Smith Lockwood: Immigration Advisers Licensing Bill — Second Reading 
Smith Lockwood: Immigration Advisers Licensing Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:638;Page:8372] 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH (National—Rodney) 
: 
 It is not often I agree with the Hon David Cunliffe the Minister of Immigration but we do need migrants in this country. Of course we need them to replace the thousands of New Zealanders escaping from this Labour Government in New Zealand at the moment. In the last 12 months 22000 people have headed off to Australia to get away from the controlling tentacles of this Labour Government. 
In speaking to the second reading of the Immigration Advisers Licensing Bill I will not repeat the detail the Minister has given on what the bill does. In many ways for the National Opposition it was a matter of some judgment that we exercise in supporting this bill and its second reading. The dilemma is that the bill sets up yet more Government bureaucracy. This country is just being weighed down by a massive growth in Government bureaucracy but on balance we accept it is important that immigration consultants and advisers are registered. 
I congratulate the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee on its examination of the legislation because originally as the Government had introduced the bill this bureaucracy was all to be part of the Department of Labour. I think that would have been very unfortunate because that department has a few problems on its hands. It is not one of our most successful departments in my view. It made a lot of sense for the select committee to recommend that the complaints and disciplinary tribunal now be established within the Ministry of Justice and the bill has been altered accordingly. Having that kind of independence from the Department of Labour is a smart move and I congratulate the select committee on doing that. 
Also National listened to what the people making submissions had to say about the bill. It is worth noting that I think all submitters including immigration consultant groups supported the thrust of the legislation—that immigration consultants and advisers should be licensed. So National’s having listened to that helped it to support this legislation. 
One issue that the Minister mentioned still needs further thought—that is the restraint of trade. To suggest that certain people should not be able to be immigration consultants or advisers for a period of time such as former Ministers or employees of Immigration New Zealand is an unnecessary constraint of trade. I was once an Associate Minister of Immigration. I have no desire to be an immigration consultant. I guess that after having handled as a constituency MP so many immigration cases I have no desire to be an immigration consultant. But to have legislation imposing that kind of restraint of trade is not necessary and I think that my good colleague Pansy Wong may move an amendment during the Committee stage so that members have the chance to reconsider that issue. 
So with some of those concerns about the risk of adding yet more to the massively burgeoning bureaucracy under this Labour Government I think that there will be pluses from this legislation—as long as the establishment of this process to register and license immigration consultants is kept efficient. National will support this legislation but we will be making sure that as it is implemented the bureaucracy and bureaucratic requirement is kept to a minimum.