Ethnic businesses are doing business with some of New Zealand’s key export markets,  revealed the findings on ethnic businesses released by ANZ Bank, following a comprehensive survey of 4,000 businesses across New Zealand.

The findings were shared by Fred Ohlsson, ANZ’s Managing Director Business Banking at the Ethnic People in Commerce (EPIC NZ) conference in Auckland today.

“Those with ethnic ties to China, India, Japan and Vietnam are far more likely than others to be doing business in those markets. And many are also doing business in other markets,” says Ohlsson.

“One thing that comes through very clearly is the strong links ethnic businesspeople have with markets overseas.

This sets them apart from many other small and medium-sized businesses, and is a source of strength for the entire economy.

The banker urged business and government to play a stronger role in helping link ethnic firms to New Zealand networks and realise their business potential – while unleashing wider benefits for New Zealand business and the economy.

“As mostly small and medium-sized businesses, these enterprises are at the heart of economic activity – 90 per cent of NZ firms employ fewer than 20 people.

Add to this their international connections and exporting experience and it’s clear these firms have much to offer towards an export-led economic future.”

New Zealand Police and Unitec Institute of Technology are the other two finalists for the Ethnic Diversity award which is sponsored by the Office of Ethnic Affairs, and organised by the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand (IPANZ).

The Police team receiving their finalist certificate. From left to right: Superintendent Wally Haumaha, Office of Ethnic Affair's Language Line Manager, Diana Clark, Minister of State Services, Jonathan Coleman and Sergeant Rakesh Naidoo

Immigration New Zealand is shortlisted for its “Enhancing Productivity in Diverse Kiwi Workplaces” project. The immigration department put in place “toolkits” for New Zealand workplaces to understand their new migrant workers.

A quarter of the workers in the New Zealand workforce are born overseas and this rises to nearly half the workforce in Auckland. The Employer Toolkit is a set of ten ready-reference cards designed to support employers of migrants, and help them consider the challenges that come with employing people from different backgrounds.

The companion brochure “Guide for Newcomers – Make Your Move to New Zealand a Success” provides new migrants with tips to settle quickly into the New Zealand workplace.

Similarly, New Zealand Police’s Māori Pacific Ethnic Services Cultural Response Team supported communities from diverse backgrounds following the Christchurch earthquake on 22 February 2011. The Cultural Response Team was established in response to the large number of ethnically diverse people directly affected by the quake, as well as the high number of relatives and overseas media who travelled to New Zealand after the disaster.

Police recognised the need to sensitively manage the identification process, provide answers to family members and manage the cultural requirements of many ethnicities. The team dealt in a culturally appropriate manner with 20 different nationalities and more than 400 families.

Unitec Institute of Technology’s Intercultural Learning and Dialogue Programme was awarded for improving intercultural effectiveness for its 1,100 staff and 10,000 students.

IPANZ President Len Cook says the standard of entries continues to impress each year.

“At a time when Government is asking the public sector to provide more for less, these awards recognise a sector committed to achieving excellence, to embracing innovative ideas, and demonstrating real leadership.”

Winners of each category and the Prime Minister’s Award for Public Sector Excellence will be announced at an awards dinner to be held at Wellington’s TSB Arena on 11 June.

While it is still unclear whether the next iPhone will be called iPhone 5, iPhone 4G or iPhone 6, the Apple phone is rumoured to have received an extreme makeover, and will boast a taller frame and skinnier body.

The new iPhone as visualised by iLounge designer based on leaked information. (Image courtesy: iLounge)

The new size will be  125mm by 58.5mm by 7.4mm, which is 10mm longer and 2mm thinner than the outgoing model.

The information is reportedly leaked by Jeremy Horowitz, editor of iLounge.com, who had earlier correctly revealed many features of iPad 3.

In a major deviation from the norm, Apple will add a metal panel to the back of the new iPhone. This panel will be flat, not curved, and metal, not ceramic, writes Horowitz.

Iconic Gorilla Glass 2 will protect the larger 4-inch screen that’ll have a new aspect ratio. Many smartphones, including iPhone, already use Gorilla Glass.

