Laying out welcome mat for new settlers

Bill Milnes stresses how important new migrants are to New Zealand's economy. Photo / Sarah Ivey

When Bill Milnes got fired from his retail job during the recession of the early 1990s he thought his world had come to an end.

The economic impact of the 1987 sharemarket crash was lingering. Few jobs were available.

"At that stage we had two kids of 16 and 11 and my wife was a geriatric nurse - she was only able to do two days' work a week," Milnes says.

But he managed to get his life back on track.

The official opening of the head office of his firm, Access Immigration, in a swanky spot overlooking Princes Wharf took place last week.

Milnes says his life was turned around in 1993 when Matt Robson - a future deputy leader of the Alliance party - sought his involvement in setting up an immigration consultancy.

Robson had represented Milnes in a successful wrongful dismissal and defamation case against his former employer.

"[Robson] just opened up my life - I was literally suicidal."

Milnes took over the immigration consultancy when Robson entered Parliament in 1996.

In 2001 Milnes and his business partner Judy Klosser merged their businesses into Access Immigration, which was based in Pakuranga until its recent move to the CBD.

After being at the coalface of immigration issues for the best part of two decades, Milnes stresses how important new migrants are to New Zealand's economy.

"Despite the current state of the economy, New Zealand continues to experience significant labour shortages at the higher-skilled end of the market," he says.

"For example, we used to produce engineers galore, only to lose them overseas. But we now have a shortage of engineers across almost every branch of the profession."

Milnes says Access Immigration helped to bring engineers with special expertise into New Zealand to work on the Newmarket viaduct project.

But he says the significance of his firm's work cannot be limited to economics alone.

"I remember one particular client from our early days who almost certainly would have been deported back to Iraq and executed if we hadn't done a good job for him.

"I recall grown men reduced to tears over the frustrations and hopelessness over their situations, only to return months later with tears of joy in their eyes."

Milnes says the move to a central city office space was made to be closer to Access' corporate clients.

The new location may also enable the firm to take advantage of next year's Rugby World Cup, when foreign visitors may decide they like New Zealand so much that they want to emigrate.

"When and if there is feedback from the Rugby World Cup we're in a position to handle it."