Sandeep Singh: Why does the immigration portfolio remain such a low priority in National's latest caucus reshuffle?

Tens of thousands of people - many amongst them who were previously international students spending anywhere between $20,000-$30,000 in international fees - are stranded outside the country. Photo / File

Comment by Sandeep Singh

Judith Collins has failed to resurrect the immigration portfolio in her first caucus reshuffle as the new leader of the National Party.

The portfolio is with MP for Kaikōura Stuart Smith, who is placed at number 30 in National's rankings.

Collins was beaming after the caucus reshuffle announcement last week, bragging how she has brought back "agriculture" from the back benches to the front benches.

"By putting agriculture on the front bench, we are making it very clear to the rural and provincial New Zealand that we understand its importance to our economy and our country as a whole," Stuff reported.

Moving portfolios from backbenches to frontbenches, or otherwise, has a clear purpose and focus.

It is therefore certain that National under Collins is comfortable in remaining sluggish on the critically important issue of immigration.

With the Treasury predicting unemployment to hit 8.3 per cent in the June quarter and this number projected to rise sharply to between 8 and 10 per cent by the end of the year, owing to the economic downturn that we are staring at - this will indeed put some handbrakes around immigration.

However, National's seeming indifference towards the immigration portfolio has been in evidence since well before the impact of Covid-19 on the economy.

The immigration portfolio - after remaining on front benches for three terms of the last National government and the first year in Opposition - was quietly shifted to the backbenches in the June 2019 caucus reshuffle under then leader Simon Bridges.

Two leadership changes in quick succession have not brought any change of focus.

In the absence of a political-heavyweight treatment that the issue deserves, National has failed to hold the Government to account, akin to its relative success in highlighting seeming failures in the Government's flagship policies such as KiwiBuild and light rail.

It is not clear if this is on purpose, as the party might be keen to repair its public image given many people hold it responsible for seeming unfettered migration under the previous National government.

Regardless of doubt around intentions, the party's position on some pressing immigration issues, including visa processing delays, has been at best been found wanting throughout this term.

And this was in a pre-Covid world.

Now the world has changed and businesses, employers, workers and policy-makers are all struggling to come up with new ideas to assist in coping with the impact of the virus on the economy, and the future of immigration.

Are the days of mass immigration as we know it today over, as Winston Peters asserted during his campaign launch party in Auckland on Sunday?

Or is that too simplistic?

To be fair to Peters, his latest stint in government seems to have mellowed him a bit - his numbers on immigration this year are 50 per cent better than when he was boisterously campaigning during the 2017 election campaign.

Nevertheless, the point is, National's track record on immigration issues in this term has been far from satisfactory.

The least impressive has been National's post-Covid response, including a meek toeing of the Government's perpetuated myth on border closures and the plight of temporary migrant workers who are currently stranded overseas.

The Government has said it gave sufficient warning to everyone travelling overseas about
impending border closures - therefore shifting the responsibility on to those who are now stranded overseas.

The Government's callout before the onset of Covid-related border closures was always distinctly for its citizens and residents, warning them to return immediately because international travel opportunities were starting to dwindle.

The Government did not issue a clear warning to the tens of thousands of unsuspecting temporary migrant workers who ordinarily lived and worked in this country, and were travelling overseas according to their valid visa conditions, that they would risk losing their rights to return.

As of today, those workers, many amongst them who were previously international students spending anywhere between $20,000-$30,000 in international fees, are stranded outside, facing the risk they potentially might never be allowed to come back into the country.

Is it the right thing to do?

Will it leave a blot on our global reputation?

These are questions New Zealand needs to think about collectively, sensibly, and compassionately.

What we know is - at least until now - National's response to this hugely distressing problem has been as evasive as that of the Government.

Collins could have brought the portfolio back to the front benches in her first caucus reshuffle, re-prioritising it as a significant issue. And clubbing it together with the newly refurbished Covid-19 border response would have been appropriate.

Sandeep Singh is the editor of Auckland-based community newspaper The Indian Weekender.