Woodhouse MichaelHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (Minister of Immigration): As Minister of Immigration and as one who was going to speak in this debate I think it behoves me to respond to the contribution of Mr Lees-Galloway. I think it is important that we do have a robust but sensible conversation about migration and immigration. I want to offer a slightly different perspective on that because Mr Lees-Galloway's thesis is that the only reason GDP growth is occurring is because of population growth.Now I think there are two quite big categories of visa where there is a contribution to the economy and GDP and those are in international education—our second-largest service export earner by value and an employer of 32000 people—and to a degree in tourism. In fact we have seen very strong growth in the number of working holidaymakers who are coming. There are presently around 64000 visa holders in that category but they all go home again. They earn a bit and they spend a bit. I think if we were to go to places like Queenstown Wānaka Rotorua and the Coromandel and say that we were going to arbitrarily pull the plug and substantially reduce perhaps by tens of thousands working holidaymakers it might have quite a significant negative economic impact.But there are a number of people who are in New Zealand on what are called essential skills work visas. That is where it is necessary for there to be a test of whether a New Zealander can do the job. Here is the inconvenient truth for the Labour Party: when it was in Government the number of essential skills work visas that were issued by that Government was about a third more than is currently being issued right now. About 40 percent fewer essential skills visas are being issued—Iain Lees-Galloway: What was total inward migration? Come on what was net migration?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: Yes that is right what was net migration? Let us talk about net migration under Labour. New Zealanders were fleeing the country. They were leaving in their tens of thousands and the fact is that under a growing economy New Zealanders are staying home and coming home. If Labour wants to say that that part of net migration is a bad thing then good luck explaining that to the electorate in the next 4 months. This Government has a very balanced approach a demand-driven approach to migration and immigration. I challenge Labour in its claim to want to reduce immigration by tens of thousands—Alastair Scott: 50000.Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: I think Mr Little did say 50000 and then he recanted that. But 50000 is tens of thousands—Iain Lees-Galloway: No he didn't actually.Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: Oh I will accept Mr Lees-Galloway at his word: he has not recanted it so it is 50000. OK? So I would like the Labour Party in this debate to explain which 50000 visas it is going to refuse. Is it going to be the nearly 100000 international students who study here and have a few work rights who contribute $4 billion to this economy? Is it the tens of thousands of working holidaymakers who are pretty much a net neutral contributor because they earn it then they spend it then they earn it then they spend it? Or is it going to be the about 12000 overseas workers who are helping us rebuild our second-largest city following the Canterbury earthquakes? Are they going to go to Blenheim and say to that fantastic world-leading viticulture sector which is selling to the world record numbers and value of wine: That's it it's all over."?Brett Hudson: They want to turn the tap off.Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: That is right. Are they going to go to the Western Bay of Plenty and say that the kiwifruit needs to rot on the vine? Because I for one want every single willing able Kiwi to be in work right now.I challenge those people who are on jobseeker support who claim that they are ready willing and able to go out there and find one of the 121000 new jobs that we are going to be creating in the next 4 years—to get to the front of the queue because this Government will back them. It is working harder than any Government previously to make sure that they are at the front of the queue and that is as evidenced by the reduction in those labour market - tested work visas over the last 8 years. But if the Labour Party wants to turn down the tap if it wants to say that immigration is the only contributor to population growth it needs to reveal its plan to the electorate now."