Migrants rush to beat Australian residence clampdown

By VERNON SMALL and ANGELA GREGORY

The number of New Zealanders moving across the Tasman has risen sharply in the past year, at least some of them trying to beat the introduction of restrictions on their right to claim automatic permanent residence in Australia.

Statistics New Zealand figures show that 4125 New Zealanders left for Australia in December, 1100 more than in the same month a year before. Last month's figures will be out in two weeks.

Under new welfare arrangements - first reported by the Weekend Herald on December 9 - New Zealanders will still be able to travel, work and live in Australia but they will not qualify for a safety net of the dole or other benefits.

Crucially, future New Zealand migrants will lose their automatic right to permanent residence under the agreement signed by Prime Ministers Helen Clark and John Howard yesterday.

They will need to qualify as permanent residents - by meeting Australia's skills, quotas and other requirements - as well as to have lived there for two years before they can get social security payments other than super and the severe disability allowance.

Yesterday, there was growing anecdotal evidence of some New Zealanders, including new immigrants, seizing the opportunity to get into Australia ahead of the deadline.

The president of the Auckland Refugee Council, Dr Nagalingam Rasalingam, said immigrants had told him they had deliberately moved before the changes took effect.

The Sri Lankan GP said he had lost up to 25 immigrant families from his Glen Innes practice in the past few months. "I would estimate about 90 per cent of the Sri Lankan community in the St Johns and Kohimarama area have left over that time."

He was also aware of similar departures within the Chinese and Southeast Asian communities.

Those leaving were frustrated by the lack of jobs and support services for immigrants in NZ, he said.

"They also thought it was going to get harder to resettle in Australia if they did not get in quickly."

At one Kohimarama primary school 40 immigrant students left in a matter of weeks.

The principal of St Thomas' School, Pat Garvey, said the sudden departures from the end of the last school year, and again last month and early this month, had had a significant impact on the roll.

Mr Garvey did not want to speculate on the reasons but when asked if he thought it might relate to the new policy replied: "That might be a reasonable assumption."

Australia has long pressed for a common border because it believes this country's looser immigration rules provide "backdoor" entry to migrants from other countries.

But Mr Howard backed off criticisms of New Zealand policy after signing the new deal saying, "I think the present arrangement's fine."

Helen Clark has rejected a common border, saying New Zealand's freer visa laws benefit tourism.

Last year 31,615 New Zealanders moved permanently to Australia.