"quality" migrants

Opinion

New Zealand looks for "quality" migrants

IMMIGRATION is an issue never long out of the headlines in New Zealand as the Pacific Island community well knows.

Getting the right mix of policies to maintain population growth and therefore ensure expansion of the economy, while not opening the borders to unmanageable numbers of newcomers, has vexed successive governments for years.

There have been countless reviews and policy changes and still the government is struggling to get it right. Latest figures show that population growth has virtually stopped, with an overall increase of only 19,300 in the 12 months to March 31, or just 0.5 per cent.

The main reason is that New Zealanders are leaving the country in record numbers at the same time as the government’s drive to attract more skilled, so-called “quality” migrants is flagging.

In the last March year. New Zealand experienced its first net annual migration loss in nine years - 10,200 more people left the country, saying they were going permanently, than newcomers arrived. Over the same period, the natural population increase of births over deaths fell slightly from 30,100 to 29,500.

The figures showed little chance of the government reaching its target of 38,000 immigrants a year announced in June 1998 when it launched yet another revamped policy.

The aim, then Immigration Minister Max Bradford said, was to achieve a net migration gain of 10,000 more permanent arrivals

over departures annually.

The accent has always been on “quality” migrants, a focus that naturally puts New Zealand in direct competition with countries like Australia, Canada and the United States, who also welcome immi grants but like to pick and choose those with qualifications and skills that can make a positive contribution to the national economy.

As far as New Zealand is concerned, that focus does not always work. Once here, many migrants find their degrees and qualifica tions are not recognised by professional bodies so they cannot prac tice and end up unemployed or doing menial jobs.

Former Prime Minister David Lange highlighted this situation in a television documentary earlier this year. (See PIM, June 1999).

But there is no shortage of other people who want to come to New Zealand and will pay a lot of money to illegal migrant traf fickers and risk their fives to get here.

This situation was highlighted in June when the government was

galvanised into action by reports that one or more shiploads of so called Chinese boat people were heading for New Zealand.

One ship with 102 Chinese on board was reported to have left Honiara in the Solomons with the express intention of trying to reach New Zealand and two others were said to be on the way.

While Chinese have landed in Australia after reportedly paying thousands of dollars to traffickers who made false promises of jobs and opportunities on arrival, none were known to have reached New Zealand.

The news confirmed government fears that New Zealand, long spared by distance from the pressures other countries faced from immigrants masquerading as refugees, was now being targeted by traffickers who preyed on people’s hopes and dreams of a better life in another land. This spurred the government into holding an urgent session of Parliament to bring forward a new law specifically designed to combat such immigration scams.

The law was passed in April but was not due to come into effect until October. It followed a fourfold increase to 2670 a year in the number of people arriving here - mostly by air - and claiming

refugee status.

An over-generous legislation allowed them to request asylum, often after destroying their passports on route, and to be released after 28 days. They were then given work permits, welfare benefits and health care and allowed to five and work here while their appli cations went through a lengthy process of investigation.

A complex system of appeals enabled them to drag out their stays for as long as six years before their claims were proved to be false - as was the case with 84 per cent of them. In one year, they cost the country at least $67 million - money that would have been better spent on New Zealanders and bona fide immigrants.

The new law allows for indefinite detention - a former prison was reactivated to house the Chinese boat people if they landed - a streamlined investigation process and quick deportation to their homeland for those whose claims of refugee status were found to be false.

New Zealand would honour its obligations under the 1951 Unit ed Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees and genuine seek ers of asylum from political, racial and religious persecution would treated accordingly, the government said.

It had already agreed to accept 600 refugees from Kosovo, on top of the 750 places set aside annually in a quota for genuine refugees referred to it by the United Nations.

But the new law would ensure the borders would be closed to illegal migrants, the government said. As with all immigration issues, this was not done without controversy.

The opposition dubbed the government’s haste in advancing the implementation date of the new law a panic move and accused it of judging the boat people illegal immigrants and not genuine refugees before they had even arrived here.

But most New Zealanders agreed it was time to end exploitation of a system that had been too loose for too long, remove any suspi cion that New Zealand was an easy target for unscrupulous mi grant traffickers and allow the government to concentrate on attracting the sort of immigrants the country needs. ■

David Barber

Wellington