1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,320
Speaker 1: Good news, bad news story. Economically, we'll have more seasonal

2
00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:05,880
Speaker 1: workers heading our way. These are changes to the rc

3
00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:08,840
Speaker 1: CAP for the Houghton viticulture industries. The Immigration Minister Erica

4
00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:10,640
Speaker 1: Stanford's with us on that's very good morning to you.

5
00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:11,920
Speaker 2: Good morning mate.

6
00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:14,400
Speaker 1: So good news for the employers and the islands, of course,

7
00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:16,440
Speaker 1: bad news for a lot of people who are unemployed

8
00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:20,360
Speaker 1: and don't want to pick fruit. How do we explain this, Well.

9
00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,240
Speaker 2: It's a delicate balance, isn't it. And as an immigration

10
00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,080
Speaker 2: minister I always walk that very fine line in between

11
00:00:25,720 --> 00:00:28,000
Speaker 2: the social development side on one side and making sure

12
00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,280
Speaker 2: we're getting key reason to work, and on the other side,

13
00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:32,559
Speaker 2: making sure that we're doubling our exports, that we're supporting

14
00:00:32,600 --> 00:00:36,240
Speaker 2: our our primary sector and we're growing that sector as well.

15
00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:38,400
Speaker 2: So we think we've found that delicate balance.

16
00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:40,560
Speaker 1: If I talk to the industry and say an extra

17
00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:43,400
Speaker 1: twelve fifty are you happy? Will they say yes, we are.

18
00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:47,239
Speaker 2: I hope that they would, because we've worked really closely

19
00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,760
Speaker 2: with them to forecast what is required and that was

20
00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:52,599
Speaker 2: a number that they worked with us on and came

21
00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:53,279
Speaker 2: from freemonton.

22
00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,000
Speaker 1: Is this about the number we're going to have forever,

23
00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:58,640
Speaker 1: no matter what is happening in the economy, no matter

24
00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,160
Speaker 1: how many people are unemployed. We need these people. And

25
00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:02,200
Speaker 1: that's just the way it is.

26
00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:05,840
Speaker 2: I think the numbers will continue to rise. We do

27
00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,000
Speaker 2: need them, and it is the way that it is.

28
00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,600
Speaker 2: It's also a really important relationship that we have with

29
00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,280
Speaker 2: the Pacific, as you know, in terms of aid and

30
00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,520
Speaker 2: upskilling our some of the young men and women from

31
00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:19,880
Speaker 2: outh Pacific neighbors. So it's mutually beneficial. But also if

32
00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:24,119
Speaker 2: we're going to support our horticulture industry and double our exports,

33
00:01:24,520 --> 00:01:26,200
Speaker 2: then we are going to continue to need them, which

34
00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:28,320
Speaker 2: is why we've included ten more lester Day now in

35
00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:31,320
Speaker 2: the program, and Winston Peters and I will start to

36
00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:33,240
Speaker 2: look at other countries as well.

37
00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,120
Speaker 1: Do we undersell the actual job in the sense A

38
00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:37,800
Speaker 1: lot of people text me and say, if you've never

39
00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:39,880
Speaker 1: done it, which I have, as it turns out, but

40
00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:46,240
Speaker 1: if you've never done it, it's actually a skill.

41
00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,440
Speaker 2: It is. And those those people who come back for

42
00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:48,240
Speaker 2: three or four years, I mean, they are making a

43
00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:50,840
Speaker 2: lot of money. Their peace rate is very high, you know.

44
00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,360
Speaker 2: And I do look at this sometimes, like I look

45
00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:55,160
Speaker 2: up North. I went to visit to Hacker up North

46
00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:59,160
Speaker 2: ew up North and they you know, they are planting

47
00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,000
Speaker 2: and picking and growing and they don't use any RAC workers.

48
00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:04,480
Speaker 2: And I asked them about that and they said, well,

49
00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,440
Speaker 2: actually we invest in our local people. We have a

50
00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,919
Speaker 2: mental health worker on staff, and we have transport for them,

51
00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,000
Speaker 2: and we have pastoral care like you would for IRF workers.

