Mark Ron: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMark Ron: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 08 June 2016. Volume:714;Page:11781. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.RON MARK (Deputy Leader—NZ First) to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all his Ministers?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Ron Mark: How can he have confidence in the Minister of Immigration who seriously misleads the public about arrival figures when 93889 non - New Zealand citizens arrived here permanently in the past year?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I reject the proposition in the member’s question.Ron Mark: Why is his Minister of Immigration misleading the public regarding returning Kiwis when in the past year they numbered just over 30000 compared with over 93000 non-Kiwis?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Of course the Minister of Immigration normally talks to these matters in net numbers—what is the net difference—and if one looks at the 71000 as I understand it the bulk of the 71000 net number is made up by either New Zealanders returning or not going people coming on international working holidays or people coming to work in skilled and construction areas. Of course there are lots of people who come and go. Interestingly enough the member might be surprised to know that the number of people who actually have residency in New Zealand is lower than when his leader was the Minister of Foreign Affairs.Ron Mark: Does he stand by his Minister of Immigration’s stance on capping immigration numbers as being xenophobic when many Kiwis are being pushed out of the job and housing market because low-skilled migrants are driving down wages and adding pressure on the housing crisis in Auckland?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: One looks at the net migration numbers in New Zealand. As I said earlier they are made up in a number of different areas. Firstly we certainly would not want to stop Kiwis who are returning to New Zealand who abandoned ship after the terrible years of the Clark Government—or during the terrible years—and chose Australia from coming home. We certainly would not want to stop Australians who are free to come over here at any time. We would not want to stop people who come as a part of our treaties—from Samoa and the like. We would not want to stop people who come with the skills category we need in areas like construction or agriculture that we see. We would not want to stop students who come to New Zealand who form a big part of the thing. We would not want to stop people who come on working holiday programmes. I think New Zealand is a far better and richer country for having migration in the way that we do. Yes it puts some pressure on the system and we just simply need to fund that or build more houses.Ron Mark: How can he have confidence in his Minister of Finance when he was warned by Treasury in December last year that migrant workers are driving down wages and that “The increasing flows of younger and lower-skilled migrants may be contributing to a lack of employment opportunities for local workers”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: It is fair to say that the Government does not always accept Treasury’s advice but interestingly enough if you look at for instance workers who have come under the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme—I think actually most New Zealand companies that have been involved in that would say they are invaluable in areas like our viticulture and horticulture sector—the Government has been interested in trying to see whether that will work for local workers and has been trialling domestic RSE schemes. It is actually more challenging to find those workers than the member might think.Ron Mark: How can he have confidence in his Minister for Building and Housing who is not only failing the housing needs of Auckland citizens but also failing to keep up with his Minister of Immigration who is busy pumping an extra 34000 migrants into Auckland each year?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: By any measure the Minister for Building and Housing is doing a tremendous job. Yes of course it is a challenge but he has undertaken far more reforms than any other housing Minister. Yes it is true that New Zealand is a popular destination. Yes it is true that we have got some of the lowest interest rates this country has seen in over 60 years. Yes it is true that consumer confidence is high and business confidence is high. Yes it is true that New Zealand is a desired destination for people to come to but I think that is a sign of success. I know the member wants to be a little down in the mouth about it but when he was the Mayor of Carterton District he would have welcomed people coming into Carterton setting up homes. In fact—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I know the question was particularly long so I gave the Prime Minister some latitude but the answer is certainly long enough.