7. RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Immigration
What recent reports has he received regarding the contribution of immigration to New Zealand labour-market conditions?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Immigration) Link to this
I have seen a report that Craig Foss, the brand new National MP for Tukituki, has attacked the Immigration Service for arresting illegal overstayers working as fruit pickers in Hawke’s Bay. Mr Foss apparently believes that kicking legitimate workers out of their jobs is one law for all.
Russell Fairbrother Link to this
Can the Minister confirm that the tip-off to the department came from workers who were sacked to make way for those illegal overstayers?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
Sadly, yes, I can confirm that one of those sacked Kiwi workers was told that he was being laid off because new illegal contract scab labour had been hired at a lower rate.
Gerry BrownleeI raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. You will be aware that when primary questions are asked by the Opposition, verification has to be provided. The Minister has just said that he has proof, evidence—whatever—that some workers were laid off for others to be given a particular job. The only way he could have that would be if he actually had operational material from his ministry. We have been told repeatedly by Ministers and by yourself that such material should not be, and is not, available to them. I invite the Minister to table the information he has so that he can back up his allegations.
Madam SPEAKERThe member has raised a legitimate point. Questions certainly do have to be verified, but under the Standing Orders answers do not.
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
I seek leave to table an article from Hawke’s Bay Today in which the member concerned is quoted on the matter, and another article in which the Hon Rick Barker is quoted on the matter. I can verify to the House that it was Mr Barker who was approached by the sacked worker.
Leave is sought to table those documents. Is there any objection? Yes, there is objection. They will not be tabled.
Hon Dr Nick Smith Link to this
I seek the leave of the House to table a clip from the Nelson Mail in which the local member of Parliament, Damien O’Connor, said that the orchardists required the Immigration Service to take a broad approach and not to prosecute where overseas persons—
Russell Fairbrother Link to this
What advice does the Minister have for members of Parliament who criticise the arrest of illegal workers?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
My advice is to put the interests of their constituents first—not to toe the National Party line, which is apparently to align Kiwi workers’ wages not with Australia but with Vietnam, India, and Indonesia.
Craig FossDoes the Minister truly believe that his department has seasonal work issues addressed, when desperate and frustrated growers in Hawke’s Bay with crops waiting to be harvested have given up on the Minister’s approval in principle process because of bureaucracy and delays; and, with over 6,000 forecast vacancies in the region, is this a clear sign that the Minister’s strategy for seasonal labour is not working?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
The industry has welcomed the launch of the Horticulture and Viticulture Seasonal Labour Strategy, which includes approvals in principle for grape and fruit pickers. I can inform the House that three approvals in principle have been issued for apple growers in the Hawke’s Bay. One of them was turned down by the department because of corruption on the part of the recruitment agency.
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith Link to this
Do the Minister’s department’s criteria for picking up illegal overstayers in New Zealand target any particular groups for any particular reasons; if not, will we now see greater effort to pick up overstayers across all ethnicities and all regions of New Zealand?
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE Link to this
Most definitely the service does target that. It targets legal workers with the skills to do the job, wherever they come from.