A number of ni-Vanuatu Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers have also been impacted on by New Zealand’s Cyclone Gabrielle devastation, particularly those in the Hawke’s Bay region.

This has been a difficult time for people in Aotearoa New Zealand, but also for families of workers back in Vanuatu trying to understand what is happening.

Labour Commissioner Murielle Meltenoven and the New Zealand High Commission in Port Vila have assured everyone that all RSE workers in New Zealand are accounted for and safe — and that their welfare is a priority for the Vanuatu and New Zealand governments.

• READ MORE: Other Cyclone Gabrielle reports

New Zealand government authorities, RSE employers, Vanuatu’s liaison officer, NGOs, churches and communities are working together to support affected workers.

The Pasifika Medical Association, a group of trained Pasifika health workers, is on the ground in Hawke’s Bay providing free health services to affected RSE workers.

Where worker accommodation was impacted, RSE workers have been supported in emergency response locations, often community halls or churches, together with other RSE workers.

All ni-Vanuatu RSE workers have now been able to return to their farms or to other suitable, approved, accommodation.

Employer obligations remain
Despite a small number of RSE workers not being able to work, obligations on RSE employers to support RSE workers remain.

This includes paying workers a minimum of 30 hours work a week at NZ$22.10 an hour and providing pastoral care.

The work of some RSE farms will be impacted on by the cyclone’s damage. Workers are able to work on their farms assisting with clean-up if needed, others will be doing their normal harvest work.

New Zealand officials are working to provide flexibility to enable RSE workers who were due to travel to affected areas or that need to be relocated to other parts of New Zealand.

Workers can also choose to return to Vanuatu if they decide they want to return early. It is important for workers to understand that they have a choice in any changes.

The Labour Commissioner explained that the Department of Labour (DoL) is working closely with the New Zealand government to monitor mobilisation of RSE workers into affected regions and assess whether workers need redeploying to other regions.

“I appeal to licensed agents sending workers to affected regions to work in partnership with the Labour Department and ensure mobilisations only go ahead when there is confirmation that approved employers can ensure enough work and safe accommodation for RSE workers,” Commissioner Meltenoven said.

Working closely with NZ
She sympathised with all RSE workers in this difficult time and has assured them that her office will work closely with the New Zealand government in ensuring that their welfare is prioritised and looked after.

Vanuatu’s country liaison officer, Olivia Johnson, is on the ground supporting RSE workers.

She is visiting them at their accommodation and working with Immigration New Zealand and the Labour Inspectorate to ensure safe conditions for workers.

“The devastation is extensive, and we had some workers evacuated out of their accommodation to safety. All are accounted for, and all are safe and well,” Johnson said.

“Our workers who needed to be housed in evacuation centers have been incredibly well cared for — while I was visiting one group at the Ascende Church in Hastings one evening a school out of Wellington had driven up to supply donations.

“The community support to all RSE workers has been humbling. My heart now goes out to the employers, some of whom have lost everything — this is also hard on our workers as most are like family and just want to stay, help and rebuild.”

Tragic, difficult time
Speaking about the devastation of the last few weeks with 11 deaths from the cyclone, New Zealand High Commissioner Nicola Simmonds said this had been a tragic, difficult and anxious time for many New Zealanders and RSE workers.

“From here in Vanuatu, it is humbling to see the contribution that RSE workers are making to support New Zealand at this time,” she said.

“Ni-Vanuatu know more than most about the devastating consequences of cyclones. But they also know how to respond, rebuild and support each other during such times.

“Many workers have been a huge practical help, but also a source of resilience and inspiration for New Zealanders. I humbly thank those ni-Vanuatu supporting New Zealand at this time.”

Workers who have concerns about their situation can reach out to the Department of Labour and Employment Services to raise their concerns and get an update on the welfare support that RSE workers are accessing in the affected region.

Republished with permission.

Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick is brushing off concerns a temporary rent freeze in flood-hit Auckland would just see landlords hike rents even more when the controls were lifted — arguing they should stay permanently.

More than 20 organisations have signed a letter urging Minister for Auckland Michael Wood, Housing Minister Megan Woods and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to “recognise the difficulties facing families in Auckland” and ban landlords from raising rents for six months.

Among the signees are Renters United, the Citizens Advice Bureau, the Salvation Army, Child Poverty Action Group, Unite Union, Save the Children NZ, FinCap, various student unions and more.

