The government should be embarrassed it has introduced a scheme tying migrants to an employer when the Productivity Commission has just recommended the practice be stopped, according to an immigration lawyer.
Photo: 123rf.com
The Prodcutivity Commission is recommending that residence should no longer be permanent, in an attempt to make migrants commit to New Zealand.
Instead, migrants would have to apply for citizenship, or renew their residence visa every six years.
Other recommendations in the commission's report are that immigration must be based on how well the country can absorb new arrivals and a greater role for Te Tiriti o Waitangi in settlement policy.
"I recognise my privilege in contrast to tāngata whenua who have not had an opportunity to present their views on immigration policy since 1840," Productivity Commissioner Ganesh Nana said.
"This is despite Te Tiriti being the principal vehicle that enabled immigration to Aotearoa following 1840. It is time to rectify this omission.
"Immigration policies and institutions have largely ignored Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Te Tiriti), and they are increasingly out of step with the evolution in the Crown Māori relationship."
Involving Māori in immigration strategies is among 24 recommendations, including regular government statements setting out policy on immigration.
"Immigration policies and institutions have largely ignored Te Tiriti o Waitangi" - Productivity Commissioner Ganesh Nana
The report said having more government clarity would allow local communities and the country as a whole to create the infrastructure to cope with larger populations, as well as to adapt workforce training to fill labour shortages.
"There hasn't been those connections between the various arms of government that's needed, and immigration continues appears to be in that black box disconnected from decisions about infrastructure and decisions about workforce training."
Minister of Immigration Kris Faafoi denied the government had not been clear about its objectives.
"There's some things that we'll have to work through over time in terms of an official response [to the report] but a number of the issues or concerns that they raised we think have been dealt with through the immigration rebalance that we announced about two or three weeks ago."
Kris Faafoi. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro
But the commission also wanted the government to do away with migrants being tied via their visa to a specific employer, and the latest work visa policy reinforced that bond.
Auckland District Law Society's (ADLS) Stewart Dalley, who chairs its immigration and refugee law committee, said that made a nonsense of the government's new work visa scheme.
"So what's going to happen? We've got this policy - it only starts in the next couple of weeks and the Productivity Commission's report is basically saying that policy is a complete waste of everybody's time and money. The government should be embarrassed.
"ADLS has consistently expressed the concern that tying migrants to a specific employer increases the risk of exploitation. We raised this again with the select committee considering migrant exploitation. This was also raised with ministers and policy advisors when designing the recently introduced Accredited Employer Work Visa. The Productivity Commission's report seems to suggest that this visa and the associated accreditation system will do little to improve productivity or reduce migrant exploitation."
The government was not getting the message and it needed to listen now, he said.
The committee also urged policy advisers and decision makers to carefully consider the report in the up-and-coming review of the Skilled Migrant Residence Category, and not just focus on very highly skilled workers.
Another recommendation was to provide additional funding for the Labour Inspectorate to support labour market regulation, the proposed accredited employer scheme, and the integrity of the immigration system.
The report said immigration was neither the cause of - nor the solution to - New Zealand's productivity woes and on average it was not driving down wages or replacing local workers.
The estimated value of New Zealand's "infrastructure gap" - the value of what New Zealand should have built but has not - sits at an estimated $104 billion.
Employers and Manufacturers' Association head of advocacy and strategy Alan McDonald said the report confirmed that immigration was a positive thing for productivity and skills, and it had not had the detrimental effects that were claimed around infrastructure and lowering wages.
He said regular government policy statements would be welcome.
"I think it adds an element of stability, if we can get some sort of cross-party agreement to it. Because what we see at the moment is immigration settings chopping and changing, and it always pops up in elections and so it creates an uncertain environment.
"I think employers will be happy if it gives governments of all stripes a nudge into being a bit more flexible with immigration policy. So the idea of picking winners is problematic as we've done now - there's 85 on the Green List, that means there's a whole lot of other occupations that can't get access to people. We need people now and we need them quickly."