Mike's Minute: The golden visa was well received, as it should be

The Prime Minister's speech yesterday afternoon, to what I assume was a business audience, was well received.

Another piece of tangible evidence that we are at last trying to get this place moving economically again.

The nomad visa, or digital nomad announcement, was of a similar vein but a mile too late.

Over 60 countries have a similar scheme and, to be honest, if you're on holiday and you open your lap top, are you a visitor or a digital nomad?

Yesterday's golden visa is not a minute too soon for a couple of reasons;

1) The settings from the last Government are bordering on an economic crime.

Prior to Covid, investors brought in money to the value of billions. Post the changes made by Labour, the Prime Minister told us it was about $70m.

It’s a joke. It's almost as though they hated being successful.

2) Simplified categories.

$5m over three years for the riskier investment and $10m for the safer ones.

The other reason we needed to move is because it is likely Peter Dutton in Australia is going to re-introduce a golden visa there. It will have little, if any, requirements outside of money.

He stands a half-decent chance of being Prime Minister in a couple of months.

We simply have to be competitive, which is why we have also dropped the language test. It's not, as the Prime Minister pointed out, because no one can speak English, because they can. It's because we look arrogant and child-like in making people who want to improve the country sit a test.

This isn't school. This is real world business.

The next move, and given our talk with Winston Peters on the show on Friday, I am convinced the speculation that is rife is right. The next step is housing.

Not everyone who invests wants, or needs, to live here. But the Prime Minister's speech contained the thought that once you take the plunge, opportunities arise.

It might be you like the place, it might be you have more money and more ideas, or it might be you want to hang around a while. To do that you need to buy a house.

The foreign ban then becomes absurd.

Stand by for the change to the policy and, like these other moves, not a moment too soon.

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