Dutch tourist Kris Nijhuis never thought he would be cleaning oil from beaches when he arrived in Tauranga a month ago looking for work to fund his New Zealand tour.
An electrician by trade, the 28-year-old came to Tauranga and registered with labour hire companies to help find work. On Wednesday, October 19 he received a call offering him paid work to clean up the beaches.
Dutch tourist Kris Nijhuis, 28, is working in Tauranga cleaning the oil from Mount Maunganui beaches.
'There is no real challenge in the work, but you are out with the guys on the beach and you have to enjoy your office space.”
Staying at Pacific Coast Backpackers in Mount Maunganui, Kris says he jumped at the chance to work on the beach.
'At the moment I really need the job and I get to do something extra for the environment.”
Kris is working with a team of nine people contracted through different labour hire companies, getting paid $15 an hour to undertake clean up operations on Papamoa and Mount Maunganui beaches.
'The first couple of days was scavenging around, removing oil from the surface of the beach.
'Now we are sieving the sand, slowly walking along the beach getting oil, bagging it and taking it away.”
In addition to volunteer beach clean up operations, Maritime New Zealand has contracted businesses such as Fulton Hogan to undertake paid beach clean up operations.
An MNZ spokesperson says professional beach clean up teams are operating in areas 'where it is impractical to have large numbers of volunteers operating and specialist equipment is required.”
Tauranga's Financial Independence Group managing director Philip Holland says there are some definite positive short term economic impacts from Rena.
'I believe economically at the moment it is having a positive impact because of the volume of people in the area, working with the salvage and response.
'We have a lady who comes down to Tauranga every fortnight and she tried to book accommodation, but found it difficult to get a place for the night because the number of people staying here at the moment.
'There are always going to be pockets and sectors that are going to do well out of it.”
3 comments
Hope payment arrives
Posted on 30-10-2011 15:39 | By jimmi
The people recruited by Maritime NZ, to help with the cleanup 3 weeks ago on Motiti, have not been paid, and payment is now not expected until the Rena debacle is over, when the legal fraternity get more involved, these people will be waiting a while. Other organisations were better run and paid their wages bill, not Maritime NZ, just another slap in the face, from an idiotic, ineficient bunch of blow hard bueracrats.
Layabouts
Posted on 30-10-2011 15:41 | By pomfart
All the layabouts and crims should be made to clean it up. Plenty of time on their hands, and you never know, it may give them a sense of contributing to society.
Pomfart
Posted on 31-10-2011 08:25 | By jimmi
I agree, but when a State run organisation gets employees to sign a contract, then does not re imburse them, it does not say alot about, the professionalism of that organisation.
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