The Benefits Of Immigration For New Zealand
With the recent terrorist attack at a mosque in Christchurch, more than 40 people were killed, and another 50 people were injured. This is known as one of the biggest threads of national peace and security, and the first terrorist attack for us, New Zealand, a small country at the very end of the world that has always remain safe from the unsettle incidents all these times. The topic of immigration comes up quite often in conversation. Topics, such as, how immigrants should be dealt with, what exactly are the benefits and/or detriments of immigration and New Zealand’s immigration policy are usually discussed. With immigration gradually becoming a trending issue in our country, various individuals have expressed their thoughts through means like social media and news sites, which are usually oppose it. I will present and discuss the benefits of immigration and provide evidence that highlights reasons, why immigration should be widely accepted rather than being considered as a problem. How immigration has helped a country as American to become one of the greatest countries in the world, and how New Zealand can also benefit from immigration in the same way. For us New Zealander, the issue of immigration may have not been clearly address to the public.
As well as the pros and con of immigration which may cause a lot of us to wrongly form our opinion toward this topic. Although some opinions are easier to understand compared to others, the advantages of immigration are bountiful. Economically, immigrants greatly boost our country economy by providing new job outlets, more money to companies, and a reduction of the unemployment rate, which is one of New Zealand major issues. A large influx of immigrants will help many of our companies because of supply and demand. With the average immigrant worker working for lower wages, immigrants reduce the amount of money a company spends when paying their employees, therefore, keeping costs lower for us, consumer. A writer at the “The Fiscal Times” emphasises this idea by claiming, “Without the immigrant labour, prices consumers pay for hotels and restaurants would be substantially higher.”
As well as keeping vacations and dinners more affordable, immigration has contributed to great results in the field of education. With the majority of immigrants relocating with their families or having a family in the new country, it is highly likely that they will send their children to school in that country so as to provide a better education for their children. This bodes well for the high school or college they attend because these children increase the graduation rate, which is one of many factors people use to determine how good a school is. Once these children have acquired a higher education, many of them will decide to open up their own business or join the job market. The former option has yielded excellent results for the United States, a country with large proportion of immigration, with immigrants owning almost one in five of the small businesses in America.
The latter keeps our country’s workforce filled with workers who are at an ideal age for work, thus balancing out the numbers lost from the workforce due to our high retirement rate. When people immigrate to a new country, it is almost impossible for them not to bring their culture along with them. One of the bigger cultural influences on societies is cuisine. Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, and Italian food are among the major popular foreign foods in New Zealand; the new wave of immigrants has introduced foods from Korea, Thai and India. These cuisines have been praised by food critics for having healthier ingredients. As most people know, our country has an unhealthy obsession with fast food due to its accessibility and affordability it is.
Therefore, healthier foods being introduced from these countries could benefit many people. A concentration of immigrants also creates cultural areas which are great for tourism. Having a greater number of immigrants from a specific culture in an area also promotes the holidays and traditions that they celebrate. This can be seen in many Western Countries as more people are becoming aware of holidays such as the Chinese New Year and Hanukkah, leading our country to greater diversity. While many people have uneducated and discriminatory opinions about immigrants, invalid points have been raised by people who oppose immigration. The biggest and most invalid argument against immigration is that immigrants are using up the nation 's resources. Many people worry that with the large influx of immigrants coming to our country, us, citizens will be left with few resources. However, it is a government’s job to be accommodating us with reasonable needs. Once the government realize resources are being consumed more than the production rate, implementing new laws to produce more resources can easily be done.
Also, legal immigrants pay taxes, meaning the government receives more funds. With more funds, the government can provide for our needs better, therefore, eliminating the fear of running out of resources. Another argument is that immigrants who are living in a country illegally are wasting the government’s money. An example is that the children of illegal immigrants attend schools that are funded by tax paying citizens. However, an illegal immigrant is still illegal immigrant, they do not receive the benefits of being a citizen. Take a look at Canada, a country that is well known for giving its citizens free health care. Illegal immigrants would not receive free healthcare, meaning that they will have to pay for all medical bills they receive. By paying for medical bills, they give the government/hospital more funds to spend, which is never a bad thing. With the advantages of immigration highlighted, myths debunked, and opposing arguments presented, immigration should be widely accepted rather than being considered as a problem. We all are once immigrants to this country. Our forbearers were as well stranger who crossed the pacific, we all are here today, only because this country welcome them in and taught them that to be New Zealand is something more something more than what we look like or what our last name are.
What makes us New Zealand is our shared commitment to an ideal, that all of us are created equal, and all of us have a chance to make our lives follow what we truly believe. That is the country our parents, grandparents and generations before them built for us. That is the tradition we must uphold, and that is the legacy we must leave for those who are yet to come Consider of the United States: a country built on immigration similarly to New Zealand. From the time the pilgrims first arrived, followed by the rest of the Europeans, then the immigrants from Asia. If the natives who lived in America back then had a society advanced enough to decide on whether to keep or turn away these immigrants, what would be the outcome? Would the America we know today still be known as a “melting pot” country? Or would it be a country with little diversity? Would the country be as financially successful as it is now, or would it be financially stagnant?
