Raymond Huo
Associate spokesperson for Ethnic Affairs

25 June 2014

Emergency planning must acknowledge cultural and linguistic diversity

Labour is calling on the Government to recognise our cultural and linguistically diverse communities in its new national civil emergency management plan, Labour’s Associate Ethnic Affairs spokesperson Raymond Huo says.

“New Zealand has a vibrant multicultural dimension that we should not only celebrate, but recognise practically in terms of how we support our communities in times of need.

“However, as Multicultural New Zealand pointed out, there is little recognition in the current draft plan of the diversity of New Zealand communities.

“The Christchurch earthquakes illustrated that public agencies need to be well equipped to respond to and communicate with our migrant and refugee communities during natural disasters or civil emergencies.

“It is critical that important public messages can be delivered concisely in a timely manner in ways that ensure they reach the whole community. This means lines of communication to need to be established beforehand.

“Labour calls on the Government to amend its new civil emergencies plan so it reflects and support our linguistically and cultural diverse society,” Raymond Huo says.

ENDS

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