Rosemere backpackers in Wellington is being accused of discrimination after turning away a hopeful jobseeker based on his Kiwi ethnicity.

A Wellington backpackers has been called out for its alleged discriminatory behaviour, after a hopeful jobseeker was told it did not hire Kiwis, or let them stay there.

Markus McCraith, a 19-year-old Wellingtonian, approached the Rosemere Backpackers in Macdonald Cres, in the central city, for part-time work on Monday, and says he was told by the manager that it did not employ New Zealanders.

"He asked me where I lived and where I came from. When I told him I was from New Zealand he said: 'Then no, you can't work here. We don't hire Kiwis here, we're an international backpackers. They're [Kiwis] all thieves.'

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF Markus McCraith outside Rosemere Backpackers in Wellington, which told him it did not employ Kiwis, or let them stay there.

"I couldn't believe it. I didn't argue – I just asked questions, questioned his perspective."

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Rosemere manager Roger Hennary said the backpackers was not hiring anyone when McCraith approached it.

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF McCraith, 19, who was looking for part-time work, was told the hostel had had "a lot of problems" with Kiwis in the past.

He added that Kiwis were not allowed to stay at the hostel, and it had in the past employed only people who were staying there.

The ban on Kiwis was because of "a lot of problems in the past". The hostel was not a boarding house for locals, and was designed for international backpackers.

The instruction from the owners was that everybody staying at the hostel had to have an international passport and credit card, Hennary said.

When McCraith came in, Hennary told him there was no work.

"I said when we do employ people, they live here. They live in the hostel and they are the people we give the work to. And it is mainly the international people."

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF Rosemere manager Roger Hennary told McCraith Kiwis were not allowed to stay, and it had in the past employed only people who were living there.



E tū union industry coordinator Jill Ovens said the hostel's apparent ban on employing Kiwis was "blatant" discrimination, and could be a breach of the Human Rights Act, as well as the Employment Relations Act.

The fact it employed only people who were staying at the hostel was "a bit fishy", she said.

She questioned whether the international visitors were being paid the minimum wage, and given the usual protections for people employed in New Zealand.

A Human Rights Commission spokeswoman said that, under the Human Rights Act 1993, it was unlawful to discriminate in employment or the provision of accommodation on the grounds of race, ethnic or national origin.

"If someone thinks they have been discriminated against, they can make a complaint to the Human Rights Commission."

McCraith, who wants to be a drummer, said he was looking for part-time work in a backpackers after working in one overseas last year.

He handed out CVs across Wellington, and said he had been welcomed by other backpackers in a professional manner, even when no positions were available.