Study of Pacific farm workers ‘reveals NZ regional media flaws’

Journalists ‘did not paint a full picture’ of migrant labour scheme

New Zealand’s regional media outlets did not ask critical questions about the rights of Pacific Islands seasonal workers when a temporary migrant labour scheme was introduced more than a decade ago, a Massey University researcher has said.

Angie Enoka recently completed a PhD thesis in media studies that looked at how Pacific seasonal farm workers were portrayed by NZ regional media in the scheme’s early years.