Mike Bush – 
Kia Ora. I am happy to note that Indian Newslink has completed 16 years of publication and offer my congratulations and best wishes through this Anniversary Special.
I note this newspaper has also been successfully meeting the challenges that change brings with it.
New Zealand has changed enormously over the past generation and we are now one of the most ethnically diverse nations on the planet.
Today, one in four Kiwis were born overseas, a figure that rises to 40% in Auckland. As a result, our towns and cities are much more culturally rich and diverse than they have ever been.
Celebrating diversity
New Zealand Police have a critical role to play in supporting multiculturalism in our country. We recognise that diversity is something to celebrate and value, but also that we need to recognise and respond to the challenges it can sometimes bring.
Our purpose is to make sure everyone in New Zealand is safe and, just as importantly, that they feel safe too – no matter where they are from, what language they speak, what religion they follow or what cultural practices they observe.
We put a lot of effort into achieving this objective. This includes working very closely with all of the communities that make up modern New Zealand and other agencies to ensure the best outcomes for all Kiwis.
Ethnic Strategy
The work we do in this area includes our Ethnic Strategy, Working together with Ethnic Communities the Future, and the Commissioner’s Ethnic Focus Forum, in which leaders from ethnic communities provide strategic advice directly to me. I also receive advice directly from iwi Leaders and leaders from the Pacific community.
At a grassroots level. our network of Māori, Pacific and Ethnic liaison officers play an invaluable role in community engagement and integration.
These officers are chosen because of their cultural knowledge and are part of a wide range of work we undertake in this area. A great example is the Auckland Safety Patrols, which is made up of members of the public from 30 different countries able to speak a combined total of 50 languages.
Community partnership
Other work includes our sponsorship of the Race Unity Speech Awards and hosting the New Zealand Communities Football Cup – both excellent ways to foster understanding of other cultures among all Kiwis.
Our commitment to Māori and the Treaty – one of Police’s core values – provided the foundation for this work, and we are continuing to work closely with iwi to reduce the over-representation of Māori in the criminal justice system, both as offenders and as victims. Our Turning of the Tide strategy to prevent and reduce Māori crime and crash is just one example of the initiatives underway in this area.
We are also working really hard to ensure New Zealand Police draws its people from a wide a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We police by consent in New Zealand, so it is really important that when people look at the men and women in blue who serve them, they see members of their own communities looking back.
Wider Representation
We are now more representative than we have ever been, with more than 100 ethnicities and iwi making up our ranks. But we are not resting on our laurels. We want more people from our Māori, Pacific and Ethnic communities, as well as more women, to join Police and we have a range of initiatives to actively recruit from these groups.
These are just some of the things that we are doing to fulfil the important role we play in ensuring New Zealand is a safe, peaceful and tolerant society and that everyone feels they have a stake in our wonderful country.
This work is really important to me as Commissioner, and I feel a great sense of pride that Police was named as the Best Superdiverse Government Agency in New Zealand’s first Super diversity Stocktake published earlier this month.
If you want to help us keep New Zealand safe, then why not join us? You can find out how at www.newcops.co.nz
Mike Bush is Commissioner of Police based in Wellington.