Apple is also expected to to replace the legacy iPod dock connector with a smaller rounded port.

This is the first time that Apple will change the screen size since the first iPhone was introduced in 2007, and the first time that the changed screen size will also change the aspect ratio.

“A size ratio change would annoy developers, but would represent a sensible move if the screen was to be bigger,” writes Kit Eaton on FastCompany.com. Eaton also believes that the longer body will allow for more space for a bigger battery.

The world’s largest online marketplace is expected to set up a development centre in India’s software city of Bangalore, which will house technologists from both eBay Marketplaces and PayPal – an eBay company. The California-based eBay connects buyers and sellers around the world who make and receive payments using PayPal, which has 110 million accounts in 190 markets.

The new centre in India will build on eBay Inc.’s existing presence in India which includes a global development centre with over 2,200 employees in Chennai and the eBay India business unit in Mumbai.

PayPal is growing globally, says Anupam Pahuja, General Manager – PayPal. “To support this growth, we are looking to tap into the large pool of software engineering talent in Bangalore. We are committed to India as a technology hub and see India’ssoftware engineering talent as a critical driver forthe long-term success of PayPal’sglobal payment platform.”

“eBay provides technologists a combination of startup culture to innovate and product excellence culture to build products,” says Rajesh Ramachandran, General Manager -eBay Marketplaces. “The India centre plays a strategic role in global product and technology innovation.”

The company is aggressively hiring senior technologists with strong product development experience across many functions including research, platform and application development, architecture, quality engineering, product management, marketing and product analytics, user experience and design, and information security.

Those who wish to apply can visit www.ebaycareers.com and type “Bangalore” into the job search box.

eBay Inc. in India has been rated one of the top 25 best places to work by the Great Place to Work Institute.

To do that, the management of a global company needs to be able to spot trends early and respond quickly.

South Korea’s consumer electronics brand seems to have spotted the wind of change early and has shown aberrance from its policy of sticking to local talent.

The leadership at Samsung Electronics Co. is probably influenced by Indians’ reputation as software geeks, as the company began hiring aggressively in India. According to a media report, “hundreds of Indians” are now working on software development at Samsung’s headquarters in Suwon.

“The company now serves curry and Halal meat in its cafeteria,” says a Wall Street Journal report. Samsung already has two research and development centres in India.

There are many qualified workers from India that are very skilled in software, says J.K. Shin, Samsung’s president for mobile business, in a media interview. “And there are small companies that we can acquire that have good research and development capabilities.”

Shin’s decisions have a strong bearing on the company’s future – his division earned 75% of Samsung’s $4.5 billion profit in this year’s first quarter alone.

Shin better be right. Samsung displaced Nokia to become the largest mobile-manufacturer (by volume) in the first quarter. In the 1990s, the name Nokia was synonymous with mobile phones, and the Finnish company had as much as 93% share of the mobile market in the world at one stage.

Samsung is in a position where its every move can become a trend, or at least an indication of a trend.  Samsung’s decision to hire from India – a hub of software development, underlines the role of software over hardware in writing the future of the mobile market. Apple’s dominance is based on its iOS operating system; Nokia has tied up with Microsoft for Windows Phone software; Research in Motion is also launching its new operating system – BlackBerry 10.

Samsung initially tried developing its own software, called Bada, which did not get a good reception from mobile users. Samsung then did the next best thing which probably saved it from meeting the fate of Nokia – it introduced phones that run on the popular Android platform built by Android Inc. (Google bought Android Inc in 2005.)

With the help of Indian talent, Samsung intends to re-visit Bada while continuing to develop other operating systems. This seems to be a logical move, while still working with Android.

“Samsung could benefit from some in-house software capability that would give it greater control of hardware, software and services but executing on that is becoming increasingly difficult on its own,” Neil Mawston, executive director at market research firm Strategy Analytics, was quoted in the Wall Street Journal.

As soon as he graduated in India, Muthu (second from left) came to Korea five years ago and started his career with Samsung. “I was unfamiliar with everything: language, daily life, work and culture. However, I had mentors who helped me to get used to life in Korea. After I got assigned to my division, seniors took care of me on getting used to work as well as my personal life. That is how I got used to being here.”

