Rt Hon Winston Peters
New Zealand First Leader
Member of Parliament for Northland

21 DECEMBER 2016

KIWI WORKERS MISSING OUT AS MIGRATION SETS NEW RECORD

Seven thousand nurses have been given working visas in the past seven years under the National government – while Kiwi-trained nurses can’t get jobs, says New Zealand First.

“The number of New Zealand educated, trained and qualified nurses not getting jobs shows how sinister this government’s immigration policy is,” says New Zealand First Leader and Northland MP Rt Hon Winston Peters.

“This appalling state of affairs and today’s announcement of a new record for annual migrant arrivals of 126,700 confirms open door immigration is a disaster for young New Zealanders wanting to get into the workforce.

“The government has settled on migrant labour as a cheaper option and migrants as a more compliant workforce, stifling fair wages and driving down New Zealand workplace conditions.

“With the annual net migration gain at a record 70,400 for the November 2016 year, young Kiwis are competing for jobs against people desperate for work.

“At the same time there has been a growth in workplace abuses, and demands on unsuspecting immigrants to pay upfront for jobs – often the unscrupulous employers are from their own countries.

“New Zealanders are being side-lined with a government hell bent on adding to the population to boost consumptive growth, as opposed to working on increasing productivity for long term economic gains,” says Mr Peters.

ENDS

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