Greens urge visa-free for Pacific

The Green Party is calling on the Government to let people visit from the Pacific Islands without a visa. “Pacific peoples should be able to travel to Aotearoa to visit their family regardless of their income and without having to jump through colonial hoops to spend time with each other,” says Pacific people spokesman Teanau Tuiono. It was reported this week that half of visitor visa bids rejected by Immigration NZ are from people travelling from the Pacific. Immigration Minister Michael Wood said he had “not seen any evidence of bias” but Tuiono said if the Government “genuinely believes” NZ is part of a family of Pacific nations, it needs to update visa rules immediately.