Media statement
For immediate release
Thursday, 28 February 2008

Overseas-born NZers leaving for Aussie in droves

UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne has released figures showing nearly thirty percent of New Zealand migrants to Australia since 2001 were born overseas.

“It’s a serious concern that many migrants to New Zealand are coming here to gain their citizenship, but then choosing to leave for the greener pastures of Australia,” says Mr Dunne.

“We rely heavily on overseas migrants to bolster and fill the gaps in our workforce. If we are also losing large numbers of skilled migrants to Australia, then our economy is in big trouble.

“While Kevin Rudd is right when he says there will always be a free flow of people across the Tasman, New Zealand does not want to become just a backdoor route into Australia.

“Our immigration policy needs to focus much more on making sure we get the best people to make a long term contribution to our country by making sure they have real jobs to come here in the first place, rather than treating our country as a giant transit lounge,” says Mr Dunne.

New Zealand migrants to Australia by calendar year and birthplace

Birthplace Calendar year

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total 2001–2007

Percent

Asia / 11.8 / 5.4 / 6.5 / 6.2 / 6.0 / 6.7 / 7.2 / 7.3 /
Pacific Islands 3.9 / 3.5 / 3.6 / 3.9 / 3.3 / 3.1 / 2.6 / 3.4
New Zealand / 63.5 / 71.0 / 70.8 / 72.7 / 73.0 / 72.0 / 72.3 / 70.7
Australia / 6.8 / 8.5 / 9.2 / 8.0 / 8.0 / 7.8 / 7.0 / 7.8
Other(1) / 14.0 / 11.5 / 9.9 / 9.3 / 9.7 / 10.5 / 10.8 / 10.9
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

ENDS

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