THE PRESS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1976 The policy on overstayers

Press, 19 October 1976, Page 20

THE PRESS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1976 The policy on overstayers

Apparently under pressure. the Government has decided to take a more lenient view than it earlier intended on when people who have outstayed their temporary work permits, most of them Pacific Islanders, must return to their homes. In the middle of September, the Minister of Immigration (Mr Gill) said that more than 1200 overstayers who had been refused permanent residence to that date would have to return to their own countries within three to six months. Even early this month Mr Gill said that “ due regard to airline capacity ” would determine the times when overstayers would be required to leave New Zealand.

After Mr Muldoon had spoken with Island leaders in Fiji, he agreed to delay the repatriation of overstayers until the Islands were better able to absorb those required to return. The overstayers will now go home in small groups over a reasonably long period — a year has been mentioned.

More than 4500 people registered as overstayers during the Government’s recent amnesty. Although some are being accepted as permanent residents, many others who did not register will no doubt be found. If many are rushed home, the Islands’ small, fragile economies may well be damaged. This result in itself would probably compound the problem of overstayers in New Zealand. The best hope for a solution is to foster development in the Islands.

The Government’s concession jvill help the Islands to cope with the return of overstayers, though very little economic development is likely within a year. It may also reduce the susceptibility of this country to charges of racism or of economic exploitation which over-hasty deportation of the overstayers would certainly have provoked.

This should at least be considered by the Government, though the rules on entry to New Zealand are clear enough. Willingness to make concessions should not extend to delaying the deportation of those overstayers who failed to register during the Government’s mid-year amnesty. Ignoring those overstayers would be unfair not only to New Zealanders, in times of employment difficulties, but also to those overstayers who came forward. Some unhappy notes are inevitable; but the policy towards immigration from the Islands is basically fair.

New Zealand is not closing its doors to Pacific Islanders. The policy allows considerable numbers of immigrants to come from the Islands and settle here lawfully. The new work permit scheme, provided it is properly administered, as the old system of visitor permits clearly was not, provides opportunities for temporary employment in New Zealand.

Critics of a policy designed to reduce the number who are in New Zealand illegally (and therefore prey to all kinds of pressures and exploitation) should keep in mind that the Government is not sending home overstayers indiscriminately. With regard for individual circumstances, the Government is allowing about half those who entered New Zealand on visitor permits to become permanent residents of New Zealand. Special cases among those ordered to leave are being discussed between Island leaders in New Zealand and officials of the Labour Department; the great majority being allowed to stay. As it has been modified, the Government’s policy on Pacific Island immigrants is fair to New Zealanders, to those Islanders who are in this country legally, and to those in the Islands who seek to find work in this country.