Good afternoon everyone.

It’s a pleasure to be here and thank you for inviting me to speak at this year’s National Refugee Resettlement Forum. It’s the third year that I’ve spoken at the Forum and I know how informative and rewarding this session is for the various groups and organisations represented here.

Firstly I’d like to acknowledge Rick Towle, Regional Representative, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

I’d also like to acknowledge Mitchell Pham who you have just heard from. Mitchell’s is an inspiring story and it is one that we can all draw powerful lessons from.

Of the many insights Mitchell has shared with us today the one that most stands out to me is that no matter how hopeless our situation might appear to be, there is always a path forward.

We all have something to contribute, something to make of our lives. And in Mitchell Pham’s case, what an incredible contribution he has made.

As some of you will be aware, in March this year, Mitchell was honoured by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader — one of just 190 successful candidates out of 5,000 from across a wide range of disciplines and sectors.

On receiving this coveted international honour Mitchell said he hoped that his story would not only be an inspiration to future generations of young refugees but also to the communities that take in refugees. Looking back on his life here, Mitchell declared:

“Without the chance I was given in New Zealand to have a new life, I would not have been able to contribute at any level domestic or international… giving back to New Zealand is really important to me and many of the refugees that I know. When people from overseas ask me where I am from, I often say “born in Vietnam— made in New Zealand.”

Mitchell has indeed given back much to New Zealand and continues to also support a number of charitable agencies working in the refugee and wider social services sector.

Contributions of other refugees and community groups

But Mitchell is not alone in his achievements or his commitment to New Zealand. The contributions made by many former refugees, at both a professional and personal level, are truly remarkable. This was particularly evident in the national response to the Christchurch earthquake.

Just a few weeks after the quake, Auckland businessmen Lim Nam Chour and Thanh Tran presented a $45,000 cheque to Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker for the Red Cross relief fund.

Both men had arrived in New Zealand as penniless refugees more than 30 years ago. Chhour, who runs a chain of supermarkets, arrived in New Zealand as a Cambodian refugee in the 1970, while Tran, who imports and sells Asian foods, arrived from Vietnam in 1977.

Like Mitchell Pham, these men wanted to give something back to the country that had helped them in their hour of need. As Albert Tang put it:

“… we want to repay what we have earned in New Zealand to the people of Christchurch. We want to thank New Zealand because it was very kind to us and accepted us. As refugees, we are very grateful.”

More recent arrivals also pitched in to help as best they could. Nine year-old Afghan refugee, Ahsan “Ali” Ahmadi, spent two weeks working with the Addington Action Committee — a group set up after the February 22 earthquake.

The family had only been in New Zealand eight months and in spite of language difficulties both father and son pitched in to help. Ali helped clear rubble, dig toilets and deliver food and water to people in need.

Addington School principal, Trudy Heath, says Ali is a role model for the school who shows exactly what a great citizen should be. His teacher, Brendan Leslie, says that his “care and desire to help are amazing.”

And the refugee response to events in Christchurch was not limited to individuals. The Christchurch Somali Community prepared and packed lunches for the Police and Soldiers on cordon duty around the devastated Central Business District. As Somali community leader, Ahmed Tani said:

“…we understand the problems of a disaster. We come from a disaster country. We know how to survive and how to help each other. This way we can help our host community that helped us and welcomed us.”

These are just a few examples of how individual refugees and communities have responded in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake.

Economic contribution of Immigration

These heart-warming stories also illustrate just how well-settled many refugees feel in their new home. In a broader context, they also highlight just how important immigration is to the New Zealand economy.

Immigration is serious business for New Zealand, and refugees are a part of this. Migrants contribute $1.9 billion to the economy every year. One in four workers in New Zealand is a migrant. Over the past five years 60% of New Zealand’s workforce growth came from temporary and permanent migrants.

If immigration stopped today, it is estimated that by 2021 New Zealand’s population would drop by 9.6 percent and economic output would fall by 11.3 percent.

We want all refugees to achieve their potential in New Zealand, to succeed socially and economically. Your success is New Zealand’s success and that is why it is such a pleasure to be here today where the focus is on how we can improve refugee resettlement.

New Zealandhas a good record in receiving refugees and our nation’s contribution is recognised internationally. But in the resettlement context there’s room for improvement.

A new approach to refugee resettlement

My officials are currently leading the development of a new approach to refugee resettlement that will reduce the high dependency refugees have on government support and enable them to more easily achieve fulfilling, independent lives.

Many of you here today have been actively involved in this process. Your contributions are especially important because only you can truly see things from a refugee perspective. That is why this Forum is so important. It provides an opportunity for Government officials to learn from your experiences of resettling in a new and very foreign country. This sort of first-hand input is vital to developing a better approach.

