chance to decrease the NZ pass mark?

Old Nov 2nd 2002, 8:39 pm
  #16  
Ppp
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: chance to decrease the NZ pass mark?

Written by a lecturer in 'political science'. What else would you expect?

    > Read this Ernie Irish:
    > The debatesurrounding immigration presents me with a conflict of
    > interest. As a teacher and researcher of politics I generally like to
    > preserve at least an aura of independence and objectivity. But I am an
    > immigrant, too.
    > Of course, I'm not, I suspect, the sort of immigrant that people seem to
    > be worrying about so much lately. Although I wasn't born and bred here,
    > I suspect I'm unlikely to be a target of the sort of stereotyping,
    > suspicion and scaremongering that seems to characterise one side of the
    > political debate on the issue.
    > I speak the language - true, I draw the line at "choice" and
    > "awesome", but I prefer, say, "rort" and "shonky" to their English
    > equivalents. I have a job - not one it would have been easy to recruit
    > a New Zealander to do - I pay income tax, ACC, GST and plenty of
    > interest to the bank, too.
    > Anything left at the end of the month tends, of course, to go on my
    > children, who seem to be growing more Kiwi with each passing year. And
    > if helping to coach junior soccer (although I still call it football)
    > counts for anything, I guess I contribute positively to society.
    > I'm not a health risk. I'm not a bludger. I haven't stolen anyone's job
    > or property. And - unless you count chicken pox, free doctors' visits
    > for the under-6s, and the odd extra cookie from the cookie jar - I
    > haven't brought in any family members likely to infect, scrounge or
    > steal from anyone either.
    > But nor, of course, have most immigrants. What separates me from them is
    > that I am Pakeha/European/Caucasian or - let's call a spade a spade -
    > white. Which means I fit in without really trying.
    > Yet under the skin, my background, my culture, my way of seeing the
    > world is probably pretty different from that of most Kiwis. The empty
    > majesty of New Zealand's landscape, its favourite television shows and
    > sports codes leave me lukewarm, if not completely cold. But nobody would
    > pick me out of a crowd, bale me up and accuse me of not "integrating".
    > If I were Asian or black, though, it would be a different story -
    > even if, before coming here, I'd been born and brought up in England
    > just the same.
    > Ironically, however, that "sceptred isle", that "precious stone set in
    > the silver sea" which many Kiwis used to call Home might, I reckon, be
    > the source of much of our present discontent. Many who came out here
    > from Britain - especially from the late 1950s onwards - packed their
    > racism along with their shirts, shoes and socks.
    > I'll always remember an English guy who came to sell me life insurance
    > when I first got to Wellington a few years ago. "Whyd'ya move out here?"
    > I politely asked, expecting the normal blah about opportunity,
    > lifestyle, weather. But no. He was quite clear about it: "It was the
    > blacks. They were moving in. Taking over. Just had enough of it. Had to
    > get away."
    > Most of those he left behind in England, of course, gradually got used
    > to it - or at least their children and their children's children did.
    > Out here, we hear the headlines about race riots in no-hope northern
    > mill towns or stabbings in housing estates in south London, and wonder
    > whether Enoch Powell - far from being bitter, twisted and mad as a snake
    > - was right to foresee the trouble letting in all those "grinning
    > piccaninnies" would cause.
    > But the reality of 21st-century England - for all the bloody foaming of
    > New Zealand First Pom Peter Brown - is rather more prosaic and, taken as
    > a whole, pretty positive judging not just on anecdote but also on
    > statistics showing, for instance, the surprising level of intermarriage
    > between white and Afro-Caribbean Brits.
    > Of course, asylum-seekers from the Middle East and anyone even remotely
    > resembling what English tabloids like to label "gypsies" have it much
    > harder. But that - whether liberals like me like it or not - is the way
    > of the world.
    > In terms of origin, immigrants, especially those fleeing ongoing
    > persecution or abject poverty, tend to come in waves and be accepted
    > only over time. Sometimes it's a very long time, and the rate of
    > acceptance probably varies with the extent to which they look or sound
    > different, as well as the visibility and distinction of their
    > religious practice.
    > Afghanis, Iraqis, Somalis and even Chinese do seem to be making the
    > natives restless right now as they crash or slip ashore. But by the time
    > their children's children grow up they may be well on the way to
    > becoming part of the scene - especially if today's generation, as
    > virtually all of them do, keep their heads down (as well as held high),
    > work hard and make the most of it.
    > By then, most of us hypocritical enough to rely on their work and taxes
    > for our healthcare and superannuation, while at the same time wishing
    > they'd never come, will be long gone.
    > Would it be too much to hope that the rest of us who are still around
    > will have junked the atavistic attitudes of an England that, in
    > truth, no longer exists outside the imaginations of those who once
    > called it Home?
    > ************************************************** ******
    > You might not be English, Ernie but you sure are prejudiced.
    > Don
    > Source: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydispl...ion=news&thes-
    > ubsection=&storyID=2999493&reportID=55514
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com
 
