Petition Update
4th August 2008
 Thanks to everyone who has signed our online petition so far!
We had well over a thousand people sign from 100 countries with many already in
the process of trying to settle in New Zealand.
Duplicating services?
The vast majority of respondents (well over 90%) so far have confirmed their
agreement that in their opinion move2nz is not duplicating current services
provided by government.
There were too many fantastic comments to include here, I'll pop them into a
separate article, but here are four that caught my eye as they summarised the
situation nicely:
"We have been in New Zealand for 2 1/2 years now and from our initial decision
to apply for residency to NZ we consulted move2nz. The advice on their website
and the public forums were invaluable in finding information that we otherwise
would never have found out."
- Deborah, New Zealand
"Without move2nz's valuable support and assistance both prior to and after our
move to New Zealand, we would have found the entire process far more difficult
and stressful than it was. They do a fantastic job and helped us enormously."
- Annabel, New Zealand
"Move2nz is such a personalised service, unlike the NZ Govt. Move2nz offers
migrants a way to express concerns, and vent when needed. The feed back is very
important. We are not numbers at move2nz, we are people with stories. The NZ
govt, along with any other government in the world is too busy doing other
things (and rightfully so) than to put as much care into what we think and
feel. The care and thoughtfulness of move2nz is felt every step of the way. It
is a safe place when you need one."
- Lloyd, New Zealand
"Move2nz has and still does provide invaluable support for me as a new resident
to New Zealand. My shift to this country would never have been possible without
the online resources provided by move2nz. They helped me connect with others
going through the same process, as well as offered me personal time and
attention when I arrived in Christchurch. I certainly doubt that the New
Zealand Immigration Service or any other government department can come close
to equaling their level of such personalised services and support!"
- Ann, New Zealand
If you agree that move2nz is not duplicating current government services please click here and sign our online petition.
Why should the government support move2nz anyway?
When we publicised the petition we had had some members ask why move2nz should
be supported by the New Zealand government. This brought home to us how many
members are not aware of the fact that move2nz is a lot more than just a
website!
By way of explanation, move2nz provides completely free assistance to help
people settle and integrate happily. Our services include our Christchurch
walk-in centre and national support through phone and email. We also provide
proactive assistance to ensure people make the right decisions before coming to
New Zealand - also helping to raise the rate of successful settlement.
New Zealand is spending millions attracting the best of globally mobile skilled
workers to our shores, but 90% of these skilled workers have some sort of
problem after arriving - settling into a new country isn't easy - and get
minimal official support.
A small amount of financial assistance would enable us to expand our services -
providing free services is difficult and expensive (you would probably be
surprised when it costs on a monthly basis).
We feel that our work is protecting the nations investment in attracting great
people here. Up to 24% of people intending to stay permanently end up going
back in the long term which is a huge loss to New Zealand: not only in
reputation but this takes nearly $2billion a year back out of the New Zealand
economy! move2nz is actively making a difference in changing this.
|