Christchurch not ready to receive refugees
Christchurch is not ready to receive refugees yet, but could expect to receive them again in the future.
That was the decision the New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy senior officials’ group made at a meeting in March 2017, documents obtained under the Official Information Act have shown.
An increase to New Zealand’s annual refugee intake, alongside a reduction to refugees being settled in Auckland, had prompted the search for a new resettlement city.
The group was selecting a location based on an evaluation of five shortlisted cities, with Christchurch, Invercargill and New Plymouth having been put forward as the final options.
Several of the group members present advocated for refugees to return to Christchurch, which was a settlement location prior to the 2011 earthquake.
Ministry of Social Development representative Ann Dysart said existing social support in the selected city was important.
On that basis, she said Christchurch was the ministry’s top ranked option, ahead of Invercargill and New Plymouth.
Ministry of Education representative Nicky Hampshire said Christchurch was her ministry’s preferred option as well.
However, Ministry of Health representative Sam Kunowski ranked Christchurch in third place, with New Plymouth their favoured option.
The assessment summary considered by the group said Christchurch’s strengths included a growing economy, affordable private housing, and well established expertise in the sector.
The capacity of mental health services to respond to the needs of refugees was highlighted as a potential impact of Christchurch’s potential selection.
Group chairman (and the representative for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment) Steve McGill said there was an opportunity to leverage the market’s need for labour in certain regions when placing refugees.
Invercargill offered such an opportunity, and mayor Tim Shadbolt had previously expressed support for migrants and refugees, he said.
Those attending the meeting agreed Invercargill was their preferred settlement location, with the first intake of 14 Colombians and one Ecuadorian arriving in the city on March 2.
They also decided that Christchurch would remain under active review, with a view to being reinstated as a resettlement location as soon as is practicable.
‘‘We felt that at the moment there are still some infrastructure issues which would make it diffi- cult to resettle large numbers of refugees (in Christchurch),’’ McGill said in a media release.
‘‘We’re confident that as the rebuild continues to progress further Christchurch will once again be a settlement location.’’
This was backed up by Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment refugee and protection unit national manager Andrew Lockhart in an April 2017 letter to Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel.
‘‘Significant development across Christchurch following the earthquake means the city will shortly be in position to support resettlement, with key services already in place and good employment opportunities,’’ Lockhart said in the letter.
Resettlement of refugees to Christchurch ceased following the deadly 2011 earthquake.
The city would continue to be actively reviewed to determine when refugee resettlement could be re-established, Lockhart said.
New resettlement locations had been sought after reduced refugee settlement in Auckland had placed strain on other settlement regions.
Auckland’s refugee intake has been reduced over the past three years, with only quota refugees who already have family living in the region being settled there.
In the 2015-16 financial year Auckland the city accepted 185 refugees, representing 21 per cent of New Zealand’s intake for the year.
This had dropped to a projected intake of 90 refugees in the 2017-18 financial year, a nine per cent share of the annual intake.
Invercargill is expected to receive 45 refugees in the 2017-18 financial year, with a further 100 expected in 2018-19.