12. Question No. 12—ImmigrationJO LUXTON (Labour—Rangitata) to the Minister of ImmigrationQuestion No. 12—Immigration12. JO LUXTON (Labour—Rangitata) to the Minister of Immigration: What recent announcements has he made about the next steps in the Government's plan to reconnect New Zealanders to the world?Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Immigration): The Government is focused on an immigration setting that works for New Zealand which is why we have rebalanced our immigration settings; created streamlined pathways to residency that didn't previously exist for highly skilled migrants; and reopened our borders welcoming thousands of skilled migrants to our shores in recent months in spite of global labour shortages. Last week I announced the next steps in our plans to reconnect New Zealand to the world and fill workplace shortages. Firstly we are resuming the skilled migrant category (SMC) with streamlined settings and an interim reopening under the previous settings. We're also delivering on a 2020 manifesto commitment made by Labour to restart the parent category visa increasing the number of visas granted each year and reducing income thresholds which is very important in terms of ensuring that skilled migrants can settle well into New Zealand.Jo Luxton: Why have these changes been made?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: The Government is committed to listening to the voices of businesses migrants and workers and ensuring that their views are reflected in our approach to immigration. We know there is a very challenging global labour shortage at the moment and that businesses are often finding it difficult to recruit internationally in a constrained global labour market. These announcements show that the Government and the immigration system are responsive to domestic and international trends while continuing to make sure that we deliver on our rebalance and ensure that our immigration system supports a high-wage high-productivity economy and treats migrants with dignity and respect.Jo Luxton: Why is restarting the parent category visa so important?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Well a key part of attracting migrants to New Zealand and ensuring the wellbeing of those who are here is making sure that they can have access to family and the support that they can offer. The parent visa category was closed in 2016 under the previous National Government; our Government is not only reopening it but modernising the settings by providing 2500 places per year and additional options in order to be able to meet income thresholds. Resuming selections from this existing queue is a priority—and I've certainly heard that from migrant communities—and I'm pleased to say that those selections will resume from 14 November this year.Erica Stanford: Can the Minister explain why under his new streamlined SMC policy a new graduate with a PhD in say existential philosophy will be able to apply for a residence immediately when a nurse still has to wait two years to even apply for residency?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Our immigration settings operate across a range of different visa categories. The skilled migrant category is about for the most part attracting and supporting migrants to settle into New Zealand who might take between five to six years to obtain the level of qualifications that are required in New Zealand. What is absolutely accurate to say is that under our settings across the skilled migrant category across the green list category that the member refers to and across resident visa 2021 this Government is providing more and more streamlined ways for skilled migrants to settle in New Zealand than has ever been the case before.Erica Stanford: Supplementary question.SPEAKER: Sorry; National have no more supplementaries.Jo Luxton: What feedback has he had on the changes?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I've had very positive feedback on the changes that we have announced including from the Restaurant Association of New Zealand. One of their members said Because of this change our business will be able to hire chefs who have been trained in some of the most prestigious kitchens in the world." Business New Zealand CEO Kirk Hope said "The resumption of the [SMC] is good news for [business] hoping to fill staff shortages in highly skilled areas." And Pranav Birla who was quoted on Newshub said of the parent category announcement when he spoke about his parents hearing the news "They were like that's really good news to wake up to they were stoked".Jo Luxton: How else has the Government delivered on filling skills shortages?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: Data on the accredited employer job checks and work visa so far shows that Immigration New Zealand is making decisions more quickly than were being made for the previous essential skills visa in 2018 and 2019. Since it was rolled out in July of this year the mean time frame for job checks and the accredited employer work visa is 17 week days; whereas the median decision time frame for essential skills visas in 2018 and 2019 was 20 workdays in 2018 and 21 workdays in 2019. More than 31000 working holiday scheme applications have been approved since March and thousands more working holidaymakers are expected to arrive in the coming months. On this side of the House making loud statements and waving hands loudly in the air doesn't cut it; we're actually getting on with practical measures to deal with these challenging global labour shortages."