Belich CamillaImmigrationCAMILLA BELICH (Chairperson of the Education and Workforce Committee): Thank you Mr Chair. It's a privilege to take the first call as chair of the Education and Workforce Committee to look at the Estimates in relation to Immigration.The Education and Workforce Committee did examine the Estimates in relation to Immigration at a hearing with the Minister of Immigration and we have compiled a report as part of our Estimates for Vote Labour Market.The vote and the Estimates for Immigration are quite considerable although a smaller percentage of the overall vote. I think it's about $542.5 million that is estimated for spending in relation to the Immigration space. This is actually a decrease from the appropriations from the previous 2022/23 year when there was a slightly higher amount that was estimated to spend. So that's an interesting observation for members to note.We did cover a number of areas during our examination of the Estimates. The main areas that we looked at were assessment and processing services which were about 68.9 percent of the appropriations; integrity and security of New Zealand's immigration systems; settlement and integration of refugees and other migrants; services for the attraction of migrants; and regulation of immigration advisers.Now members will be aware that these are significant Estimates for Immigration but additionally the Immigration portfolio is also bolstered by fees and levies which are charged on visa applications. This was a slightly different type of revenue that came in during the COVID-19 process but we were advised during the Estimates in this area that there was a slight deficit at the end of June 2023 but there is an expected surplus of just under $19 million at 30 June 2024. We were also informed that we expect to see these counts trend towards zero which is in line with the Auditor-General's guidelines on best practice in this area.During our Estimates hearing we covered a number of important matters that were significant to members of the committee within these Estimates and a number of those were part of the pathways to residence that could allow migrants to stay in New Zealand.We discussed a number of those important pathways. The first one is one that is active from October 2023 and that was the skilled migrant category pathway. This has been changed recently in June 2023 and those announcements were made by the Minister of Immigration and they include having an acceptable job offer and six points and there's details in the reports as to how that can be accrued.Additionally we looked at the Green List pathway. This is a pathway which will open on 29 September 2023 and that's a list of in-demand jobs that it's obviously important that we get people to come and perform in New Zealand.Additionally we looked at the care workforce and transport sector agreements pathway. Again this is another pathway which is looking to have applications open on 29 September 2023.We also had a look at amnesty for overstayers. This is an issue that was raised by members of the committee and the Minister at the time the Hon Michael Wood stated that he considered the issue was important" and said he was working towards reaching a decision "as soon as possible".We also looked at Pacific Island nations; obviously a very important area for immigration in New Zealand—and historically with that special relationship. The Minister said the Government was paying "special attention" to the relationship with the Pacific Islands.Another matter which I thought would be important to highlight given the recent weather events was the Immigration response to the severe weather that we have had recently. So we did ask the Minister during our Estimates hearing about how the Immigration system was helping those areas recover and the Minister said that the Government had recognised the high labour needs within the areas affected by cyclones and so had introduced the cyclone Recovery Visa which allowed employers to sponsor people to come into those areas and to assist with recovery. We understand 1300 applications for this visa were received.I look forward to hearing the questions from other members in relation to the Immigration Estimates—obviously a really important part of our "building back better" for New Zealand—and I look forward to hearing the Minister's responses to those questions."