Posts Tagged ‘Immigration’

School rolls at peak capacity and still growing

Monday, November 13th, 2023
school rolls

Secondary school rolls all over the country are bursting. Catholic schools and state schools alike. There’s been a steady increase in roll numbers, according to the Ministry of Education. Immigrants boost school rolls An immigration-driven surge in enrolments is adding to the pressure. The national school roll is now topping 831,038 children. In Invercargill, Catholic Read more

Immigration ‘could hit 100,000 new arrivals in a year’: Here’s what that means

Thursday, September 14th, 2023

Migration into New Zealand is still running at record levels, and could top a net migration gain of 100,000 in a year within the next few months, one economist says. Stats NZ said there was a record net migration gain of 96,200 in the year to July. It said it was driven by net gains Read more

Pope Francis mixes messages in visit to conservative Hungary

Thursday, May 4th, 2023

Pope Francis has returned from touring Hungary, a bastion of European conservatism, where his mixed messaging is seemingly at odds with national sentiment. At a Mass celebrated Sunday in Budapest, His Holiness called on the Hungarian government — led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and President Katalin Novák, both Christian, neither Catholic — to loosen Read more

NZ immigration websites hit with thousands of American visitors

Monday, July 4th, 2022
NZ Immigration websites

NZ immigration websites have been hit by thousands of visits from US citizens since the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion law. The Court struck down a 50 year old decision (called Roe v. Wade). That decision legalised abortion on a federal basis. The upshot is individual states can now ban the procedure. Since the Supreme Read more

Record new NZ residents; British favoured

Thursday, June 2nd, 2022

By the end of this year, the country will have more new residents than any other year on record. Almost 200,000 people have now applied to become residents under the fast-track visa, and one in four has been approved. Immigration figures show New Zealand has created more residents in the last six months than any Read more

Pope’s migration appeal sparks attacks

Monday, April 11th, 2022

The pope’s visit to migrants and asylum seekers in Ħal Far has sparked outrage among many Facebook users who rejected his appeal for charity and overwhelmingly told him to take migrants back with him to the Vatican. During his two-day visit to Malta, the pontiff visited the Peace Lab in Ħal Far where he met Read more

Appeal for Church to think differently

Thursday, July 8th, 2021

Restauranters and café owners in New Zealand turned off their lights this week highlighting their staff shortages and inability to bring in labour from overseas. It is a labour shortage echoed by a local priest! “I wonder if I should turn out the lights in Church on Sunday?” he asked. The priest does not want Read more

Changing face of NZ poses big challenges for the future of rugby

Monday, May 17th, 2021

The state of our national game, and what is best for its future, has generated a lot of recent debate. But there are some contributing factors that might not have had the attention they deserve. The demography of New Zealand is changing, with major implications for rugby, especially for player participation. The impacts of immigration Read more

Freeze on parent immigration category leaves elderly fearing deportation

Monday, March 8th, 2021

A 97-year-old woman is among those who fear they will be deported to countries ravaged by coronavirus. Others are in their 70s and 80s and say they face a life of fear and isolation if they have to return to their homelands. They’re among thousands of people affected by the Government freeze on Immigration New Read more

NZ Government courts wealthy; says priests are not essential

Monday, March 1st, 2021

Wealthy foreigners looking for residency status are being courted by New Zealand as prospective immigrants. Stuff reports, a team of five immigration officials – including one in Europe and another in North America –are still promoting “investor interest in New Zealand” so high net-worth investors can enter the country as soon as the borders re-open. Read more