ISSUE
Friday, December 20, 2024
Volume 16 . Issue 40
The incoming government appears to align on issues of crime and immigration under the coalition deal signed by the leaders of National, ACT and New Zealand First on Friday.
National leader Christopher Luxon signed separate coalition agreements with ACT leader David Seymour and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters in front of reporters in Wellington.
The coalition deal with New Zealand First, though, singled out India in a reference to pursuing free trade agreements with other nations.
"As an export dependent nation, (the government will) prioritise free and fair trade agreements, including with India," the agreement says.
On the campaign trail in the run-up to the election, Luxon had pledged to make a free trade deal with India a reality, also promising to visit the South Asian nation within a year of taking office.
Crime
National and ACT attracted support in the election from Indian and Chinese voters because of their pledges to reduce crime, with both communities bearing the brunt of ram raids and aggravated robberies in recent years.
The coalition deal seeks to amend the 2002 Sentencing Act, giving priority to the needs of victims and communities over offenders and ensuring there are real consequences for lower-level crimes such as shoplifting.
The proposed amendment would also call for gang membership to be seen as an aggravating factor during sentencing.
The coalition deal also commits to training no fewer than 500 new frontline police within the first two years, strengthening the existing electronic monitoring regime, reforming laws related to fleeing drivers, restoring "three strikes" legislation and increasing the number of trained youth aid officers.
The deal includes a suite of measures to tackle youth crime, including the introduction of a youth justice demerit point system and investment in the construction of new youth justice beds.
Immigration
National's coalition deal with ACT promises to "introduce a five-year, renewable parent category visa, conditional on covering healthcare costs, with consideration of a public healthcare levy".
This is in line with promises made by National and ACT during the election campaign, with New Zealand First now joining the party.
A similar policy was in place when New Zealand First was a coalition partner with the Labour Party between 2017 and 2020.
At the time, the income threshold for a parent visa was considered "far too high" by former Labour Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway.
The community will be hoping for better news on that front as more details of this policy emerge over the next few weeks.
What's more, the new government has promised to remove median wage requirements from holders of skilled migrant category visas, as well as making it easier for family members of visa holders to work in New Zealand.
While no specifics have been mentioned, the coalition partners have committed "to enforcement and action to ensure those found responsible for the abuse of migrant workers face appropriate consequences".
Notably, the much-criticised accredited employer work visa that is currently under review has yet to be earmarked for review by the incoming government, despite calls to abolish it.
Instead, National's coalition deal with New Zealand First seeks to "improve the accredited employer work visa to focus the immigration system on attracting the workers and skills New Zealand needs."
Other immigration policies agreed upon in the coalition deal include the establishment of an essential worker workforce mechanism to plan and manage long-term labour shortages, better recognition of overseas medical qualifications and a pledge to ensure Immigration New Zealand does "proper risk management and verification to ensure migrants are filling genuine workforce needs".
Dairies
Local dairy owners - predominantly from the Indian community - have opposed the introduction of the Smokefree 2025 Bill.
Details of the coalition deal suggest their wishes have been granted under the incoming government.
"(The new government will) repeal amendments to the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Act 1990 and regulations before March 2024, removing requirements for denicotisation, removing the reduction in retail outlets and the generation ban, while also amending vaping product requirements and taxing smoked products only," National's coalition deal with New Zealand First says.
The government has also vowed to reform the regulation of vaping, smokeless tobacco and oral nicotine products while banning disposable vaping products, consider requiring a liquor license to sell vapes ACT and increase penalties for illegal sales to those under 18.
The Ministry of Ethnic Communities
Although ACT and Labour clashed on the Ministry of Ethnic Communities' relevance, it was clear even before the election that the ministry was not going to be tossed on the policy bonfire under a new government.
With National's Melissa Lee announced as the new minister of ethnic communities, the issue appears to be settled.