New Zealand is forced to rely on foreign workers to fill jobs because locals are too lazy and have problems with drugs, its own prime minister said.

John Key’s comments came on the back of record-high immigration figures, showing 69,000 people moved to the country of 4.7 million people last year.

Mr Key was asked on Radio New Zealand to explain the government figures and why 200,000 Kiwis are currently unemployed.

He defended the nation’s immigration intake and their need to bring in workers, and said farmers didn’t want to rely on the locally unemployed population.

“Go and ask the employers, and they will say some of these people won’t pass a drug test, some of these people won’t turn up for work, some of these people will claim they have health issues later on,” he said.

“So it’s not to say there aren’t great people who transition … to work, they do, but it’s equally true that they’re also living in the wrong place, or they just can’t muster what is required to actually work.”

New Zealand imports more than 9000 workers from Pacific island nations every year, to pick fruit for the horticulture and wine industry.

But the director of Horticulture New Zealand and the owner of an apple orchard in Hawke’s Bay, Leon Stallard, said he has pushed locals to fill the roles for years.

“I agree 100 per cent with Key’s comments, he’s bang-on,” said Mr Stallard on Radio New Zealand.

“We brought in beneficiaries from Auckland a few years ago for jobs. They lasted three days, after smashing up thousands of dollars of equipment and getting drunk.

“If workers don’t show up, that hugely affects the business.” Photo: Getty.

“You don’t get a second chance when harvesting fruit – it needs to be picked in its prime. So if workers don’t show up, that hugely affects the business.

“It is really frustrating, if we had Kiwis wanting these jobs I’d employ them tomorrow. But we have serious issues around reliability that are just too damaging for us to keep taking those chances.”

However, Richard Wagstaff, the Council of Trade Unions president, spoke out against Mr Key’s comments, saying the attack on local unemployed people was a “political stunt”.

“Demonising New Zealand workers and not giving them a shot at these jobs and creating reasonable jobs is the wrong way to go,” Mr Wagstaff said.