Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Peters wants to drag New Zealand backwards

27 May 2005 Media Statement

Peters wants to drag New Zealand backwards

Immigration Minister Paul Swain says Winston Peters has once again gone off the deep end with his latest rantings about immigration.

"New Zealand needs skilled migrants, tourists and students to get ahead, but as usual Winston Peters wants to threaten all that for cheap political points in election year by dragging us all backwards with him. He ignores the fact that New Zealand is a nation built on migration.

"In contrast, the government's policies are a balance between attracting the migrants, tourists and students we need with the importance of protecting our borders from people we do not want.

"The Skilled Migrant Category targets migrants who can add to the economy at a time when we need more skilled people. Mr Peters' policies would guarantee that skills shortages would continue.

"At the same time we have invested more than $30 million over the last two years to strengthen the Immigration Service's fraud detection and investigation capabilities."

Mr Swain said Mr Peters had shown his lack of understanding of what the government had already done to strengthen New Zealand's borders and migration systems.

The government has also started a fundamental review of the 18-year-old Immigration Act to make it more relevant to New Zealand’s needs and the international environment, which had both changed since the Act was introduced in 1987.

The Immigration Service is now deciding applications from the highest-risk countries onshore. This is part of a longer-term goal of bringing most decision-making about visas and migrants onshore. A new category of "undesirability" has also been developed to allow staff to better judge the suitability of applicants. A special team has been set up to review all applications from the highest-risk countries for the last two years.

"In addition, legislation will be introduced into Parliament shortly that will regulate immigration agents to tidy up the industry," Mr Swain said.

ENDS

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines


Gordon Campbell: On The US Opposition To Mortgage Interest Deductibility For Landlords


Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don't think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of political capital by giving landlords a huge $2.9 billion tax break via interest deductibility, while still preaching the need for austerity to the disabled, and to everyone else...
More


 
 

Government: Concerns Conveyed To China Over Cyber Activity
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity... More

ALSO:


Government: GDP Decline Reinforces Government’s Fiscal Plan

Declining GDP for the December quarter reinforces the importance of restoring fiscal discipline to public spending and driving more economic growth, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says... More

ALSO:


Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.