Political leaders’ risk widening immigration ignorance, says NZ FMC

Political leaders risk spreading immigration ignorance and misrepresentations in the election year in New Zealand according to Federation of Multicultural Councils New Zealand. They must be more positive regarding migration and migrants added the NZ FMC. The council is holding a symposium in response to the negative views about immigration and hopes to address the issue of immigration ignorance amongst politicians. NZ FMC also hopes to influence policies of political parties on immigration. Tayo Agunlejika the Executive Director of NZ FMC said that most of the policies are not highlighting the positive impact of immigrants on the economy. This is a sign of immigration ignorance on the part of the politicians, added Mr. Agunlejika. He made this remark even as New Zealand Immigration Minister proposed to toughen the rules for work visas, as quoted by the Radio NZ. Owing to this hospitality sector, dairy sector, and horticulture industry are protesting that this will take away workers from them. Mr. Agunlejika said that political leaders attending the symposium must be honest regarding the motivation for their policies. For every four residents of New Zealand, one was born overseas. 87% of the immigrants perceive that they belong to New Zealand while one-third of the New Zealand nationals believed that immigrants must be better assimilated. The perceived competition for jobs caused unease between the residents of Maori and immigrants and the New Zealand nationals became uncomfortable with immigrants, said Tayo Agunlejika. Mr. Agunlejika further elaborated that certain negative acts of immigrants could not transform the broader perception on immigrants as these are rare cases. The vast majority of immigrants contribute in a big way for the growth of the economy of New Zealand explained the Executive Director of NZ FMC. Alexis LewGor the National President of NZ FMC said that immigration today has diverse aspects to it. Infrastructure, economy, security and social fabric are all influenced by immigration, added Mr. LewGor. If you are looking to Migrate, Study, Visit, Invest or Work in New Zealand, contact Y-Axis, the world’s most trusted Immigration & Visa Consultant.