Readers' Views: The Penfold family from South Africa

We asked for feedback on whether the Penfold family from South Africa should be sent home for not informing the Department of Labour about a change of job. More than 200 readers emailed in their views. Here is a sample of their responses.

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Have we gone utterly mad?

"He omitted to to tell them for 10 months that he had shifted 200km to a new job". That hardly warrants this type of over-reaction.

I wonder if they are the same little men who have allowed a so called gentleman with the surname of Zaoui to stay where we are paying for his upkeep, spending money, clothing, medical and legal bills.

Here is an immigrant contributing in taxes, knowledge and mechanical experience, who is in trouble because he forgot to tell some person he had shifted ... maybe he should have torn up his passport as well.
- Brian Sullivan

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I think that Mr Penfold should be fined for his tardiness. But to make the family suffer considering they have gone through the stress of moving countries, starting new jobs and schools, finding homes and getting organised, is unfair.

Showing some compassion is not going to show up immigration as weak but merely as a law-enforcing agency agency that considers breaches in light of the bigger picture.
- Ron Randall

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I don't understand how the Immigration Department works. On one hand, you have the refugees and people from the South Pacific breezing in, claiming residence on unjustified grounds.

On the other hand, we have families like the Penfolds, hard-working immigrants, honest tax payers, law-abiding citizens and the sort of people we need to make this country a better place.
- Ken Khatib

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What a sick world we live in when doing the right thing lands you in more trouble than lying or remaining silent would have.

This poor man did the right thing. Yes, he was late, but he did it.

Should he and his family pay for that? I think not.
- C Taylor

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I cannot believe the Immigration and Labour department staff are threatening Gavin Penfold and his family with deportation because he forgot to notify them of change of employer and relocation to Auckland. He is still in the same occupation as when he first came 15 months ago.

He is obviously skilled and his employer wishes to retain him. Yet we have about 20,000 or more overstayers and illegal immigrants in this country, many of whom are a drain on taxpayers, some even sitting prisons.
- Jill Jeffs

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What the hell is going on in New Zealand with the immigration Department? As a Kiwi living in the United States knowing what it is like trying to make a new life for my family, this seems to be a rather strong reaction.

Are things really as bad as all that? Are they criminals? Are they bad people? They applied and were granted permission to settle. They make one "little mistake" and we have to send them home and make them reapply.

Give them a break, where is the Kiwi compassion? Does it no longer exist?
- Tom Wilson

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These people are willing and capable of supporting themselves, unlike a lot of welfare-dependent New Zealanders.

They have gone to great lengths to get here, and they deserve to be treated with dignity.
- David Ross

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Do we have so many good hard working people in this country that we can afford to turn away new migrants because they make a simple mistake that hurts no one? I think not!
- Donna Sands

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Of course they should be allowed to stay. To deny them residency for such a trivial oversight as non-notification of a job change makes a mockery of the Government's intention of attracting new migrants and a case of rampant bureaucracy.
- H.van Beek

The counter view

They should get out of the country NOW.

Don't wait until they are sent, just go to the airport today and get on the first flight out of New Zealand.

I'm really tired of people who don't follow the rules, and then put on a sob story.
- Mike Macdonald

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There is more to this than they are telling us, no doubt entered New Zealand on guarantee to work in a Region and obviously broke the requirement. Go Back to South Africa
- P Marriott