Hello everyone and welcome to the July newsletter,

This month we have some useful information if you are relocating to New Zealand and have secondary school aged children. We also have some more good airfare packages from Sure Circle Travel our Preferred Service Provider. If you have any ideas for some items to be added for future newsletters please email these to relocation@netmigration.co.za

Happy Reading!!!!

Australia - Real impact of Labor’s campaign against skilled migration

25 May 2006

Labor’s campaign against skilled migration could fuel hikes in interest rates, Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Amanda Vanstone, warned today.“There can be no doubt that without access to the skills needed to meet orders and attract new business, wages pressure will intensify, increasing the prospect of interest rate rises,” the Minister said“The Australian Financial Review today (25/5/06 pg10) points to the prospect of interest rate increases, fuelled in part by strong demand for skilled workers, particularly in trades.“Are Mr Beazley and the Opposition, in their constant criticism of skilled migration, particularly temporary skilled migration, possibly trying to drive up interest rates to use for his own political advantage?

“While Mr Beazley bleats repeatedly about foreign workers and demands more effort in training, he fails to acknowledge his own responsibility for part of the current skills shortage“Mr Beazley should know better than anybody that nothing can kill Australia’s training effort faster than a recession.

“When he was the minister responsible for training during Labor’s recession, training numbers actually dropped. It was not a question of whether they rose fast enough – they actually dropped.

“Business and industry tell me repeatedly that the critical areas of shortage across a range of professions and trades are for workers with 10-15 years experience. These are workers who should have been trained in the early 90’s, at a time when Mr Beazley was a senior member of Cabinet and was responsible for training.

“If there is a gap in training, it is Labor’s gap that skilled migration, particularly temporary skilled migration, is filling.

“While Beazley and Labor constantly criticise ‘foreign workers’ they fail to acknowledge the impact on Australia’s economy of not having the skills we need – potentially fuelling inflation and putting pressure on interest rates.

“In their 13 years of government Labor never had to deal with sustained growth – their economic policies ensured that this was a situation that they never encountered. We have sustained growth – we therefore need our skilled labour supply to grow to meet that sustained growth.”

Specials from Sure Circle Travel for July

Cruising the Great Barrier Reef

PRICE: R5865 Per Person

Valid until 31 March 2007

Prices subject to Terms & Conditions

Includes:

Cruise Only

• Shipboard accommodation, dining, all onboard facilities, snorkelling equipment, glass bottom boat and rainforest guided tour.

• 3 Nights Cruising Itinerary as follows:
  Day 1:
  Cairns/Fitzroy Island
  Day 2:
  Hedley Reef
  Day 3:
  Hinchinbrook Channel and Dunk Island
  Day 4:
  Dunk Island /Cairns

**Cruise Departs on Fridays

Perth Downunder

PRICE: R7947 Per Person

Valid until 30 Nov 2006

Prices subject to Terms & Conditions

Includes:

• Return Economy Flights to Perth via Singapore on Singapore Airlines

• Return transfers

• 4 nights Accommodation at the Sullivans Hotel on a Room Only Basis

Durban add-on R 705
Cape Town add-on R588
Port Elizabeth add-on R 920

Blocked dates 02 - 07 Jul; 26 - 27 Oct; 10 - 14 Nov '06

Super Sydney on Cathay Pacific

PRICE: R7966 Per Person

Valid until 31 Jul 2006

Prices subject to Terms & Conditions

Includes:

• Return Economy Flights to Sydney via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific

• Return transfers

• 4 nights Accommodation at the Sullivans Hotel on a Room Only Basis

Durban add-on R 595
Cape Town add-on R713
Port Elizabeth add-on R 713
Blocked dates 24 May

New Zealand – Secondary Schooling in New Zealand

What is the NCEA

The NCEA is New Zealand's rather controversial new senior high school assessment regine. It was phased into schools from 2002 and high school graduates of 2004 were the first to enter tertiary study with NCEA Level 3 (Year 13) university entrance grades.

NCEA stands for National Certificate of Education Achievement, and it replaces the old system for School Certificate and Bursary exams and Sixth Form Certificate internal assessment. NCEA is a standards based assessment – students are evaluated against a standard, not each other. Instead of marks or percentage ratings, students are given grades of Excellence, Merit, Credit or Incomplete gained through a combination of end-of-year exams run by the NZ Qualifications Authority and internal tests and assignments. Each NCEA subject breaks down into units so results comprehensively outline a student's strengths and weaknesses, eg units in English will include individual grades, such as Excellence for oral speech, Merit for fomal writing and Achievement for comprehension. There has been some disquiet about teething problems with the NCEA, particularly about huge discrepancies in the levels of difficulty among Level 4 Scholarship subject exams in 2004. As a result, ranking of students has been reintroduced at scholarship level and scholarships will now be awarded to a set percentage of students.

So far, through, most practitioners at the coal face are keen to see NCEA continue. They feel the new system meets the needs of a wider range of students and recognises a wider range of achievement.

However, teachers and principals have indentified a number of administrative aspects that need rectifying, including external moderation consistency and reliability. Some teachers are also concerned that the increased workload of assessment and moderation cuts into teaching time too much.

Those who oppose NCEA argue it is lowering standards and weakening our student's competitive edge. Some schools offer the English-based Cambridge International Examinations alongside NCEA. The Cambridge exams are geared to the British school system, so there are concerns that while internationally recognised, they don't have any New Zealand content.

Despite talk from traditionalists about NCEA being easier, university entrance appears more stringent under NCEA. To enter a degree level 3 (Year 13) passes but compulsory literacy levels at Level 2 (Year 12). Many students, especially international and new immigrants, have struggled to meet these requirements.

Source: Where to live in Auckland

Planning Your Removal of household goods

• Remember to show your removal consultant everything that you would like to take with you. This will ensure that you will receive an accurate quote.

• Remember to back up your computer files. Computer data if lost is not insurable.

• A cabinet maker should dismantle and reassemble custom-made or extra large pieces of furniture such as wall units.

• For your own convenience, don't pack all personal document or items you may need such as passports, school reports, immunisation cards for children etc.

• Sell or pass on firearms to family. It is illegal to send firearms and ammunition in a container. It is not necessary to have a personal firearm in Australia, New Zealand or Canada.

• Items such as jewellery, glasses, watches, money and cell phones are not covered by insurance.

Any queries that you have regarding moving your good, please contact your relocaitons consultant.

If you have any queries regarding our relocation services please feel free to email us on relocation@netmigration.co.za. If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please email us with the subject: Please unsubscribe.

Until next month, keep warm.

Regards

Team at Network Migration Services