The proportion of foreign-born people in New Zealand has risen to an international high, almost twice the OECD average. Very few advanced economies have such a large portion of their population born overseas.
We don't just need workers, however. We need thinkers and leaders.
The Productivity Commission, an independent Crown entity set up to advise the Government, has reviewed New Zealand's long-term immigration settings and the findings should be a wake-up call.
Commission chairman Dr Ganesh Nana says immigration policy appears to be decided "in a black box", shielded from public scrutiny or robust policy assessments required of most other public policies.
As a result, New Zealand's immigration policies are unclear to us as well as prospective migrants.
One key recommendation from the inquiry is to issue an "Immigration Government Policy Statement" as a transparent strategic direction. The Productivity Commission says we need to specify how the demand for temporary and permanent visas will be managed to reflect the country's capacity to settle more people and how it will invest, if necessary, to expand that capacity.
In Australia, a "global talent visa programme" is currently offering 15,000 places in 10 targeted sectors, including health, education, digi-tech, agri-food, and energy.
The programme seeks "highly skilled professionals, senior executives, and exceptional individuals who are at the cutting edge of innovation within the target sectors, who will help create opportunities for Australia by promoting innovation and creating jobs". "Global talent officers" are stationed as far afield as London, San Francisco, Singapore, Taipei and Washington DC.
The programme pitches Australia as a lifestyle destination, "one of the most prosperous, safe and culturally diverse countries in the world". One of the key attractions of the programme is it grants talented individuals permanent residency to make new lives for themselves and their families in Australia.
New Zealand has, so far, only dabbled in such a strategy with 400 positions offered in a partnership scheme with the Hillary Institute.
One of the recommendations of the Productivity Commission is to reduce the use of "skills shortage lists" for immigration purposes and encourage wages to reflect scarcity.
New Zealand has taken one step with the introduction of a broad "Green List" of 44 occupations for eligible migrants to apply for work visas from July 4, and residence visas from September. The Green List reportedly aims to provide a fast track to residency and a work-to-residency pathway but details on how this will happen have yet to be released.
New Zealand can beat Australia as a "safe and culturally diverse" place to live. We need to capitalise on our pulling power.
Let's start by being clear about exactly who we want and what we can offer.
