Speech to Bali Process Immigration Workshop by Nathan Guy

Ladies and Gentlemen - welcome to Auckland, the City of Sails.  I hope you have a chance to explore the city and perhaps see a bit more of New Zealand after this workshop.

I would like to acknowledge our guests from overseas today, particularly the Indonesian Ambassador, His Excellency Mr Antonius Agus Sriyono. Welcome to you all.

For those who haven’t been here before, New Zealand has a lot to offer. For a small country we have a huge variety of landscapes, scenery and attractions.

You can even bungee jump from the Skytower here in Auckland if you’re brave – you might get to see this on your visit tomorrow.

Or just a few hours drive away are some beautiful areas to explore like the Bay of Islands or the Coromandel peninsula.

This is the first formal speech I’ve given as Minister of Immigration since I took on the portfolio last December.

It’s a great honour to be asked to join Cabinet by the Prime Minister John Key, and I’m excited about the immigration portfolio. I’m sure everyone in the room today is well aware of the issues we face in protecting our borders and managing the flow of migrants between countries, both legal and illegal.

For the last two and a half years I served as Minister of Internal Affairs, responsible for New Zealand’s passport system, so I have already have some experience in working with other Ministers on these issues.

I would like to begin by thanking Australia for co-hosting this Bali Process Immigration Intelligence Best Practice Workshop.

Australia has given major support to this Workshop, and provides leadership across the region in combating people smuggling, trafficking in persons and transnational crime.

I am pleased to be here today to welcome delegates from the Asia Pacific region and even further afield. We have delegates here from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Vietnam and the Philippines, and many other countries too. Welcome to you all.

The interest in this Workshop shows how seriously we take the challenges facing our region from irregular migration, and our desire to work together.

New Zealandis a strong supporter of the Bali process and we have been actively engaged since its inception in 2002. In October 2009 we co-chaired with the International Organisation for Migration, the “Best Practice Information Campaigns to Combat People Smuggling” workshop.

Here in New Zealand we have been relatively lucky. Our geographic distance has meant that no illegal boats have yet reached our shores.

However, we are not complacent. We have strong laws against people smuggling in place and a plan for dealing with such an event, if it occurs.

We know that boats have reached as far as Canada, travelling from Asia. For this reason the New Zealand Government has been working on further policies which will make New Zealand an even less attractive destination for this illegal trade.

At a regional level, working together and sharing information is a powerful way of countering the illegal activities of those involved in people smuggling and trafficking.

Of course, creating an effective information-sharing culture is challenging. It takes commitment, goodwill, understanding and teamwork.

During this workshop, I would encourage you to spend time networking, getting to know each other, building relationships and new ways of sharing information.

Most importantly, when you leave this workshop, continue to work hard at maintaining and strengthening these relationships over time.

Our Government takes the issue of illegal migration very seriously, and is determined to work with our friends and neighbours to deter such activity. This is a challenge that we all face together.

On that note, thank you again for coming to New Zealand and I wish you all the best for this very important workshop.

Nathan Guy, Minister of Immigration

(Source Beehive)