• READ MORE: NZ’s climate floods expose stark truth – people paying price of corporate greed crisis – Nick Young
• Auckland rents to go up after flooding, property investors body says
• Other North Island flood reports

This morning we’re calling for compassion and protection – a freeze on rent increases for six months. The last thing renters need is to loose more of their money to rent. https://t.co/9sPwtiZIhu

— Renters United (@rentersunited) February 2, 2023

“This is a response to some really troubling calls and comments we have heard from landlords and their representatives that they intend to increase rent, piled on top of the trauma that Aucklanders have just gone through,” Swarbrick told RNZ today.

Earlier this week, the Auckland Property Investors Association said “market forces” would  see rents in the city go up, with fewer rentals available after the record-breaking rainfall of last weekend.

“We will have a shortage of supply of rentals for a period of time just while these repairs are undertaken,” said president Kristin Sutherland, denying it was just greed.

“I’m not in a position to say whether it’s fair or not. It’s the same in any market when the supply and demand changes. I don’t think landlords are out there to make an extra buck.”

‘Really troubling’
Swarbrick called Sutherland’s comments “really troubling” and “disconcerting”.

“They’ve said that these are supposedly market forces at work, but if you lift the lid on that, these forces are their decisions and their disproportionate power being wielded over New Zealanders and Aucklanders who have really, really been through a lot.”

She has the backing of Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt, who said the right to a decent home is especially important in a state of emergency.

“What we’re urging is for the government to reassure Auckland renters that they’re not about to face an escalating cost of crisis to add to the burdens that too many people are facing,” Human Rights Commission’s housing inquiry manager Vee Blackwood told RNZ  Checkpoint.

Too many people were already paying high rents and unable to deal with unexpected costs, Blackwood said.

Reassurance could include a rent freeze, she said.

“It could include a rent freeze if government policy analysis indicates that would be the best response,” but there could also be other support offered such as an increase in accommodation subsidies, she said.

Businesses have responsibilities
“We acknowledge that many landlords are working in really good faith with their tenants to respond to that flood damage,” she said.

“What I would say is that landlords are businesses as you’ve acknowledged. Businesses also have human rights responsibilities.

“So their responsibilities are to respect the human right sof their tenants and to respect the fact that a decent home is a fundamental human right and not something that can just be divorced to making profit, especially when people are doing it this rough.”

Kiwi home ownership has been dropping for about three decades, particularly in younger age groups.

The government implemented a rent freeze in 2020 to “ensure that people can stay in their homes during this challenging time” as the country went into strict lockdown to eliminate the spread of covid-19, back when there were not any vaccines or effective treatments available.

When it was lifted however, landlords hiked rents more than they ever had before.

“That becomes the point of rent controls,” said Swarbrick.

‘Market forces’ at play
“Rent controls are about realising that these supposed market forces that are at play really boil down to the decision of landlords . . .

“The Greens are backing that call for a rent freeze, but obviously our long-term position has always been for there to be rent controls in place.”

Critics of rent controls say they discourage investment, restricting the supply of new rentals, and encourage people to stay in places that are cheaper, but might not suit their changing circumstances — such as having children or getting a new job somewhere else.

Consumer NZ says landlords who own rental properties damaged in the floods should actually be reducing rents, not hiking them.

Tenants in properties they cannot live in don’t have to pay rent at all, the watchdog said earlier this week.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

A new $100 million apartment complex is coming to Manukau — Auckland’s heart of Pacific communities.

But you’ll have to be aged at least 55 to get in.

Kāinga Ora is expected to start construction of the 123 apartments in Osterley Way in March. The 16-storey tower will include 94 one-bedroom and 29 two-bedroom apartments.

• READ MORE: Other NZ housing crisis reports

The government said it was necessary to target targeting specific age groups to match an increasing demand from “older customers”.

“Kāinga Ora recognises our older customers have specific housing needs, which we are addressing through senior housing developments such as the proposed project in Manukau,” regional director for Counties Manukau Angela Pearce said.

Pearce said one in five of the agency’s homes in Counties-Manukau had someone over 65 living in it, while 670 of its homes in the area were occupied by sole tenants in the same age group.

“With an aging population, Kāinga Ora recognises the importance of dedicated senior housing where our older tenants can live well, feel safe and secure, both in their homes and the community.”

Two years on state house list
Maureen O’Meara, 75, spent two years on the state house waiting list and was renting a two-bedroom unit in Pakuranga for $420 a week until earlier this year.

“I had $17 left a week after paying the rent,” O’Meara said. “Being on a pension and paying market rent meant I didn’t have a lot of money left to live on.”

O’Meara managed to find somewhere more affordable in May after she was put in touch with Haumaru Housing, a joint venture between Auckland Council and the Selwyn Foundation.

But O’Meara said the Manukau development reflects an increasing number of people reaching retirement without a home.

“And I think there’s going to be a need for more places like it,” she said.

Age Concern Auckland chief executive Kevin Lamb said it’s important the development was close to public transport and community facilities.