India and Sri Lanka are also planning to set up 200km submarine cables to deliver 1,000MW of electricity.

“Import and export of power between SAARC countries at competitive rates will act to support the region, offering aid in cases of power deficits in any member country” says the report. Some cross-border trade is already in place, with Bhutan exporting around 1,200-1,400MW of electricity to India’s power grid.

The major SAARC countries in terms of power demand include India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The power markets of almost all SAARC member countries are regulated by state powers and, some private players are present in the generation and transmission segment, the sector is currently largely closed to competition, says the report.

The cumulative installed capacity for power in the major SAARC countries is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6% to reach 505.7 gigawatts (GW) in 2020.

Thermal resource based installed capacity is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8%, while renewable and hydro sources are expected to grow at respective CAGRs of 16.9% and 9.3% doing the next decade.

Nuclear power installed capacity is also expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.6% throughout 2012-2020.

Immigrants and some historical minorities are perceived as a burden to society, says a report by European Commission against Racism and Intolerance.

“Discrimination in employment is rife,” says the report released earlier this month. “Racism and intolerance are on the rise in Europe today and the resulting tension sometimes leads to racist violence.

The report also raises concerns about reduced government spending on human rights. “Human rights institutions are also affected at a time when they are most needed.” The commission has urged European countries to avoid undermining the capacity of such institutions by subjecting them to radical budget cuts and staff reductions.

A more concerning trend identified by the commission is that Xenophobic parties have obtained more support in recent elections. “They now have a share in political power in these countries, directly or indirectly.”

“Political leaders must at all costs resist pandering to prejudice and misplaced fears about the loss of “European values”, terrorism and common criminality.”

Some European countries failed on several accounts in their reaction to the sudden influx of migrants in 2011 – resulting from the events in North Africa. “The problems witnessed included excessively rapid returns of some arrivals and poor reception conditions.

The culture of “policing”, which seems to have prevailed in the management of this migration influx, has also produced a crisis (and) have added further fuel to the xenophobic debate.”

The commission’s report also highlighted multiple discrimination being faced by certain groups. “Muslim women are, for example, subject to prejudice not only because of their religion but also because of their gender and, quite often, their migration background.

“Many of their difficulties in finding employment or housing are linked to their choice to wear a headscarf.”

This is part of the significant reforms to the skilled migration programme which will also streamline the pathway to permanent residence for people already working in Australia on temporary 457 visas.

The employer nomination scheme (ENS) and the regional sponsored migration scheme (RSMS) will be integrated with the new skilled migrant selection register, SkillSelect.

The online SkillSelect system is a new expression of interest (EOI) approach to skilled migration, allowing skilled workers interested in migrating to Australia to record their details to be considered for a skilled visa through an EOI.

“These new arrangements are designed to better respond to labour market demands and form part of ongoing reform of the skilled migration programme,” a Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) spokesman said.

“Intending migrants will be found and nominated for skilled visas by Australian employers or state and territory governments, or they could be invited by the Australian Government to lodge a visa application.

“This will give the government greater control and flexibility to adjust to changes in the economy.

“Sponsors must also demonstrate they have a genuine need for the workers and that the skills required cannot be found in their region.”

From 1 July, Australia will also fast-track the pathway from the 457 visa to permanent residence under the employer-sponsored visa programme.

The DIAC officers are conducting  seminars and are available for appointments with employers and employees to answer their questions about skilled migration.

(Also read: Australia to recruit 30,000 Indians)

The DIAC will run seminars on skilled migration visa options at:

Margaret River: 6.30pm, May 9, at the Shire offices meeting room, Wallcliffe St.

Busselton: 6.30pm, May 10, Abby Beach Resort meeting room, 595 Bussell Hwy.

Bunbury: 12pm, May 11, 10th Floor Conference Room, Bunbury Tower, 61 Victoria St.

New Zealand faces an ongoing risk of a mass arrival of illegal migrants, says a policy statement in the Immigration Amendment Bill.

