Without migrants we would all be 10% poorer

“In the coming years, New Zealand will continue to attract migrants who have the skills to contribute to the economy,” says Im-migration Minister Jonathan Coleman. “Without migrants, every one of us here would be 10% poorer.”

The Minister was addressing the immigration concerns of about 200 Filipinos and Kiwis at a public meeting on November 1, 2011 in Glenfield, Auckland. It was organised by FilNZ Fellowship in cooperation with Migrante Aotearoa.

According to the organisers, participants were keen to hear about the new immigration policies affecting religious workers, nurses, skilled migrants, students and over-stayers.

Coleman pointed out that skilled migrants, tourism and export education are important contributors to economic development. He said that the government wants people to come here with capital and skills that would contribute to the success of the New Zealand economy.

The Minister referred to the influx of Filipino migrants in New Zealand. Currently there are about 35,000 Filipinos here and the majority of them live in Auckland.

Rev. Stuart Vogel of the Asian Ministries Committee of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ), who was the moderator of the forum, noted that the “1.5 generation – young people who were born overseas but grow up here become truly multi-cultural; we now have “Kowis” (Korean Kiwis), “Taiwis” (Taiwanese Kiwis), “Jiwis” (Japanese Kiwis), Chiwis (Chinese kiwis) and of course “Kinoys” (Filipino Kiwis) as those in the FilNZ Fellowship or Phiwis as they are sometimes known ...”

Agnes Granada, coordinator of Migrant Action Trust (MAT), a speaker at the forum, said that MAT encourages migrants to get organized and support fellow migrants.

“Migrants who are well settled and are part of organized groups like yourself, are encouraged to help their own people because a newcomer to New Zealand will most likely look for their own communities. Why? Newcomers will look for their own community because our mind likes the familiar.”

One of the questions to the Minister from the floor was: Would the government consider granting general amnesty for over-stayers? Coleman said this was unlikely. He explained that there is no policy to actively trace over-stayers, but his advice to them was to approach NZ Immigration to sort out their immigration status so they can legally stay in New Zealand. Over-stayers who were caught would have difficulty returning to this country.

The Minister was also asked if the current rule that students with permanent residency could only access a student loan after one year might change? He said it was unlikely because of mounting costs.

Another question from the floor was: Since the recent introduction of a residency pathway for religious workers, how can we prevent the entry of religious fanatics into the country?

Coleman expressed confidence that the country’s current intelligence network is diligent enough to deal with that as well as threats of terrorism.