9. Question No. 9—ImmigrationERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays) to the Minister of ImmigrationQuestion No. 9—Immigration9. ERICA STANFORD (National—East Coast Bays) to the Minister of Immigration: Why is the green list not scheduled to be reviewed until mid-2023 when there is significant pressure across the health system due to staff shortages and does he agree with the chair of Health NZ that an immigration fast-track for overseas nurses would be helpful?Hon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Immigration): In response to the first part of the question green list applications opened in September of this year only and as I've previously stated the Government will continue to monitor progress on implementing the rebalance and the green list settings and we will be prepared to make changes if there is a good case to do so. In response to the second part of the question I note the full context of the chair of Health New Zealand's comments and he said The arrangements that we currently have are proving to generate hundreds of new nurse opportunities for us." and "We're making good progress in attracting international nurses." and finally "We're making good progress on it." You know these workforce problems that we have and they're huge not just nurses but across the board were caused by years of neglect. So we are getting on with the job across domestic workforce training and across our immigration settings to deal with that challenge through practical policies. No level of grand statements about global workforce shortages which every country around the world is experiencing will change the situation but our policies such as the resident visa 2021 (RV21) which have given residence to over 3600 healthcare workers will make a difference. The Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme through which we've approved 1067 healthcare workers for visas including 468 nurses will make a difference. So we recognise these challenges but we're working with the sector to deal with them in a meaningful way.Erica Stanford: In light of that answer does he consider it a good case to make changes to the green list when last week 97 elderly and vulnerable residents of the Mercy Parklands aged-care home were told they would have to leave the facility as it was closing due to a lack of nurses bringing the number of closed aged-care residential hospital beds this year to 1140 because of the lack of nurses?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I acknowledge those particular challenges in the aged-care sector and that's why we're working on both domestic workforce issues including ensuring that those people have decent pay and conditions to remain in the sector and through our immigration settings. But as we have canvassed in this House previously the simplistic solutions that the member puts up will potentially be counter-productive in this area. One of the key bits of information that we are told by the aged-care sector is in fact that residency pathways can be particularly challenging for that sector while there remains a wage differential between the aged-care sector and other forms of nursing and care.Erica Stanford: Can he explain why a civil engineering technician with a level 6 diploma no work experience and no salary requirements above minimum wage can apply for residence immediately when a fully qualified nurse who saves lives has to wait two years?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: What I can comment on is the fact that the green list process that we have set up provides all 13 occupational categories of nurses with a simplified two-year pathway to gaining residency which is a simpler and faster pathway than was ever the case under the previous Government. In September alone 407 nurses based offshore were approved for registration in New Zealand. We acknowledge that there are challenges to work on in this sector but our policies are resulting in hundreds of nurses every month being added to this workforce.Erica Stanford: Can the Minister name just one health organisation who agrees with the Government's position of not placing nurses on the immediate pathway to residence?Hon MICHAEL WOOD: That will be for those organisations themselves to express their view on it but I do know that health organisations right across the country support our Government's focus on investing in the health sector. I know they support our Government's focus on giving huge numbers of health workers residency through RV21 and they support our Government's ongoing focus on lifting the pay and conditions of workers in that sector something that that Government didn't do over nine years which is part of the reason why we have a mess to clean up now."