Final report to Government

• Immigration is not likely to be the solution nor the cause of the productivity challenges facing Aotearoa New Zealand.
• The relationship between productivity and immigration requires a balance of trade-offs between government objectives, and a consideration of short‑run and long‑run impacts.
• Immigration has played an important part in New Zealand’s economic development.
• On average, immigration is not driving down wages nor displacing local workers.
• The use of Labour Market Tests, Skill Shortage Lists and tying migrants to employers can suppress wages and productivity.
• The supply of infrastructure is less responsive to population growth now than in the past.

Successive governments need a robust and transparent way to balance the longer-term benefits of immigration policy with short-term pressures and challenges. Alongside this, the focus of immigration policy should be on selecting migrants who can make the biggest contribution to the economy and ensuring that New Zealand remains attractive to skilled migrants as the global competition for talent intensifies. The Commission recommends the Government:

• Publish an Immigration Government Policy Statement (GPS) to clarify how immigration will be managed and connected to other government objectives, including what investments will be made in absorptive capacity.
• Create stronger links with education and training policies through the GPS and by requiring Workforce Development Councils to report on how demand for migrant labour and skill gaps inform their training priorities.
• Engage with Māori in good faith on how to reflect Te Tiriti o Waitangi in immigration policy and institutions.
• Increase funding for iwi involvement and partnership in the expansion of the Welcoming Communities initiative.
• Reduce the use of Skills Shortage Lists for immigration purposes and encourage wages to reflect scarcity.
• Regularly review visa categories and the residency points system to ensure they sufficiently prioritise high skilled migrants.
• Cease the practice of tying migrants to a single employer.
• Provide additional funding for the Labour Inspectorate to support labour market regulation, the proposed accredited employer scheme, and the integrity of the immigration system.

Our final report presents 24 recommendations to Government.