Adequate Compensation

Recognition must be given to the fact that the Pacific Islands are supplying, free, a ready-made labour force for New Zealand industry. In comparison with this contribution from the Islands, New Zealand's aid to the Pacific is paltry. It is not so much a question of aid, as a question of calculating the cost of the production and reproduction of New Zealand labour by the Islands and paying adequate compensation. Factors to include in such a calculation would be the cost of upbringing, education, support of a family and retirement, measured against the time the worker is ‘borrowed’ from the Islands to work in New Zealand.

Migrant Services

Such compensation, not to be confused with aid, could partly be used for the pro-
vision of services to Pacific Island migrants coming to New Zealand, including:

payment of their fares (if fares were properly organised they could at least be dramatically reduced from the present $329 return air fare from Tonga – compare this with the almost equidistant fare to Australia, particularly on charter flights, which is almost two thirds lower).

provision of reasonable accommodation at a reasoble cost.

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appointment of Pacific Islanders as Welfare and Lia+son Officers for migrants, who could assist in orientation courses (pre-arrival, post-arrival, and post-return), arrange the bureaucratic requirements, assist with remittance of funds, and look after the general interests of migrants during their stay.

provision of wider opportunities for Pacific Island migrants, to ensure that they do not continue to provide predominantly unskilled labour but can return home with experience that will be useful in their countries of origin and not only with money.

such provision should include opportunities for further education, particularly language classes, as well as training in skills.

The cost of these services, needless to say, ought to be predominantly borne by the employers of migrant labour, rather than the taxpayer through the Government.

Length and Nature of Permits

It should be clear from the above that the three month permit system (for Tongans, Fijians and Samoans) is hopelessly inadequate and unjust, and lies at the root of many of the social problems, both in New Zealand and in the Islands, arising from migrant labour. People in Tonga see six months as a minimum, and both the Federation of labour and the Manufacturers’ Association see one year as a more realistic figure. Some argue for no restrictions at all, but this seems to ignore the developmental problems of the Islands themselves when they are faced with serious population depletion as a result of emigration. What such people also forget is that emigration is not so much a question of freedom of movement alone as of unequal development as between the Islands and New Zealand. Ultimately no-one will benefit from completely free movement within the Pacific until more equitable distribution of wealth is established between New Zealand and the Pacific. Until then, emigration will be determined more by economic necessity than by free choice, and the results might well be critical for both the Islands and for New Zealnd working people.

Selection of Migrants

Although there should be no strict rules, it might be advisable from both the Islands' and New Zealand's point of view to show some preference for younger people, newly married or with a small family, who can travel together and thus eliminate the present unsalutory effects of long-term separation from spouse and children.

Social Security

Migrants on work permits should qualify for all social security benefits during their stay and pay the same taxes as other workers, with the exception of superannuation (unless this is refunded along with the employer's contribution). There is nothing to indicate that the percentage of Pacific Island migrants who fall ill etc. is any higher than that of New Zealand resident workers, and at present individual Pacific Islanders who fall ill often fail to qualify for normal benefits.

Terms of Trade

As well as improvements in the living and working conditions of migrant workers there must be an improvement in the terms of trade between the Pacific Islands and New Zealand. Every encouragement ought to be given to the independent development page 14 of the Island economies. Tariff preferences should be established for such industries as handicrafts (Australia has introduced such a scheme, but New Zealand continues to have a quota – all that has been done by the Labour Government has been to increase the quota from $5,000 to $12,000 in the case of Tonga). At the same time, shipping services for perishable crops should be urgently improved – in the knowledge that this would encourage producers to improve the quality of their product. In the past, the prices paid, the onslaught of disease without the resources to fight it, and the inadequate and irregular shipping service to New Zealand have discouraged Islanders from expanding and improving the banana export industry.

A Regional Conference

These are merely some suggestions for discussion, and no claim is made to having found any definitive solution. The question of migration in particular has been inadequately studied, although it has become a major factor in the relationship between the
Pacific Islands and New Zealand. Migrant labour in Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East has been the subject of intensive study, but the Pacific has been largely neglected. There is an urgent need for a regional meeting on the subject, not only to discuss the effects that are already becoming apparent, but to establish co-ordinated research and statistical criteria for the purpose of continuing assessment. This could be done in conjunction with the International Labour Organisation if any Pacific Govern-
ment or trade union movement requested it, and such co-operation with an international agency would provide experience and much useful material from other parts of the world.