The “managed immigration" policy released by the National Party on 9 August called for a reduction in New Zealand’s refugee quota from 1,050 to 750, which would be achieved by scrapping the family reunification category. The party also plans to extend the stand-down period for new migrants from two to four years. According to the party’s policy, new migrants would be put on a four-year probation period during which time they must meet good-conduct requirements for residency or face deportation. National leader Don Brash also proposed tax cuts to plug the brain drain among New Zealanders.
The proposal met with criticisms. Among others, Prime Minister Helen Clark noted that the existing law, which allows deportation of permanent residents who commit offenses, was actually tougher than the proposed probation period. Green Party MP Keith Locke slammed the “refugee bashing" policy while New Zealand First’s Winston Peters accused National of stealing his party’s immigration policy. For his part, Refugee and Migrant Service director Peter Cotton said that refugees were part of the country’s humanitarian quota and should not be lumped with immigration quotas.
The Department of Labor revealed the arrest of four immigration officials in Indonesia in connection with a people trafficking scam uncovered in May, which has enabled 13 Indonesian irregular migrants to enter New Zealand using forged passports. The arrest was credited to the information sharing arrangement between Indonesian and New Zealand authorities. According to investigations the forgers, using valid passports of Indonesians with legitimate visitor permits for New Zealand, had replaced the passport photos with those of the irregular migrants.
According to data from Statistics New Zealand the population growth for the year ending in June 2005 was 36,800, which is lower than the 52,200 recorded a year earlier. The lower growth rate was attributed to the significant fall in net permanent and long-term migration.
Sources: Angela Gregory, “National promises migrant crackdown," The New Zealand Herald, 5 August 2005; Angela Gregory, “Extra scrutiny could put off skilled immigrants," The New Zealand Herald, 8 August 2005; Ainsley Thomson, “National’s probation plan for immigrants," The New Zealand Herald, 8 August 2005; “Nats to launch immigration policy," TV New Zealand, 8 August 2005; “Clark says existing laws tougher than Nats immigration policy," Stuff, 9 August 2005; “Existing law tougher than ‘probation,’ says Clark," The New Zealand Herald, 9 August 2005; “Population close to static" The New Zealand Herald, 9 August 2005; Ainsley Thomson, “Brash adamant National not anti-immigration," The New Zealand Herald, 10 August 2005; “National to chop family reunification numbers," The New Zealand Herald, 10 August 2005; “Nats’ immigration policy slammed as refugee bashing," Stuff, 10 August 2005; “Nats refugee bashing, say Greens," The New Zealand Herald, 10 August 2005; AAP, “Brash vows tax cuts to end Kiwi brain drain," The Australian, 13 August 2005; Cameron Bates and Jonathan Milne, “Immigration officials snared in passport scam," The New Zealand Herald, 14 August 2005