Media Release

5 July 2007

Still Too Many Unskilled Migrants

While acknowledging that the New Zealand Residence Programme for the coming year has been set slightly lower, New Zealand First remains concerned at the high proportion of unskilled migrants entering the country.

The Immigration Minister today announced that the number of migrants being sought under the New Zealand Residence Programme in 2007-08 has been set in the range 45,000 to 50,000. This compares with last years figure of 47,000 to 52,000.

Deputy Leader Peter Brown says that while the decreasing numbers are a positive sign, a great deal more needs to be done to increase the proportion of skilled migrants in the annual quota.

“We must end the blind commitment to bringing in 45,000 plus migrants annually and ensure that migrant numbers are matched to true gaps in the labour market that New Zealanders are not able to fill,” said Mr Brown.

“While we are obliged to accept 750 refugees through our UN commitments, the Government has set aside between 4,500 – 5,000 places in the International/Humanitarian stream for the upcoming year. That is nearly seven times more than our international obligations.

“20,000 migrants coming into New Zealand annually with no guarantee of positively contributing to our economy is far too many. The Government needs to reassess its policies and ensure that priority is given to meeting New Zealand’s economic needs first,” said Mr Brown.

ENDS

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