Coleman Jonathan: Immigration Bill — In Committee 
Coleman Jonathan: Immigration Bill — In Committee 
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Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 It has taken quite some time to come to the Committee stage of the Immigration Bill. This is very important legislation that I know is very much welcomed across the Chamber. There is a time to be gracious in debate and there is a time to be aggressive with the Opposition. I say on this occasion that this bill has had great bipartisan support throughout its formation and a lot of the work was done on it under the last Government and previous Ministers of Immigration. I acknowledge the contribution of former Ministers of Immigration Paul Swain David Cunliffe and Clayton Cosgrove. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: That’s very courteous. That is very good. 
Hon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: Thank you. 
Immigration is absolutely vital to New Zealand’s interests. When we look at the contribution it makes to our economy we see that it is actually right at the centre of everything New Zealand does as “New Zealand Inc.” The Immigration Service makes half a million decisions each year. It makes decisions that bring people into our country with the skills we need that we cannot grow on our own shores. It brings tourists who bring nearly $9 billion of foreign exchange earnings into this country each year. Immigration is something on which this country was built. So immigration is very much at the core of New Zealand’s economic well-being. 
It is very timely that we are having this complete rewrite of the Immigration Act 1987. I acknowledge the contribution of the officials to this process. They have put in a heck of a lot of work over the last 2-something years. It has been trying at times I know to get such a massive piece of legislation right. It is a 500-page bill with 13 parts. The officials have certainly given excellent service in getting the bill together both to me and to the former Ministers of Immigration. It really has been an extensive work. It has been a well-consulted bill. There have been over 4000 submissions on the bill. I believe that 90 people appeared in person before the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee at various stages. I acknowledge the work of the select committee in its report back on this bill. 
I have tabled a pretty extensive Supplementary Order Paper. I know that there are Supplementary Order Papers from other members as well. The Government Supplementary Order Paper covers a number of elements. There are technical amendments relatively minor in nature. There is an amendment that was recommended by the select committee itself relating to the ability to cancel deportation orders in certain circumstances. Then there are a number of matters that the Government believes need addressing. This bill has been quite some time in passing through the legislative process. As I said the first reading was 2 years ago. Time has moved on and we want to make sure that we have an up-to-date and flexible framework for immigration policy. The bill is framework legislation. It does not stipulate the specifics of immigration policy; it sets the playing field within which any given Government can implement its own policies. The idea is that it is flexible and enduring. 
One of the main features of the bill is that there will be a universal visa system. It will be a much simpler more streamlined system to replace the current visa permit and exemption system. There will also be provisions that enable trans-Tasman travel. We are aiming to streamline trans-Tasman travel. The provisions in this bill will allow people to be processed from offshore in a way that we would not have envisaged when the 1987 legislation became law. There is also a new refugee and protection regime. I am sure that we are going to have some discussion about that as the bill progresses through the Committee stage. The establishment of a new single Immigration and Protection Tribunal is a major change that will certainly streamline some of the existing processes and take a lot of bureaucracy out of the process. There is also a new classified information system which will allow classified information to be taken into account when important decisions regarding whom we want to bring into this country need to be made. Of course more flexible compliance and information powers will enable immigration officers to do their job. 
In conclusion in immigration legislation we have to balance the national interest against the interests of individuals. Of course the facilitation aspects of immigration are not dealt with in the legislation. A lot of it is elements of policy and settlement services so by definition the legislation tends to focus more on the compliance aspects. I think we have come up with some very good changes that I hope the Committee will support. I certainly commend this bill to the Committee.