New Zealand election 2011: What are the parties' New Zealand immigration policies?

by Aleksandar 11/22/2011 2:21:00 PM

New Zealand is set to vote in a general election on Saturday 26 November and while most polls have the incumbent National Party under Prime Minister John Key safely ahead, in a democracy as robust as NZ's anything could happen.

Naturally, the various parties have slightly different approaches to immigration issues and are making different pledges to the Kiwi electorate in this key policy area.

But regardless of which party occupies the Beehive after the election, some changes to the immigration system or the direction of immigration and/or New Zealand visa policy are probable.

Visa Bureau has summarised the main immigration policies put forward by the parties contesting this election so that you can be aware of any changes before they happen.

Act New Zealand

Act New Zealand is a breakaway group from the National Party and a support partner in the current minority Government. They are a centre-right party that, like the National Party, are focused on economic growth and therefore the economic benefits of migration.

The Act Party proposes the following in its 2011 election immigration policy platform:

To lower administrative barriers to entering New Zealand so as to make migration a more attractive option;
To ensure immigration "does not become a drain on the welfare state";
To ensure migrant intake is focused primarily on "productive workers who will enrich our society and economy, create jobs through entrepreneurship, links to home countries, and demand for goods and services"; and
To improve general economic performance through reducing government spending and overregulation which will in turn make immigration to NZ more attractive.

The Green Party

The Green Party's roots are in environmental politics but they are also strong supporters of immigration. The Greens propose an immigration system that is heavily focused on human rights and humanitarian paths to migration as well as economic.

In this election, the Greens have put forward immigration policies including:

Increasing New Zealand's annual refugee intake from 750 to 1000;
Enhancing government resources for refugee resettlement programs;
Abolish the current "lottery" system for refugee family reunification and introduce a "fair process with published priorities and standards";
Prioritise skilled workers that will aid a "sustainable society and economy";
Ensure temporary migrants are given equal pay and conditions as co-workers with different visa status;
Ensure that immigration levels are reviewed regularly and based on net population change, environmental factors and international humanitarian obligations; and
Begin preparations for "climate change refugees".

The Labour Party

The Labour Party is the main opposition party in New Zealand currently holding 42 of the 122 seats in the Parliament's House of Representatives and was previously in Government from 1999 to 2008.

Labour has made a suite of immigration pledges this election, both threatening to repeal policies of the National Government and introduce new policies if elected. Policy ideas include:

A review of the Skilled Migrant Category to ensure best practice;
Flexible arrangements for migrants on business and investor New Zealand visas;
Increase opportunities for young foreign entrepreneurs to emigrate to New Zealand including the possibility of visa extensions for international students;
Reverse the changes to the visa system for temporary entertainment workers introduced by the Key Government and set to come into affect in March 2012;
Strengthen mental health services for refugees;
Review the refugee family reunification program;
Support options for refugees to enrol in tertiary education;
Introduce a specialist Immigration Ombudsman within the Office of the Ombudsman, to investigate system issues, complaints and immigration detention issues;
Establish a Residence Review Panel to assist the Immigration Minister on residency policy issues.

The Mana Party

The Mana Party is contesting a general election for the first time in 2011 and was formed by Hone Harawira MP after his expulsion from the Maori Party. The Mana Party has not released a cohesive immigration policy as of yet but recently Mana candidate for the seat of Makukau East John Minto made comments accusing the current system of "pervasive racism" against New Zealanders of Pacific Islander origin.

The Maori Party

Formed by former Labour Minister Tariana Turia in 2004 following her resignation over the foreshore and seabed controversy - a dispute over traditional indigenous ownership of natural resources - the Maori Party is committed to keeping New Zealand's laws compliant with the Treaty of Waitangi. It is currently a support partner in the National minority government.

The Maori Party does not have an official stance on New Zealand immigration issues such as visas or intake levels but has proposed a policy to make New Zealand citizenship conditional on completion of a course in the history of the treaty. "To complete globally it is important that new citizens share our understanding of history," says the Maori Party's election policy document.

The National Party

Should the National Party be re-elected we are likely to see a continuation of the immigration policies implemented and prioritised since coming to power in 2008. The Nats' immigration policy document explains that "immigration plays a crucial part in National's plan to build a brighter future".

The party says that if re-elected it will continue to expand and develop its current immigration policies such as the Silver Fern Visa program, residency application process for religious workers, overhaul of processes at Immigration New Zealand and changes to the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.

But the Nats have also flagged some new immigration policies and priorities to be implemented if John Key's team secures a second term, including:

Attracting more business migrants and investment capital;
Import skilled labour to assist with the post-earthquake rebuild of Christchurch; and
Implement a whole-of-government single-agency approach to refugees and asylum seekers.

United Future

Like the Act and Maori parties, United Future has in the last Parliament entered a confidence and supply agreement with National, making it a support partner in the minority government. Immigration and population is one of the key policy interests of this party, formed in 2002 from an amalgamation of centrist and Christian democrat parties. In this election it has proposed policies including:

A 10-year population strategy to identify and minimise the impact of demographic changes;
Devise and implement comprehensive immigrant settlement programs to provide immigrants with language, social services and job placement support;
Establish a Business Development Agency to help migrants set up businesses;
Encourage "all migrants to consider themselves as New Zealanders";
Establish a retirement NZ visa to allow parents of permanent residents and citizens to be sponsored for migration;
Establish a specific employment-finding agency for refugees;
Create a mentor system for new migrants to help them adjust to life in New Zealand.

