New Zealand Immigration Levels Are Unsustainable, Luxon Says

New Zealand’s record level of immigration is unsustainable and the government expects it to slow, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said.

The net annual immigration gain of 118,835 people in the year through September “doesn’t feel sustainable for New Zealand at all,” Luxon told Radio New Zealand Monday in Wellington. {snip}

New Zealand’s population rose 2.7% in the September year, its biggest jump in more than 30 years, as immigrant numbers surged. The Reserve Bank last month surprised markets by signaling a greater risk of a rate hike next year, citing concern that the flood of new arrivals is pushing up rents and house prices and may fan inflation.

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The previous government had been too loose with its immigration policies, allowing more people to arrive than was necessary to meet skills shortages, said Luxon, who took office late last month after winning the October election.

“It was really complete and utter open floodgates,” he said. {snip}