NZ commits $10m to PACER Plus but rules out expanding Pacific labour mobility

New Zealand has committed $10 million to the next phase of PACER Plus, the regional trade and development agreement, but Commerce Minister Scott Simpson says the government has no plans to expand labour mobility schemes.

In an interview on Pacific Mornings, Simpson acknowledges that several Pacific countries had expressed interest in expanding Aotearoa’s Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) programme during recent ministerial talks in the Solomon Islands.

“New Zealand’s not at this stage planning on changing our rules around it but the RSE scheme has been enormously effective for nations like the Solomons,” Simpson says. “There was some interest in extending that by some of the nations. Those are ongoing discussions, but right at the moment, New Zealand's not intending to extend the labour mobility scheme that we currently have in place.”

The RSE visa allows people from eligible Pacific nations to work temporarily in New Zealand’s horticulture and viticulture industries.

Over 20,000 visas are available each year, with most stays lasting up to seven months. Workers gain income and skills, while employers meet seasonal labour needs.

The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER Plus), which links 14 regional countries through trade and development, has also received $23.3m from Australia and has been extended for another five years.

Listen to Scott Simpson's full interview below.

Simpson says the $10m commitment from New Zealand will support capacity-building, improve market access, and promote sustainable economic development across the Pacific.

“For instance, from the Solomon Islands, they grow cocoa beans and we know that the international price of cocoa is literally going through the roof at the moment. That's why your chocolate treats this Christmas are going to be probably more expensive than they have been in past Christmases.

“But Solomons exports quite a lot of cocoa beans to countries like New Zealand, where it is manufactured into very top-line quality chocolate here in New Zealand and then exported back to nations around the world.”

Ministers of countries part of PACER Plus met last week in the Solomon Islands. Photo/Supplied

Despite these successes, some Pacific countries remain outside the agreement. Fiji and Papua New Guinea, two of the biggest economies, have opted out of PACER Plus.

Speaking with PMN News, Papua New Guinea’s Trade Minister, Richard Maru, emphasised that his government is seeking a “bilateral comprehensive economic partnership instead.

“We would like to think that the New Zealand government, we hope they'll be open to our approach and they'll be ready for us to enter into negotiations.”

Simpson says the membership remains open but adds that without them, the agreement has delivered growing results. “New Zealand's trading relationship has grown from a low couple of hundred million to close to a billion dollars in the agreement. So proof in the pudding.”