That kind of discrimination just has to be illegal (not to mention comprehensively stupid).
If that's the level of professionalism that they demonstrate in their recruitment... well...
And yes, I was told the same thing in years gone by. I mean, the very thought that NZ IFR is harder than, say, the London TMA, is so laughably ridiculous that it beggars belief.
We all fly to the same ICAO standards, so exactly why is NZ IFR so hard?
Although I suppose it's about all you can expect from a management straight out of the aero club who have never flown anything bigger than a Dash...
