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Desperate For New Zealand

Desperate For New Zealand

With all the negative news I have posted here I would not think of New Zealand as a place to bring up my kids, but it does seem that some people ARE desperate for New Zealand. In answer to that New Zealand has started to input some unusual laws / attitudes. Check it out and be amazed:

For that latter issue about the Romanian boy all I can say is this... that minister better hope his children do not go to a foreign country and due to some ill fated even suddenly need very expensive treatment!

This one is funny, you have to admit, just imagine, some old processor and a few algorithms decide if you are 'good enough' to be a resident in New Zealand.

Oh New Zealand, I will not be a resident on your land anytime soon.

Zealand New Desperate

Wow, hang on, take a step back here.

I have a lot of Kiwi friends and my partner and family have been there. I can assure you New Zealand is one of the greatest countries in the world to live in. It has as high standard of living as Australia. It is about 100 times safer than the US, the Caribbean and most parts of Europe. There are small parts of Auckland I wouldn't regard safe from what I have heard, but name one major city that doesn't have these crime areas? Sydney certainly has unsafe areas yet it is constantly ranked in the top 3 most desirable cities to live in the world.

The Maoris are lovely people, very warm and friendly once you get to know them. What a political party who calls itself the Maori Party does for votes should not influence your opinion of Maoris.

New Zealanders in general are very nice and hospitable people. I don't think it is fair to highlight or draw conclusions about a country based on a few negative stories. That would be like me saying I would never live in the US based on the policies of Bush. But of course I know that the US is also an amazing country with very friendly people and it's a place I certainly want to visit. I honestly believe you and LDS should consider a holiday to New Zealand, it is by all accounts a beautiful place.

Desperate For New Zealand History & Civil Business Politics

Jeez, thanks arvhic.

But let this Kiwi put in his two cents worth.

For a start, JB, your first quote was from a minor politician of a minor political party. These sorts of comments happen all the time from politicians who want to "grab" headlines. Controversy puts those politicians in the public eye, and this is important for raising awareness to "vote seekers".

New Zealand has a reputation for being one of the most culturally sensitive nations in the world, and this has come about through the relatively young age of this country. It's true that we have quite strict immigration laws, but these laws do not discriminate by race, colour or creed, nor is it determined by wealth (or lack of).

Mostly, immigrants are accepted by their "value" to New Zealand society as a whole. By immigrating here, we want to know one simple question... are they willing to become New Zealanders? Will they abide by our laws, and will they be happy in integrating with us?

By "intergrating", I don't mean giving up their cultural identity. They can keep their language, keep their religion, keep their ideals... but, they have to respect ours as well and be able to co-exist.

Here's a fact. New Zealand is in the top 3 of the least corrupted and corruptible societies in the world. Why? Well, for many reasons, but one of those reasons is that we respect other nations and their beliefs. Also, your average New Zealander won't take any crap from the people we vote into power. They work for us, not the other way around.

As for the Romanian boy, it was not a question of how much his medical care would cost the taxpayer of New Zealand, it was a question of law. All countries have laws, just as The U.S or England has laws which allow or veto entry. These laws were not written with individuals in mind, nor of circumstances surrounding individuals. Laws exist, not only for the benefit of the society for which those laws are created, but as a safeguard for the future of that society. Laws can be bent, they can even be waived, but they can not be broken!

By the way, the Romanian boy received medical attention here. He died and his parents went back to Romania.

And just to end on a positive note... take arvhic's advice... take your next vacation in New Zealand. I'll be happy to play host!

Edited: Philosopher on 11th Jun, 2007 - 10:33am

Zealand New Desperate

It is good to have some first hand perspectives, and my opening Post did its' job in invigorating you to tell us why people are desperate for New Zealand, however, if you saw the Heinous Board (Upgrade) and did a Search for all the Threads concerning New Zealand then I am sure you would see how I or anyone else not familiar with the country can draw such a conclusion.

Zealand New Desperate

Thanks for answering, JB.

I hope you didn't think I was being agressive in my answer; it wasn't meant as a defensively personal attack.... information sharing, if you like.

And, no. I didn't do a search for all the threads concerning NZ, so I didn't fully appreciate your perspective.`My bad.

Rather off topic, but... I haven't long been a member of this site so I'm still feeling my way around. My involvement has been mostly with posting and answering board topics. In this, I am so far very impressed. It's good to have somewhere I can read views and opinions on many subjects from intelligent, thinking people. Keep up the good work.

To endon a humourous note, here's a conversation I recently had with a girl (age unknown) in a chat room. She was from the USA.

ME: It's cold here.
HER: Oh really? It's hot here.
ME: Well, you're in summer, so I guess it would be hot.
HER: And you're not (in summer)?
ME: No. NZ is in the southern hemisphere, so it's winter here.
There was a pause before her next comment came
HER: What month is it in New Zealand?

Message Edited... Persephone: Please use the Offtopic Tags so that the Thread maintains the same subject matter and does not develop into another Topic.

Desperate For New Zealand

MIGRANTS' FALSE IDENTITIES RAISE SECURITY FEARS

National security may have been compromised by migrants using false identities to dupe poorly trained and equipped immigration officials, the Government says.
Ref. https://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,93498~4109045a10~,00.html

Desperate New Zealand

I would normally place something like this in the Law & Order section, but since we have some here who defend New Zealand, and Time Magazine has actually gone after that 'peaceful image' that New Zealand portrays I have decided to add this story here:

Desperate New Zealand Politics Business Civil & History

Yes, there are gangs in New Zealand.

Yes, there is crime in New Zealand.

Yes, there are drugs in New Zealand.

Yes, there is poverty in New Zealand.

_______________________________

Every country has these issues to deal with, and New Zealand is no different.

I'm not going to defend NZ on any of those issues, because I don't believe it's a localised problem.

And this is where I show myself as being a classist bougeouis middle of the road bigot.

The problem I have with being classist is... I come from a poor family, yet, they are the most giving, loving, happy bunch of people I know... and I know of other families just like them.

Aaargh! I can't follow this argument without getting into a rant about socio-politics, economics, and the downside of democracy.

Suffice it to say, the reporter for Time magazine singled New Zealand out in his report. Everything he said was true, but it put unfair focus on 'our' problem, when everyone knows it is tame compared with other countries. What made the report newsworthy was that it came at a time when we were also being heralded as having good aspects.