Menéndez March RicardoRICARDO MENÉNDEZ MARCH (Green): Tēnā koe Madam Speaker. It's a privilege to take some time in this split call to address the Immigration (COVID-19 Response) Amendment Bill and the extension of the powers that it grants the Minister. The Green Party will be supporting this bill but we do want quite a few issues noted. As my colleague Teanau Tuiono noted this is an opportunity to address the many issues that our broken immigration system has had since before the pandemic and that have been exacerbated by the pandemic.I want to pay tribute to the many people on temporary visas onshore and offshore who have been generous in sharing their hurt—their experiences caused by the pandemic and our immigration system—because what we've currently got is an immigration system that discriminates against people based on country of origin that discriminates against people based on whether they're disabled or otherwise that discriminates against people based on wealth. And I think the Minister has an opportunity to use his powers to close the gap on this discrimination that exists in the immigration system.One of the things that I think the Minister can do is change the conditions that people from non-visa-waiver countries face that mean they have more barriers to even apply for an expression of interest to apply for a visa. We hear all these stories of people from non-visa-waiver countries having to do things like fetch missions to even be reunited with their families. The Minister could actually change the conditions for people in those countries to be able to apply. Now that does not mean that we stop taking a health approach to COVID-19. It does not mean that we're saying Let's not put those security measures at our border in place." But what we are saying is that our immigration system and the settings that we're now going to be putting in place should not discriminate against people from countries such as India simply because of where they are from.I do also think as my colleague Teanau Tuiono explained that we have to address the issue of migrant worker exploitation and exploitation in general. As the Minister has rolled over visitor visas and working holiday visas we have to acknowledge that people who have no working rights in this country are put into a vulnerable position. People who do not have access to State services by nature of their immigration status are also put in a vulnerable position and so we do hope that the Minister uses the powers granted by this bill to grant pathways to residency so that people onshore are not having to apply for emergency benefits that are currently really difficult to access or that they're put in situations where they are working illegally and taken advantage of by employers in industries like the construction sector and subsequently detained and deported. I do think this bill presents an opportunity to transform our immigration system that underpins community workers' rights and our families.I want to pay tribute as well to the many groups who have been calling for these changes from the grassroots whether it's the Supreme Sikh Society who presented a challenge to parliamentarians when they opened the sports centre—for us to reunite families for us to decouple work visas from single employers for the Government to stop visa delays. The Migrant Workers Association has been calling for pathways to residency and I think that ultimately this presents an opportunity for the Minister to listen to these calls from the grassroots with the powers that he is going to be given by the nature of this legislation. There's also unions Unemig and many Pasifika communities who understand the pains that have been caused by subsequent Governments by nature of our unpinned white immigration policy that ultimately we are facing the legacy of.Lastly I think that while these powers will allow us to act swiftly and take a health approach to the pandemic in relation to immigration settings we also have to acknowledge the structural issues that Immigration New Zealand faces currently. I think it's unacceptable for people who currently have visas to face delays when they're transitioning from one visa to another or when they're applying for a visa in the first place. As we look forward to transforming our immigration system to one where no one is exploited and where human rights are upheld I do hope the Minister takes a proactive approach in addressing the many calls from migrant communities that have been raised since the pandemic started. Kia ora."