Let's Get Going

Getting Serious Over Refugees

NZ Initiative has come forward with a great idea.  Open up NZ refugee quotas to privately funded support groups, is its argument.  The reality is that the world is awash with genuine refugees (as contrasted with economic migrants).  New Zealand's contribution towards the global need is paltry.  Present government policy favours encouraging qualified migrants to come to New Zealand.  It utilises the private sector to help facilitate this.  

It's high time the same principles were applied to its refugee policies.  Here is New Zealand Initiative's proposal:

Amid calls from politicians and civil society to lift the refugee quota, The New Zealand Initiative is urging government to take note of Canada’s system that allows private groups to sponsor refugees.

In New Zealand, the government explicitly limits the number of refugees that are allowed into the country each year, reflecting in part the direct costs of the process that are borne by the state.  The limit, which has not changed in 29 years, prevents community groups and charities from taking in additional refugees above the quota. While community groups do excellent work in helping new refugees to settle in New Zealand, those who are willing and able to do more are not allowed to do so.

The resettlement programme for refugees which operates in New Zealand works well.  Most refugees are able to settle very successfully in this country in large part because of the resettlement assistance provided by the State and voluntary groups.  Refugees are culturally acclimatised to New Zealand through formal and informal programmes.  They are settled in neighbourhoods where they are "sponsored" by local volunteer groups who befriend them, assist them, advise them, and help open doors for them in the community.  Pretty quickly these refugees have "mates" in the neighbourhood--which goes a long, long way towards successful re-settlement.  But this all costs money--in many cases, State money.  But why shouldn't private funds be accessed, allowing for more refugees to be allowed in, sponsored, looked after, and settled--within or alongside the orbit of the existing State programmes?

In Canada, private groups can raise funds to sponsor the admission of additional refugees above the official quota. Over the past five months, almost 9,000 additional refugees have been able to resettle in Canada as a result of this policy.   “Much of the debate around refugees has focused on quotas, but even if it were doubled, efforts by charities and community groups to help more of these desperate people are likely to be constrained,” said the Initiative’s Executive Director Dr Oliver Hartwich.

“Canada’s example shows that there is a smarter way of doing things. That you can have a quota system, and also bring in more refugees above this limit by tapping into private philanthropy. This is a policy that we think is worth investigating.”  To foster further debate on this issue, The New Zealand Initiative, in conjunction with the Canadian High Commission, is set to host Dean Barry, Immigration Counsellor with the Canadian High Commission in Canberra at a public event in Wellington on Tuesday 5 April 2016.  Barry will explain how the Canadian refugee sponsorship regime works, how refugees benefit from private sponsorship, and what lessons Canada has learned.

An excellent proposal.