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Slow rebuild preventing Canterbury return
The slow pace of the rebuild in Canterbury following last year’s quake is affecting the flow of migrants coming to the city, although many are in fact helping with the construction. According to figures from Statistics New Zealand, around the same amount of migrants as March 2011(400) came to the city in March 2012, with many of these coming to help with the rebuild.
However, according to Immigration New Zealand, this is not enough, as officials believe as many as 56,900 additional bodies may be needed in the city when the rebuild really gets underway.
According to Vasantha Krishnan, the general manager of the country’s labour and immigration research centre, only 200 foreigners have so far been issued visas under the skills shortage category in order to assist with the rebuild. The majority of these hail from the Philippines, Northern Ireland or the UK.
Before the devastating earthquake hit in February last year, Canterbury’s education industry was estimated to be worth as much as $400 million, as it was the second most popular destination for foreign students after Auckland. However, although 900 have enrolled in the city’s schools this year, overall student numbers have dropped significantly, according to the Ministry of Education.
One of the issues is that the lack of housing means that students coming from abroad are struggling to find host accommodation. The building of new homes is said to be being slowed in part by the reluctance of insurers to provide cover.
However, according to Immigration New Zealand, this is not enough, as officials believe as many as 56,900 additional bodies may be needed in the city when the rebuild really gets underway.
According to Vasantha Krishnan, the general manager of the country’s labour and immigration research centre, only 200 foreigners have so far been issued visas under the skills shortage category in order to assist with the rebuild. The majority of these hail from the Philippines, Northern Ireland or the UK.
Before the devastating earthquake hit in February last year, Canterbury’s education industry was estimated to be worth as much as $400 million, as it was the second most popular destination for foreign students after Auckland. However, although 900 have enrolled in the city’s schools this year, overall student numbers have dropped significantly, according to the Ministry of Education.
One of the issues is that the lack of housing means that students coming from abroad are struggling to find host accommodation. The building of new homes is said to be being slowed in part by the reluctance of insurers to provide cover.
The NZD exchange rates on 04/05/2012 were as follows: GBP NZD = 2.0296, EUR NZD = 1.6442, USD NZD = 1.2566, AUD NZD = 1.2798, CHF NZD = 1.3685, INR NZD = 0.0235, AED NZD = 0.3424, MXN NZD = 0.0954, CAD NZD = 1.2616, ZAR NZD = 0.1605, RUB NZD = 0.0423, . See today's New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate