With NZ cost of living if you factor in higher labor costs it will make everything even more expensive relative to income. Cheap temporary labor is great not only for the companies, it's good for the consumers too, bringing prices down and availability up. The backpacker is in and out, dosen't need medical care, social security and other services.
Many of the jobs that are low paid backpacker frendly, the locals aren't to keen to do. If you don't have them there, many busineses will close down, because margins can't support 100% local staff.
It's crazy capitalism is now at the point where no one having jobs is a good thing, and local job creation not going to locals is actually good for the locals because it brings prices down for non-local tourists. Cheap temporary labor bringing prices down for tourists benefits locals how?
How are people supposed to live in this world?
Not to mention when I travel I go to meet locals and see the local culture.
It's not the capitalism fault. It's the limitation of the physical world. You barter your skills for other's products/services.
More people in the tribe = more people to swap with (larger market).
More people who take the shitty low paid job = cheaper products.
If you don't have the cheap backpackers working shitty jobs in the hotels you won't get the tourists, who bring a lot of money in in places like Queenstown. Less money = less businesses = less jobs.
Offline world is a hard and unforgiving place. Either we find how to barter our skills/products or we rely on the taxes from the ones who are productive.
The real world is not a highschool econ classroom. It is far more complex than supply and demand. Beyond barter for labor, workers give up vast abilities to live in a society that protects them from abuse. Part of that is allowing them to create and enforce rules to protect them from known evils.
Many of the jobs that are low paid backpacker frendly, the locals aren't to keen to do. If you don't have them there, many busineses will close down, because margins can't support 100% local staff.