Hon Lockwood Smith MP
National Party Immigration Spokesman
22 September 2006

Exodus to Aust continues unabated

National’s Immigration Spokesman, Lockwood Smith, says the latest immigration statistics show that the exodus of Kiwis to Australia is continuing unabated.

In the 12 months ending August 2006 we had inflows of migrants from the United Kingdom, Fiji, India, Japan, Philippines, China, Germany and South Africa.

“But the inflow of long-term migrants from those top eight countries is almost completely swamped by the net outflow to Australia of 20,400. That was unchanged from the previous year,” says Dr Smith.

“Closing the per capita income gap with Australia is the urgent task ahead for New Zealand, but Labour policies are standing in the way, and that gap is growing ever wider.

”National wants the best for New Zealand but we must start to chip away at that income gap or people will continue to see a life across the ditch as a more attractive prospect.”

ENDS

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