Coronavirus: Immigration changes 'gap-filler'

The government will soon gain sweeping new powers to manage visa changes for migrants who are unable to leave New Zealand The bill could be fast-tracked through parliament by as soon as next week. But a lack of pandemic planning and remote working abilities within immigration have been highighted as potential reasons as to why the legislation has to be passed in the first place. An immigration lawyer, Richard Small, told RNZ reporter Gill Bonnett that the new legislation shows up years of neglect, including the effects of a restructure, - and that immigrants have become collateral damage of Covid-19.