ACE Campbell

With immigration hitting the headlines and a good amount of dog whistling ensuing, it should be acknowledged that we are seeing a drop in immigration from Labour’s 135,000 to 24,000 as announced by the Government.

Along with this drop comes a move away from the Labour Party’s post Covid RB21 that opened the floodgates to 135,000 immigrants with no skill guidelines, no English language checks, no health checks and an open invitation to bring family in too.

There were no risk management structures and no verification of immigrant’s status

This has put pressure on our health, education, and infrastructure, We are feeling the lag of this policy with thousands leaking through and New Zealanders now experiencing the pinch. With an election on the horizon, one has to ask, “do we want to go backward to this level of governance.”

With the immigration ministry now getting up to speed, after wading through this mess, 2025 saw an increased level of deportations taking place; overstayers or those exhibiting criminal behaviour are being weeded out because they don’t add to our society.

Immigration status is now being properly verified to ensure that there is a handshake with our risk management rules;

They must be highly skilled, speak our language, pass health checks and be able to prove that they meet our requirements to drive a highly productive economy.

The recent signing of the trade agreement with India included 5000 immigrants who will meet New Zealand risk management rules.

It is reported these numbers include a handful of “iconic occupations” that are not a typically filled category because they must have a job offer in New Zealand to cement their status.

The reason they are included is to support the visas across the line to get our exports happening.

In spite of the stockpile of Labour Party quagmire, we are progressing into a country with strengthened values, supported by policies that ensure progress to a future that will once again match the best in the world.