Refugee centre has benefits

When Palmerston North was chosen as the resettlement site for New Zealand’s first intake of Afghan interpreters in 2013, it was a great moment of pride for the region.

These were brave people who risked their lives to assist our soldiers in Afghanistan, and we did our part by providing them with a safe place to live.

Their religious and cultural beliefs may have been different from those of most Manawatu people, but we embraced them regardless.

Four years on, and we are now discussing the possibility of the city housing the country’s second refugee resettlement centre, the first being in Mangere, South Auckland.

This idea coincides with the Green Party’s plan for New Zealand to lift its refugee quota from 750 to 5000, a proposal that would require the second centre to be viable.

Palmerston North Green candidate Thomas Nash believes the city has enough infrastructure to support the centre but detractors, such as NZ First’s Darroch Ball, have rejected this, saying we should instead find housing for struggling New Zealanders.

The problem with this argument is that no-one is suggesting the refugees should be housed in place of New Zealanders.

These are parallel issues, which, though important, are not intrinsically linked. Unfortunately, such irresponsible obfuscation only fuels the xenophobia around this issue.

Upon arrival, refugees are taken to the Mangere centre, where a process to integrate them into New Zealand society is begun.

A second centre would allow us to take more refugees at one time, but it’s important to remember that these centres are staging points and not necessarily the refugee’s long-term home.

Palmerston North mayor Grant Smith supports the centre in principle, but has some provisos.

While he believes we can do more, Smith backs its creation only if funding and services are made available. This is a sensible approach, as it addresses the salient concern about whether we can feasibly support a centre from an infrastructural perspective.

Assessments of our suitability are vital before we embark on such a venture, but there are plenty of positives to be had here.

The plan would increase the region’s ethnic diversity, portray New Zealand positively and, most importantly, give a group of disenfranchised people a better life.