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Luxon on immigration ‘singing from a different songsheet’ after election – Labour
The Labour Party has conceded immigration settings may need to be tightened, but rejects National’s criticism of its record.
Speaking on Morning Report on Monday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon described the system as “a complete hash” which had gone from being “way too restrictive to way too loose” under Labour.
The latest migration figures are expected to be published on Tuesday, with the last update showing a record net gain of 118,800 in the year to September.
Labour’s new immigration spokesperson Phil Twyford said Luxon’s comments were “a little surprising” given National’s calls over the past year.
“They were incessantly calling on Labour to loosen the rules, to bring more people in, to make it easier to bring in workers on temporary visas, so they’re singing from a very different song sheet now.”
Twyford defended the Labour government’s record, saying ministers had opened up settings “for the good of the economy” given the acutely tight labour market.
“You’ve got to remember we were coming off the most extreme skill shortages that we’ve seen in memory.
“It probably is about time for striking a better balance. The indications from the data are that those skill shortages have largely been resolved.”
Green Party immigration spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March said National had been “hypocritical” in its approach and urged it against treating migrants as “expendable economic units”.
(File photo) Green Party Immigration spokesperson Ricardo Menéndez March. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
“Political parties should be taking a step back and instead thinking about the lack of long-term planning when it comes to infrastructure,” he said.
“The key conversation National should be having is not about treating migrants like economic units, but rather about things like: How do we make sure our migrant workforce is able to stay… rather than recycling people back and forth based on short-term needs.”
He said terms like “opening the floodgates” were an anti-immigration dogwhistle, and called for the party to honour its pre-election commitments.
“The National Party spoke about the need to have a more streamlined immigration system when it came to residential pathways, and they need to honour those commitments now that they’re in government.”
Policy advice firm Iron Duke Partners managing director Phil O’Reilly, a former BusinessNZ chief executive, was reassured by the approach the new government seemed to be taking.
He told RNZ the net migration figures seen now “probably feel too loose if it carries on forever”, but the government should be focusing on targeting workforce need rather than a specific number.
“The question is not whether there’s too many people coming in, it’s whether the right people are coming in to fill those gaps that employers need, and other things like family reunification.”
(File photo) Phil O’Reilly Photo: SUPPLIED
“Immigration policy should be taking into account the real needs of businesses and communities at any given time, so you definitely want a system that is nimble, that enables employers to get the talent that they need, and at the same time it doesn’t exclude New Zealanders from the jobs that they want to do.”
He said the current level of arrivals was partly the result of the previous government’s “knee-jerk” response after the Covid-19 travel restrictions dropped.
“[It was] justified by the last Labour government as listening to employers, if you like, but at the same time I think the average employer would say ‘we’ve got to have a balance here’.”
“I am encouraged by the idea that says ‘we need a strategy, we need a plan about immigration’ because that’ll actually give confidence not just for employers who might want to set up a business or grow their business … but also migrants who might want to come to New Zealand.”
Luxon later told reporters at the post-Cabinet media briefing he was not planning to set a cap on the number of migrants, saying no government could realistically achieve that.
“With our economic cycles being quite variable, the skills shortages that we need, it’s a very dynamic sort of setup. All I’m foreshadowing to you is that actually the current levels of 118,000 net migration are not sustainable for New Zealand in the long term,” he said.
He said it was about making sure there was rigour in application of inviting migrants to the country, and said another priority for the government was to get more New Zealanders off a benefit and into work.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Beehive Theatrette (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
RNZ
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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