This is why MIQ should not be a lottery

The Herald reports:

Labour’s Marja Lubeck has spent the summer break in Europe, visiting family in the Netherlands.

The list MP, who contests Auckland’s Kaipara ki Mahurangi electorate, was born in the Netherlands and later moved to New Zealand.

Lubeck’s trip is possible thanks to her securing an MIQ spot, allowing her to isolate upon her return to New Zealand. But the MIQ system is becoming increasingly controversial; regular releases of MIQ places are almost always oversubscribed, meaning many New Zealanders are barred from returning home.

Lubeck has done nothing wrong, but this shows how wrong it is that scarce MIQ spots are handed out in a lottery.

While MIQ spots remain scarce, they should be allocated on the basis of national interest and need, just as we do with immigration and residency.

New Zealanders who are stranded overseas and wish to return home permanently should be given a higher priority that people living in New Zealand who merely wish to have an overseas holiday.