52
00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:16,560
Speaker 2: But we don't believe in our local workers. So there

53
00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:19,600
Speaker 2: is a part to play those for these employers also

54
00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:21,000
Speaker 2: to look at local people.

55
00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:23,200
Speaker 1: From your understanding, is this all been sorted out? Because

56
00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:25,000
Speaker 1: during COVID it was a transport problem, it was a

57
00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:27,360
Speaker 1: housing problem. There's a million reasons why we couldn't solve

58
00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:32,359
Speaker 1: the problem. Has all of that been ticked off now? Generally? Look?

59
00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:34,600
Speaker 2: I think so. I think there were always going to

60
00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:36,760
Speaker 2: be regions in New Zealand where it's very difficult to

61
00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,639
Speaker 2: get people to move to short term and you're always

62
00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:44,440
Speaker 2: going to need to bring in workforce to meet that need.

63
00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:46,160
Speaker 2: And it doesn't matter what you do, you are just

64
00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,120
Speaker 2: not going to get New Zealanders to move to those

65
00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:51,600
Speaker 2: regions for a short period of time. It's very difficult.

66
00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,359
Speaker 1: Okay, while we've got you. We had Grant Webster on

67
00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,440
Speaker 1: yesterday tourism holdings, and he said, these visa changes that

68
00:02:57,440 --> 00:02:59,560
Speaker 1: even ounced the prices of visa, it's killing. What it's

69
00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:03,000
Speaker 1: not killing, it's having a material effect on people arriving

70
00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:04,440
Speaker 1: in the country. Do you accept that or not?

71
00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,040
Speaker 2: Well, I don't. And also look, MBIA and Immigration worked

72
00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:12,240
Speaker 2: very closely with the sector when we were looking at

73
00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:14,160
Speaker 2: these changes, and they also looked at the data and

74
00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:17,240
Speaker 2: evidence from what's happened before when we've raised fees. They

75
00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:21,560
Speaker 2: looked overseas at what's happened and they determined that this

76
00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:25,000
Speaker 2: wouldn't have a material impact. And so we were very

77
00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:27,120
Speaker 2: careful about this. But look, we will continue to make

78
00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:29,560
Speaker 2: sure that we are monitoring it, keeping an eye on it,

79
00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,960
Speaker 2: and if it is having these impacts, then we will know.

80
00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:34,360
Speaker 2: We will take another look at it. But I am

81
00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:36,520
Speaker 2: confident on what I've seen it won't make a difference.

82
00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:38,320
Speaker 1: And a quick comment on the numbers we got this

83
00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,280
Speaker 1: week from migration. They're coming in from India, China, the

84
00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:44,880
Speaker 1: Philippines and Fiji and every young person under forties scarpet.

85
00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:46,560
Speaker 1: Is that good for this country?

86
00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:50,120
Speaker 2: No, it's not. You know that. I always say that

87
00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,840
Speaker 2: the most important part of the immigration portfolio is actually

88
00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,360
Speaker 2: nothing to do with immigration. It's everything else. It's health

89
00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:02,280
Speaker 2: and education and the economy and bordable house prices because

90
00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,640
Speaker 2: those are the things that in the economy, those are

91
00:04:04,640 --> 00:04:07,360
Speaker 2: the things that anchor young kiwis here to want to

92
00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:10,000
Speaker 2: be here when the opportunities are here. And a lot

93
00:04:10,040 --> 00:04:12,520
Speaker 2: of times have been tough after COVID and got the

94
00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:14,400
Speaker 2: previous government left us with and so we have to

95
00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:16,600
Speaker 2: tidy that up if we want young people to stay here,

96
00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:18,320
Speaker 2: to believe they've got a future here. And I think

97
00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:20,000
Speaker 2: we're starting to see the green shoots of that now

98
00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:20,839
Speaker 2: after our hard work.

99
00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:22,920
Speaker 1: Good stuff, all right, nice to talk to Eric Stanford,

100
00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:25,719
Speaker 1: Immigration Minister with us this morning. For more from the

101
00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,840
Speaker 1: mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to news talks there'd be

102
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,680
Speaker 1: from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.