Hawke’s Bay: Jobs and housing found for desperate New Caledonian workers

The group of workers alongside Hawke's Bay resident Laurent Simutoga (right) who has been helping them. They have found housing at a Napier backpackers (pictured). Photo / Warren Buckland

The Hawke’s Bay community has come to the rescue to help 12 New Caledonian workers find jobs and housing.

The group are on working holiday visas and featured in a Hawke’s Bay Today article earlier this week appealing for work - after becoming stuck in limbo.

One of the travellers shared they had not wanted to return home “because there are no more jobs” in New Caledonia, a French territory experiencing civil unrest.

The group arrived in New Zealand last November to work on orchards and vineyards in Cromwell.

However, they say they left their most recent employment in the Bay of Plenty after pay issues and concerning work conditions.

That led the group to bus down to Hawke’s Bay and they were generously housed at Kohupatiki Marae in Clive for a week, thanks to community donations to help cover that cost. They then moved to a Napier backpackers on Wednesday.

Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union and Lindisfarne College rugby coach Laurent Simutoga, who is from New Caledonia and related to one of the workers, said work and housing had been secured for the group.

It was a “good outcome” for the next five to six weeks.

“[The owner of the backpackers] has got jobs for a few of them doing kiwi [fruit] planting and another contact has got them doing some pine tree planting from Monday,” he said.

“So they are all starting work on Monday, and staying at the backpackers [mid-term] and will be looking after themselves.”

He offered a massive thank you to the marae for their support and said the workers were rapt.

“When you are away from home, and everything is pretty bad at home, and you get here and the situation is just as bad in terms of what happened to them, with non-employment, the only thing that brings you comfort is care and love.

“Kohupatiki Marae offered that to them for the week they were there.”

He hoped they would eventually get work and accommodation on local orchards, and encouraged any employers to get in touch on 021 108 1656.

One of the workers, Jima from New Caledonia, told Hawke’s Bay Today they just wanted to stay and work.

“We don’t want to return home because there are no more jobs, more than 30,000 people have lost their jobs.

“We want to work here for our families in Nouméa.”

They have work lined up in Cromwell from October until their visas end in January, and will pick up any work for the next three to four months.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.