Jones Dail: Immigration Amendment Bill — Instructions to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
Jones Dail: Immigration Amendment Bill — Instructions to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
[Volume:611;Page:8277] 
DAIL JONES (NZ First) 
: 
 This is a very important issue for New Zealand First and I do appreciate being given the call. The point made by the Hon Lockwood Smith is very apt for the amendment New Zealand First has put before the Committee. We have made it clear that in so far as clause 3(c) is concerned we should add the words: “Such migrants to be people who have jobs approved for them before they come to New Zealand such jobs being real vacancies and not jobs taken from existing workers in New Zealand.” To some extent that is what we all thought the Minister was saying when she introduced the bill in the dead of night under urgency many weeks ago—that is that Labour was changing the legislation so that jobs for immigrants would be matched to jobs available in New Zealand. But of course that is not what is happening. 
Labour has an obsession with having 45000 or more people coming into New Zealand every year and it wants to increase the population of New Zealand willy-nilly. For example last year 190000 people in total including international students were approved for permanent and temporary residence in the year ended June 2002. We have quoted that figure before from the geography magazine of Waikato University. It was put to the Minister at the Finance and Expenditure Committee’s consideration on the immigration estimates. She refused to recognise the figure initially but when we put it to her again she admitted that yes that statement from the geography magazine was correct. That is 190000 people including international students were approved for permanent and temporary residence with 52800 in the immigration category 73000 by student visas and permits and the balance in the temporary residence category. 
How can New Zealand manage 190000 people in a year? Mostly they are in Auckland which is an area that is growing. In the last 10 years Auckland grew by 200000 people. As a matter of interest that number was the total population of Auckland in 1929. Every 10 years Auckland is growing by 200000 which is more than the population of most of the other cities in New Zealand. If Auckland does that every 10 years it is no wonder we have problems in Auckland. 
I am pleased that Mr Adams repeated New Zealand First’s immigration policy. I had already mentioned it in my speech but he read it out again in the speech notes provided to him by his research unit. 
Rodney Hide 
: The Labour Party research unit! 
DAIL JONES 
: Perhaps it was the Labour Party research unit. He will read anything— 
Rodney Hide 
: As long as it comes from Labour. 
DAIL JONES 
: Yes as long as it comes from Labour. We made it clear in our election policy that we would cut immigration approval to 10000 immigrants a year. 
We also said we would increase penalties for breaches of immigration laws. What will happen to this bloke Mohebbi or whoever who is involved in this legislation we are rushing through the Committee tonight? He will just get sent back to Iran. He has committed bigamy which is a breach of our law but what will we do to him? We will just send him back home. 
Rodney Hide 
: That’s Labour Party policy. 
DAIL JONES 
: Yes it is Labour Party policy. He has had a good 6 or 7 years in New Zealand and now we will send him back home. 
We said we would have a 3-year probation for immigrants during which lawbreakers would be deported and there would be pre-arrival health screening including screening for HIV. We see from the clause about the objects of this bill that nothing like that is covered to ensure proper health screenings for people who come to New Zealand. We have tuberculosis here now on a big scale. In question time today the Prime Minister seemed to know what the figures were in 1991 but she could not tell us what the figures are today after 4 years of her administration. That was another very convenient lapse of memory. 
We have made it clear we believe that the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions has some very good ideas in this area. I was interested in its quotation from the  
Population and Sustainable Development 2003 
 report. The council left out the first few words of this quotation but I will put them in. It is a very good quotation: “In terms of populations the impacts of fundamentals such as lifestyle wages opportunities and safety will outlast any artificial incentives that may be provided to attract migrants or influence New Zealanders to stay or return.” What was not read out was: “There is the chance of a downward spiral if New Zealand can’t get the right mix to attract retain regain and utilise skilled people.” 
We in New Zealand First believe there will be a downward spiral with this Government’s policy because it is a slap-happy haphazard policy that is trying to bring in 45000-plus people. Last year the figure was 190000 people. We say that we have to link the job with the immigrant. We cannot just bring in 45000 people and hope they will have jobs. That is all the Labour Party’s policy is and it intends to do that every year. Every year time and time again Labour will bring in another 45000 people—mainly into Auckland—on top of everybody else. New Zealand has never been able to sustain that type of immigration. On a per capita basis there would not be any other country in the world that could do that type of thing.