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Ethnic Whispers May 2010


Foreword

Hon Pansy Wong

Dobar dan – Greetings in Croatian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Slovenian, Czech, Serbian and Ukrainian and welcome to the May edition of Ethnic Whispers.

This year’s Budget is squarely focused on building faster and more sustainable economic growth. That is the only way we can create the jobs, higher incomes, and better living standards New Zealanders deserve.

Tourism, dairy, agriculture, food and beverage exports are important to New Zealand’s economic growth. This is why keeping our country free of pests, diseases and all forms of illegal trade is so important. Maintaining New Zealand as a healthy, safe and prosperous country is central to marketing ourselves internationally. That is why this month’s Ethnic Whispers is focused on border security.

Ethnic New Zealanders are well positioned to foster export and international trade because of their transnational networks and business skills. The Office of Ethnic Affairs has chosen to facilitate interaction between ethnic business people with the wider business community by hosting ASEAN and Muslim business forums.

The contribution of migrant workers towards economic growth has also recently been confirmed by the Department of Labour in their 2009 Employers of Migrants survey. This survey found that 87% of employers surveyed, expressed that migrants make great employees due to the high quality of their work, positive attitude, skills and experience.

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Joint Border Agency to make airport travel easy

The Office of Ethnic Affairs is working with the Joint Border Agency Group who is charged with facilitating lawful travel at the border (i.e. airports). The Joint Border Agency Group comprises of the following agencies:

The objectives of the Joint Border Agency Group are to distribute key information to encourage lawful travel at the border and improve access to that key information. There are also processes in place for generating greater responsiveness from government agencies to ethnic communities. The Office of Ethnic Affairs will do this by providing Intercultural Awareness Training to Customs New Zealand recruits in July this year and provide ongoing support to the diversity training of Customs staff.

The Office of Ethnic Affairs will continue to establish and cultivate similar relationships and support with the other agencies within the Joint Border Agency Group.

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What medicines or drugs can I bring into New Zealand?

Any prescription medicines or controlled drugs must be declared on your arrival into New Zealand.

If you are carrying prescription medicines or controlled drugs you should:

It is not recommended that you import personal medicines into New Zealand as unaccompanied goods via air, mail, or sea freight.

It is important to note that some medicines that can be purchased over the counter overseas, must have a prescription in New Zealand. If you have any medicines, and are unsure about whether they are subject to prescription in New Zealand or not – declare them.

Further information regarding the importation of medicines can be obtained either from Medsafe or by phoning +64 9 257 5704.

Further information regarding the importation of controlled drugs can be obtained from the Ministry of Health or by phoning +64 4 819 6855.

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Focus on community member - Monica Hoeg – Customs Dog Handler

Monica and Macca at work

What do you do in the course of your day?

The Detector Dog Unit has currently got 15 drug and explosive detector dog teams nationwide who work alongside other Customs work groups and assist with various activities throughout the day. We have a scheduled roster which provides all handlers with some indication as to where each team will work on a daily basis.

When I am assigned to work at Wellington Airport, I will work in the international arrivals area with my drug detector dog, Macca to search arriving passengers, their carry-on hand luggage and any checked-in luggage they may have. There are occasions when we will board the aircraft once the passengers have disembarked and search all areas where prohibited drugs could be concealed.

Read more.

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Wellington JPs Association holds Intercultural Competence Training

If you go to a Justice of the Peace (JP), it’s often to get copies of important documents certified, or to make a statutory declaration, affidavit or affirmation - among a range of services that JPs offer.

A session on ‘Intercultural competence – Excellence in Service Delivery’ was delivered recently to Wellington Region JPs. This was to support both individual JPs and the Wellington JPs Association (WJPA) in enhancing key skills and services for a wide diversity of clients.

JPs offer a wide range of services all around the country in a volunteer capacity. It is a highly valued role in New Zealand society, traditionally being performed by older people seeking to continue contributing to society beyond retirement.

The JPs training revealed that it was important to have a comprehensive list of JPs who speak other languages. They also thought it would be good to gain a better understanding of different cultures and knowledge of different religious customs and having language aids for things like oaths, sworn statements and explanations.

The Wellington JPs are proud to have young ethnic JPs such as Juping Zhou and Simon Jigwan Park working with them. They also have Vanisa Dhiru who they describe is an inspiring young New Zealander. Vanisa was recently one of three finalists in the inaugural Young New Zealander of the Year 2010 awards. Simon Jigwan Park who attended the training said “When such agencies manage ethnic diversity successfully in the workplace, the talents, skills and strengths of ethnic communities will be valued and sought after in our diverse society.”