“We think it’s high time older people had accommodation that is new and more appropriate for their needs.”

Big part of pension on housing
Recently-released research by Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission showed superannuitants still paying rent were more likely to be spending 40 percent or more of their pension on housing.

While long-term trends suggest more older New Zealanders are likely to still be renting in their retirement.

Te Ara Ahunga Ora director of policy Dr Suzy Morrissey said with declining home ownership rates there was a growing need for public housing and accommodation for those aged 55 and over.

“When NZ Super was introduced, it was with the underlying assumption that those accessing it would be mortgage-free homeowners,” she said.

“Today, the reality is very different. There are declining home ownership rates, more people needing to continue working longer because they still have mortgages to pay, are paying rent, or haven’t been able to save enough to retire.”

• Auckland is currently in the middle of the local body elections with a Pacific candidate, Fa’anānā Efeso Collins, one of the two top contenders for mayor of the super city.

As a child, Efika Kora remembers watching planes glide over her remote village in the Pacific.

Transfixed, she imagined that one day she would be the one flying them.

Now, just two semesters away from completing a diploma of aviation at an Adelaide school, the 24-year-old has been told by Indonesian authorities she must return to her home country.

• READ MORE: Open letter to NZ immigration Minister Kris Faafoi and other reports
• Abandoned West Papuan students in NZ welcome immigration news
• Other Papuan scholarship reports

It came as a complete shock to Kora, who is among a group of more than 140 Indigenous West Papuan students in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States who had their Papuan government scholarships terminated without warning.

It means they would have to return home part way through their degrees or diplomas, a situation that has been described as highly unusual.

“To be honest, I cried,” Kora said.

“In a way, [it’s] like your right to education has been stripped away from you.”

16 students ordered home
In Australia, 16 students have been told to return home.

A letter to the Indonesian embassy in Canberra, dated February 8, from the Papuan provincial government said the students were to be repatriated because they had not finished their studies on time.

The letter said they had to return to West Papua by February 15, but it wasn’t until a month later — on March 8 — that the students were first told about the letter in a meeting with the Indonesian embassy.

“I was very, very shocked. And my mind just went blank,” Kora said.

The Indonesian Embassy and the Papuan provincial government have not responded to the ABC’s questions, including about the delay in relaying the message.

Students told ‘you have to take turns’
When the students asked for more details, they were told by the Indonesian Embassy that the five-year duration of their scholarships had now lapsed.

The ABC has seen text messages from an embassy official to one of the students, saying the decision was final.

“There will be no extension of the scholarship because there are still many Papuan students who also need scholarships. So you have to take turns,” one message read.

Kora said she wasn’t aware of a five-year limit to her scholarship.

“We never had like a written letter [saying] our scholarship will be going for five years,” she said.

She said she was told, verbally, she had been awarded the scholarship in 2015, and began her aviation diploma in 2018 after completing language studies.

A number of students have told the ABC they were also not given a formal offer letter or contract stipulating the conditions and duration of their scholarship.

Some students signed contract
Some students said they signed a contract in 2019 — well after their scholarships had commenced — which outlined durations for certain degrees, but Kora said she didn’t sign this document.

Business student Jaliron Kogoya said he also didn’t sign any such agreements.

A sponsorship letter from the Papuan government, issued in 2020, guarantees funding for his degree at the University of South Australia until July this year.

He has also been cut off.

“They just tell us to go home and then there is no hope for us,” Kogoya said.

The University of South Australia said it had been working closely with the students and the Papuan government since they began studying at the university two years ago.

“We are continuing to provide a range of supports to the students at this challenging time,” a spokeswoman said.

About 84 students in the United States and Canada, plus 41 in New Zealand, have also been told by the Papuan government that their scholarships had ended and they must return home.

Programme plagued with administrative issues
While the Papuan government scholarship aims to boost education for Indigenous students, the programme has been plagued with administrative problems.

Several students told the ABC their living allowances, worth $1500 per month, and tuition fees, were sometimes paid late, meaning they could not enrol in university courses and struggled to pay rent.

Kora said late payments held back her academic progression.

Her aviation degree takes approximately four semesters to complete, but Kora said there were certain aspects of her training that she could not do because of unpaid fees.

The ABC has seen invoices from her aviation school, Hartwig Air, that were due in 2018 but were not paid until two years later.

Fees for her current semester, worth $24,500, were paid more than three months late, in October last year.

Kora said there were moments when she felt like giving up.

‘What’s the point?’
“What’s the point of even studying if these things are delaying my studies?” she said.

Kora believes she may have been able to graduate sooner if her fees had been paid on time.

Hartwig Air would not comment on her situation.

