Despite Amnesty International and Opposition calls to lift out pathetic intake of just 750 refugees a year, John Key won’t lift it.
Why?
Because NZs middle classes who are enjoying a vast speculative property bubble don’t mind selling their over inflated sense of wealth to wealthy foreigners, but refugees don’t buy expensive houses.
Foreign ownership so that our property prices keep going up? Yes.
A home for the abused refugees of the world? No way.
Let’s not forget that Key himself benefitted directly from our history of letting refugees in, as Phil Goff so eloquently puts it…
This looks like another example of Key benefiting from state support like refugee intakes and state houses only to turn his back on them both now he’s sorted.
This is not a decision based on values, this is a decision based on polling prejudice. We have become the Land of the Wrong Uptight Crowd.
Well said!
The Key Regime wants only well-off immigrants, who are more likely than not to be supporters of the National Party. In a word, a form of #corruption, like everything else this stinking #CORRUPT regime does.
The Auckland property market is one big Ponzi Scheme fuelled by hot Asian money from dubious origins.
As a NZ citizen here in NZ, if you buy securities here in NZ you have to provide proof of identity, passport, IRD number and bank account details.
An overseas citizen does not have to provide any proof of identification, addresses, IRD number or bank account details, hence I believe there is illicit funds being washed through the Auckland property market.
Even if they double it or triple it if will make diddly-squat difference. There are millions of refugees wandering around for all sorts of reasons, but especially from the meltdown in Syria. Raising the quota may make us feel better, and for some limited displaced people it might be a little helpful, but what is way more important is to be seriously proactive in helping resolve the impasse over Syria.
I’m afraid we in the West are going to have to get over ourselves (and some of our principles, probably) and work with Russia, and perhaps Iran, to form a truce with Assad until ISIS is contained. Once this kind of pragmatic coalition is in place there will be ample opportunity to eventually move towards a bloodless power transition.
New Zealand, while we are still not a signed-up ally of the US, could play a constructive part as credible conduit in negotiations, if our reputation isn’t totally trashed yet.
Of course none of this is going to happen as the crisis lurches on in what is starting to look like a forever war.
We need to think of the people fleeing the horrors of war as individuals, not millions. We make a difference to individual homeless, suffering men, women and children whose lives have been mindlessly shattered and ripped apart. How the hell can we not have compassion? Sure, stopping world conflict is a great idea… Brilliant … I wish I’d thought of it … go to it… In the meantime could we not do the best we can, not as little?
It’s amazing when you think that countries like Iran and Turkey have to cope with hundreds of thousands of refugees.
As FJK is the son of a refugee from World War II Europe, you’d think he of all people, would be pushing to increase the refugee quota for NZ, particularly when there are genuine refugees attempting to flee their countries of origin, for the same reason his mother did. To escape becoming a victim of mass genocide!
Instead of welcoming greedy and possibly corrupt foreign property investors with open arms, he should be opening NZ for those genuinely in need, seeking a safe haven to live.
And refugees won’t vote National.
You know this how? I don’t recall a poll ever being taken of the voting patterns of refugees to NZ.
From my direct experience previously working with Somalian, I am inclined to think they are more likely to vote National. They sure have a healthy love of education, entrepreneurship and an even more healthy distaste for those lounging around on benefits making excuses for people.
Hard to find good statistics but I found some research on Yugoslavia that backed up your position. Also Cuban refugees in USA.
Although I’d be surprised if Syrians vote right because it seems about 60% (and 73% intended to) of Muslims votes for labor in the UK and that will influence new members of the community.
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2015/05/06/UK-election-Top-five-myths-about-the-Muslim-vote-.html
When young New Zealanders can afford to buy a home in their own country again, we can talk about lifting refugee numbers. In the mean time, let’s get our own house in order.
Gopal – so because we’ve screwed things up, refugees in dire straits have to pay for our follies?!
Really? How does that work in your Parallel Universe?
Refugees aren’t affecting the housing market, dubious investors are,,they don’t have to reside here and they’re so wealthy many houses are left empty.
Refugees give back with gratitude, investors take to further their own prosperity.
We have a curious situation were foreign money fuels speculation. And foreigners buy that.
Key’s family were refuges and he will be when we do what they did properly over watergate by holding a deep investigation into how,who and why the PM’s office was tied to Breaking into Opposition files and leaked them as Nixon did.
It was after Nixon got re-elected that he was found out to be corrupted as Key will n be when we hold a proper wide ranging separate similar investigation over Watergate.
