Multicultural New Zealand offers partnership with new Govt to promote an inclusive multicultural Aotearoa
Media Release I 14 December 2017
Multicultural New Zealand has delivered a briefing to the Incoming Ministers outlining key issues and opportunities facing ethnic, migrant and refugee communities in New Zealand.
“Multicultural New Zealand is excited about the new government and we want to extend an offer to work in partnership to advance areas of mutual interest, of which there are many” said Pancha Narayanan, President of Multicultural New Zealand.
Multicultural New Zealand has offices in 57 locations and deep connections into the many ethnic, migrant and refugee communities in New Zealand.
“Multicultural New Zealand is committed to serving all people New Zealand as best we can and we see benefit in working more closely with government to do this” said Mr. Narayanan.
The briefing outlines a number of key projects being run by Multicultural New Zealand, including Huarahi Hou which connects recent migrants with tangata whenua through cultural immersion and storytelling on marae.
“Ultimately we want Huarahi Hou to be incorporated into the government’s Migrants Settlement and Integration Strategy and the associated Welcoming Communities initiatives for new migrants. We are currently running two pilots and hope to present a proposal to the government next year.”
Multicultural New Zealand has made a commitment to raise the consciousness about the Treaty of Waitangi and the status of Māori. Multicultural New Zealand believes that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is for all peoples living in Aotearoa.
“Huarahi Hou is one component of a much bigger effort to help move us towards a truly Treaty-Based Multicultural Aotearoa New Zealand” said Mr. Narayanan.
The briefing also urges the government to take action to address a number of critical challenges facing ethnic communities in New Zealand, including a lack of sustainable investment, structural discrimination, and aspects of current immigration policy.
“We have outlined 20 recommended actions to address the most critical and urgent issues and we hope the government will take action”.
“This includes delivering on an election promise to establish a full Ministry of Ethnic Communities that has clout and is well resourced” said Mr. Narayanan.
Multicultural New Zealand plans to meet with Ministers across a number of portfolios in early in 2018.
The briefing to the Incoming Ministers can be found on multicultural New Zealand’s website - Briefing to the In-coming Ministers from the Multicultural Communities of New Zealand
ENDS
Multicultural NZ: Federation of Multicultural Councils Inc. is a national organization with 20 constituent regional multicultural councils and 37 Newcomers Networks throughout New Zealand and national councils for women, youth, seniors and business.
More information can be found at multiculturalnz.org.nz or contact Sebastian Bishop on 027 391 8026 or sebeo@icloud.com.