7. JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki) Link to this
to the Minister of Immigration
How is the Government’s immigration policy responding to the changing demands for labour in the face of current economic conditions?
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Immigration) Link to this
The first thing to note is that this Government’s priority is jobs for New Zealanders first. We also recognise the importance of an immigration policy that ensures that in the long term this country has the skills and the capital to build a strong economy. Each year New Zealand approves somewhere in the region of 45,000 permanent migrants, most of whom supply skills that New Zealand is short of on a long-term basis. That will continue. In contrast, in situations where more New Zealanders become available, temporary visas will not be renewed and new ones will not be issued. In summary, we will be retaining permanent migration in areas where there are long-term skill shortages and cutting back on temporary migration in areas where New Zealanders are becoming available.
How does the Government balance adjusting the flow of temporary migrants against continuing to encourage permanent migrants with the skills and capital that the country needs?
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN Link to this
An analogy is to think of temporary migration as a tap, the flow of which can be controlled according to New Zealand’s labour needs. In the current economic climate we still need highly skilled permanent migrants, but we need fewer foreign workers to come in on temporary visas when there are Kiwis available to fill those positions. Permanent residency programmes encourage people with skills that are in demand worldwide to move to New Zealand, and they also encourage people with significant capital to move to this country. Those types of people actually create jobs for all New Zealanders and help to grow the economy.
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN Link to this
The concern is that six foreign workers were issued with a variation of conditions to their work permits that allowed them to do work for which New Zealanders were available. Two weeks after the issue of those permits, New Zealand workers were made redundant and foreign workers retained their jobs. If the Department of Labour had known that the redundancies were imminent, it would not have issued a variation of conditions. I have therefore asked the Department of Labour to investigate whether the revocation of those permits is appropriate.