The Seasonal Employment Scheme robbing Kiwis of jobs?

Like many New Zealanders I've worked on vineyards and in orchards and done other seasonal work, manual labour, and been grateful for the job and the ability to earn a living.  Like all my mates on the orchards and vineyards I was reliable, respectful, loyal, and hard working.  Many of us worked on the same orchard or vineyard or farm year after year doing seasonal work, and had been valued employees.  After being bullied out of my job at the South End School after the extraordinary orchestrated litany of lies I worked at JRs orchard in Greytown for a couple of seasons picking apples.

The following season we all traveled to Greytown to reapply for our jobs , and waited to hear from JRs.  We all received a phone call saying thanks but no thanks, because JR had done a deal with the local National Party MP to import labour because there was way more profit for JR (and other employers) in doing that and he no doubt promised a big 'donation' to John Hayes MP.  Hayes's statements are outrageous!  WINZ didn't bus people out there we got the bus or car pooled if we didn't have a car, and people didn't prefer to sit watching TV in their homes on the dole, they preferred to have a job!

The only auditing or review of the advisability of this scheme seems to be framed to address only the benefits of the imported workers, rather than the social costs, the effect of this scheme on our local communities, or the national economy. 

Like the overwhelming number of the people I worked with on the orchard I am now reliant on a tax payer funded benefit, depressed about not only being unemployed and angry at the blatant lies from the 'Honourable' Member of Parliament (and his predecessor).

There is a strong sense of injustice felt by many people, and added to this are other social problems caused by lack of proper governance and rampant corruption and incompetence by public officials, including high and rising suicide rates and a corrupt Police force which has been found to have thrown hundreds of child abuse files in the bin and deliberately lied about it, while facilitating and concealing the problems and covering up for the offenders.

Both Labour and National plan on increasing the numbers of seasonal workers able to be recruited from overseas in spite of the effect on our local economies - these people don't spend their money in our communities, they hardly even go to the supermarket (allowed to bring food in if it's declared, and do), they take it home to their own communities - JR should go and set up orchards in the Solomons and Vanuatu, it's not rocket surgery, but he's only interested in maximising his profit.

It's reported in June that there are 8000 workers let in to work but I'd bet the number actually working here is much higher.  I'm all for supporting our neighbours in the Pacific, but who is really benefiting from this, and what's the real cost?

Employees exposed to asbestos disciplined for speaking out about it:

Employees who spoke out against their bosses for being unknowingly exposed to asbestos at Christchurch Hospital have been summoned to a disciplinary meeting for breaching their contracts by talking to the media. Industrial abseilers Liam Milner & Neil Silcock, who were exposed to asbestos while working on the roof of the hospital in April, believe they could have unknowingly put patients at risk to the poisonous substance while walking through active wards and raised their concerns in the press yesterday.

After the story the pair received an intimidating letter from their employer, exterior building firm Goleman.
The letter invited the men to a disciplinary meeting today to discuss an allegation of serious misconduct. It said Goleman denied the allegations published in The Press and the company was "gravely concerned that you appear to have discussed this matter with the media".

"We are concerned that the above breaches your employment agreement".
Official test results confirmed obtained by The Press confirm the Goleman subcontractors were exposed to white asbestos on the hospital roof site.

The Canterbury District Health Board received positive test results from a sample of the material on the roof on April 2. It informed Goleman and requested it stopped work on the site.

The site was not shut down by Goleman & the staff say they were not told of the positive result or warned about any health or safety issues.

It was not until April 10, when a group of 10 concerned workers approached Fletchers, one of the principle contractors for the hospital repairs, that the site was shut down.

The government is investigating & Goleman could face penalties of up to $500,000 if charges are laid.
Milner, Silcock & two former Goleman employees , who resigned after they found out they had been exposed to asbestos, sougt legal advice before providing documents and written statements to Labour MP Clayton Cosgrove, who then informed the press.

"Our lawyer stated that this was a public health issue so it didn't matter what was said in our contracts", Milner said.

Cosgrove said the letter was "outrageous".  "Rather than dealing with the problem and its massive health risks, Goleman is going to shoot the messenger".
Goleman general manager Luke Goleman could not be reached last night for comment on the disciplinary process.

Radio New Zealand reports that industrial abseiling contractors have grave fears they have spread white asbestos through Christchurch Hospital.
The contractors were repairing the hospital's roof and says the company, Goleman, knew about the asbestos 10 days before the workers were told.
A sample of the roof tested by Chemsafety on 2 April confirmed the presence of white asbestos. But work continued on site until employees reiterated their concerns to the project manager, Fletcher, about 10 days later.
Abseiler Liam Milner says Goleman handled the problem very badly.
"Extremely poorly - they got very defensive, didn't want to take any responsibility or own up to any mistakes being made. And then just basically harassed us and tried to make it go away and keep it under covers."
The site was shut down by Fletcher on 10 April. Goleman would not comment on what measures it took over the asbestos.
Canterbury DHB chief executive David Meates said on Monday he is certain that staff and patients have not been exposed to the health hazard.
"We are absolutely confident that there has been no risk of exposure. There are some access areas that the contractors have been going out and those are the only likely areas there could have been any possible traces."
But another contractor, Neil Silcock, said workers were given swipe cards allowing them wide access to the hospital.
He said he worked on the site for about two weeks and during that time was in frequent contact with staff and patients.
Mr Silcock said he is concerned that he has unknowingly spread contaminated dust via his clothes and equipment through the hospital.

