Claim overseas social workers are needed
WELLINGTON: A British social worker says overseas staff are desperately needed here and should be allowed a border exemption.
Sarah Griffin, her husband and two children are among those rejected after applying to travel to New Zealand.
She said New Zealand was crying out for social workers, especially to address domestic violence and with initiatives such as eliminating rheumatic fever. Social work experts were the people going into homes and making referrals to health authorities.
‘‘You’ve got to look at Covid where we’ve had more poverty, more domestic abuse, all these things, social work is even more important,’’ she said.
‘‘Social workers in New Zealand are so stretched, so the children and families are just not getting what they need.’’
Ms Griffin, who is also a trained midwife, is shocked social workers are not included in healthrelated exemptions. ‘‘What we were hoping is that social workers would be added to the health exemption as that covers child disability and mental health,’’ she said.
‘‘I have requested this exemption several times and been turned down as I am not a health professional.
‘‘The New Zealand government appear to be focusing on high wages to determine skill level, they have not looked at professionals that are needed who would not be paid twice the median wage.
‘‘The WHO [World Health Organisation] have recently published a damning report about child wellbeing in New Zealand, yet we cannot enter to help New Zealand children.’’
‘‘We have not asked for any border exemptions,’’ Oranga Tamariki’s chief social worker, Grant Bennett said.
‘‘There are a handful of overseas social workers that were offered positions shortly before border restrictions were put in place due to Covid19, and [they] have subsequently been unable to enter New Zealand.
‘‘We have been providing assistance to immigration advisers and lawyers working on behalf of those people. While we understand this has put some . . . in a difficult position we are fully supportive of the border measurements, which are in place to protect the health of people in New Zealand . . .’’
The acting immigration policy manager at MBIE, Andrew Craig, said social workers were not considered critical health workers so were not exempt from border restrictions. — RNZ