An economist cautions that, in the face of escalating international competition, New Zealand Immigration’s “stink image” among migrants may make it more difficult for the nation to entice top international talent.

Dr. Eric Crampton, the chief economist for the New Zealand Initiative, made his remarks in response to recent news stories about a woman who had four New Zealand-born children and was turned down for a resident visa.

Although this event garnered media attention, immigration has become a hot topic in the run-up to this election for a variety of other reasons.

New Zealand is very beautiful to live with high infrastructure,provide  the best education to  live with your children

Numerous industries are experiencing severe labor shortages, which has prompted requests for increased immigration. On the other hand, worries about infrastructure capacity are raised.

Given the long wait times and uncertainty frequently experienced by migrants, he claims that any effort to alter immigration policy must begin on the administrative side.

“When you start treating people that way by not processing their applications or delaying them for a while, you earn a really negative reputation among migrants—especially those who have a choice of places to reside,” claims Crampton.

The global talent competition is raging. Migration is drastically rising in places like Canada, and New Zealand’s reputation is currently fairly awful. An excellent place to start is by fixing it.

In this country, any conversation regarding immigration is invariably framed in terms of how well our infrastructure can accommodate a growing population.

According to Crampton, a significant portion of this is due to the authorities’ longstanding inability to make adequate infrastructure investments.

“The federal government receives the majority of the tax advantages from migration, while local governments are left to bear the costs.” While the central government frequently asks councils to make room for growth, they frequently lack the funds and resources to do so.

If infrastructure development is to keep up with population growth, according to Crampton, there needs to be a change in the way that revenue is generated.

When a city council or area performs well and contributes much more to central government revenues, Crampton adds, “we need to start thinking about revenue-sharing systems so that they receive a taste of it back.”

Thus, what does a sound immigration policy entail? 

How can we guarantee adequate funding for our infrastructure? How do immigration policies affect our wages? Should the refugee quota in New Zealand be altered? And what can we draw from other nations’ experiences?