Holly Walker: Our overseas citizens are not lost to us

Those New Zealanders strolling out the departure gates are as great an asset to the country as ever, writes Holly Walker. Photo / Alex Burton, File

Opinion

OPINION

For a long time, we've been collectively lamenting the "brain drain" – the number of New Zealanders who leave each year to live overseas. Until 2020, for more than 20 years we had a net loss of New Zealand citizens every year.

Aotearoa New Zealand has long had one of the largest per-capita diasporas of any OECD county, with around 13 per cent of those born here currently living overseas.

No government agency maintains an accurate measure of the total diaspora, but according to some estimates there could be as many as one million New Zealanders and their children living overseas – a fifth of our home population.

A significant proportion of these are Māori – by some estimates up to one in six of all Māori – for whom it may be particularly important to remain connected to their culture and whakapapa.

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented Aotearoa New Zealand with the opportunity to rewrite the story of our diaspora, both in terms of the numbers coming and going, and the story we tell ourselves about them.

In the first year of the pandemic, for the first time in more than 20 years, we have seen a net gain of New Zealand citizens.

Early in the pandemic, there was speculation that we might see offshore New Zealanders flocking home in large numbers, attracted by the comforts of home and our relative success with the virus.

While some have returned, the number doing this has in fact not been large. Arrivals of New Zealand citizens in the year to May 2021 were down about 40 per cent on the previous year. What's behind the net gain is the fact that departures were down even more in the same period – by 64 per cent.

However, as pandemic travel restrictions slowly ease, we could be at the start of a new trend of Kiwis coming home.

According to Expat organisation Kea's "Future Aspirations" survey of offshore New Zealanders, 31 per cent were planning to return home, and half of these in the next two years. Many are highly educated, highly skilled, and plan to start new businesses or invest in existing ones when they arrive.

Will we be ready to welcome them when they come? Some people who've returned in recent months report a bumpy landing, with some made to feel unwelcome or like their skills and experiences are not valued.

And what of those who plan to stay overseas? More than half of Kea's respondents who remained overseas said they were looking for ways to maintain a strong connection to New Zealand. Are we ready to stop resenting them for leaving, and start celebrating and building on their global connections?

This week, The Helen Clark Foundation and WSP New Zealand released Nau Mai | Welcome Home, a new report that looks at what we know about the New Zealand diaspora and makes recommendations for how we can meet their expectations, attract some of them home, and prepare for the demographic trends of a post-pandemic future.

There are up to a million New Zealanders out there with valuable skills, experiences, and expertise to share, either by moving home or by staying overseas but keeping more closely connected to home.

There is huge potential in forging stronger connections with these people.

For an example of how, we could look to Ireland, one of only two other OECD nations with a per capita diaspora larger than ours.

Holly Walker. Photo / Supplied

Ireland recently adopted an ambitious diaspora strategy for 2020-2025, overseen by a Minister for the Diaspora, which sets goals and targets for (among other things) building economic ties with the Irish diaspora, removing barriers to return migration to Ireland, and the promotion and teaching of Irish language and culture abroad.

This last aspect is particularly interesting to consider from a Te Ao Māori perspective. What are our Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations to second and third-generation Māori born overseas, and how can we help strengthen their connections to their whakapapa, language, and culture?

We make three broad recommendations in our report for how we can better understand, meet the needs of, and support New Zealanders living overseas.

Understand and tap into the potential of the offshore diaspora. This includes adopting a
diaspora strategy like Ireland's and gaining a better understanding of how many, where, and who our overseas New Zealanders are.

Roll out the welcome mat to those who wish to return. This means making it as easy as
possible to come home with information, resources, and the removal of barriers, and by
greeting those who return with enthusiasm (not tall poppy syndrome).

Develop world-class cities and towns where people want to live. This means investing in better urban infrastructure, improving public and active transport, and ensuring there is affordable, accessible housing for everyone so we can accommodate those who return.

The "brain drain" was never the right way to look at our large New Zealand diaspora. Even those who stay abroad have the potential to contribute economically, socially, and culturally back home if those links are nurtured.

We should focus on strengthening and forging these connections and ensuring we are ready to welcome those who return.

• Holly Walker is the report author and deputy director and WSP Fellow at The Helen Clark Foundation.