The new approach focuses on five key areas that refugee communities and independent researchers have identified as vital to successful settlement. These five areas are:

• Self sufficiency
• Participation
• Education
• Housing

Health and Well Being

I will comment just briefly on each of these areas.

Self sufficiency is about work. Refugees have told us long and loud that first and foremost they need work.

We want all working age refugees to be in paid work or to be supported by a family member who is in paid work.  This also includes self employment which more entrepreneurial refugees, such as Mitchell, have found is a viable path to self sufficiency and independence.

We have not always done well in getting refugees into jobs and so we will be looking at new approaches to refugee employment.

As you will be aware this presents particular challenges in the current economic situation, where getting a job is also a challenge for many New Zealanders and particularly for our youth.

I am pleased to note that youth and employment is a key focus for this two-day Forum.

Participation

As Mitchell Pham has so strongly emphasised, building links with fellow Kiwis is vital to success. You can’t do it alone. Success comes from working with New Zealanders and becoming a part of your community.

We want all refugees actively participate in New Zealand life and have a strong sense of belonging to New Zealand. And to this end I want to mention the important contribution that volunteers make. I understand that Refugee Services Aotearoa trains four or five hundred new volunteers each year to assist resettlement and build important bridges into New Zealand homes and communities.  This is a strong signal of how supportive ordinary New Zealanders are of our international commitment to refugees.

Community links are of critical importance for young people. They provide that sense of belonging that plays a vital part in their success at school and later in the workplace. And I am pleased to note that schools themselves contribute to ensuring new refugee intakes are welcomed at Mangere.

Education

As we all know speaking English is critical to settling well here. It determines our ability to participate in the workforce, the local community and take advantage of educational opportunities.

I am pleased to note, for example, that this Forum sees the launch of the fourth Somali Graduate Journal. This publication documents the achievements of a large number of young refugees in one community who are getting on and doing well and making the most of what New Zealand offers. I look forward to their individual success bringing success to New Zealand.

Housing

Refugees are currently heavily dependent on government housing and housing assistance.

Although these services will always be important during the early period of settlement, we want to reduce long-term dependence and see more refugees either renting privately or owning their own homes and living independently of government assistance.

The new approach will look at new ways of achieving this and already resettlement agencies are making the adjustments. I understand that the latest intake of refugees have all been settled in private housing in the central North Island, and have been very warmly welcomed by local residents and Mayors.

Health and Well Being

Good health is critical to everyone. We want all refugees to enjoy healthy independent lives.

And we know that good health and well-being is strongly connected to the other outcome areas - being in employment, being well-connected into the local community, being well-housed and well-educated.

The new approach will consider these inter-dependencies across the outcomes sought through the proposed Strategy. It will also be more responsive to individual need and ensure services are delivered ant the right time and not wasted on those who do not need them.

We live in difficult times. There is simply no additional money available and we have to work within the resources we have. The proposed new approach to refugee resettlement will have to be achieved within current budget and resources. And I’m pleased to note that my officials have assured me that this will happen.  This is what good government services are about — providing better, smarter services at less cost.

I very much look forward to taking the outcome of this work to my Cabinet colleagues later in the year.

Quota Refugees and New Zealand’s international obligations.

In spite of the difficult economic situation, I am happy to confirm that the Government has retained its commitment to resettling 750 quota refugees annually.

To enable us to better plan and deliver resettlement services for quota refugees the Government has agreed to the establishment of a three year rolling refugee quota programme.

Unfortunately, given the impact of the earthquake in Christchurch in February, we will be resettling a reduced number of quota refugees in New Zealand this year. This is also likely to impact the numbers of quota refugees we will be able to resettle in the coming financial year.

While Government has an important role to play in the selection and resettlement of refugees we could not achieve what we do without the contributions of non-government organisations, their volunteers and communities - many of whom are represented at the Forum here today. Your efforts, activities and programmes make an enormous contribution – for example, I believe the cost of setting up each new refugee family home is about $5,000 and that entire cost is offset by donated goods.

We want to better support refugees to settle here quickly and succeed.  The Government’s approach is about ensuring that the support provided generates self sufficiency not dependence. We want to make it possible for all refugees to realise their full potential.

No matter where you were born we want you to make it in New Zealand, and to participate fully in our society and economy.

As Mitchell so memorably phrases it, when speaking of his own journey, — “Born in Vietnam; made in New Zealand.”

That is indeed a message for us all.

I wish you well for a successful Forum and thank you for contributing to the important discussions on refugee youth and employment.

(Source Beehive, J Coleman)