National and Immigration

I was amused to read in the Southland Times (September 8, 2006 p3) National Party M.P Eric Roy complaining that New Zealand’s Immigration system is skewed in favour of people with high academic qualifications.

In the early 1990s National talked up the wonders of the ‘knowledge economy’. Ruth Richardson claimed East Asian immigration would lead to a new wave of prosperity. At the same time the National Government dismantled the 1983 Apprenticeship Training Act and discouraged young New Zealanders from taking up practical trades.

Today the country is suffering from a shortage of trades people in the provinces and a surplus of unemployed East Asians in the cities. It is pretty ironic a ‘pragmatic farmer’s party’ like National is responsible for this state of affairs.

Surprisingly, the Labour Party has done the most to address the trade shortage. It has reintroduced traditional apprenticeships and the shortage of tradesmen is now easing in the main centres.

It has also introduced stricter English language requirements, which have helped to slow East Asian immigration somewhat. Maybe it’s just me, but I think there is something curiously embarrassing about people with physics degrees running junks shops- and its hardly healthy for the economy.

Slowing East Asian immigration is also good for existing East Asian residents. In the last few years many East Asians have stated finding jobs in the medical field and higher end jobs in the service industry. Furthermore, their driving has improved!

While I agree that immigration is skewed in favour of academic qualifications, rather than practical skills, I don’t think major skills shortages can be solved through immigration. New immigrants always seem to gravitate to the big cities – especially if they are from different cultures.

Most other developed countries are also suffering from labour shortages so in many instances we are simply ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ – a policy which doesn’t really benefit anyone in the long run.

Employers in general are going to have to get used to living with a moderate labour shortage and provincial employers are going to have to pay city wages to attract city workers. National should also stop droning on about free markets and conduct a serious inquiry into the country's poor productivity levels.