New Zealand government announces changes to crack down on “unscheduled” immigration

Sydney (Australia), December 11 (EFE).- New Zealand's prime minister, the conservative Christopher Luxon, announced this Monday that he would make changes to the immigration strategy, describing the current number of migrant arrivals as “unsustainable”.

According to data from the official Statistics NZ agency, from September 2022 to October this year, 118,800 migrants live in this maritime nation of 5.3 million people.

The figure is “the highest in New Zealand, the highest it's ever been,” Luxon told Radio New Zealand today, referring to official data that revealed New Zealand's population grew by 3% between October 2022 and September 2023. Increase in immigration.

To address this issue, Luxon intends to work closely with the Ministry of Immigration to implement strict controls and audits to manage the number of immigrants coming into the country. Still.

In addition, the new coalition government – made up of Lacson's National Party and the minority parties ACT (liberal right) and New Zealand First (nationalist) – wants to ensure that migrant workers fill scarce jobs with specific skills.

“We have to make sure the adjustment is right. It has gone from being too restrictive to being too loose, and we have to find that balance,” said Lacson, who won the October elections and took power two weeks ago.

Immigration is one of the main factors driving demand for scarce and expensive housing and other services in New Zealand, according to a report released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in late November.

The OECD report predicts New Zealand's economy, which relies on immigration to fuel population growth and fill jobs in low-demand sectors, will grow at a modest 1.3% in 2024.

“The Reserve Bank should maintain tight monetary policy throughout 2024, especially as core inflation remains troubling, fiscal consolidation is more gradual and high population growth due to net migration is likely to renew tensions. Housing market pressures, dampening declines in inflation,” the text reads.

New Zealand, which has imposed one of the world's strictest policies during Covid-19, has included border closures for nearly two years, barring the arrival of certain job skills and foreign students, as it tries to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Amid strong inflation (5.6%) and high interest rates (5.5%). EFE

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