Visa crackdown is not aimed at Pasifika workers, says NZ First

New Zealand First leader Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters says his party's plan to scrap the Accredited Employer Work Visa is not aimed at Pacific people.

He says the system is being misused by people from other parts of the world.

The party wants to replace the visa with a "shortage-led" Skilled Work Visa, with entry based on the job, region and proven need for workers.

Under this policy, employers seeking migrants for routine roles should have to prove they have made a serious effort to employ or train New Zealanders. Pointing to about 171,000 unemployed people and an underutilisation rate of 13.8 per cent.

NZ First says New Zealand should not be “an international labour-hire agency with a flag.”

Asked by PMN News whether the change would make a tangible difference for Pacific workers, Peters says it would not.

Watch Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters full interview below.

"It's not going to make a tangible difference for the Pacific workers because that's not where it's being misused. It's coming from other parts of the world where it's being used massively," he said.

"We want a credible, honest system where people are coming here who are genuine and where the shortages are genuine, not made up to get around a bureaucracy and then trafficking people, which effectively is going on."

Peters says NZ First wants to tighten the system but when pressed on what it would do to improve Pacific people;s access to Aotearoa, he points to passport access, faster processing and regional and seasonal work schemes.

Peters says his party's plan to scrap the Accredited Employer Work Visa is not aimed at Pacific workers. Photo/RNZ/Koroi Hawkins

"All those things are going to be looked at and the numbers may change. We think it will be increased going forward."

He says any changes would be discussed with Pacific leaders country by country, and New Zealand would not push through a policy that island governments did not support.

Visa access becomes an election battleground.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has pledged visa-free entry for citizens of Pacific Islands Forum countries, using an NZeTA for visits of up to three months.

NZ First, meanwhile, has offered a two-year window for Pacific overstayers to regularise their status. Labour’s deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni has questioned the proposal.

"It worries me that they're saying they'll give this two years clemency," she says.

Labour has pledged visa-free entry for citizens of Pacific Islands Forum countries, using an NZeTA for visits of up to three months. Photo/PMN News/Composite

Peters defended the offer, telling media: "Cousins don't rip off cousins."

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has not committed to visa-free travel. When asked in Apia in March why Sāmoans could not be given visa-free access, he pointed to changes already introduced by his Government.

"First and foremost, we've made a two-year multi entry visitor visa available," Luxon says. "We've sped up the processing by about three times and lowered the cost by around 25 per cent."

The Greens have also signaled support for a Pacific visa waiver. The party backs an amnesty for overstayers and wants to end visas that tie migrant workers to a single employer.

ACT has not committed to a Pacific visa waiver. In February, the party’s Parmjeet Parmar told PMN News it had to weigh diplomatic relationships against immigration risks. She also warned against stereotyping Pacific communities because of the actions of a few.

Dr Suliana Mone, from the University of Auckland's Law School, told PMN News last month that coalition deals can narrow or remove policies.

Watch Parmjeet Parmar's full interview below.

"The legal mechanism we have, the accountability mechanism, is voting at the next election," she says.

Pacific survey puts NZ First to the test.

Peters says he is seeing growing interest in NZ First, pointing to meetings in Auckland and the South Island.

He says the party drew more than 500 people in Invercargill and more than 650 in Mosgiel.

The PMN-Horizon Research Pacific Issues Election Survey suggests NZ First faces a challenge in winning Pacific support.

Fifty-nine per cent of Pacific respondents said NZ First does not understand Pacific communities well while seven per cent said they would give the party their vote.

Visa access becomes an election battleground as parties lay out differing policies. Photo/RNZ/123f

The survey also found cost of living would influence the vote of nine in 10 respondents, making household pressures a major issue for Pacific voters.

Peters has also criticised foreign aid cuts proposed by National and ACT, calling them "a comedy". He argues the programmes under threat were set up by National-led governments.

"If you're going to attack foreign affairs, then you make a dramatic mistake and none of it will be enough to fund your programme anyway."

New Zealand’s general election is on 7 November, with advance voting opening on 26 October.