New Zealand Immigration Contributing to Economy Growth
Jonathan Coleman has recently discussed how immigration is contributing to the growing New Zealand economy. New Zealand fell into deficit in 2009 after a number of year’s surpluses and recently the economic situation has been worsened by the September and February earthquakes.
The country is currently borrowing $300 million dollars a week to keep public services running and new spending will only be directed to a few areas of highest priority, mostly health and education. The budget announcement is expected to outline a strategy to bring New Zealand back to surplus while continuing to support public services. The focus of the Government over the coming years will be squarely on economy and jobs.
Immigration will play an important role in helping to drive the economy back to a surplus. Currently one in four New Zealand workers are migrants and new migrants add an estimated $1.9 billion to the economy every year. If immigration was closed off entirely, by 2021 the country’s GDP would drop by 9.6 per cent.
Given these figures, the number one priority of the Immigration Minister is to ensure overseas workers are contributing to the Government’s economic growth strategy. Attracting the right people to the country is always a goal of the immigration department and it will become an essential tool in the Government’s arsenal over the next few years.
There are a number of tactics being developed that will help the Government to achieve the growth targets, most notably:
- Helping employers find the skilled staff required to improve productivity if there are no suitably qualified New Zealanders available.
- Supporting the $9 billion a year tourism industry by facilitating tourists’ travel and helping tourism tap into new markets.
- Helping to grow the export education industry by streamlining processes, facilitating genuine students and improving the speed of decision making.
- Attracting more high-worth individuals and raising investment levels through our Business Migration Package.
New Zealand businesses are actively looking for skilled migrants to fill labour gaps. If you are looking to move to the country speak to one of our consultants on 01244 321414