“People-smuggling is a global criminal enterprise and people-smuggling networks in Southeast Asia and elsewhere are large and growing. People-smuggling operations based in Southeast Asia have arranged ventures to as far afield as Canada, so New Zealand’s comparative geographical isolation does not guarantee it will not be a target in future.”

The Bill aims to make New Zealand “as unattractive as possible to people-smugglers” and if passed, will allow for the mandatory detention of illegal migrants of up to 6 months and further periods of detention for up to 28 days with court approval. It also empowers the government to suspend “the processing of refugee and protection claims by regulation”.

However, New Zealand’s Human Rights Commission says the proposed changes threaten New Zealand’s obligations under the UN Refugee Convention and potentially lack compliance with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.

The Commission is particularly concerned about the introduction of mandatory detention under group warrants, the restrictions on family reunification,  and the changes to review processes.

Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres says New Zealand has obligations under the Refugee Convention that are separate and independent of the country’s voluntary quota of 750 refugees as part of its annual resettlement quota on behalf of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

New Zealand has obligations as a party to the Refugee Convention to:

• ensure that people who meet the United Nations definition of refugee are granted asylum
• not to impose any penalties on an asylum seeker based on their mode of entry to New Zealand (Article 31).

“How an asylum seeker arrives in New Zealand should have no bearing on their right to apply for refugee status and protection,” says de Bres.

Mandatory detention on the basis of group warrants also raised issues of reasonableness and ultimately could amount to arbitrary detention breaching section 22 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, the commission says.

“New Zealand must protect the human rights of all asylum seekers and refugees who arrive in New Zealand, regardless of how or where they arrive, and whether they arrive with or without a visa,” says de Bres.

The changes were described as “an over-reaction” by Professor Max Abbott, director of AUT University’s Centre for Migrant and Refugee Research.

“Copying aspects of the harsh Australian approach to asylum seekers will damage New Zealand’s positive reputation in refugee and humanitarian matters. It is unlikely to act as a deterrent and could drag asylum and refugee issues into a highly charged political arena that will be socially divisive and destructive.”

The Australian treatment of ‘boat people’ through mass detention under harsh conditions has tarnished that country’s reputation and been an embarrassment to fair-minded Australians, says Professor Abbott.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) says the sentence sends a strong warning that illegal operators in the migration industry will not be tolerated.

Pacita Boynes, who was previously convicted on similar matters, pleaded guilty to 13 charges under the Migration Act 1958, for offences including making false statements on visa applications and referring people to work in breach of visa conditions.

In Australia, migration agents must be registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority.

DIAC began an investigation of the woman after receiving a complaint from one of her clients and found her acting without accreditation as a migration agent for dozens of individuals or businesses on temporary skilled migration matters.

She is suspected of earning more than $100 000 by charging fees to both businesses and visa applicants for migration services.

In November 2010, Boynes had to pay the Commonwealth $50,000 under the first successful proceeds of crime action for migration fraud for her work as an unregistered migration agent.

A DIAC spokesman said anyone found to be providing unregistered immigration assistance can face charges under the Migration Act with penalties ranging from two to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or fines.

“The Australian Government will not tolerate illegal operators posing as migration professionals,” the spokesman said.

“Migration decisions involve considerable financial and emotional investments on behalf of prospective migrants. Unprofessional, incompetent or unethical behaviour by unregistered individuals challenge the integrity of Australia’s visa programme and brings the entire profession of more than 4500 registered migration agents into disrepute.”

Anyone found to have obtained a visa based on fraudulent information will be considered for cancellation, and any future applications may be refused under new provisions introduced in April 2011. People working in breach of visa conditions also face visa cancellation.

Earlier, a Perth man was prosecuted in August 2011 for supplying illegal workers to West Australian businesses.

In Australia, migration agents must be registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA). A list of registered migration agents in Australia is also available on the website.

Agents Outside Australia: Migration agents who operate outside Australia do not have to be registered. The MARA department may give some overseas agents an identification (ID) number. This number does not mean they are registered.