LEAK: Ministerial Briefing Shows Green List Emergency
November 16, 2022
“Our hospitals are at breaking point and ACT has been calling for nurses and paramedics to be put on the Green List and fast tracked straight to residency, rather than having to wait two years, but our calls have been ignored. It is obvious to everyone that this needs to happen, except for Andrew Little and Immigration Minister Michael Wood.
“Last week in Parliament I asked Andrew Little why paramedics aren’t on the list and he replied, “I can’t explain what has happened in relation to paramedics.” That was a day after Little had received advice from his own department that they should be included.
“He has since attended Cabinet and yet nothing has been done. He needs to answer whether he even raised this at Cabinet on Monday. The advice says, “many health professions are experiencing workforce shortages and should be included in the green list now.”
“What is most shocking is that in the briefing the Ministry of Health claims that Immigration New Zealand was considering changing which medical professionals should be added to the Green List and they did not consult the Ministry of Health or Te Whatu Ora. Immigration New Zealand’s list did not include enrolled nurses or paramedics, two desperately needed professions.