Labour’s immigration policies are so bad that fewer nurses are applying to come here than when the borders were closed, National’s Immigration spokesperson Erica Stanford says.

“Just 18 offshore migrant nurses have applied for the new Accredited Employer Work Visa in six weeks as of 15 August.

“This means fewer nurses are applying under Labour’s new ‘streamlined’ visa compared to the previous Critical Purpose Visa, which had an average of 57 nurses applying and arriving each month while the borders were closed.

“In the meantime, hospitals are at breaking point due to desperate nursing shortages and Kiwis are paying the price.

“Around 1,000 aged care beds have closed in the last six months because the sector is over one thousand nurses short of being able to deliver adequate care. As a result, some of the most vulnerable Kiwis are being forced out of the places they feel safe and call home.

“Australia is lightyears ahead of New Zealand in the fight to attract nurses. On Monday, they made changes to their immigration settings that make it drastically easier for nurses to apply for residency, even when they do not have a job offer.

“Labour’s immigration settings are massively disadvantaging New Zealand’s ability to attract the healthcare workers we need, but the Immigration Minister continues to bury his head in the sand.

“How many more months of abysmal numbers must we endure before the Minister agrees it’s time for change? Nurses need the certainty of immediate residency if we are to have any hope of filling our critical shortages in the health and aged care sectors.”

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