Mike's Minute: New Zealanders leaving could be Labour's worst legacy

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

My least favourite data dump yesterday.

Firstly tourism – which yet again reminds me how, when I was asking well in excess of a year ago where the hell all the people were, no one seemed to care or hear me

Fast forward 18 months, with the numbers stuck at about 80% of what they were 5 years ago, the industry I read now is “worried". Why weren't they worried when I was worried? Why does it take so many so long to wake up to what's staring at them?

But they aren't as bad as the migration figures, also out yesterday. We are still leaving the country in record numbers. Overall, we are gaining people, but the people are coming from China, India, Fiji, and the Philippines. Which is not being racist, but it is questioning just what sort of skills they are bringing and how great is the cultural balance being affected by us leaving and them arriving.

The reason I hate the departure numbers so much is severalfold:

1. They are mainly the young. Not good for our future.

2. It isn't stopping. Having people scarper isn't new but having them scraper continually for such a long period is.

Places like Wellington are being hollowed out as the young leave, but the arrivals land in places like Auckland. So overall we are not replacing like with like.

But the thing that irks me most is the credibility issue.

We look like crap. We look like a bad party. We look like Nigel-no-mates.

Our rep is rubbish. New Zealanders look around month, after month, after month, and say, you know what? I don't want to be here anymore. I don’t like it here; I like it over there.

Over there is mainly Australia, and I have never liked losing to Australia.

I don’t mind people leaving, I don’t mind competing. It’s a free and open world.

But I think that is part of the issue. Are we competing? Are we competitive? What do we have to offer, what's compelling about New Zealand in 2024?

Numbers don’t lie. Immigration is often driven by the wanderlust of youth – this is more than wanderlust. This is dislike, this is no future, this is despair.

We are bleeding people and talent.

Of all the damage Labour did to this country, forcing its young people out might historically be shown to be the most ruinous thing of all.

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