Less hui, lot more tui

Kiwi envoy speaks his mind about fishery and more

TALKS are into advanced stages about getting skilled fishermen from Kiribati and Tuvalu to work in New Zealand’s fishing industry. Ambassador Shane Jones, New Zealand’s envoy in economic development in the Pacific says once discussions are finalised, men from the two countries’ maritime and fishing schools will be recruited and flown down south. “Historically New Zealand has employed a growing number of foreigners and we have a small project to establish how graduates from the Tuvalu and Kiribati schools might be employed in our deep sea fishing industry especially in areas where young Kiwis are unable to take up those jobs.

“The challenge all the time is to encourage and make our own young people work but the industry has consistently used foreign labour and I’ve thought for a long time given that we make financial contributions to the maritime college and the fishing school that the graduates could be usefully employed filling the labour gaps in Aoetearoa.

“ A hold up Ambassador Jone says is the qualifications of the graduates; talks are now focussing on Kiwi employers accepting the Tuvalu and i-Kiribati graduates of their respective fishing schools. The former Labour MP also discounted suggestions that New Zealand may remove caps on quota of island workers that seek jobs in his country’s RSE, like what its neighbour across the Tasman has recently done.

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