I agree that this is a good policy for New Zealand and for many would-be migrants. There is just that potential pitfall that may not be obvious at first glance. At resent, once you have been in the job that got you your SMC for 3 months, you can do more or less what you want job-wise. Now, if you have been awarded the 30 points for being outside of Auckland, you are going to be in a difficult situation of you hate that job or for some reason your employment ends before 12 months is up. So long as you can find another skilled job outside the Auckland region, you will be fine.