Stranded backpackers who were surviving on their savings are fast running out of money and desperate for work.
Those who didn't qualify for the wage subsidy now travel between tourist towns job hunting, while seasonal workers wait to hear if they'll be allowed to return home anytime soon.
“The job I’d started in Queenstown, the day that I started was the day the lockdown came in, and that job was no longer essential,” Birmingham man Jake Lupasco told 1 NEWS.
Mr Lupasco then headed north after finding a job at a Napier hostel.
“Some people have had no work at all over the lockdown and they still haven’t got work now,” he said of fellow travellers who hadn’t been so lucky.
A survey of Hawke’s Bay backpackers found most travellers could only last on savings for six to eight weeks. That time is now up.
Mr Lupasco is considering saving for a repatriation flight, but they're expensive and can be cancelled at the last minute.
There are also 1700 Pacific Island seasonal workers who remain stuck, as the work they are here for runs out.
The industry wants to quarantine them for two weeks then test the workers before sending them home.
Civil Defence has been providing emergency food and accommodation to foreign nationals in dire straits around the country. That won't stop, but where other agencies can step in Civil Defence will hand over to them.
Some of the big horticulture companies are now putting up seasonal workers for free and many in the tourism industry are offering similar support.
The Immigration Minister is considering law changes to help those stranded on our shores.
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