A better welcome for new migrants

Dancers at this year’s Multicultural Festival, held in the Historic Village. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

Tauranga and the wider Western Bay of Plenty is one of five pilot areas selected for the Welcoming Communitiesprogramme, alongside Southland, Whanganui, Palmerston North and Canterbury.

The Welcoming Communities New Zealand Pilot Programme supports communities to become more welcoming towards newcomers – whether they are migrants, former refuges, international students or even New Zealanders coming from elsewhere.

Pilot councils can opt to become accredited as a ‘Welcoming Community' by meeting the Welcoming Communities Standard for New Zealand. The programme also aims to facilitate the sharing of good settlement practice and ideas, foster collaboration and recognise success.

Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless says the programme provides a framework to directly address some of the issues and misunderstandings around integration and cultural bias.

'International activity, including trade, investment, tourism, skilled migrants and education play a critical role in the economic success of the sub-region. Through the Welcoming Communities programme, we can build on our communities' capacity to embrace diversity, and value the contribution of our newcomers.”

A funding agreement with Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has been signed, and a memorandum of understanding between the two councils and terms of reference for the Welcoming Communities Governance Group has been drafted.

The standard for the programme has gone out nationwide for consultation in a process facilitated by MBIE.

Once the standard is finalised, both local councils will write a ‘welcome plan' highlighting initiatives and projects addressing the gaps identified by benchmarking against the standard.

Multicultural Tauranga president Ann Kerewaro says her organisation is definitely supportive of the programme.

'We've made several applications for funding through the programme, but it's very early stages at the moment.”

She says there is always racism in communities, but thinks Tauranga is pretty welcoming when it comes to new migrants.

'I don't think people are any worse at being welcoming here than anywhere else. But migrants also have to be willing to be a part of the communities they join. We've run several events, and New Zealanders seem keen to welcome people from other countries.

'It really adds to the mix of the area.”

Ann herself is an immigrant from England – although she's been here for over 50 years.

'It was so easy because we had a job to come to with fair pay. Compared to what some of today's migrants go through, it's quite different.”

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