These various policy platforms highlight the differing views on the direction of immigration policy in New Zealand politics. Whoever forms the next government, and the amount of seats and therefore bargaining power and policy attention that each of these parties receive at this election, will impact on the opportunities for emigration to New Zealand and what you can expect when you arrive.

- Aleks Vickovich is Online Editor for the New Zealand Visa Bureau.

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

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Australian Bushfires: How to Help

by Andy 2/9/2009 10:39:00 AM

You may have read about the bushfires racing through Victoria, especially through small towns on the outskirts of Melbourne. In Victoria, the bushfires have already claimed over one hundred lives and destroyed entire towns.

We at the Visa Bureau would like to extend our hopes for the safety of our clients, and our families and friends, who may be affected by the bushfires.

If you would like to help those affected by the fires, we would encourage you to make a donation to the Australian Red Cross. You can learn more about the Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal 2009 at this website: http://www.redcross.org.au

Please note that the Australian Red Cross is dealing with unprecedented traffic to its website, so you may need to be patient.

UPDATE: Additionally, if you are concerned for the safety of family and friends in the areas affected by the bushfires in Victoria and have been unable to contact them directly, we advise you call the Australian Red Cross hotline on + 61 3 9328 3716.

Our hopes are with everybody in the area, and with the firefighters and soldiers working to stop the flames.

- Andy Harwood is the CEO of the Visa Bureau

©Visa Bureau 2003-2010

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

Australia | General

British Expats Article - A Mea Culpa?

by Tom 10/2/2008 4:22:00 PM

A few weeks ago, we wrote an article for British Expats called "Would You Be Better Off in Oz?"

The article, it seems, set off a bit of controversy in the British Expats discussion area!

In the interest of transparency, I would like to share our background research so that we can be entirely open about where those numbers came from. Interestingly, our original versions of this article, and in places where we use it in promotional material, the piece contains full citations. We removed them from the version on British Expats in the interests of brevity. It is an editorial decision that we regret! (You'll have to forgive the boring statistical explanation below.)

The figures in all of the comparison tables are based on the exchange rate of 2.12 Australian dollars to the British pound, as provided by Oanda.com on August 2nd 2008. Oanda.com powers the exchange rate calculations on our site, among others.

Salary figures were sourced from Salaryexpert.com's August 2008 data, which is in turn based on industry and government publications. We also used an Australian State and Territory funded employment information source called My Future, found at my www.myfuture.edu.au

If any readers are interested, MyFuture is actually a great source for highly specific career, wage and qualification information! You can find detailed industry and occupation information at MyFuture.

We are confident that the average salaries we listed were accurate at the time the document was written: 02/08/2008.

Our cost of goods research was from the UK Office of National Statistics (numbers circa July 2008) and from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which uses the average cost of goods in the eight capital cities of Australia.

As for property prices, these were sourced from the 2008 Real Estate Market Outlook provided by the Real Estate Institute of Australia. Our UK housing prices were, in turn, sourced from the UK's Direct.gov site: www.communities.gov.uk.

I hope that addresses where we got our numbers, but I also recognise the feeling that we have been misleading. We painted a rosy picture of life in Australia in an article that reads more like a sales pitch than the kind of neutral exploration of life abroad that British Expats is known for.

I'd like to extend an open invitation to British Expats members (Hi BE readers!) to poke away at our research, ask questions, and share their opinions and experiences with us. That's the great power of online community!

-Tom Blackett is the Online Editor for the Visa Bureau.

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

Australia | General

Our new Visa Bureau Blog

by Tom 6/20/2008 11:35:00 AM

Welcome to the new Visa Bureau Blog.

Two Speech Bubbles We're starting a conversation!

We'll use this blog to keep you informed about immigration and visa issues that could affect you, share some of our insights and comment on newsworthy events.

More importantly, we're opening ourselves up to comments, questions and feedback from you. Every post in our blog will have space for your insights or questions. We welcome constructive discussion and questions. We will answer your questions on this blog and address any concerns you may have about what we write.

This blog is a conversation, not just a broadcast.

As a company, we value openness, communication, honesty and professionalism. Those values will be reflected in this blog.

When our experts write a post or answer a question, we'll take a moment to introduce them. Our contributors include Migration Agents, Online Editors, members of our Case Processing team, and even our CEO. We want to make our relationship to our readers and clients as open as possible.

I'm Tom Blackett, the Online Editor here at Visa Bureau. I'm responsible for making sure our website has only the most up-to-date information (and that it's good to read!) My team and I will be spending time to moderate this blog, forwarding questions to staff and working to make sure that our readers have the best possible experience.

My team and I are looking forward to moderating the discussion here on the Visa Bureau Blog and helping you, our readers, get the most out of this ongoing conversation.

Happy blogging!

Visa Bureau takes no responsibility and cannot be held accountable for action taken as a result of any information or comment provided on this blog, and we recommend that you always seek a number of opinions before making a decision regarding your migration or visa application. Please refer to the Visa Bureau terms of use for more information.

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