Research

Getting a job has challenges. In our country we did teaching, but not at the level required here.

Whatever experience I had in Nepal and Bhutan, but there’s no value for it here. They only want NZ experience. It’s really hard to get a job here. I worked at a factory for 5 years.

Happens with every community. It’s a headache for not only our community. No matter how qualified you are, you are always at the bottom.

When mines were closing down, a lot of Filipino working there. If they lose their jobs, real issue for immigration status. Local community is really good, a local Filipino will bring them in for help. Need to find another job that is suitable for their skills and visa. Plus English is a second language.

We are not being stopped by religion - but there were times where I went to a cafe and they said never you will never find a job because wearing the hijab. The person "good luck to you finding a job", said sarcastically.

I have a degree in psychology. But my English is not good. I want to work.

I struggled a lot, it was cold, it was hard to have enough money.

When I was working hard long hours, I felt quite isolated even though I met people all the time in my job. A lot of people in lower income bracket have to work so hard (eg Filipino neighbours), they feel isolated and feel ashamed that they can’t make it in this town, and really struggle holding down more than one job and there’s a lot of stress around their work. This is true for solo parents too: “I should be happy, it’s paradise here, why can’t I make it?” Why? It’s the problem with affordability. It used to be a town, but now it’s a city.

We can’t retain staff because they can’t afford to live here. There isn’t enough work. If tourist numbers go down. People end up with less hours work, and then how do you live?

Poverty and lack of access to resources to be able to join stuff. Don’t have the wherewithal to do something that would create a sense of belonging.

There is a women’s group for migrant women. They’ll have a bus trip to Auckland way, and I can’t afford to go. It costs me $25 in petrol just to get to Whangarei, so I have to add that to the cost.

Garages - they are cold, uninsulated, [and] rented out.

‘Hot-bedding’- two people pay for one bed, where one is night shift worker, one is day shift worker and they rent one bed.

In Motueka, a huge problem is the lack of housing, especially when the fruit-picking season starts. People sleep on the deck of the Community Centre, and we tell security to leave them alone to sleep.

Vanuatuans come to pick grapes. In their contract, they are barred from marrying a local or having association with a local. Mostly men come, do a stint, go back. The living conditions are not good, cramped and living in one room. They go through an agency to get the contract.

Some live in caravans, some in overcrowded houses. Housing quite expensive, because of Airbnb. There are streets where the residences are empty for 48 weeks.

A lot of businesses have decided to buy their own staff accommodation. They make enough money to fund that – staff pay rent out of their wages. The business owners build their own staff accommodation or buy existing houses.

Art Hotel is an accommodation facility that can be short or long term, it’s central and cheap. So lot of people involved with P go there. Lot of fisherman stay there. Located across the park where children play and skate and it’s not good.

Feel likes more of a place of high socio-economic [people], who have been successful in a financial sense. Has an effect when you feel like you’re not good enough.

My son, he was Year 10 when we moved here, experienced intense isolation and felt the intense disparity of economic resources where people holidayed and that, and differences in clothes. Social isolation because of disparities in wealth. There was exclusion and bullying and emotional hardship.

I think we have changed into a much meaner society . We don’t think of ourselves as citizens, we think of ourselves as consumers. Dominant culture has changed and has become more capitalistic.

There’s two sides of the culture - when there’s a big need, people turn out and help. But when it comes to general [citizenry] , that’s not there - people are into keeping to themselves, keeping their wealth to themselves.

There are also a lot of privileged people who have little or no idea about the people who struggle.

Airport is our biggest current polarising issue. Business wants to expand airport and bring in big jets and up the tourist numbers. But it will destroy environment and that’s why people come here in the first place - for the beautiful environment. This issue is causing massive divide.

When I see someone empty the rubbish from their car and just leave rubbish on the side of the road, that’s in a public space, that is not someone who feels belonging to the community because they can just put their rubbish in other people’s space.

When the council comes to visit to check the farm, making sure they’re doing everything right, costs us $500 each time, 4 times a year. We’re an easy scapegoat.

It’s a different experience being a Pākehā and New Zealander in Aotearoa, you don’t have that whakapapa to the land.

It’s the physical things [in Whanganui], even though I’ve lived here on and off for 10 years, those are the things I find it hard to connect with.

If you don’t know people, here it’s very difficult to get a job. A lot of nepotism.

My husband had a hard time getting work, went to work for Department of Conservation. It was easier for me, I had the names, the cousins. Expect it to be hard, don’t expect it to be easy.

A lot of nepotism. When I left school, had good grades, had good references, I couldn’t get a job. I got a job because my uncle knew someone. Even now.

Even the leadership is supposed to be selected by God but it seemed as if it was friends of friends who would be selected and if you challenged it, they would say God made them friends. When I questioned it – I would be told that I was lacking faith or holding a sin which would make me feel excluded.

They never advertise for the jobs, they go to their brothers, sisters, nephews.