Wollerman Cooke McClure sneaky mediation hypocrisy

This letter on the left is dated 16 May 2001, from the Employment Relations Authority, after I had been punched in the face by Chairman of the Carterton Community Centre about a month earlier in response to legitimate queries regarding the gross malfeasance and fraud, bullying etc at the Centre, made in my capacity as elected Secretary and Finance Officer of the Centre:

"Dear Kate,

Further to our discussion yesterday, I am writing to inform you that the Carterton Community Centre Committee have turned down my offer of mediation assistance.

Sophie Lucas."

The letter on the right is from Wollerman Cooke and McClure, the corrupt law firm who deliberately made the false complaint to police against regarding the Carterton Community Centre and it's assets - a complaint police soundly rejected after a thorough investigation. It's dated 14 June 2001, just a month later. It's addressed to my lawyer at the time, and it says:

"Dear Madam,

Re:: Katherine Raue: Carterton Community Centre Inc.

We refer to our telephone conversation and while the writer is still awaiting formal instruction from the Society in response to your communication, it is our belief that mediation can only proceed if your client releases to the Committee the material which she removed from the Society's offices so that the duly elected Officers of the Society could consult and then consider her claim relative to the Society's financial and administrative records.

We would obtain instructions that, subject to receipt of, and reasonable time to consider those records), the Committee would meet Ms Raue at mediation regarding her alleged personal grievance. We believe this view is consistent with what would be ordered if the matter went to the Employment Court.

We suggest that the material and records be available at your offices, for the writer or a member of his staff to collect.

Yours faithfully

Mark Hinton"

What a joke! I instructed the lawyer, Ainslie Hewton (Kamil Lakshman), to instruct the writer forthwith that he was taking instructions from people who were not authorised to issue them and his letter would be treated with the contempt it deserved!

On the post titled "Police cover up for Georgina Beyer and their other mates" is a copy of a letter dated 11 June 2001 written by Snr Sgt Reid of the Masterton Police.
On the second page of the letter it states that "on the 5th June a representative of the Carterton Community Centre (Elaine Brazendale) advised Senior Constable Wakefield that the Carterton Community Centre had declined to meet with Raue." More accurately, they declined to meet with, or even appoint, an auditor. Because of the FRAUD and gross malfeasance! This letter from Sgt Reid to Ainslie Hewton states (in response to Mark Hinton of Wollerman Cooke and McClure's accusation of theft against me):

"On 8th May 2001 Mark Hinton, solicitor (Wollerman Cooke and McClure) complained to police on behalf of the Carterton Community Centre about Katherine Raue possessing property belonging to the Carterton Community Centre.

The complaint has been investigated by Senior Constable Wakefield of the Carterton police.

Raue does not dispute possession of property belonging to the Carterton Community Centre.

Possession does not necessarily constitute theft, or any other offence.

In order to obtain a search warrant to seize property, police must establish that an offence punishable by imprisonment has been committed.

the police investigation has not established that Raue has stolen or fraudulently dealt with any of the property, therefore Police cannot obtain a search warrant to seize the property.

Kamil Lakshman, solicitor acting for Raue, has confirmed that Raue is taking legal action regarding personal and industrial disputes she has with the Carterton Community Centre and claims that the property is relevant to the disputes..

Lakshman has confirmed that Raue is willing to hand the property over to an independent person as opposed to the Carterton Community Centre.

Senior Wakefield had facilitated a meeting between Raue and the Carterton Community Centre to arrange the return of the property, [to meet with the auditor appointed, R G Thompson] but on 5th June a representative of the Carterton Community Centre (Elaine Brazendale) advised Constable Wakefield that the Carterton Community Centre had declined to meet with Raue.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or Senior Constable Wakefield should you require further information regarding this matter, or should further information come to light."

On the 16th May 2001 the Mediation Service advised that the group who had taken over the Carterton Community Centre had turned down their offer of mediation assistance in the dispute regarding the Community Centre. This clearly makes a mockery of this letter from Wollerman Cooke and McClure above, dated 14 June, a month later, doesn't it!

The so-called "duly elected officers of the Society" were not legally elected at all, they simply appointed themselves, at a meeting they had in May, without a quorum of committee members -- they had no authority whatsoever regarding the Centre or its funds, assets or affairs, which they took control of illegally. At another meeting in May the group falsely claiming they were the 'committee' recorded in the Minutes a motion was passed to appoint RG Thompson of Masterton auditor. Mr Thompson indicated a view consistent with that of the lawyers who found there was fraud and gross misfeasance committed by the group, so the audit was abruptly cancelled by Councillor Jull Greathead! Contrary to the claims of Georgina Beyer, Gary McPhee, and others, the financial records and affairs of the Carterton Community Centre and the ten organisations it was administering have NEVER been audited because of the blatant fraud.

Councillor Bill Knowles accused me of theft of the records and claimed that to be the reason no audit took place - this is a lie. Sleazy Constable Wakefield came to my home and demanded them and I told him I would meet the unlawfully 'elected' committee at the office of any auditor they cared to name and we could all hand over the information we held to the auditor, because as Knowles knows perfectly well, copies of every single piece of information I have are still in the possession of the 'committee' and always have been!

The letter from Sgt Reid makes it perfectly clear that the claims made by Wollerman Cooke and McClure are a deliberate attempt to pervert the course of justice and an insult to the intelligence!

What kind of so-called community representatives refuse mediation, and refuse an audit? People who refuse mediation and audits should not be on the Council, or in any other role in the community. Let them go and try and get a real job in the real world, it's time for these incompetent and corrupt 'professional politicians' to get their snouts out of the tax payer funded trough and stop thieving.