New Zealand First is signalling a tougher immigration stance, longer waits for residency and citizenship, a referendum to cap new residency approvals at 20,000 a year, and a 30-year population plan tying migrant intake to infrastructure capacity.
Labour is also tightening its settings, extending residency qualification to four years and promising a Government Policy Statement.
But as economists like Bernard Hickey point out these policies miss the real immigration pressure.
New Zealand issues more than 230,000 temporary work visas annually.
Largely for lower-paid roles on our farms in our kitchens and even in our beauty salons.
The temporary workers aren't here forever. But when they go, they're replaced but other temporary visa holders.
This quarter of a million of temporary visa holders is still driving population growth, straining infrastructure, and suppressing wages.
They come with problems that no-one is addressing.
Not for the first time politicians can't see the wood for the trees and not for the first time they then release policies that are primarily designed to get votes but not to address the issues.
Andrew Dickens is a broadcaster with Newstalk ZB. - where this article was sourced.
7 comments:
I always find these anti immigrant comments hilarious. Simply imagine NZ with zero immigrants. Of, course Kiwis don't really like competition (Aussies really dislike competition). They all actively despise being surrounded by smarter people. NZ's fundamental problem is that too many B students are in too many positions of power. Good luck with inward navel gazing nationalism!
Isn't the real problem with regard to those 230,000 temporary workers that unemployed NZers refuse to do those jobs and are not made to?
I do dspise being surrounded by imported truck drivers who cannt speak English or progress towards. They may or may not be safer drivers than easy going local cultures.. The intelligent imports passing time running $2 Shops and the like is a concern. A major blunder was and is the easy immigration of Pacific Islandes fully as adept as maori at identifying and exploiting soft welfare conditions.
The lack of a desire to work is true for some, but far from all. I live in a small town. The booze shops and petrol stations are now all owned by Indians. All the local staff fired with each purchase, replaced by a revolving door of fresh in the country immigrants. They are here on the road to permanent residency, nothing for the community at all.
The local workers, people that want to work, dumped on the dole with little other options open to them. So please, go easy on the stupid claim Kiwis just don't want to work.
To B.V - your comment "rings true to form".
Many 'moons' ago, in Hawke's Bay, the operators of fruit orchards could not get labour for harvest work.
A certain 'ethnic group' located in that Provence "was not interested, happy to front up to MSD".
Someone at MSD had 'an idea', - NO Work, No Dole. Yup worked a treat - on paper, but not in reality.
There were the 'honest citizens' who fronted up annually and applied their skills.
Sadly, more trees that 'able hands'.
From it came the idea of annual immigration, aimed at Pacific Islands, once in play, has worked well.
Sadly that certain 'ethnic group' still show no interest - in working.
Sadly there has been "some" who have bent the system and workers.
There is one fruit industry in Hawke's Bay, that offer "employment" to any young person from South America, coming to NZ for a holiday, wants to earn some local currency, to spend whilst here and has been a successful 'boon' to that industry - which I was told "word of mouth" helps keep that employment roster going.
Annon 3.06 says, “A certain 'ethnic group' located in that Provence [Hawke's Bay] "was not interested [in picking fruit], happy to front up to MSD".” Is the certain ethnic group Māori? Well then that may be true in harvesting the apple crop, but I am not prepared to let the generalisation go unchallenged. Māori can and do work hard.
There are a lot of sheep in New Zealand – 70 million at the peak – and all had to be shorn once, many twice, every year. Shearing is hard work, involving for a long time 9-hour days. That 9 hours on the job. Breaks were extra. The shearers were backed up by fleecos and presses. Accommodation was often basic, to say the least. In the North Island at least, our valuable wool crop would not have been harvested without the Māori shearing gang. Likewise, the meat freezing industry. We had in our province two big freezing works nearly 4000 workers peak of season. Most men on the chain were Māori. This was bloody and unpleasant work. The Māori was the backbone of the industry. Yes, there are a few indolent Māori, but plenty Pakeha too.
Constitutional privilege to Māori is another matter, and my list vote will go to ACT. But I’ll stick up for Māori contribution to this country's destiny in peace and war.
Beats me how we get so much poor policy. Only Winston seems to have a grasp. Presuably bands of Peter Sellars speaking Indisn lobbyists did not troop to Minister's office pleading that they cannot find local persons who can count to employ in their vital booze barns and vape shops.
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