A National Party Perspective.
“Building a stronger economy”
(Hamilton,
2011).
The National Party was established by bringing together
liberal and conservative values. Their aim is to promote business success and
advocating for our commitment to the crown as a British colony (Shaw, &
Eichbaum, 2011).
The immigration policy of the National Party has two key
facets; Ensuring new settlers will increase the financial prestige of Aotearoa
New Zealand and ensuring adherence to the international requirements with
regard to accepting refugees into the country (Hamilton,
2011; Immigration New Zealand, 2011).
The National Party immigration policy is intended to
increase the wealth of Aotearoa New Zealand (Hamilton, 2011).This has been the
inspiration for an immigration agenda which targets specific types of people to
settle in Aotearoa New Zealand. To address skill shortages within the Aotearoa
New Zealand workforce, the government maintains lists of desirable careers. The
most recent list is dedicated to specialist tasks required for the Christchurch
city rebuild. There is also a quota which dictates how many seasonal immigrant
employees can work in Aotearoa New Zealand temporarily (Immigration New
Zealand, 2011).
A component of the skills targeted immigration agenda, which
has attracted controversy, is the entertainers visa (Sacks, 2010). The National
Party intention is to promote large overseas investment in the New Zealand Film
industry with this policy (Hamilton, 2011). The policy streamlines the ability
for entertainers to perform in Aotearoa New Zealand. To directly attract wealth
there is a framework for investors or established business people to immigrate
to Aotearoa New Zealand (Immigration New Zealand, 2011).
There is also a scheme to introduce young people (20 to 35
years of age) who have proven potential in their chosen field (Immigration New
Zealand, 2013).
The National Party maintains a quota for 750 refugees to
enter the country per year (Immigration
New Zealand, 2011). In 2013 the Prime Minister
announced that 150 of the 750 would be from the Australian refugee waiting list
(Nicholson, 2013).
A Labour Party Perspective.
The Labour Party has traditionally been the champion of the
Social Democracy ideology (Shaw, & Eichbaum, 2011). Social Democrats
believe in a balance of individual freedom and collective cooperation. The
Labour Party was founded to represent the common workers of Aotearoa New
Zealand.
In its modern context, the Labour Party immigration policy
is almost identical to the National Party immigration policy with two points of
difference. The first is in recognising the social impact of immigration on the
immigrants themselves. The Labour Party policy outlines an intention to
strengthen services to support new immigrants to Aotearoa New Zealand. This
would be provided in the form of mental health services for refugees, increased
support options for immigrant students and an expanded appeals system to
address immigrants with “systematic issues” (Barron, 2011). The second is to
remove the Entertainers Visa which (the Labour party asserts) allows migrant
workers to occupy job vacancies that should be given to existing citizens of
Aotearoa New Zealand (Adern, 2011).
A Green Party
Perspective.
The Green Party is an evolution of the Values Party, which
was the first modern political party to be founded upon environmental awareness
. They continue to maintain an environmentalist stance by stating “Ecological
Wisdom” as one of their core principles. They appear to support an extreme left
stance by opposing irresponsible or destructive use of natural resources, which
is the mainstay of many primary industries in Aotearoa New Zealand. However,
within their portfolio, their policies conform to a mixture of left and right
wing ideologies. Where they differ from being Socially Democratic is the
motivation for government intervention. Social Democrats are socially responsible
for underprivileged people. The Green Party believes protecting the environment
is the core social responsibility that a government should endorse (Shaw, &
Eichbaum, 2011).
The Green Party immigration policy is similar to the
National Party policy with only one major exception. The Green Party policy
would increase the number of refugees permitted to enter Aotearoa New Zealand (Barron,
2011).
A New Zealand First Party Perspective.
“’… immigration will cease to
be used as an excuse for our failure to train, skill, and employ our own people’
- New Zealand First fundamental principle” (Stewart, 2011, p. 5). Within
their manifesto the New Zealand First Party articulate a desire to greatly reduce
the number of people who may migrate to Aotearoa New Zealand .
The New Zealand First Party promotes conservative values and
an economy insulated from global influences (Shaw, & Eichbaum, 2011). The
New Zealand First Party would also disregard opinion from abroad and refuse to
follow international agreements with regard to accepting refugees into Aotearoa
New Zealand (Stewart, 2011).
References:
Adern, J.
(2011). If it ain’t broke. Retrieved
from http://www.actorsequity.org.nz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=147:if-it-aint-broke&catid=44:in-the-news
Barron, J.
(2011). Election 2011 - party policies -
immigration. Retrieved from http://www.interest.co.nz/news/54330/election-2011-party-policies-immigration
Hamilton, G.
(2011). Immigration: Building a stronger economy. In Hamilton, G. (Ed.). Policy 2011. Wellington, New Zealand: Author.
Immigration New
Zealand. (2011). Immigration act 2009:
Refugee and protection status determinations. Retrieved from http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/general/generalinformation/immigrationact/factsheets/refugees.htm
Immigration New
Zealand. (2011). Investing and doing
business in New Zealand. Retrieved from
http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/invest/
Immigration New
Zealand. (2011). Recognised seasonal
employers. Retrieved from http://www.immigration.govt.nz/employers/employ/temp/rse/
Immigration New
Zealand. (2012). Essential skills in
demand lists. Retrieved from http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/skilledmigrant/LinkAdministration/ToolboxLinks/essentialskills.htm
Immigration New
Zealand. (2012). Performing artists,
entertainers and film industry personnel - requirements. Retrieved from http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/worktemporarily/requirements/specificpurpose/performingsrtistsfilmindustry.htm
Immigration New
Zealand. (2013). Silver fern job search
visa. Retrieved from http://www.immigration.govt.nz/migrant/stream/work/silverfern/jobsearch.htm
New Zealand
Electoral Commission. (2011). 2011
General election results – official results. Retrieved from http://www.electionresults.govt.nz/electionresults_20
Nicholson, B.
(2013). New Zealand to take 150
asylum-seekers from Australia. Retrieved from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/new-zealand-to-take-asylum-seekers-from-australia/story-fn59niix-1226574373242
Sacks, E.
(2010). The hobbit producer Peter Jackson
threatens to pull lord of the rings prequels from New Zealand. Retrieved
from http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/hobbit-producer-peter-jackson-threatens-pull-lord-rings-prequels-new-zealand-article-1.441348
Shaw, R., &
Eichbaum, C. (2011). Public policy in New
Zealand: Institutions processes and outcomes. (3rd ed.). Auckland, New
Zealand: Pearson.
Stewart, B.
(2011). NZ First Manifesto. Retrieved
from http://nzfirst.org.nz/content/nz-first-manifesto
No comments:
Post a Comment