New Zealand reaps benefits as migration surges

New Zealand is witnessing a migration of record levels as the numbers beat the expectations of Treasury analysts. Treasury secretary Gabriel Makhlouf, commenting on this, said that they expect net migration to tone down to average levels by 2017/18, but they are not sure of it happening. Net migration per year touched 67,390 in February for the 19th successive month, surpassing Treasury’s forecast of around 62,500 for the quarter ending in March. The next set of predictions will be announced in May as part of the government budget. The result of the surge in migration was the growth of the economy at 2.3% in the final quarter of 2015, exceeding all expectations. Population growth owing to high migration is helping boost spending and company profits, although Treasury says it is difficult to gauge its exact impact. It also brings in more revenue to the government, which can be invested in infrastructure. Even as cities like Auckland are feeling the heat, the effects are said to be minor. For instance, average house value in this Kiwi city rose by 17% in the last one year at a figure slightly below the figure of $1 million. This is despite a ruling that aimed to reduce demand and increase supply. Although in 2012, the Auckland Council expected that close to 46,000 new homes were needed by the end of 2014, during 2012-2014 permission was given only for 14,052 homes. The shortage is very much likely to continue even if Auckland Housing Accord’s targets of accelerating consents for new houses are achieved. The city is estimated to have a shortage of 26,500 houses by the end of this year. Meanwhile, unemployment declined to 5.3% as 175,000 new jobs were created from 2013 onwards. The average wage also increased by 3.1% in the last one year, which is substantially higher than the increase in the cost of living of 0.1%. The migration boom is expected to continue for some more years to come, with ties being strengthened between the new immigrants and their home countries, benefiting New Zealand’s trade and international ties. Indians, meanwhile, can check out New Zealand as a destination to study and live as it promises a good quality of life.