Since May 2017, investor visa applicants have been able to donate a maximum of 15 per cent of their investment to registered charities or not-for-profit organisations. Immigration New Zealand was not aware of any applicants who had made donations using that option, a spokesman said. “I think it’s reasonable we ask for a larger amount or a longer-term commitment, and I also think we could improve the economic bang for our buck from migrant visas if we somehow incentivise them to direct their capital and their expertise to where it can have the biggest impact,” Conway said.
Kevin Stent/Stuff
Not one offshore investor has chosen the option of donating to a charity as part of their investor visa application.
Police and TLP protesters come face to face near the Yateem Khana Chowk in Lahore | Arif Ali/White Star
Violent protests by the now-banned Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan once again put the police in the direct line of attack, resulting in hundreds of casualties in the service. Police complain that their concerns fall on deaf ears, while they are often castigated for their brutality. Is the issue simply one of reforming the police?
The protests began on Sunday, April 11, intensifying the following day when the police were ordered to arrest Saad Rizvi, leader of the far-right religio-political group Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan [TLP].
Major roads and highways across the country were blocked, forcing people to observe a lockdown far more stringent than any recent government-imposed Covid-19 lockdown. As markets remained shuttered and people stayed at home, clashes between the police and protesters intensified outside.
A stone’s throw away from Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, is beef and sheep farmer, Paul Conway.
The Tipperary native, who works full-time off-farm, runs three different systems on his 70ac farm – 50ac which are owned and 20ac which are rented.
Paul keeps a flock of 70 Belclare-cross ewes, alongside buying-in continental heifer weanlings with the purpose of finishing them at 24-26 months-of-age.
On top of that, he buys in 80 calves, which consist mainly of Belgian Blues and whiteheads during the springtime and then sells them on in the back end of the year as weanlings.
Paul took over the running of the farm from his father, Tom, in recent years when he retired and up until this winter, the main housing accommodation on the farm consisted of a three-bay double-sided slatted unit and an old dry shed, that has since been demolished to accommodate the new housing unit on the farm.
Brian Fallow: Digital skills are essential skills
22 Apr, 2021 05:00 PM
5 minutes to read
If the online world ever leaves you frustrated, you re not alone. Photo / Getty Images
OPINION:
Ever feel like a bewildered immigrant in the land of digital natives? If so, you aren t alone. The BNZ s Digital Skills Report, summarising the results of survey commissioned by the bank and carried out by Colmar Brunton, describes a level of deficiency in essential digital skills that is disturbing for anyone who cares about inequality or about productivity.
The survey of 1000 members of the general public aged 18 or older found 95 per cent had access to the internet at home, an improvement on the 86 per cent in the 2018 census or 91 per cent in the 2017 New Zealand election study. And 89 per cent said they used it every day.