Submit!

Submissions on the government's review of the Immigration Act are due on July 1st - which is about the end of next week. So if you were planning on submitting something, now is the time to finish it off.

If you're strapped for time, Tze Ming has prepared a handy template [DOC] to customise and use. It includes her comments on the proposals, but also a full list of the questions asked, and space for further comments. She also highlights the key issues and points to some useful resources in her Public Address post here. Submissions can either be entered via their online system (details here), or simply emailed to actreview@dol.govt.nz.

As written, the review document proposes an immigration system which reflects immigration officials' view that potential immigrants are "the enemy", and that their decisions need not be justified to anyone, or even supported by evidence. That flies in the face of kiwi values of justice and fairness. If we want our immigration system to reflect our values, rather than theirs, then we need to speak up for it. So, please submit - otherwise the faceless officials will get their way.