Editorial: Work is key for movers

We are unlikely to see hordes of highly skilled foreigners arrive at the Rotorua Airport next week, says Katie Holland

Changes to the immigration points system announced this week are not going to magically transform Rotorua's economy.

We are unlikely to see hordes of highly skilled foreigners arrive at the Rotorua Airport next week, ready to start businesses and employ hundreds of locals.

In that sense, Mayor Steve Chadwick and chamber boss Darrin Walsh are right to react cautiously to the Government announcement.

John Key says the extra bonus points available in residency applications for people who commit to moving to the regions for at least 12 months will encourage them to look outside Auckland. He acknowledges some may use it as a "back door" way of getting into Auckland, but maintains it will boost the regions.

Local Government New Zealand's president Lawrence Yule, points out a lot of migrants that move to the regions end up creating their own businesses and finding opportunities locals haven't seen.

And those are stories we hear over and over in Rotorua. People come, from all over the world, and they get sucked in. Many end up contributing in a huge variety of ways to the community.

At yesterday's citizenship ceremony Indian Farid Ali Khan, who owns a motel in Rotorua, says moving to the city was one of the best decisions he'd ever made. Brit Lewis Whitworth, who became a resident through his partner after falling short on points, also now runs a business. He told us the points change would have been an incentive to him.

For many overseas, starting a new life in the "paradise" of New Zealand is a life-long dream. Some on the borderline of meeting the criteria would happily jump at the chance to move to regional New Zealand. In that sense, the rules may eventually bring more people here.

But, as Mr Walsh points out, they need a job. The very reason most are moving to Auckland instead of Rotorua is because that's where the jobs are. What comes first - the people or the jobs?

That's where the theory may fall over.