HE SAYS:
press.co.nz
(City) councillors need to stop sitting
on the fence.
Ross McFarlane
A14
THE PRESS, Monday, February 17, 2014
Councillors should decide, not put off deciding
No place for
exploitation
I
t was clear from not long after
the earthquakes occurred
three years ago, that the vast
job of clearing up the damage
and then repairing and
rebuilding was going to require
more workers than the New
Zealand labour market could
supply. Migrant workers began
arriving more than two years
ago to fill this need and they
continue to arrive. Migrant
workers can be vulnerable,
particularly if they come from a
different culture, and
regrettably a few employers
have sought to take advantage of
the situation. So far as it is
possible to tell, the incidence of
such exploitation seems to be
minor. But even isolated
incidents can generate a welter
of bad publicity which could
inhibit the region’s capacity to
attract the people it so vitally
needs. We cannot afford to be
complacent.
Not all disagreements
between workers and employers
arise from exploitation. With so
many workers arriving in such
a short time, misunderstandings
and disputes can, of course,
arise. But in order to avoid the
taint of exploitation spreading
by word of mouth, it is
important there is an efficient
system, with which migrant
workers feel comfortable, to
resolve any disagreements that
may arise.
A case on which The Weekend
Press reported on Saturday, for
instance, may be typical. Two
Filipino men claimed they were
left out of pocket when their
employer underpaid them for
residential repair work they had
been brought to Christchurch to
do. Their employer conceded
that he paid them less than he
had promised but that was
because they were, he said, less
Feb 22 flowers
My friend and flatmate Lin Lin
died three years ago in the collapse
of the Canterbury Television
building.
Lin Lin was a nurse, a goodhearted, principled and hardworking girl studying at King’s
English; her entire class died with
her. Being Chinese, she was an
only child, and tragically her
mother had been killed a few years
before in a road accident.
Meeting her father, twice
bereaved, when he came to collect
her few possessions, was one of the
most emotionally gruelling
experiences of my life. A meeting
replicated many times over in
Christchurch at that time, as
stunned parents from all over Asia
came to meet the stunned host
families of their student children
killed in the disaster.
We remain a city of road cones,
and for the last two years, many
sensitive and caring citizens have
been placing memorial flowers in
their local cones.
qualified than he had been led to
believe. It is, of course,
incumbent on an employer to
make sure anyone he hires is
able to do the work. But if that
should turn out not to be the
case, it is not generally legal for
an employer to unilaterally
lower an employee’s pay. Rather
than make a complaint to any
official body, however, the men
went to work elsewhere.
According to Ministry of
Business, Innovation and
Employment figures, 35
complaints were received from
migrants in the 21⁄2 years to
September, of which 16 resulted
in breaches being identified.
Because of the difficulties
migrants have in knowing how
to complain and who to
complain to, that almost
certainly under-represents the
number of problems there are.
To fix that, an initiative by
the Christchurch Migrants
Centre to establish a service
catering for newcomers from the
Philippines, is welcome. As
Mayor Lianne Dalziel suggested
at the launch of the service last
week, the city must have zero
tolerance towards any kind of
exploitation. Minister of Labour
Simon Bridges, too, has
promised that labour inspectors
will act decisively towards any
improper behaviour it detects.
It is other employers, though,
who have the most reason to be
vigilant. For one thing, an
employer who attempts to
exploit workers does so to try to
gain an improper advantage
over competing employers who
obey the rules. More
importantly, bad-egg employers
risk knocking the reputation of
Christchurch as a decent place
to work and so make hiring from
abroad more difficult.
It is a small and simple tribute,
but one of huge significance, and I
very much look forward to seeing
the road cone flowers again this
year.
Sincerest thanks to those who
do this.
MICHAEL GOODSON
Carlton Mill
Bible lessons
Assuming it can be shoe-horned
between the three Rs, I’m quite
relaxed about teaching of
Christianity in schools (Feb 15).
Provided teachers take the
opportunity to correct the
multitude of errors that have built
up over the last two millennia.
From the ancient fable of virgin
birth, wise men, and shepherds
watching their flocks in midwinter Palestine to the claim that
Jesus rose from the dead rather
than a far more plausible that he
survived crucifixion, an obvious
contradiction in terms. The whole
point of crucifixion was that you
hung there until your body rotted
The elected members of the
Christchurch City Council debated
at length on Thursday about a
simple fence around some of the
special surface netball courts in
Hagley Park, to protect them from
damage caused by wheels of
scooters or skateboards. Ample
space will still be available at the
courts on the asphalt areas for this
activity.
A number of councillors stated
‘‘we need to consult the
Christchurch ratepayer as it
affects our jewel in the crown’’.
Others stated ‘‘It’s only a fence,
there are other fences in Hagley
Park already’’.
If every issue that comes to
council requires consultation or
deferring it until other
information is available, we will
never progress our city.
Councillors are paid to make
decisions, not keep putting them
off. Unpopular decisions will be
corrected by voters in the next
election.
Councillors need to stop sitting
on the fence.
ROSS McFARLANE
Halswell
Plenty of space
On Friday The Press informed us
the council has contributed $1.05
million of ratepayers’ money to NZ
Cricket’s structures in Hagley
Park, while on page A4 we learn
the same body feels it needs to
consult the public before it can
decide on the justice of the wish of
Christchurch Netball to protect
their investment in 18 netball
courts by the construction of a
fence.
