Spring at Parliament, where the oak trees feel a fresh flush of growth Photo: © VNP / Phil Smith
New Zealand has quietly scrapped plans to open new Pacific worker pathways in the meat and seafood processing sectors, documents obtained by RNZ Pacific under the Official Information Act (OIA) show.
Two new seasonal visas, the Peak Seasonal Visa (PSV) and the Global Workforce Seasonal Visa (GWSV), began being issued in December 2025.
The new visas open seasonal migrant workers to seven months of work in a number of industries, including forestry, dairy, meat and seafood processing.
But for the latter two sectors, it appears to come at the expense of a programme that would have offered Pacific workers a special deal.
Advice to Cabinet from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) in July stated that the PSV would replace the Labour government's Pacific Programmes for meat and seafood, announced by Labour in 2022.
According to an Immigration New Zealand (INZ) information paper, Labour struck agreements to add 600 spots for seasonal workers in seafood, and 320 for the meat sector.
They would then transition to their own "Pacific programme" by 2024, which appeared to offer unique rights to recruit Pacific workers as they saw fit.
"Sector agreements provide a context to consider programmes which allow a sector to recruit from the Pacific (whether into seasonal or time-limited roles or more permanent career pathways)" publicly available advice from Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) stated.
"This could be exclusive to the Pacific or a proportion of the migrant workforce in a sector and could involve skill development pathways or simply work opportunities."
Then-Minister Phil Twyford noted that "other sectors may also be considered for Pacific programmes in the future".
Beef hanging on hooks in an abbatoir Photo: 123rf
Work on this appears to have fizzled out by July 2025, with MFAT advice noting the whole thing had been tossed.
Further, it was noted the NZ$1540 proposed fee for the PSV would be a "significant barrier" for Pacific nationals, coupled with an estimated NZ$920 cost for insurance.
"The fees are high when compared to the RSE worker visa at approximately $350."
Eligibility for the PSV also requires one years' worth of experience in the relevant sector, "which was not a requirement under the proposed Pacific Programmes."
Cabinet was advised that Pacific officials preferred no experience requirement so more workers could meet criteria, but MBIE had retained it "to decrease the risk of misuse ... and the potential displacement of New Zealand jobseekers."
Immigration Minister Erica Stanford Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii
'Moving the goalposts'
A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Erica Stanford told RNZ Pacific it would be impossible to compare the PSV with Pacific Programmes, because the details were never finalised.
Rather, the PSV is designed to fill specific needs in New Zealand's labour market, and "the requirement for one season of work experience helps ensure workers are suitably skilled".
Stanford's office noted the insurance requirement for the PSV was the same as the RSE scheme.
Beryl Razak, a migrant worker facilitator helping Solomon Islands workers into seafood processing, said she has struggled to help migrant workers overcome the cost and experience hurdles.
"What the government has done really has had to make people on the ground work harder, the company has to spend money on the visas, and (the workers) are already in debt before they even start working," Razak said.
Razak said costs for both workers and companies can pile up quickly, while the window of time spent working remains too limited for either party to benefit from the investment.
"By the time the workers come and they pay back all the expenses, like flights, insurance, the visas, then it's time for them to go back," she said.
"They don't have the opportunity for[skills development during] the seven months, because all they focus on is just work ... we bring in workers that are shucking muscles, 10 to 12 hours a day."
According to an INZ information paper, Labour struck agreements to add 600 spots for seasonal workers in seafood, and 320 for the meat sector. Photo: RNZ/Nick Monro
Razak said she manages to bring in around 100 Solomon Island workers for the seafood processing sector each year - but she said there are hundreds more being "ruled out" due to the experience requirements.
"Where is that experience gotten? It pulls back the selection and choices of people that (the company) will bring in, and sometimes it can be the same workers that come back," she said.
Stanford's office said the fees will be reconsidered in an upcoming annual review later in the year.
