th th Mar - 3 Apr 2017 2728 Jan - 3rdrdFeb 2014
FIRST ON THE STREET
No No 434 593
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
8 J 4 O IN SI BS D E
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As the ’low season’ hits and the temperature begins to drop, like a hibernating hive the ’buzz’ of Queenstown dies down a little. But if English is not your first language and you’re in town for a working holiday, this might be the time for bigger changes in your life. You see migrant workers like me don’t have the time to complain about how expensive it is to live in Queenstown. Or like “locals”, focus their whinge on things that actually bring money to town and keep businesses alive. We are too busy working longer shifts to be able to afford it. We don’t go on social media to whine about accommodation, we arrive at home too tired and having a bed to rest our bones even in a shared room – is a blessing. And we don’t care that much about parking spaces right in front of our work place - if we had a car we’d be happy. And now that the tourists are going home or to another paradise, some tempworkers are leaving for their next adventure and those staying are getting excited with the possibility of renting that soon to be spare room and at the same time worried if we will still be employed next month. We love Queenstown and many of us don’t plan on leaving New Zealand anytime soon, even when the heartache of not having our family around hits hard. Harder still is to be looked down upon by the locals. People eager to point fingers and place blame instead of looking for solutions and pressure the government for changes. Migrant workers are the backbone of this town, the beating heart of Queenstown businesses and it is really sad to love it here so much and have the feeling that deep down we are not loved back. The snarky comments of our co-workers who think they are superior because they were born here, have residency or dare I say it because they are white.
Back Tom Mackay, Hemi Te Awhitu and Paul Childs. Front Sam Hulbe-Pulver and Haru Kuroe at the 2017 QT Classic Disc Golf Tournament in the QT Gardens on Saturday.
(Photo: Jodi Walters)
As the elections draw near, the New Zealand immigration laws are already getting tougher. Will this country follow the global xenophobic tendency? Brexit passed even though everybody knew it was a bad idea. Italians call for mass deportation over a fear of something that hasn’t happened. A Hungarian reporter kicks child refugees in front of the cameras and then plans to sue them. The Czech president blames European attacks on the ongoing influx of immigrants without hard evidence. And everybody knew that the Trump candidacy on a bigot platform was a joke, now he’s elected on the promises of building a Great Wall (because that worked so well for Germany), and is constantly talking about how good it would be to have US politics aligned with Russia’s, like he and Putin are the closest of friends. Any decent studies on the subject leads to evidence that immigrants are more law-abiding people than born citizens and yet the recent mood of the world points in the opposite direction. Immigrants in New Zealand better start swimming or risk sinking like a stone. For the times, they are a-changing! And from where I’m standing, it doesn’t look like the changes are for the better. Guest Editorial - Carlos F. Alves Never done drugs, always worked hard
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JOHN RAVENS WEATHER Last week John was 98% correct
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Cloudy Periods, Light Winds
Morning Cloud, then fine
Fine Spells. Not Much Wind
Rain. Little Wind
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Showers. Light Winds