending money to renovate them again and again. The health minister, with a stroke of his pen, can make that decision to endorse it,” Sunil said. The petition launched about three weeks ago has so far garnered the signature of 3666 people out of the initial target of 5000 signatures.
The Indian Weekender Friday, April 15, 2022 NEW ZEALAND 7 All you need to know about the Accredited Employer Work Visa NAVDEEP KAUR MARWAH From July 4, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) will be introducing the new temporary work visa - Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV). As per the same, an employer must be accredited to hire migrant workers on an AEWV. Whether you are an employer wanting to hire a migrant or a migrant applying for a work visa, there are things that you need to keep in mind regarding AEWV. Indian Weekender spoke to Ruth Isaac, General Manager, Employment, Skills and Immigration Policy at the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, to answer your questions regarding AEWV. What are the things that an employer would require to get accredited? The accreditation process is a relatively light touch and online. All employers must meet a minimum set of accreditation requirements, including showing they are a genuine, operating business, are compliant with employment, immigration and business regulatory standards, and will complete activities to support the settlement of migrant employees. The type of accreditation employers needs to apply for will differ depending on their business model and the number of migrants they want to hire. Putting these checks upfront helps businesses highlight any barriers before they begin the next steps in Mortgages: • Home loans • Commercial Property loans • Business Loans • Top up & Debt consolidation • Re-Finance and Refixing • Investment Property loans • Restructuring of loan • Construction & Renovation Ruth Isaac the immigration process and helps prevent exploitation by giving migrant workers more confidence about the role they are coming to NZ for. This process will be more transparent and certain for employers and migrants. There is a notion that if someone is getting paid below the median wage, they will not qualify for the same? The Government has announced that for most roles, employers will need to pay the median wage to hire migrants on the AEWV. This ensures that migrants being recruited into NZ are mainly filling higher-skilled positions and will support employment opportunities for New Zealanders. The Government is considering whether there will be any timelimited exemptions to the median wage rule for AEWV as part of the Immigration Rebalance. Trust Saffron Finance for expert Mortgage/ Insurance advice backed by years of experience Risk Insurances: • Life & Trauma • Key Person Cover • Medical / Health • TPD and Income Protection • Mortgage Repayment cover • New to Business & • Business Continuity Cover • Redundancy Cover What will be the process for an employer to apply for accreditation and advertising? There are three steps to hiring a migrant on the AEWV. These are accreditation, the job check, and the AEWV application. Employers can apply for accreditation from May 23 and a job check from June 20. Employers can apply for accreditation through a simple online form on INZ’s website and pay the relevant fee. The process will not require a lot of documentation. Accreditation lasts for 12 months. Employers will need to apply for accreditation even if they have been accredited under the previous system, as the requirements and eligibility are different to the previous policy. Once accredited, businesses must advertise the job to ensure no New Zealanders are available to do the work before offering it to a migrant. This will involve listing it for a minimum of two weeks on a national job listing website. The terms and conditions of the job must be evident in the ad, and it must include the minimum and maximum pay rates. If the job is paid at least 200% of the median wage, employers do not need to advertise the role. If no suitable New Zealanders are found, the employer can apply for a job check to hire a migrant for the role. The employer must be prepared to declare if there are no suitable New Zealanders available for the job. There is criticism saying that AEWV will make it harder for industries such as construction to get workers into the country, and the process is more complex and bureaucratic than before. Also, the scheme is biased toward high paying jobs. What is INZ’s stand on the same? AEWV, which replaces six work visas with one, is designed to ensure New Zealanders are first in line for jobs and where genuine skill or labour shortages exist, accredited employers can hire skilled migrants. We are confident employers will find the new process easier to navigate. We have also worked to remove unnecessary hurdles f rom the system. We have listened to stakeholders in designing the accreditation requirements. One benefit of the new system is that it tests whether a job is one you can hire a migrant for first before we look at the migrant’s eligibility, and this can even be before a candidate is found. It will also mean if INZ has questions about the employer and their recruitment, we can go direct to the employer, and the prospective employee does not see business information that is not relevant to them. As a migrant, how do you prepare for AEWV and what is needed for the same? Accredited employers who have completed a job check for a role can invite a migrant worker to apply for an AEWV. Applications for the new visa open on July 4 2022, and will be made through a simple online form on the INZ website. When migrants apply for an AEWV, they must meet health and character requirements. They must also show they have the skills and experience that the employer told INZ was needed as part of the job check application. If they have demonstrated skills and experience previously or through holding occupational registration, they do not need to provide evidence again. Before an overseas migrant comes to NZ, their employer must have a genuine job offer. They must provide a detailed employment agreement complying with NZ labour laws for the migrant to sign before leaving for NZ. The employer should pay all costs and fees inside and outside NZ for the migrant’s recruitment. Migrants may have to pay for the visa application and airfares and any immigration advice received through an agent. Migrant workers already in New Zealand If a migrant is currently living and working in NZ, they can continue to work under the conditions of their current visa until it expires or they no longer meet the conditions of the visa. Suppose a migrant already in NZ has an expiring visa and their employer has not completed the steps in time for the migrant to apply for an AEWV before their existing visa expires. In that case, they can apply for a bridging visa. This will be a visitor visa and will not allow you to work. If they want to remain in NZ after their visa expires by applying for an AEWV, they will need to find a job paying at or above the median wage. Some migrant workers who are currently paid below the median wage will qualify for the 2021 Resident Visa if they meet the scarce or settled criteria. Contact for free assessment Nimish Parikh Registered Financial Advice Financial Provider Adviser M. 021 236 7070 nimish@saffronfinance.co.nz 18B Kirby Street, Glendene, Auckland 0602 P O Box - 69263 , Glendene, Auckland 0645 www.saffronfinance.co.nz
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The Indian Weekender, 15 April 2022

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