National put all our economic hopes into hyper tourism and migrant exploitation

By
Martyn Bradbury
-
22
547

Groan…

Tourism industry gives new government campaign the thumbs up

Thumbs up for the Government’s tourism campaign. 

It’s putting 13.5 million dollars into Tourism New Zealand, targeting markets like China, Australia, the US, India, Germany and South Korea.  

Arrivals in February were down this year overall. 

- Sponsor Promotion -

Tourism Holdings Chief Executive Grant Webster told Ryan Bridge it’s the right time to invest.  

Webster says Kiwis often think people just come here, but New Zealand’s less than 1-percent of the world’s tourism meaning we have to compete. 

…double groan…

February net migration gain up 29.3% year-on-year, annual gain down as 44,055 NZ citizens leave

Oh yay – hyper tourism and exploitative migrant labour are back on the agenda!

YAY!

Bernard Hickey is scathing…

‘But the low-wage & low-cost migrant workers will save us’

However, the Government is pushing for growth in the population and in low-wage temporary workers to generate some nominal GDP growth, as shown in migration figures published yesterday showing a near doubling in net migration to 5,430 February from 23,70 in March.

This increased annual net migration to 32,922 from 30,932 the previous month. This was the strongest monthly balance since December 2023 and the annual increase was the first increase since October 2023.

One feature of an economy dependent on temporary worker migration for growth and low wages is the idea that temporary workers do not cost anything to maintain through the health and education systems, and do not need infrastructure investments in the form of extra housing, schooling and transport investment.

A key element of that is the policy that temporary migrants must be ejected if one of them requires support by the health system, as shown in this RNZ report about a South African declined residency because their son’s health issues are considered a burden on New Zealand’s health and education systems.

…the 5 pillars of NZs economy are:

  • Hyper tourism uber alles
  • Migrant worker exploitation uber alles
  • Stealing Indigenous Land and NEVER give it back uber alles
  • Basic bitch milk powder uber alles
  • Property speculation uber alles

…that National are falling back into the same failed short term economic pillars highlights the total lack of real vision from this Government.

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22 COMMENTS

  1. Martyn – My concern with mass tourism is how many are actual “visitors” and how many are migrants pretending to be visitors.

  2. ” National put all our economic hopes into hyper tourism and migrant exploitation”
    Meanwhile; Our farmers, remember those? They love national because again? ” I dunno. ’cause fuck it an’ that. ” They’re our primary industry people and there’s reportedly only *50 K of them and many of them are suiciding. Or worse, they’re diversifying, which is the same thing really, just different.
    Meanwhile; You urban lot are hating on farmers ” I dunno. ’cause fuck it an’ that.” and have no idea why you hate on farmers really but yet you do, now you chomp down them meat and potaters. Good tucker, aye?
    The national party, some of whom are themselves farmers, are an abusive, manipulative gang of thugs who will, and do, smack you down until you meet their requirements of total compliance. And once they get/got you under the weight of debt and compliance they get a Remuera Mansion, a knighthood and a private helicopter while you get a cold, icy paddock, 3000 worthless old ewes, a cold, lonely bed and massive on-going costs to local councils, various boards and services and of course, the ird. Oh, and then there’s shearing, dipping, crutching, fertilising, fencing and therapy.
    (Farmers…? Let’s go on strike and watch [them] squeak while they suicide for a change. )
    On a general note: Voting useless greedy national out then voting useless greedy labour in while hoping for change is doing the same thing while expecting a different result which is, as Albert Einstein was quoted as saying, the definition of madness.
    * I don’t think that number’s correct. I think that number is at least half that. I could be wrong though.
    Just imagine…
    https://x.com/WillieJLabour/status/1858707490550227309
    If all our farmers who are not traitor natzos had also turned up? Then everyone went on strike. Just think about that for a minute or two.
    You multi-billionaires, you multi-millionaires, you useless aussie banksters? Are you thinking about that too? I bet you fucking are.

    • well national clearly dont have a plan do they .Flooding the country is nothing new is it .I think JK did the same when he was pm and look at the result of that and ask queens town how many houses they have built for staff .I think the answer might be a big fat zero .Also they are now pumping sewage into the shot over so how will they cope with another 100k tourists .

  7. Good idea ,just what we need 100k tourists and no toilets or other infrastructure .Then we will fly in 100k Indians under the trade agreement who will live on the street and work for $5 an hour to clean up after them .

    • Don’t forget the tens of thousands of south americans and ukrainians needed to serve the 100,000 tourists in the cafes. Oh and they have no where to live so we need more trailer parks.

  10. My thought is this. If Tourism is a business why does the taxpayers pay for their advertising. It’s bad enough that we have to subsidies their shit wages and pay accomodation supplements for their exploited staff.
    If they can’t survive without government support let them sink and spend the money on Health and education.

  11. Economic illiteracy on display again, thank heavens fiscal decision making is not in the hands of these ignorant people.

    • No Bob, National are the economic illiterates in imagining you can grow an economy by cutting Government spending, making people unemployed, deregulating and putting downward pressure on wages. Cutting Government spending and making people unemployed will shrink the economy by reducing aggregate demand in domestic markets and eventually (if the Government runs surpluses) taking more money out of circulation than the Government is putting in through new spending. Putting downward pressure on wages and reducing costs to business by removing regulations of all sorts (environmental, health & safety, employment) will not spur business into new productive investment if aggregate demand is not there domestically – and now not globally with the Trump tariffs probably leading to dumping of goods intended for the US market.. Instead the cash windfall for business that will result from lower wages and deregulation will go into asset speculation (houses) and more overseas holidays and luxury imports.
      It’s illiteracy writ large – and you can also tell that because the Nats will always follow this playbook under all possible economic conditions, no matter what. It’s not an economic policy, it’s a neoliberal fetish.

  12. Next leg will be the India NZ free trade “in people” agreement.

    Which really means allowing additional tens of thousands more overseas students p.a. on scam course to resident visa schemes, driving up rent demand and driving down wages. Win/win for National donors.

    Too bad if NZ infrastructure and services are already creeking at the seams.

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