Getting over our resentment at returning Kiwis
And so, my fellow New Zealanders: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.
That, of course, was John F Kennedy at his inaugural address in Washington on January 20, 1961, with one small alteration.
The much-quoted line from that powerful and beautifully written speech came to mind this week as New Zealanders continued to pour into the country from overseas, not always to a wholeheartedly joyous welcome.
The return of the Kiwi diaspora seems to be gathering momentum as countries they previously called home struggle with Covid-19 and consequently need to impose and reimpose lifestyle-limiting measures.
The numbers returning are small, especially when you consider the 500,000-odd Kiwis in Australia and the thousands living further abroad. By mid-June only about 2500 people a week were hopping off the plane straight into quarantine. That’s a logistical headache for the authorities looking for accommodation and supervisory staff but not an insurmountable problem.
The expense and risk the arrivals present, not surprisingly, raise concerns. There is also a feeling that somehow the newcomers are just using New Zealand because things haven’t worked out in the greener pastures they chased overseas. In other words the returnees ask what the country can do for them instead of
. . . well, you get the picture.
This simmering resentment comes from a belief that many New Zealanders are nurtured and educated by the taxpayer and take off overseas as soon as they can to earn better money and enjoy a more interesting lifestyle. Then when things get tough in the country which has benefited from their labours and expertise and tax, they come home to Mum and expect her to pay all the bills. We feel like a jilted lover whose heartthrob has returned because the other relationship didn’t work out.
It doesn’t help that student loan customers living overseas make up only 15 per cent of the total student loan population, but owe 91 per cent of the total overdue debt of $1.5 billion. About 70 per cent of all overseas-based customers with overdue repayments are based in Australia.
As a country, it seems, we believe the returnees have certain obligations beyond the obvious ones of behaving themselves and acting responsibly. Such as a duty to have asked what they can do for their country.
Uncharitable comments abound. L McInnes of Upper Riccarton, in a published letter to the editor, said:
‘‘How nice they didn’t think of bringing this expertise acquired in the years they have been overseas home earlier – just waited until NZ had done the hard work . . . No-one said they couldn’t come home, just that maybe they should pay for their two-week isolation.’’
Would-be returnees like USbased Carmen Sarjeant, who is trying to get back to New Zealand to organise a memorial service for her mother, feel affronted.
Sarjeant wrote New Zealand had an obligation to share its success at beating Covid-19 with the world, especially with returning Kiwis, and was failing to appreciate the marvellous resource of expertise and experience ‘‘knocking on your front door’’.
Harriet Pudney, a New Zealand journalist working in Melbourne, wonders where the New Zealand she loves and misses has gone.
‘‘Reading about how people think the border should close to everyone, including New Zealand citizens, or how we should have to pay for our own quarantine, how maybe we should have thought of that before we left, I feel a very long way from home for the first time.’’
Clearly, in some respects, even the most obvious expectations have been breached. For example about 290-odd people, mistakenly not tested before they left quarantine, refuse to attend for a test and appear to have disappeared without trace.
One issue causing much debate is whether returnees should pay for their quarantine.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern this week said officials would be looking at whether returnees who had been away from New Zealand a long time – in other words haven’t contributed much in the last decade – should pay for their hotel stays.
The resentment at the idea of people swanning around overseas earning the big money or having fun and then expecting the taxpayer to look after them when they get home is understandable.
However, it needs to be remembered that every case is different. There will be those who could easily afford to pay but teasing them out would probably not be worth the cost. Many, especially young families, will be doing it tough enough in quarantine, without the worry of a big bill.
Many young New Zealanders head off for a year of overseas experience and usually pick up poorly paid work. They are hardly going to be flush with cash when they need to cut their trip short.
We lose valuable people overseas but the loss is not all one way. Many work visa workers keep agriculture and aged care facilities going and have propped up the tourism industry. Many more skilled immigrants bring their overseas paid and acquired expertise to New Zealand.
If we want to get serious about ensuring we get value for the amount spent on training young people, we need to start thinking about bonding and banning student loan customers from travelling unless they pay their debts.
In truth, asking what you can do for your country is a nice sentiment but totally impractical. What generally works better is a country telling its citizens what they can or should do for it.
And we should all ask ourselves if we give more than we take.