Old Nov 4th 2002, 4:01 am
  #17  
Just Joined
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 14
green ice is an unknown quantity at this point
Default

well said pleasance!
green ice is offline  
Old Nov 4th 2002, 4:11 am
  #18  
Just Joined
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 14
green ice is an unknown quantity at this point
Default

well said pleasance!
green ice is offline  
Old Nov 4th 2002, 5:53 am
  #19  
Don
Banned
 
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 7,613
Don is an unknown quantity at this point
Default

Thank you Green Ice!

By the way: expect announcement on passmark any time now...last month's took effect from 7th Oct and NZIS is meant to give 5 days' notice. I assume this month it's no change, (but I was wrong last time).

Here's hoping for all you who need it to come down.

Cheers - Don
Don is offline  
Old Nov 12th 2002, 2:28 am
  #20  
Just Joined
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 14
green ice is an unknown quantity at this point
Default

no news yet about the pass mark. Looks like NZIS is still adamant about retaining the 30 points for a looooooonggggggg time
green ice is offline  
Old Nov 12th 2002, 4:32 am
  #21  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 12
Hanna is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: chance to decrease the NZ pass mark?

I am from the "3rd world" and I simply cannot ignore the comment here about people from the third world. Admittedly many people from our country do not have "good experience" but the people who apply for immigration are the better ones. They are the those who are highly educated and highly skilled. Ernie may have studied and worked in the US but that does not mean that he is better than us.

I guess Ernie is just very insecure about his points and is afraid that more qualified people from the 3rd world will increase the pass mark and make it impossible for him to migrate. I have higher points than Ernie.

----------
As you mention a majority of NZ's immigration is from the 3rd
world and the 3rd world has no economy so the people have no good
experience (despite desperate clamor otherwise. ... Iv'e done too
much travel to debate the issue). Comparatively speaking, I have
a first class situation (ivy league education, 12 year IT career
working for only the best investment banks on Wall Street, have
$US 150,000 to bring to NZ, etc.).
Hanna is offline  
Old Nov 12th 2002, 8:23 pm
  #22  
Forum Regular
 
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 41
Cantila is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: chance to decrease the NZ pass mark?

Cath wrote: "- who the hell do you think you are because
your American, have an 'ivy leave ed' etc and probably white?"

What makes you assume he's American? There are arrogant people in every country, and people from many countries in Ivy League schools. I appreciate your reply in terms of arrogance in general, but why address someone's prejudice with prejudice?
Cantila is offline  
Old Nov 13th 2002, 12:31 am
  #23  
Just Joined
 
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 12
Hanna is an unknown quantity at this point
Default Re: chance to decrease the NZ pass mark?

Originally posted by Cantila
Cath wrote: "- who the hell do you think you are because
your American, have an 'ivy leave ed' etc and probably white?"

What makes you assume he's American? There are arrogant people in every country, and people from many countries in Ivy League schools. I appreciate your reply in terms of arrogance in general, but why address someone's prejudice with prejudice?

I did no say that Ernie was an American or white. He did mentioned that he worked in Wall Street. Perhaps my mistake was assuming that he also got his education in the US since he made no mention of his school. I have friends and relatives in US and have met some of their American friends. They were pretty ok and I have nothing against American or "white' people in general. I was simply replying to a particular statement made by Ernie.
Hanna is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.