Last week, at the annual meeting of the NZ First Party in Rotorua, an idea was proposed that all the migrants coming to New Zealand would need to be covered by personal medical insurance for a period of 10 years. Although backed by many leaders such as party leader Winston Peters, the idea was put in cold storage after a fierce debate. Those opposing the policy included the Indian-born MP, our very own, Mahesh Bindra.
When the Indian Weekender caught up with Bindra, he stated that it was a “no-brainer because, for NZ First, every single New Zealander is equal. So the basic idea of treating new Kiwis as unequal did not make sense”. The idea was termed as discriminatory and against the bill of Rights. The policy, therefore, was passionately opposed, which led to NZ First MP O’Rourke threatening to resign if the party supported the policy.
Even as the idea was shelved, those in support of the policy came out in the open and defended the logic behind the proposed idea. On Saturday, Winston Peters said, “You can climb off a plane in New Zealand and be in the hospital the next day. We have long waiting lists... it seems to me to be only reasonable and fair."
Although the idea of getting insured before travelling is always advisable, enforcing it for a period of 10 years on every new migrant coming into the country is absurd and illogical. Even bigger question is who are the ones who really need to get themselves insured?
One of the major chunks of migrants is the student community. A student coming to New Zealand from India has to undergo eye test, blood test, urine test and routine check up to see if they are carrying any of those forty plus diseases. As if, these are not enough, a separate X-ray report needs to be sent to the New Zealand embassy to get a study visa along with these reports. Students then again are forced to spend big amounts on the insurance coverage charged by the university.
On the other hand, people with a work permit in the country are already paying their taxes and with the cost of living so high, it will be unfair to expect everyone to buy insurance cover for themselves and their family. One needs to understand that they are here because of their skill sets and are actively contributing to the growth of the country. They wouldn’t be here if they were not required in the country in the first place. Thus, emergency service in the dire situation becomes the fundamental right of a person who is expected to contribute to the country’s cause even without insurance.