The Auckland Times | Issue 173 | October 10, 2017

A s I write, the New Zealand elections are over but a governing party has not been announced.

The election of 2017 cannot be accused of being boring. It changed like the wind. And true to form, the government to be has not been decided because no one has won an outright majority of seats to be able to form a government. The National Party has won the most votes but cannot independently form a government which is unlike countries you may be familiar with.

This is because New Zealand has what is called a MMP system.

A mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation is a hybrid two-tier voting system. MMP was originally used to elect representatives to the German Bundestag, and has been adopted by Bolivia, Lesotho and New Zealand.

MMP is the system we currently use to elect our Parliament. It is a proportional system, which means that the proportion of votes a party gets will largely reflect the number of seats it has in parliament.

In New Zealand, the electoral system has been mixed-member proportional (MMP) since 1996. MMP was introduced after a referendum in 1993. MMP replaced the first-past-the-post (FPP) system New Zealand had previously used for most of its history.

At this stage, the country is in a limbo, there are two obvious possibilities, a National or a Labour-led government. Either party will be required to be in coalition with another one or more.

The deciding party potentially will be New Zealand First as they have the influence of power as the king maker or the queen maker. It is in the hands of Mr Winston Peters, the 72-year-old leader of the party. Mr Peters has previously been in coalition with the National and Labour party at different time periods assisting each to form a government.

During the previous many years, one cannot say that the relationship between Mr Peters and the National Party has been warm.

Besides these factors, Mr Peters’ decision making will most definitely have a forward -thinking approach. Factors such as who can he work with and what is on offer will play into it. Mr Peters is a seasoned politician and in whichever is the party he supports, he will play an active vibrant role.

What does this all mean for New Zealand’s Immigration policy?

This is a very interesting question. The current policy already has had the effect of restricting current pathways particularly through the international student progressing to Skilled Migrant residence. This route is fraught with problems for those pursing it. The definition of skilled employment and work experience are not only problematic but confusing.

Points may be awarded for this at the Expression of Interest stage if claimed. If these points result in an invitation to apply for residence being issued then the issue of a resident visa is not an automatic right because these points could eventually be deducted resulting in a decline of a residence visa. It is something to be wary about.

At Idesi Legal we encourage clients to wait if they can before they pursue the Skilled Migrant residence route. How Immigration New Zealand is interpreting these policies is a waiting game. If you rush into this particularly if you do not have to then you could potentially be throwing good money after bad if at this stage, the outcome of your application is uncertain. If you were earning $93,000 and above then it is a less risky proposition.

As to the new government. Time will tell what in practice is going to change irrespective of who governs.

Watching politics at play is fascinating, at the end of the day it is about getting the votes. What buttons can be pushed, what sentiments can be expressed and what individual beliefs are, what a party policies are become the fabric of this complex landscape called Politics.

How the policies play out, could be completely different. The official’s briefing to the incoming government is when the reality checks in, what can and cannot be done despite the wish list and the promises. Factors such as what is available in the government’s purse, what the obligations are and what is discretionary and so on win the order of the day despite having a definite policy directive.

With a Labour led government the reinstatement of a humanitarian route may be a real possibility something the National party dispensed with.

We can only but wait to see how the horizon looks!