Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumePeters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 03 December 2013. Volume:695;Page:15116. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]3.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) to theMinister of Immigration: Does he stand by his statement “I want to make it clear that jobs for New Zealanders will always be the number one priority”; if so why?Hon NIKKI KAYE (Associate Minister of Immigration) on behalf of theMinister of Immigration: Yes because it is true.Rt Hon Winston Peters: If the answer is: “Yes because it is true.” was he making New Zealand students the No. 1 priority when the Government changed the rules so that foreign students could work in New Zealand whilst they studied in New Zealand; if so how?Hon NIKKI KAYE: The reason we made those changes is that there is actually clear evidence that international students contribute significantly to the economy. I would be happy to get the member specific figures around the contribution that they make but he may be aware that there was a recent report that showed that significant contribution.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Does he believe it will be harder or easier for New Zealand students to get New Zealand jobs over the holidays when they now have to compete with foreign students applying for the very same jobs in the New Zealand economy?Hon NIKKI KAYE: I think you have to take a number of things into account when you answer that question. The first thing I would say which is repeating what I said before is that there is a significant economic contribution made by those people so there are jobs that are sometimes created by some of those people coming into the labour market. The second thing I would say is that there is a range of other contributions that international migrants make. If you actually look at the international migrant investor category for instance which I think is contributing about—Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was very exact—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I heard the question. What is the point of order?Rt Hon Winston Peters: Well I am about to make it—Mr SPEAKER: Yes.Rt Hon Winston Peters: —if you will give me slight chance to do that.Mr SPEAKER: I will give the member every chance to—Rt Hon Winston Peters: The Standing Orders require the Minister to be to the point and to answer the question. My question was is it harder or easier—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I have heard enough. [Interruption] Order! The member asked a question. The Minister was addressing that question quite adequately. The member cannot demand an answer in terms of whether it would be harder or easier. The member has other supplementary questions. If he wants a more incisive answer to his questions then he had better design a more incisive question.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I can do it better than you can. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Supplementary question Brendan Horan. [Interruption] Order! I have called Brendan Horan for a supplementary question.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: No it is a point of order so it will be heard in silence.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I seek a clarification of your ruling there. If you would like it to be more incisive how would you be more incisive than to—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. [Interruption] The member will resume his seat. He is now challenging a decision I made about the adequacy of the answer and to use a point of order to do that will lead to disorder.Brendan Horan: How can the Minister be serious about making jobs for New Zealanders the No. 1 priority when last year his department issued over 145000 temporary work visas for heartland Kiwi jobs including nearly 2000 dairy farm workers and even 507 truck drivers?Hon NIKKI KAYE: I cannot confirm the figures that he mentions but what I can tell him is that over the last 5 years there has been a drop of about 20000 in the number of work visas issued. So under our Government I think we are having that balance of investing in New Zealanders and ensuring that they are at the front of the queue while seeing a significant drop in terms of those work visas.Brendan Horan: I seek leave to table a Official Information Act response to over 145000 temporary work visas having been issued in the past year including—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Leave is sought to table this Official Information Act response. Is there any objection to that being tabled? There is. Supplementary question the Rt Hon Winston Peters—sorry the right honourable Prime Minister John Key.Rt Hon John Key: To the Minister—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I apologise to the Prime Minister.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My point of order is that now I do deserve an apology.Mr SPEAKER: The member will not be here for much longer to receive any apologies at all; I can assure him of that.Rt Hon John Key: Could the Minister tell the House whether it will be easier for a student to get a job over summer if they are working for a company that could be exporting to China—to which there is now $8 billion worth of exports taking place—if they go to a company that might have a 90-day probationary period if they are part of the businesses enjoying interest rates at a 50-year low—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! The question is now certainly long enough. Will the Minister please address it.Hon NIKKI KAYE: That is an excellent question.Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Most of that material was not even close to being within the responsibility of the Minister of Immigration.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask the member to look at the primary question. The question then asked whether it is easier to get jobs etc. That refers back to—Grant Robertson: And there was a whole lot of material that was nothing to do with it.Mr SPEAKER: There was quite a lot of material in it and when I realised the extent of the material that the Prime Minister was trying to outlay I brought him to heel. [Interruption] Order! This close to Christmas I would be reluctant to be asking members to leave the House but if this disorder continues I will not hesitate to do so. Would the Minister please complete the answer.Hon NIKKI KAYE: As I said before that is an excellent question. I can confirm that what the Prime Minister mentioned is only half of the initiatives that we have done under our Government to ensure that young people have access to a job. Yes under our Government more of them will be able to get jobs because of the excellent economic policies that we have implemented.Rt Hon Winston Peters: If the reason for export education is to attract more foreign students who will pay for their New Zealand education with foreign money from their foreign economy in order to benefit our export education economy how does exporteducation work if the foreign student is unable to pay for their education here without first working in our economy?Hon NIKKI KAYE: With regard to the first part of the question I would say to him that my understanding is that the changes we recently made around student workers’ rights will contribute $2.6 billion to the international education sector.Rt Hon Winston Peters: This is not an answer at all for goodness’ sake!Hon NIKKI KAYE: Yes it is because it actually translates to 28000 jobs. So the point Mr Peters is that it is not just about the visas that are issued. It is about the jobs that are created by the international education sector and our estimate is that that is 28000 more jobs for young New Zealanders.Rt Hon Winston Peters: How on earth can an export education policy work or make any sense at all when New Zealand students are already struggling to find jobs in this country and when Australia has just shut down the option of work for the same students whom he is allowing to work in our country?Hon NIKKI KAYE: We set our immigration policies for what is best for New Zealand. As I said before the way that it works is the international education sector contributes a significant amount in terms of new jobs and 28000 is what we anticipate as a result of the changes that we have announced. For instance in the electorate of Auckland Central I can tell you that there are a number of education institutions that are creating real jobs for students over the summer because of those young people coming to study here.