Tuesday, 25 May 2021 13:45

Cooler reception

Written by Milking It

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OPINION:The reception at the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards the following night in Hamilton was slightly less warm for Damien O'Connor.

There was no honorary title for Agriculture Minister O'Connor. However, the message from a few speakers was clear - the Government must do more for migrant workers in the dairy industry.

One judge told the 700 gathered for the awards that some of these immigrants in the dairy industry are still on work visas and have been waiting for some time to get their residency tidied up. This is hindering their progress.

While the Government has ruthlessly knocked back the request for 500 more migrant workers, the least they can do is to grant permanent residency to those already here and doing a great job in the dairy sector.

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