New Lynn hopefuls tackle immigration
Political hopefuls competing for the seat of New Lynn say it’s time to have a sensible discussion about immigration.
Deborah Russell of Labour said the increased number of people had put pressure on housing, schools and roads in Kelston, so she would like immigration to be managed more carefully.
‘‘So yes to people with high skills, yes to refugees, yes to people who want a top class qualification from our excellent schools, polytechs and universities, but let’s make sure that immigrants aren’t being exploited, and let’s make sure that we really can fit our new New Zealanders into our community.’’
Scott Macarthur of the Democrats for Social Credit said his party wanted to limit immigration numbers to 20,000 per year.
He said the infrastructure needed to be strengthened and that required an overhaul of the Resource Management Act.
‘‘At present, National is only providing $1 billion of funding, whereas the transport deficit in Auckland alone is $17 billion. If we want growth, we must fund it properly.’’
John Hubscher of United Future said poor infrastructure and town planning were the biggest problems.
‘‘This showed up a couple of months ago with the flooding on
‘‘If we want growth, we must fund it properly.’’
Scott Macarthur
Great North Rd.’’
A shortage of new buildings and houses aggravated the situation, he said.
ACT candidate Richard Wells said immigration was more than simply meeting quotas.
‘‘Let’s attract the skills required to build the infrastructure and housing we need and that can make a real contribution to growing our economy.’’
Paul Davie of the Conservative Party said the country could do with boundaries around who comes in and how many.
‘‘It is important that the laws we adhere to, and our culture, are respected by those who arrive.’’
The country needed a ‘‘better resourced assimilation process’’ for refugees, he said.
Peter Chan of NZ First said immigration numbers needed to be pulled back to 10,000 highly skilled migrants to give the country a chance to ‘‘catch up’’.
Other candidates did not reply in time for this article.