MEDIA RELEASE
Tuesday, December 03, 2013

Time to establish a Ministry of Ethnic Affairs

The continuing increase in the number of New Zealanders of Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American and other ethnicity revealed in the latest Census emphasises the need to upgrade the Office of Ethnic Affairs to a full Ministry with increased resources, according to Multicultural New Zealand, the Federation of Multicultural Councils.

President Tayo Agunlejika said that support for ethnic communities at the government level needed to increase to ensure the effective settlement, integration and participation of migrants from outside Europe and the Pacific and to let the voice of New Zealand’s growing ethnic communities be heard loud and clear in government.

Ethnic communities now make up nearly 15 per cent of the population. Asian New Zealanders have seen the fastest growth, increasing from, 6.6 per cent in 2001, to 9.2 per cent in 2006 and 11.8 per cent in 2013.

“We have argued for some time that ethnic communities deserve greater attention and support from government and that the Office of Ethnic Affairs currently has insufficient status and resources for this purpose., said Tayo Agunlejika.

“A Ministry of Ethnic Affairs should not only be a strong advocate within government for ethnic communities, but also have the resources to support our communities to maintain their cultures and languages, and to engage with the wider community and government”, he said.

ENDS

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