The Immigration Minister is warning businesses not to rely on floods of migrant workers once the border is reopened.
The flow of new migrants came to an abrupt halt with the border closure - in past years net migration had been hitting up to 60,000 a year.
Kris Faafoi says this is an opportunity to consider how immigration should work, but won't put any numbers on it.
He told RNZ political editor Jane Patterson the focus will be on getting New Zealanders working, not importing labour.
