According to a story in today’s Christchurch Press, Stu Macann and Associates Ltd has ceased trading.

Stu Macann and Associates, who operated the Newjobz agency, ceased trading on November 21. 229 potential migrants are collectively owed around $600,000 after the company could not fulfill its refund policy. Two of Stu Macann and Associates’ three directors along with a reduced number of staff have formed a new company, Skills New Zealand Ltd.

Keith Lightfoot, one of the directors, told The Press the original company had ceased trading because of financial troubles.

“We said we’ll get you a job or your money back, which was a fantastically charitable thing to say, looking back. But we did, and we have been very successful in placing a lot of people into New Zealand.

“Eight months ago we realised the policy was causing us some problems, because people were taking advantage of it. We were paying out money to people who had used our services for 18 months. They used our time, our energy, our job-searching programme, and then asked for a refund,” he said. Some had been offered 17 jobs, but had turned them all down, and some turned down a job and then moved to New Zealand to take up the job. A total of $1.6 million had been refunded to 667 clients, he said.

“We understand why you are talking to us. We have lost personally. We believe we are doing the right thing by the migrants and always have done. We don’t feel in any way we have done anything wrong except we understand we wrote a contract which we did not honour and that’s that.”

He agreed it was not a good look for New Zealand, but “we do not feel we have let the side down”.

“We are extraordinarily unhappy about what’s happened here. It’s been an emotional drain on us all.”