15 Feb 2007

New Zealand warns Vanuatu about labour scam

2:58 pm on 15 February 2007

The New Zealand High Commission in Vanuatu has issued a warning to the public about a bogus scheme claiming to provide short-term employment opportunities in New Zealand..

It comes as New Zealand and Vanuatu are to work out the details of a new seasonal employment scheme which will get under way later this year.

The high commissioner in Port Vila, Paul Willis, says they were concerned that someone was taking money and collecting passports posing as a legitimate agent for the current schemes being offered by the New Zealand government.

"We have sufficient circumstantial evidence that this is a scam because there is only one company which is handling the three approval in principle work schemes working under the current policy. And by the description of the person it does seem to us that this is yet another one of those rip-off schemes that occurs here from time to time."

Paul Willis