7 Jun 2023

Net migration rebounds: but are arrivals going where we need them?

From Nine To Noon, 11:20 am on 7 June 2023
The first fights from across the Tasman landed in New Zealand after the border reopened on 13 April 2022.

Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi

Migration numbers have returned to pre-Covid levels.

According to Stats NZ estimates released by New Zealand had a net migration gain of 65,400 people for the March 2023 year. In the month of March alone, 21,400 migrants arrived - the biggest monthly arrivals estimate ever - and the net gain was 12,100.

But are these migrants going where we need them to?

Kathryn discusses with Professor Paul Spoonley, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and Honorary Research Associate in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Massey University.

He says other countries, such as Canada, are being much more strategic about where arrivals go, with provinces recruiting to their needs.