In April 2007, New Zealand introduced the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) program, which allows NZ employers to recruit overseas workers from the Pacific and South East Asia for seasonal work in horticulture and viticulture. Over the last year, New Zealand has opened its doors to seasonal workers from neighbouring island nations: villagers from Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu have come to New Zealand on temporary visas, to work in vineyards, farms and orchards in regions like Hawke’s Bay, Bay of Plenty, Nelson, Marlborough and Otago.

Despite years of pressure from Pacific Island leaders and Australian primary producers, the coalition government under Prime Minister John Howard refused to create a seasonal work scheme. Now, following its November 2007 election victory, Labor has opened the way for a review of policies towards the islands region. The government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says it will closely monitor New Zealand’s experience on seasonal employment of workers from the Pacific, to decide whether Australia should create its own seasonal worker program. Prime Minister Rudd is expected to make an announcement at the next meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum in Niue in August 2008.

This paper aims to contribute to this policy discussion by assessing the first year of operation of the New Zealand scheme.