Central Otago Mayor Tony Lepper has thrown his weight behind Ian Glover's last-ditch bid to gain New Zealand residency for his wife of five years, Aurora.
The 89-year-old Alexandra man and his 67-year-old Filipino wife have been married for five years, but have lived in different countries for the past year. Mrs Glover's application for New Zealand residency and subsequent appeals have been turned down on health reasons, as she is a diabetic.
Mrs Glover returned to her home country a year ago to sort out her mother's estate and her conditon deteriorated while she was there, to the point where she required dialysis. That forced the couple to separate, as the cost of dialysis in this country, as a non-resident, was prohibitive, so Mrs Glover had remained in the Philippines for treatment.
Mr Glover has appealed to the Minister of Immigration, Michael Woodhouse, for the decision on his wife's case to be reviewed and for her to be granted residency on humanitarian grounds. Mr Lepper met Mr Glover last week and has heeded Mr Glover's appeal for help.''
I've asked people around town about the Glovers and the general comment is that they're valuable members of our community, a well-respected and well-liked couple, so I can't really see why they can't be together,'' Mr Lepper said.
It was sad that Mr Glover was separated from his wife at a time when he should be enjoying her company and companionship. The couple were obviously both under stress while they tried to resolve the matter and Mr Lepper had offered his support. The toll it was taking on them was ''obvious and real'', Mr Lepper said.
Mr Glover received a letter last week on behalf of the Associate Minister of Immigration, Nikki Kaye, which said there was no decision yet on his request. Mr Lepper said he was backing the request for Ms Kaye to consider the matter on humanitarian grounds.
Having Mrs Glover resident in New Zealand would benefit the health system by providing Mr Glover with the home support that would enable him to live independently for a lot longer than would normally be possible, Mr Lepper said.
Mr Glover spent three weeks in the Philippines in January - his first trip overseas - to see if it was practical for him to shift to his wife's home country. However, he has ruled out that option after being ill all the time he was there.
