Aussie MP wants to slam door on Kiwis

A Melbourne politician – possibly concerned at Australia's rising IQ levels – wants to curb the number of Kiwis crossing the Tasman to live.

Labor Government MP Kelvin Thomson has told a Melbourne newspaper that Australia's "open door" policy for New Zealanders has made it impossible to control migrant numbers and maintain quality of life.

However, officials on both sides of the Tasman have been quick to pour cold water on Thomson's view that the door be slammed shut.

Thomson said Australia's migrant intake was at a record high, and almost a quarter of the influx was from New Zealand.

There should be a cap on Kiwis that was linked to the number of permanent departures from Australia each year, he said.

"The trans-Tasman travel arrangement with New Zealand would need to be renegotiated to do away with the open door," Thomson said yesterday.

He has called for annual net immigration to be slashed from more than 200,000 to 70,000.

He also wants Australia's baby bonus abolished and family payments cut to lower the fertility rate.

This would stabilise the population at 26 million by 2050, instead of the 35 million forecast by the Government.

However, Thomson's migrant figures appear to be outdated. The number of Kiwis crossing the ditch to live in Australia fell by 20 per cent in the year to September, from nearly 50,000 to 37,362.

Conversely, the number of long-term arrivals from Australia is up by 7 per cent to 14,260, Statistics New Zealand says, although some of these will be returning Kiwis.

A spokesman for Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said yesterday that Rudd had not commented on Thomson's remarks.

"I think at the moment Kelvin Thomson is the only one to say anything like that."

A spokesman for Australian Immigration and Citizenship Minister Senator Chris Evans said: "Kelvin Thomson's views are his own and are not a reflection of Australian Government policy."

A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Jonathan Coleman said there had been no discussions with his Australian counterpart about any proposal to limit movement between the two countries. "It hasn't been raised at an official level. I don't think it's something that we're taking seriously."

Responding to needling from a former Australian prime minister about the number of Kiwis crossing the ditch, former New Zealand prime minister Sir Robert Muldoon once said the diaspora raised the IQ of both nations.

- © Fairfax NZ News