Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Is anyone looking out for businesses?

We need to talk about what Chris Hipkins has said about immigration.

First of all, Labour can frankly shut up accusing the Nats of anti-migrant rhetoric because this is a party that hasn’t got a leg to stand on when it comes to migration. 

This is the party - and some of the very same people are still there - that campaigned on reducing immigration by up to 30,000 people in 2017, produced a list of Chinese-sounding names two years earlier and then shut down immigration completely, only to do the opposite by opening it up too much during and after COVID. So, on immigration - glass houses etc.

But having said that, what National is proposing to do on immigration should worry businesses up and down this country that rely on migrants. And I’m looking at you - the aged-care sector wanting to bring in Filipino workers to look after our elderly; and I’m looking at you, Health New Zealand, needing to employ Indian nurses; and I’m looking at you, the construction sector, needing to bring in general labourers.

Because Chris Luxon has made it clear in his speech he’s shutting his door to businesses wanting to lobby him for migrant workers. He said: “My message to the business community is that when it comes to immigration, when I’m faced with a choice between social stability and your bottom line, I will choose the former every single time.”

Now that begs the question to the Prime Minister: what does “social stability” mean? Is that basically you saying we’ve got too many Indian migrants?

Which then begs the question: is National trying to match New Zealand First’s anti-Indian rhetoric to avoid losing voters to them? Which then logically begs the next question: is Luxon putting his vote share at the election ahead of New Zealand’s need to bring in the workers that we know we need?

Because we’ve been through COVID, and we know that we do not do these low-skilled jobs - you need migrants to do them. So I think we should all be worried about this.

I think businesses in New Zealand, in particular, should be very worried about this. And it begs a final question: if this is the position that National has taken, is there now even a single party in Parliament that is looking after New Zealand businesses?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now now I'm sorry because this is going to get This
is a little bit chippy heavy at the moment, but
we need to talk about what he said about immigration.
First of all, as I've already said, Labour can frankly
shut up accusing the NATS of anti migrant rhetoric because
this is a party that hasn't got a league to
stand on when it comes to migration. This is the
party and some of the very same people actually who
are still there, who campaigned on reducing immigration by up
to thirty thousand people in twenty seventeen, who produced a

(00:22):
list of Chinese sounding names two years earlier, and who
shut down immigration completely and then did the opposite by
opening it up too much during and after COVID so
on immigration, glasshouses, etc. But having said that, what National
is proposing to do to immigration should worry businesses up
and down this country that rely on migrants. And I'm
looking at you the aged care sector wanting to bring

(00:44):
in Filipino workers to look after our elderly, and I'm
looking at you Health New Zealand needing to employ Indian nurses.
And I'm looking at you the construction center sector needing
to bring in general laborers, because Chris Luxen has made
it very clear in his speech yesterday that he's shutting
his daughter businesses wanting to lobby him for migrant workers.
He said, my message to the business community is that

(01:04):
when it comes to immigration, when I'm faced with a
choice between social stability and your bottom line, I will
choose the former every single time. Now that begs the
question to the Prime Minister, what does social stability mean?
Is that basically you saying we've got too many Indian migrants,
which then begs the question, is National trying to match

(01:24):
New Zealand First's anti Indian rhetoric to avoid losing voters
to New Zealand First, Which then logically begs the next question,
which is lux and putting his vote share at the
election ahead of New Zealand's need to bring in the
workers that we know we need to bring in, right
because we've been through COVID and we know that we
do not do these low skilled jobs. You need migrants
to do them. So I think we should all be

(01:46):
very worried about this. I think businesses in New Zealand
in particular should be very worried about this. And it
begs a final question which is, if this is the
position that National has taken, is there now even a
single party in Parliament that is looking after New Zealand businesses.
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(02:07):
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