Labour of love
‘I’m not returning without him’ says woman travelling to Tokyo to bring husband home. Katarina Williams and Mandy Te report.
WENDY Harnett is packing for ‘‘the indefinite’’.
The coronavirus pandemic has kept the Wellingtonian separated from her husband for four months – now, she is heading to Japan in the hopes she can bring him back to New Zealand.
Harnett has applied to Immigration New Zealand (INZ) three times so that her Japanese husband Koji Arihisa can be with her in Karori. All of the applications have been rejected.
Fed up with the constant rejection and uncertainty, Harnett will fly to Tokyo next week to attempt to get Arihisa a travel exemption.
‘‘I’m not returning to New Zealand without him,’’ Harnett said.
Currently, INZ rules allow the partners, dependent children or legal guardians of New Zealand citizens to enter the country if they are entering with a New Zealand citizen.
However, it isn’t known how these rules will be applied with the borders still closed to everyone except New Zealand citizens and returning residents.
Even if the couple is successful in getting the visa, Harnett is prepared to spend months in Japan waiting for the documents to be approved.
She will also have to quarantine on arrival in Tokyo for two weeks before reuniting with her husband.
The 54-year-old Karori resident has criticised the Government over a perceived lack of transparency regarding the criteria for Covid-19 border exemptions.
‘‘I just lost heart in the last week and if I didn’t try to bring him back, I’d face an indefinite absence from him,’’ she said.
‘‘I’m not willing to tolerate that . . . I’d rather be stuck there with him.’’
The couple’s wedding anniversary was last week and when she was out of quarantine, they planned to go on a trip around Japan. Harnett has a spouse visa which allows her to stay in Japan.
Harnett, who has been speaking to other people in similar situations, said it was disheartening as many of them did not meet the ‘‘strict’’ criteria.
‘‘We see a real injustice that we cannot be with our families.’’
She described herself as a ‘‘test case’’ while packing for the ‘‘indefinite’’.
‘‘I think if I’m successful, most people will definitely follow my lead.
‘‘When you love someone you won’t stop at anything, it’s simple.’’
Nicola Hogg, Immigration New Zealand general manager of border and visa operations, said protecting public health was paramount.
The bar for being granted an exception to border restrictions was set high to help stop the spread of Covid-19. All requests were considered against strict criteria, she said.
She confirmed Immigration received an application for a work visa from Arihisa on February 28, and a visitor visa on June 7.
The applications had not yet been processed, she said.
He had also made three requests for an exception to
‘I just lost heart in the last week and if I didn’t try to bring him back, I’d face an indefinite absence from him. I’m not willing to tolerate that . . . I’d rather be stuck there with him.’ WENDY HARNETT
border restrictions as a partner of a New Zealand citizen or resident since June 8. None of these had been granted as the criteria hadn’t been met.
On June 18, changes to the criteria came into effect, which meant partners and dependents of citizens and residents who have a relationship-based visa would no longer need to be travelling with their family member to be granted an exemption.
‘‘However under the new criteria, Mr Arihisa still does not meet the exception criteria as he does not have a relationshipbased visa and is not ordinarily resident in New Zealand, having only travelled to New Zealand once in 2017,’’ Hogg said.
A dual name for New Zealand’s largest high-country station has been proposed in a discussion about the farm’s future.
The original name for Molesworth as used by South Island iwi Nga¯ i Tahu, is Rangitahi. It means ‘‘converging skies’’ and pays homage to Molesworth’s waterways, and the area being a single arterial source for major rivers.
The community has welcomed the name, saying it adds a layer of meaning to the already diverse and rugged landscape.
Nelson Marlborough Conservation Board member Lorraine Hawke, who has affiliations with Nga¯ i Tahu o Nga¯ ti Ku¯ ri, proposed Rangitahi be used alongside Molesworth.
Molesworth Station manager Jim Ward, who has been overseeing the farming operation for about 20 years, welcomed the move. ‘‘We’re all one society. I think we’ve got to learn and reflect on the past,’’ he said.
‘‘A lot of places have dual names and that’s pretty cool because it reflects all the historical things that have gone on in that area.’’
Ward understood the parallels between Rangitahi and the land, saying the headwaters of the Saxton, Severn and Alma rivers flowed into the Acheron River, which flowed into the Waiau Toa/Clarence River.
The 180,000 hectare Molesworth Station is leased and farmed by Landcorp and managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) on behalf of the Crown. Its grazing licence expired last week but Landcorp spokesman Simon King said the Conservation Minister had extended it until June 2023.
This would enable DOC to complete its review of the Molesworth management plan.
‘‘We are fully supportive of the incorporation of the Ma¯ ori name,’’ King said. ‘‘We also recognise that ourselves and DOC need to work closely with iwi to tell the prePa¯ keha¯ history of Molesworth more fully, and we are working to ensure this happens.’’
According to the DOC website, the area was historically visited by small, foodgathering parties every three to five years, during summer. This seasonal activity complemented the well-developed coastal economy of early Ma¯ ori.
South Island Tours owner Geoff Swift, who runs trips to Molesworth, said he had taken Ma¯ ori on tours through the area to look at historical sites where their people had camped on their way to the West Coast.
Swift said it was ‘‘fair enough’’ to combine the English and Ma¯ ori names because both had significance.
The area was important in New Zealand farming history. According to author LW McCaskill, Molesworth was possibly named after a director of the New Zealand Company, Sir William Molesworth; or perhaps his younger brother Francis Alexander Molesworth.
The names Molesworth Moor and Molesworth Creek appeared on the first topographical map of the area in 1852.
Harry Broad, author of a book on Molesworth, said a Ma¯ ori name for the area seemed to fit into the broader framework of dual names. ‘‘The Ma¯ ori names are often a lot more mellifluous and harmonious than the
Pa¯ keha names.’’
Forest & Bird top of the south regional manager Debs Martin said it supported iwi being able to acknowledge their historical places through names.
‘‘It just helps to add another layer of history to the place,’’ she said.
JIM WARD, MOLESWORTH STATION MANAGER