But an academic report issued by the school in February this year said Kora was “progressing well with her flying” and getting good results on most of her exams.

Kora said it did not make sense to send her home now because her fees for the current semester had already been paid.

“It’s a waste of investment,” she said.

“If we’re not bringing any qualifications back home, it’s a shame not just for us, but also for the government in a way.”

Students turn to food banks, churches
In the United States, Daniel Game has faced similar struggles.

He was awarded a Papuan government scholarship in 2017.

Game said he was told the scholarship would last five years but did not receive a formal offer letter or contract at the time.

After completing a general science degree, he was accepted into Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Oregon, to begin studying aeronautical science in 2019.

It is a prestigious institution and he was proud to get in.

But, when it came time to enrol, he couldn’t because the government did not issue a sponsorship letter to guarantee his funding.

Game sent multiple emails and made calls to the government’s human resources department requesting the document.

The letter never came
He said he was told the letter would be issued, but that never happened.

During this time, Game continued to receive a living allowance from the Papuan government and was told his scholarship was still valid.

In 2020, Game paid for his own flight back to West Papua in the middle of the pandemic to try to resolve the issue in person.

When he visited the department office, his sponsorship letter was issued immediately.

The ordeal set Game’s studies back more than 18 months.

His sponsorship letter, seen by the ABC, guarantees his funding until July 2023 but now he’s also been told to return home.

“Most of us, we spend our time and energy and work really hard … it’s not fair,” Game said.

Staying in the US
With just a few months until he’s due to graduate, Game has decided to stay in the US.

His family are funding his university tuition, but without a living allowance, Game said he was struggling to make ends meet.

“It’s really hard, especially being in the US,” he said.

“For food, I usually go out searching local churches and food pantries where I’ll be able to get free stuff.”

‘It doesn’t make sense’

Back in Australia, students are also in financial strife.

Kora has started picking fruit and vegetables on local farms to make ends meet since her living allowance was cut off in November last year.

Tried to find part-time jobs
“We tried to find part-time jobs here and there to just cover us for our rent,” she said.

She and other students are hoping to stay in Australia and finish their degrees.

From a low-income family, Kora cannot rely on her parents, so she is calling on Australian universities and the federal government for support.

“I just want to make my family proud back home to know that actually, someone like me, can be something,” she said.

The Australian West Papua Association of South Australia has launched a fundraising campaign to pay some students’ university fees and rent.

Kylie Agnew, a psychologist and association member, said she was concerned for their wellbeing.

“Not being able to finish your studies, returning to a place with very low job prospects … there’s a lot of stress that the students are under,” she said.

Perplexing decision
Jim Elmslie is co-convenor of the West Papua Project at the University of Wollongong, which advocates for peace and justice in West Papua.

He said the decision to send students home so close to finishing their degrees was perplexing.

“After having expended probably in excess of $100,000, or maybe considerably more, in paying multiple years’ university fees and living allowances … it doesn’t make sense,” Dr Elmslie said.

In a text message to one student in Australia, an Indonesian Embassy official said the students could seek alternative funding for their studies, but they were “no longer the responsibility” of the Papuan provincial government.

The text message also said the students would receive help to transfer to relevant degrees at universities in Indonesia when they returned home.

But Dr Elmslie said the alternatives were not ideal.

“If you start a degree course in Australia, to me, it’s much better … to finish that degree course,” he said.

“And then you have a substantial academic qualification.”

President of the Council of International Students Australia Oscar Ong said the situation was highly unusual.

He said that, while some international students weren’t able to graduate within the duration of their scholarship, for so many to be recalled at once was unprecedented.

Legislative change and redistribution of funding
The Papuan provincial government did not respond to the ABC’s detailed questions about the scholarship program.

Local media reports suggest the issue may be linked to a redistribution of funding.

The scholarship programme was set up by the Papuan provincial government, with money from the Indonesian central government under a Special Autonomy Law.

Passed in 2001, the bill granted special autonomy to the West Papua region, following a violent and decades-long fight for independence.

The old law expired in November and new legislation was passed, with an overall boost in finance to the region but with certain funds, including support for education, going towards districts and cities instead of provincial governments.

That revised law has sparked protests in West Papua, with critics claiming it is an extension of colonial rule that denies Indigenous peoples’ rights to self-determination.

An Interior Ministry official from the Indonesian government is quoted in local media as saying there needed to be a joint conversation between the Papuan provincial government and the region’s districts and cities about the future of scholarship funding.

The ABC has been unable to independently verify whether the students’ scholarship terminations are linked to this legislative change.

Additional reporting for Pacific Beat by Hellena Souisa and Erwin Renaldi. Republished with permission.