Good morning and thank you for the opportunity to open your Conference. Your invitation was issued to my colleague Lianne Dalziel, in her role as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Minister of Ethnic Affairs. She asked me to step into her shoes when she discovered that it would clash with a couple of personal events in Christchurch, including a wedding of a friend’s son to a young Chinese woman who originally came here as a student. Lianne asked me to take her place, as she was aware that your association had some immigration questions, and as Minister of Immigration, I am well placed to address those.

I want to first acknowledge the contribution the Chinese community has made to New Zealand. Chinese migrants were among the earliest post-European arrivals to New Zealand and you therefore have a real stake in this country. The colonial immigration policies of the day saw Chinese nationals singled out for discrimination that did not apply to migrants coming from anywhere else in the world. You will be aware that last year the Prime Minister apologised, on behalf of the New Zealand Government, to the descendents of the first Chinese migrants. The Government has followed this with the formation of a new charitable trust and other initiatives with the broad aim of raising awareness of the early Chinese community.

I would like to congratulate the Association in making so much progress in its objectives of looking after the welfare and interests of the Chinese community, as well as promoting and maintaining the Chinese language, heritage, arts and culture in New Zealand.

A key principle of this Labour-led Government has always been to welcome and embrace the diversity of modern New Zealand. We believe that diversity is a source of strength for New Zealand. We must resist those who want to divide us. Our job must be to unite New Zealand.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to touch on a couple of key areas:

• What we are trying to achieve through immigration policy, and
• The importance of a sound settlement strategy for new migrants, so that New Zealand is indeed the right choice.

New Zealand's economic growth under Labour has been high – around 4 per cent a year since 2000, compared with a 2.4% average across the OECD. This has been reflected in the labour market, which has surpassed most expectations during the last 5 years. We now have the second lowest unemployment rate in the OECD at 3.9%. More New Zealanders than ever before – over two million – are now in work.

The critical issue now being identified by NZ businesses are skill and labour shortages. To address this, the government has also put an enormous amount of effort into developing the skills of New Zealanders. This has included the establishment of 45 Industry Training Organisations. At the end of 2004 there were nearly 140,000 people in workplace training. We are also aiming to have 9,000 Modern Apprenticeships by the end of next year.

Our priority will always to make sure that New Zealanders get the jobs and training needed to grow the economy. However, immigration will always play an important role in helping fill skills and labour shortages that emerge.

New Zealand's immigration policy is designed to attract the skilled migrants, tourists and students who can make a contribution to society and the economy

The Skilled Migrant Category, which was introduced in 2003, is already achieving this goal.

The SMC moves New Zealand away from passively accepting migrants to actively recruiting those who can contribute best to New Zealand. Under the SMC, applicants submit an expression of interest and go into a pool. The Immigration Service then selects the best candidates.

Tourists and international students are also important to New Zealand and there have been many initiatives to make sure they continue to be.

For example, earlier this year I announced policy changes to expand the ability for international students to work while studying here and smoothing the path to gaining residence once they have finished their studies.

While our immigration policy is about attracting people to New Zealand, it is also important that our borders are as secure as possible. Border security is a problem faced by most countries because some people will try anything to defraud immigration authorities. Given the increasing security concerns following September 11, it is New Zealand's right to keep out the people we don’t want and remove those who shouldn't be here.

That is why we have boosted border security by more than $30 million in the past two years.

For example, the government introduced Advanced Passenger Screening in 2003 and this has already stopped 650 people from entering New Zealand. This screening means that our border effectively starts when people board planes to come to New Zealand.

Another step that we have recently taken to ensure that immigration policies are adhered to is the introduction this week of a Bill to regulate immigration advisors. We are regulating the industry to protect migrants and potential migrants. Most advisers act professionally and ethically but this legislation sends a strong message that the government will not tolerate the small number of crooks who prey on vulnerable people wanting to live in New Zealand.

The legislation will make it an offence to provide immigration advice without a licence. Offenders could face a fine of up to $100,000, seven years imprisonment or both. I am sure your community will welcome these changes.

The government is also reviewing the Immigration Act to make it more relevant to New Zealand’s needs and the international environment, which have both changed since the Act was passed in 1987. The review is part of a wider push from the government to attract skilled migrants and improve border security. I hope your association will provide input into the review.

If we are to be attractive to the migrants we need for future prosperity, we must make sure that they settle successfully. With this in mind, the government is investing $62 million over four years to develop the settlement strategy to address the issues refugees and migrants face.

The settlement strategy has six goals for migrants, refugees and their families. We want them to be able to:

• Obtain employment appropriate to their qualifications and skills
• Become confident using English in a New Zealand setting, or able to access appropriate language support
• Access appropriate information and responsive services that are available to the wider community (for example, housing, education and services for families)
• Form supportive social networks and establish a sustainable community identity
• Feel safe expressing their ethnic identity and be accepted by and become part of the wider host community
• Participate in civic, community and social activities.

Another step that the Government has taken to recognise New Zealand’s growing diversity is the establishment of the Office of Ethnic Affairs (OEA) in 2001. Its aim is to help encourage and promote the strength that diversity offers our country. The OEA works with people whose culture and traditions distinguish them from Maori, Pacific Peoples or Anglo-New Zealanders. The Office also works with other government agencies like Immigration, local authorities and service providers. As well as providing policy advice, information and referral services, the OEA works closely with ethnic groups to help them build strong, integrated and healthy communities.

In conclusion, the government embraces cultural diversity. Our immigration policy is one of balance. We want to be a welcoming country to migrants, tourists and students and make sure people settle well, but we also want to ensure that our borders are as secure as possible.

I want to thank you once again for the contribution that the Chinese community makes to New Zealand. I wish you well for the remainder of your conference.