KEY POINTS:
The number of New Zealanders leaving this country to live in Australia continued to rise in March, and the number of Australians visiting here short term was also up.
Figures published yesterday by Statistics New Zealand show that a net outflow of 3100 permanent and long-term migrants left
this country for Australia in March, up from 2800 in March 2007.
The 83,500 permanent and long-term arrivals in the year to the end of March was up 1000 from the March 2007 year, while the 78,800 departures was up 8400.
The resulting 4700 net migration was down from 12,100 in the March 2007 year, SNZ said.
The net permanent and long-term outflow of 29,900 to Australia in the March 2008 year was the highest since the July 2001 year. It compared with 23,300 in the March 2007 year.
National and Act blamed Government policies for the sharp increase in the number of people heading permanently to Australia. National's immigration spokesman, Lockwood Smith, said people were fed up with a Government that had mismanaged the economy and overtaxed them while "gloating about its surplus".
"These are our tradesmen and our university graduates - the future of this country is fleeing in droves."
Act's Sir Roger Douglas said: "New Zealand needs to put in place policies that will enable us to catch up - policies that will enable us to increase growth by 5 per cent a year or 4 per cent per capita."
A net inflow of 6900 migrants came from Britain in the year to the end of March, down from 10,200 the previous year, while net inflows in the latest year also came from India (4200), the Philippines (3300), Fiji (2500), South Africa (2100), China (1900) and Germany (1600).
The 250,800 short-term overseas visitor arrivals last month were up 11,600, or 5 per cent, on March 2007.
Seasonally adjusted visitor arrivals were steady between February and March, following an increase of 5 per cent between January and February. The number of visitors from Australia was up by 6700, or 8 per cent, last month compared with March 2007, helped by the earlier timing of the Easter holidays.
Visitor numbers from Britain were up 2800 or 8 per cent, from China up by 1800 or 20 per cent and from the United States up by 1400 or 6 per cent.
Cruise passengers accounted for most of the increase from the US, and together with new air services between Vancouver and Auckland contributed to 900, or 16 per cent, more visitor arrivals from Canada.
For the year to the end of March 2008, 2.5 million visitors arrived, up 51,900 or 2 per cent from the March 2007 year.
Visitors from Australia were up 56,500 or 6 per cent for the year, while numbers from China rose 10,000 or 9 per cent, and from Canada were up 5200 or 11 per cent.
Numbers from Korea were down 19,800 or 18 per cent for the year.