Record immigration hiding New Zealand's economic reality: critics

New Zealand had a record net gain of migrants, more arrivals than departures, in the year to the end of August, driven by arrivals from Asia, the government statistics agency said Monday.

The annual net gain in migrants hit 60,300 in the August year, according to a commentary from Statistics New Zealand.

The three biggest source countries in Asia: 12,700 migrants came from India, 8,400 from China and 4,500 from the Philippines.

The record annual permanent and long-term net gain of migrants resulted from 117,900 arrivals, and 57,600 departures.

Of the migrant arrivals in the August year, 24,500 were from Australia, with two thirds being New Zealand citizens; 13,900 were from India, with three-quarters having student visas; 13,400 were from Britain, with most having work visas or New Zealand citizenship; and 10,600 were from China, with about half having student visas.

New Zealand had a net gain of 5,500 migrants in August.

Opposition lawmakers used the figures to accuse the government of using immigration to keep wages low and to bolster flagging economic growth.

"Migrants will accept inferior working terms and conditions, and unscrupulous employers, both Kiwi and new employers from overseas, know this," Ron Mark, deputy leader of the New Zealand First party said in a statement.

"That was the government's intention, it is an age-old trick. It is exploiting foreign workers, particularly those from lower- waged economies, and unfair to Kiwis."

The Green Party said migrant-driven economic activity was part of the government's "facade of economic prosperity."

"GDP might still be growing, albeit slowly, but hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders aren't seeing any net positive effect on their lives, including the 148,000 people who are out of work," Green Party finance spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said in a statement. Endi