7. Question No. 7—ImmigrationMARJA LUBECK (Labour) to the Minister of ImmigrationQuestion No. 7—Immigration7. MARJA LUBECK (Labour) to the Minister of Immigration: What recent reports has he seen about critical workforce support for Kiwi businesses?Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Immigration): I continue to receive updates across the range of initiatives the Government has under way to address the immediate skill shortages in New Zealand and speed up our economic recovery. Since April 2020 through the critical purpose work visa we've approved visas for nearly 38000 people across a range of critical workforces. Through this visa nearly 6000 critical health workers have entered the country to bolster the health workforce and support our COVID response. Through the residency 2021 programme a total of 73291 people currently onshore have been approved for residency and from Monday next week New Zealand will fully reopen to tourist visitor and student visas from around the world marking the final step in our process of reconnecting New Zealand with the world. The Government's doing the work to make sure that New Zealand is well positioned to speed up our economic recovery address worker shortages and set up our immigration system for a sustainable future.Marja Lubeck: How do these measures address global workforce challenges?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: There's no doubt that New Zealand like other countries is facing challenges in filling skill gaps in some key industries brought about as a result of the global pandemic and low unemployment and also as a result of past under-investment in skills training and an overreliance on low-paid migrant labour over recent decades. Through the immigration rebalance we've carefully designed a system that provides pathways to residence for a range of critical roles while simplifying and streamlining settings and ensuring that wages and working conditions for migrant workers are decent and fair. This is a Government that's focused on lifting wages and conditions for all workers and in doing so making New Zealand a more attractive destination to live and work. Marja Lubeck: How is the Government supporting the New Zealand workforce through the high quality investment for migrants? Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Last week the Government announced changes to New Zealand's investor visa settings to attract experienced high-value investors and bring growth opportunities to domestic businesses by incentivising active investment into New Zealand. Active investment generates more high-skill jobs and economic growth compared to passive investment under the previous settings. This new visa category will also leverage the skills experience and networks of migrants who will bring their access to global networks and global markets to help Kiwi companies grow faster and smarter and create jobs for New Zealanders. Erica Stanford: Can the Minister confirm that only one nurse has applied for a visa under the new green list settings since the announcement in May?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I can update the member and the House that under the job check settings under the Accredited Employer Work Visa there have been a total of 1064 applications for health workers received and over the last week or so 137 of them have been approved including—I'm advised as of today—one batch of 50 nurses.