CHASING SHADOWS

In 2018, then-immigration minister Iain Lees-Galloway caused ructions for the Labour-led Government when he bluntly told business that firms that couldn’t afford to pay their workers fairly deserved to go under.

Now, the Productivity Commission, whose work will likely underpin major changes to immigration policy, has gone quite a bit further. Chairman Ganesh Nana says it’s possible New Zealand would be better off letting whole areas of business atrophy if they can’t make enough money to pay higher wages than at present.

The commission has indicated a particularly sharp focus on the degree to which immigrant labour improves economic