International Students - Positive People for New Zealand

Sheraton Rotorua

E nga mana, e nga reo, koutou nga manuhiri o tawahi, nau mai, haere mai, piki mai ki tenei whenua o Aotearoa. - To our distinguished visitors from overseas, welcome to New Zealand - the land of the long white cloud.

Ladies and gentlemen, members of the Federation of Independent English Language Schools of New Zealand, education agents from Europe, Asia and the Americas.... it is a pleasure to speak to you in my home city of Rotorua as you begin your "Meet the Schools" tour of New Zealand.

In the next week you will gain an exciting and informative insight into the services available at our New Zealand English language schools, as well as a glimpse of the great country we are blessed to live in.

New Zealand is a country rich in people, cultures and skills.

We are a country becoming increasingly aware of our multiculturalism and all the richness, benefits and challenges that go with it.

That multi-culturalism is based on a strengthening bi-cultural heritage where the Maori people are the tangata whenua - the people of the land.

The Government is very aware of the positive social and economic contribution international visitors, students and immigrants make to New Zealand.

We try to be migrant friendly - a nation which accepts other cultures readily, a people who place little store by class or status - a good environment for international students.

New Zealand as we know it today was formed by immigration - from the early 1800s when the first settlers joined the indigenous Maori population, followed by waves of European, Chinese, Asian and Pacific Island migrants.

Today there are more than 12 significant-sized ethnic groups within New Zealand. Chinese, for example, make up 2.3 per cent of our population - the equivalent of a city the size of Palmerston North. Pacific Islanders make up 5 per cent.

A very graphic illustration of our increasing cultural diversity is restaurants.

It may be hard to believe, but twenty years ago you could just about count the restaurants in our capital city Wellington on two hands. Rotorua had about two restaurants - and the choice of food served was even more limited.

Tonight, if you wanted to go out to dinner in Wellington, Rotorua or any of our other cities, you'd have a vast array of choices - Greek, Chinese, French, Thai, Japanese, Turkish, Spanish, Mexican... at literally hundreds of venues.

And New Zealand has benefited from culinary knowledge from overseas - the days when meat, mashed spud and three over-cooked veg ruled the New Zealand table are gone - thank goodness. New Zealand is reputed to have some of the most innovative, exciting cuisine in the world.

There are a number of reasons why New Zealand is an ideal destination for international students

our schools, polytechnics, universities and private education institute s have an excellent international reputation
we are a friendly and ethnically diverse people - non-intimidating and tolerant
our English is closer to British English than to American English and this is seen as an advantage
we value long term links with other countries through education, families, business and trade
we have a low cost, high standard of living
we are a clean, green country which loves its outdoors- a country the size of Japan with less than 4 per cent of the population - offering students a variety of new experiences.
In return, we fully recognise the important contribution foreign students make to New Zealand.

One of the Government's aims is economic growth through international linkages and skills.

What better example of this than the international student market and its potential to create further jobs in new Zealand, enhance the quality of our educational services, increase our foreign exchange earnings and foster international linkages through individual students who may go on to be business and political leaders in their home countries

Among other things, education is a valuable export industry for New Zealand.

The latest figures estimate that our education services earn New Zealand around $300 million a year in foreign exchange.

It is estimated that English language students contribute around one third of that $300 million total, and that FIELS students account for about half of that - around $59 million.

Look at the comparisons with, for example

the telecommunications industry - $200 million
the wine industry - $73 million
floriculture $54 million.
Education is a growing global market and New Zealand was a late entry into it. We have to make up for lost time.

In 1996 our education services earnings rose by 24% over the previous year - 1995, which in turn rose 20 percent over 1994.

In spite of this success we currently capture less than 1 percent of the international education market (valued at about $75 billion) - so there is still plenty of room for expansion!

But it is not only the benefit of dollars New Zealand gains from international students.

Of most lasting value is the rich relationships we can build with other peoples, many of whom go on to become leaders in their own countries. I nternational students enrich our country through their daily interaction with New Zealanders. They help us become more aware of other countries and cultures, more outward looking and less insular in our attitudes.

That is important for people and businesses operating in a world which is becoming increasingly globalised as traditional boundaries are broken by trade, new technology and new ideas.

Strong educational links with overseas countries help New Zealand's international competitiveness by educating our future workforce to be aware of cultural diversity and global economic and social forces shaping society.

The Government's student policy aims to facilitate the entry of foreign students.

People from most countries can study here for up to three months on a visitors permit, and for longer periods a student permit can be applied for.

In an ideal world that would apply to all countries, but the reality is we have to balance risks against benefits. Those risks include a high incidence of overstaying from some countries - especially China and Iran

Last year, for example, a total of 987 Chinese people claimed refugee status here - nearly twice the amount from the next highest country.

That's why we have special requirements for high-risk countries. In 1992 our Chinese student policy was tightened in response to political instability in China and a high rate of overstayers.

However, this year - given China