For more details about the JP’s services and where they are located, please click here: Royal Federation of Justices

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ASEAN Business Leaders’ Forum undertakes three priorities

Valuable contributions were received at the ASEAN Business Leader’s Forum in March. Business people in attendance shared their experiences and built connections to maximise trade opportunities within the ASEAN region. A range of issues were captured, explored and discussed. The Office identified three areas of priority and is committed to delivering these actions:

It is anticipated that there will be a similar forum in October and the Office of Ethnic Affairs will continue to work with the Economic Development Agencies of New Zealand (EDANZ), the Department of Labour, and other agencies to progress feedback and any upcoming activities.

Hon Pansy Wong, Minister for Ethnic Affairs speaks to the ASEAN business leaders forum back to top

Access to Justice Forum in Hamilton - staying ok

The Office of Ethnic Affairs held a Law and Order forum in early May for a number of ethnic community leaders, service providers and Justices of the Peace. It focused on how people get access to justice in New Zealand. There were a range of guest speakers from YouthLaw, Human Rights Commission, and barristers.

The forum dealt with making the law accessible to people in ethnic communities. A number of resources were provided to assist people to report crime, make submissions for law changes, report breaches in broadcasting standards and understand consumer rights. The forum facilitated discussions around maintaining traditional and religious values in a secular society and the issues and rights of young people in New Zealand. The key note speaker, District Court Judge Ajit Singh talked about people needing to recognise problems, help each other out and deal with issues before needing access to justice.

Rohan Jaduram, Advisor, Human Rights Commission provided an overview of the New Zealand Human Rights Act 1993 and how this is applicable to members of the community when he said “The forum provided a good opportunity to discuss identifying racial discrimination when it occurs and outlining the channels of justice to address it.

The challenge remains that few people from ethnic minority backgrounds record or report instances of racial discrimination or harassment. The forum was an ideal space for people to think about ways to change this.”

The feedback from participants was positive with some seeking further discussion on the laws around marriage and divorce in New Zealand as well as discussion on issues for youth.

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Kia tutahi - Standing Together

The Office of Ethnic Affair’s Policy Manager, Cherie Engelbrecht, is on the Standing Together Steering Group which is made up of Government and non-Government representatives and is charged with developing an agreement between the community and voluntary sector and government. A number of hui are being organised and we encourage our community members to participate.

The Steering Group recognise community and voluntary sector organisations, Whanau, hapu, and iwi but in doing so also want to provide increased focus on the communities they operate in, and on those who are hard to reach. They recognise that communities are self-determining and made up of diverse groups, from the highly structured to the informal.

It will seek the input of community and voluntary organisations, Tangata Whenua, officials and others to develop a signing process. The Steering Group is carrying out a short online survey seeking initial feedback on the proposed elements of an Agreement. Nearly 200 have responded to date. See the website for further details:

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Did you know…

The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be the 19th FIFA World Cup, the premier international football tournament. It is scheduled to take place between 11 June and 11 July 2010 in South Africa. www.fifa.com

Refugee Services Aotearoa New Zealand are holding 2010 World Refugee Day Football Match. Kickoff is between 12 and 12:30pm on 20th June 2010. For more information go to: www.refugeeservices.org.nz

Carlos Parreira (Brazil coach 2003):

“If anything brings people together it is football. The game can be used for cultural, political and social purposes. It is important to get involved in this sort of initiative whenever possible.”

Francisco Maturana (Colombia coach 2003):

“Football is a country in which we are all brothers. It is magical. It is the only game capable of making a Bolivian, Nigerian and German embrace after a goal. We must use and spread that message everywhere.”

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Focus on Staff member – Austin Kim

Austin has been with the Office of Ethnic Affairs since late 2009 as co-ordinator of the Intercultural Advisory Team. Austin had been working as a Lead Project Manager in a UK-based language consulting company for several years prior to joining the Office of Ethnic Affairs. He holds a degree in political science from the University of Canterbury. Before moving to Auckland to take his current position, Austin organised several festivals and events in Christchurch for the Korean Society of Christchurch. He was also an executive member of the Christchurch Ethnic Council and of the Intercultural Assembly. In his current role, Austin helps the Intercultural Advisory Team to promote diversity and intercultural programmes.

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