Watch this; Dick Cavett’s Watergate. MSM let’s go get him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjSrjn2xtTA
Published on May 5, 2015
ʬ From 1972 to 1974 the Watergate scandal unfolded on The Dick Cavett Show, as Cavett interviewed nearly every major Watergate figure. Even non-political guests expressed their opinions about Watergate on the show. With exclusive access to the archive of The Dick Cavett Show, “Dick Cavett’s Watergate” documents the scandal in the words of the people who lived it: from the botched burglary at the Democratic
Here a good way of dealing with the refugee crisis. Why don’t Jonkey tell his golfing buddy Obama Bin Laden to stop bombing these (refugee) peoples countries that contain energy (OIL) then the world would not have to endure a calamity on this scale and we wouldn’t be discussing refugee quotas.
Yes I agree. As a member of 5 Eyes and hence a supporter of American foreign policy we are duty bound to accept our share of the collateral damage. Libya Syria Iraq Afghanistan all laid waste based on lies like 9/11 and Saddams WMD’s or supposedly to counter terrorism but in so doing kill infinitely more people than terrorism ever did while at the same time creating a fertile breeding ground for more terrorism
Yikes! It’s a while since comments have made me seriously angry, mostly my reaction is along the lines of “that’s just stupid”.
But.
Nick, just because you can’t help everyone, is that a good enough reason to help no-one? And “until ISIS is contained” – for the love of all that’s peaceful! We”re talking about extreme edge of the envelope bigotry here. Solutions aren’t couched in maiming, torture and mass death, but those same solutions may entail terminal violence to counter already demonstrated violence. How many sigmas toward the edge you’re prepared to go defines your membership as a terrorist, regardless of how correct your cause may be. Being prepared to excise a cancer is entirely different from brutalising the patient. And as for a “bloodless power transition” !? I think you need to go back to the sweet little planet you came from.
Gopal, if we as NZers accept someone as a refugee, does that refugee not become a New Zealander? I for one, would prefer you to keep your historic/genetic racism to yourself, but I stand to be be corrected by other followers of TDB.
My altogether simplistic view of the tenor of TDB as “to each as they need, from each as they are able to give” may be entirely adrift from reality, so again I stand to be corrected.
So we should be ruled by Amensty International and the opositoon? Actually Martyn we voted Key in, not AI or the iposition. It’s called Democracy. It seems to be a difficult concept for leftists to grasp.
And how will increasing the refugee quota make a blind bit of difference to the tens of millions of refugees?
It will make a difference to the people who settle here that’s all that matters.
Why are Saudi Arabia and the other wealthy Gulf oil states not taking in refugees? The vast majority of the refugees flooding Europe are muslim. Charity is supposed to be one of the five pillars of Islam.
The fact that Key’s family were refugees could be used as an argument against asylum. Let them in and look what you get!
Rising refugee numbers into NZ is about as sensible as pouring more oil into a car that is already burning too much. You are not resolving the Problem at all., possibly even iflaming it.
Really, Dean? And yet New Zealand was built by migrants and refugees. Where, pray tell, is your compassion?
Lifting refugee numbers is not sensible. It will only encourage more, and give a false expectation of hope. Dedicating resources to fix the original problem is the path forward. at a global level.
Jeezus, yes, we can’t have our fellow human beings having hope, can we?!?! Christ, whatever next, humanitarian aid?!?! Stop the rot now, I say, before Blacks and women demand the right to vote!!
It depends on your aim. But if Dean is correct then you cannot use the problem of the migrant crisis in Europe to justify raising refugee numbers. Because it is likely it would achieve the complete opposite.
If you are trying to create hope, then the migrant crisis is a manifestation of hope.
I don’t know if you know Dean but it seems unfair for you to assume he opposes humanitarian aid from his comment.
That makes no sense, and seems to be little more than an attempt to justify xenophobia.
I doubt if refugees make the hazardous (and often deadly) trip from their homes, for the spurious reasons you outlined.
Not convincing at all.
For starters – it isn’t a spurious reason. the only way you can think that it is is because all your problems are very first world problems.
Moving from a poorer to a richer country might add 10 or 20 years to your life expectancy and even more to your healthy life expectancy. So yes people do take dangerous trips in order to make a better life for themselves.
Also worth noting is that people smugglers cannot be guaranteed to give you an accurate summary of your risk when they take a contract.
Yes, escaping from a war zone will have that effect on one’s life-expectancy.
Depends on where you go. Going from Syria to some non war zones in Africa would reduce it.
But I take it you accept my point that it is not a spurious reason to want a significantly better (and longer) life for your children.
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