This member of the public feels
she would be able to form a
balanced opinion if two questions
were answered. How much
ratepayer money has been
contributed to Christchurch
Netball? What proportion of the
total area of Hagley Park is
represented by 18 netball courts, or
indeed by all the parts of the park
that in various ways restrict
public access.
One cannot but feel that there is
a good deal of space left in the
entire park and in the other public
parks our city enjoys in which
people may wander to their heart’s
content in search of the solace the
Deputy Mayor is anxious we may
find.
MARGARET M DOHERTY
Papanui
Paid enough
Christchurch City Council
documents claim the economic
benefit of Christchurch hosting
the Cricket World Cup will exceed
$17 million (February 14).
The previous council agreed to
contribute $1.05 million towards
the event.
But according to your report of
Jan 28, Canterbury Cricket feels
that it will face an ‘‘unduly
onerous and unfair financial
burden’’ if it has to pay the council
$224,000 it incurred as the resource
consent applicant seeking to
develop the cricket oval at Hagley
Park.
Ratepayers face a minimum of a
6.5 per cent increase. Haven’t we
already paid enough towards the
sponsorship of this event?
VICTORIA ANDREWS
Akaroa
IN A FEW WORDS
❯❯ Ecologist Colin Meurk has
developed a 120km walk around
greater Christchurch. All it needs
now is $20,000 for signs and
guide book. A fund can easily be
established as only 2000 people
are needed to contribute $10
each. I am eager to see this walk
completed and would be willing to
make a small donation towards it.
I would encourage Meurk to set
up a fund.
JONATHAN RUMENS
❯❯ At last an article giving
information about the elephant in
the room, the Lichfield Street
carpark (Feb 13). I look forward to
seeing the carpark restored to its
former busy-ness so it can once
again provide citizens with innercity parking. Such parking is
essential to attract property
investors, tenants and shoppers
to the city.
SHERYN GILLARD GLASS
❯❯ I find it laughable that Prince
William and Prince Charles are
speaking out to protect the
elephants, while they continue to
go on hunting trips to kill other
defenceless animals. The royal
family are typical of the type of
entitled people that perpetrated
the cruel ‘‘sport’’ of fox hunting.
Not the kind of people I want as
head of state of this country.
MARC FIBBENS
and fell off, survival was not an
option.
The silly thing was that if the
early Christians had stuck with
the truths of Jesus, in particular
the ‘‘Do unto others’’, they would
have far more credibility today. To
teach Christianity as described in
the bible is revisionist history of
the worst kind.
IAN ORCHARD
Papanui
Glad company
The cartoon by Evans (Feb 15)
depicts Jesus with His Cross. I am
pleased that this cartoon is
bringing attention to this problem.
It is historical knowledge that
Jesus did exist and we need to
decide if he was a liar, a madman,
or was He who he said He was, the
saviour of the world.
If Jesus is a saviour, who will
He save in this country, where
parents will teach their children
about the tooth fairy, the Easter
Bunny and Father Christmas but
will deny them the chance to learn
of someone who is ultimately for
the good of the human race.
If we believed a large number of
atheists and agnostics, we would
be thinking that all Christians are
somewhat intellectually impaired,
but I have to say that I am in glad
company when I know that
literary giants like Tolkien, C S
Lewis and many others were
Christian people.
I feel that the objectors to
Christianity in State schools are
the thin edge of the wedge and the
silent majority will have to put
their hands up if they wish for
their children to gain the
knowledge of Jesus Christ.
KAREN MARRA
Sockburn
Flag talk
The Prime Minister, by raising a
change of national flag, has
created a splendid diversion at the
start of election year and we wait
to find what he’s diverting us from
– could it be flagging popularity?
Surely before we waste time
discussing preferred alternatives
the country should decide whether
we need to change it. As yet we’ve
been given no reason to change it.
That would warrant a referendum,
a binding one not a farcical nonbinding one.
For the PM to prefer the black
(or any) flag is wrong. His
preference is considered by some
to be piratical. The Tino
Rangatiratanga flag is seen by
many as racially divisive. Many
other designs will be put forward
and even more opinions offered.
The whole matter needs
national (small ‘‘n’’) consultation.
JOHN ROBB
Sumner
Harmful advert
Mr Potiki’s article is ample
evidence that, contrary to his
claim, he does not understand the
feminist discourse.
He readily admits the
objectifying aspect of Air New
Zealand safety video but forgives it
for being ‘‘in the lower end of the
harm scale’’ and it doing so forgets
that this is the same harmful scale
that has, at its extreme end, the
Roast Busters boys.
An important organisation
such as Air New Zealand should
help eradicate the objectification
of women in advertisements, not
promote it.
DONNA MILES
Merivale
No housing role
I totally support Bruce Church
(letters, Feb 14) in stating that the
Christchurch City Council has no
right to spend ratepayers’ money
on low-cost housing. That is the
Government’s job.
Do the mayor and her cohorts
have an agenda to attract the
lowlifes of New Zealand to
Christchurch, thus turning
Christchurch into a Labour city?
Let’s hope the councillors can
see the big picture and keep their
politics out of council business.
RON WILLIAMS
Northwood
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