Good morning. It is a pleasure to be invited to speak at the RSE Employers’ Conference this year, as we head into the fifth season of the RSE scheme.

Many of you don’t need convincing that the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme has been a success and has supported the growth of the horticulture and viticulture industries.

I recently met with some growers and contractors in Blenheim and the feedback was overwhelming – RSE is vital for their businesses. Given RSE’s importance to your sector, I would like to assure you today the Government is committed to the scheme.

Your sector is a major driver of economic growth and it needs the necessary tools to operate productively.

Each year it contributes around NZ$4.2 billion to the economy and NZ$3.3 billion in exports.

The industry’s goal is to grow the sector to $10 billion by 2020, and RSE will play an important role in realising that goal.

This year is set to be a watershed one for horticulture and viticulture. Excellent growing conditions have seen production peak across most of the sector:

• apple production was up a spectacular 21 percent, and apple exports increased by over 10 percent this season
• the national grape vintage is up more than 20 percent on last year, and production area has expanded by another 400 hectares
• kiwifruit production area increased in 2010 – although the impact of PSA is yet to be fully realised – and 12 percent more trays have been submitted this year to date, and
• total vegetable exports increase year on year (by NZ$3.8 million from 2009 to 2010).

With the opening up of the Australian apple market and direct access to the Chinese market, the industry is well positioned to reap the benefits of an exceptional harvest.

Future of RSE

The RSE scheme has done much to resolve the lost production and staffing problems that had previously plagued your industry. It has provided the confidence and security that has allowed many growers to expand their production base.

Around 80 percent of RSE workers are now returning with improved skill levels and the proven ability to work well in New Zealand. In spite of these achievements, in the current economic climate, some will inevitably question whether the RSE scheme will take jobs away from New Zealanders. To this I can answer with a categorical NO.

As you all know, the RSE scheme is not a cheap alternative to employing New Zealanders. Rather it is designed to ensure that a key industry is able to operate productively. It has been successful in this and in some cases has resulted in the creation of permanent jobs for New Zealanders.

Mr Apple is New Zealand’s largest apple grower. In the past few years, the company has increased the number of permanent jobs for New Zealanders by around 20 per cent — in large part because of the success of the RSE scheme.

Managing regional labour needs

So, what does the future hold for RSE in 2011/12?  We will continue to manage the actual number of RSE worker arrivals within the national cap of 8,000 which will protect jobs for New Zealanders.  This year we expect to have seen just over 7,000 RSE workers for the 2010/11 season.

I know that you are already working in the regions to plan for the next season.  What will your crop size be?  Will there be New Zealanders available?  What will the weather be like?

This year has been a bumper harvest. History shows us that after a bountiful season, often the trees, vines and fields reduce productivity to recover for the following season. Simultaneously we have more New Zealanders out of work and looking for jobs. Given this situation I would cautiously suggest that overall RSE numbers in 2011/12 will remain at similar levels to this year’s intake, and in some cases may reduce.

Relationship with the Ministry of Social Development

I know there have been tensions between industry and the Ministry of Social Development in determining what employers need.  At last year’s Conference, I understand you raised concerns about MSD wielding too much influence.

RSE policy is about creating a sustainable labour supply for the horticulture and viticulture industries – I believe it has done that.  The policy allows you, as employers, to recruit workers from overseas when there are no suitable New Zealanders available.  It is not government agencies’ role to overly involve themselves in your business.

However it is Government’s role to get more New Zealanders into work.  And you, as employers, are telling me that productive, returning RSE workers are a cornerstone to enable you to do that.

I am interested in keeping these discussions going and planning for RSE worker numbers in the regions, not in Wellington.

You are the experts.  You know your labour needs.  Government agencies – such as MSD – can and do provide assistance with planning and determining labour supply.

INZ will continue to engage directly with employers at the regional level through dedicated Relationship Managers.  Through the Department’s direct contacts with Pacific States, the Department has been able to facilitate as smooth as possible recruitment from your chosen Pacific partners.  For example:

• Re-confirming departure details of workers from Tuvalu affected by this season’s cyclones
• Liaising with the Samoan Government on the RSE worker infected with typhoid this season
• Assisting with contacts when employers are considering moving to a new Pacific RSE source country
• Connecting employers across regions and sectors to establish so-called joint ATRs [where one worker works for two or more employers in consecutive periods over one season].

On-going funding relationship

The Department has a strong, on-going mutually beneficial relationship with industry through Horticulture New Zealand and NZ Winegrowers, and has part-funded the national seasonal labour coordination function at HortNZ in 2010/11.  I am pleased to announce at your Conference today that this funding arrangement will be continued into the 2011/12 season.

RSE health screening

Thankfully there have been few incidents of notifiable diseases in RSE workers – the most notable being the incident of typhoid in the kiwifruit sector this year.  Given the value of horticultural and viticultural exports to the New Zealand economy, it is timely for INZ to review offshore RSE health screening and in-country risk management to ensure the safety of New Zealanders, the food we export and our international reputation.

The Department, together with Horticulture NZ, and wider industry in the medium-term, is looking at:

• the prevalence of notifiable diseases, such as typhoid, in RSE sending states.
• RSE operational health screening requirements.
• whether there should be additional screening requirements, such as notification to RSE employers of health outbreaks in Pacific states before workers are recruited or arrive in New Zealand.

This work will also take into account existing industry risk management tools, such as NZGAP (Good Agricultural Practices), which you, as employers, will already be familiar with.  Immigration health screening is important to ensure that migrants do not pose a risk to New Zealand.  We have to ensure we get this right.

Improving Immigration New Zealand’s performance

Given the link between your businesses and RSE, it’s important that the department that oversees RSE is performing well. That’s why over the past 20 months I have been driving them to deliver across specific areas including:

• Improving the quality of immigration decision making
• Focussing on the timeliness in processing visa applications
• Improving satisfaction with Immigration New Zealand’s services.

We are now seeing the results of this effort.

The latest figures show good and adequate decisions for all applications have increased from around 71 percent in mid-2009 to its current mark of 87 percent.  Poor and questionable decisions are down from over 29 percent in mid-2009 to 13 percent in early 2011.

This improved performance is being noticed by INZ’s customers.

Over the past two years employer satisfaction has increased from 70 percent to 90 percent and overall client satisfaction has risen from 68 to 80 percent.

A new IT system will also allow Immigration New Zealand to provide more online functions which will streamline applications and reduce processing times. This will greatly increase the responsiveness of the service which will be more customer focussed, agile and responsive to employer needs.

Working with the Department

RSE is a great example of the Government and the private sector growing a successful partnership. It has proved a successful partnership because it has been a responsive one, built on mutual trust and cooperation.

That association was recognised last week with an award. The Department of Labour won the Russel McVeagh Award for Excellence in Working Together category of the IPANZ Gen-i Public Sector Excellence Awards for the RSE policy.

I congratulate everyone involved for winning this prestigious award as recognition of the Department’s partnerships across government agencies, and with you in the industry, to make RSE work.

The future

The success of the RSE policy has provided a solid foundation for the further development of a strong and productive relationship between the horticultural industry and Immigration New Zealand.

I look forward to seeing that relationship deepen and broaden as your industry moves towards achieving its strategic goal of growing the sector even further. Thank you and enjoy the conference.

(Source Beehive, J Coleman)