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Wellington, July 6, 2022
The Ministry for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities marked its first anniversary on 1 July 2022 and celebrated successful 12 months of influencing government policy and lifting wellbeing outcomes for ethnic communities, Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan said.
In a media statement marking the establishment of the Ministry, the first in the history of New Zealand, she said that its creation has led to the post of the Chief Executive whose sole focus is representing the concerns and aspirations of people at the top tables of the public service.
“This brings the voices of these diverse communities and their lived experiences to the fore of decision-making processes,” she said.
Mervin Singham, the first Chief Executive, appointed in July 2021 is a longstanding friend of Indian Newslink and our experience tells us that he will bring to bear his wide experience and expertise to this new role. He was the Head of the Office of Ethnic Affairs, created when the Ministry of that name was established by the Labour-led government in 2000.
According to Ms Radhakrishnan, her Ministry has focused on areas that ethnic communities have held as important. These include employment, government services that are responsive to the needs of ethnic communities, financial support for community initiatives and the response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Graduate Programme
She said that the Ministry established a Graduate Programme that has placed skilled graduates from ethnic communities in policy roles across government agencies. This has provided them with a meaningful first employment opportunity and enhanced diversity in policymaking and the design of government services.
“I am committed to improving ethnic representation on public sector boards. The Ministry’s Nominations Service maintains a database of qualified, ethnically diverse people who are seeking an appointment to a public sector board. The Ministry is now working with other partners such as the Super Diversity Institute and Leadership New Zealand to expand this pool of ethnic nominees and help us create a sustainable pipeline of diverse governance candidates for appointment to state sector boards,” she said.
Ms Radhakrishnan said that following a substantial increase in funding, in the year to date, the Ethnic Communities Development Fund disbursed $4.2 million in support of 310 community projects and initiatives that helped celebrate different cultures and strengthened social cohesion.
Response to combat Covid-19
“The Ministry’s work to support the government’s response to Covid-19 included working with the Health Ministry to implement a vaccine roll-out for and led by ethnic communities. This included supporting communities with translated material, running a series of community hui and commissioning a media campaign in ten languages. In addition, the Ministry administered $4 million in funding for community initiatives to support efforts to increase vaccination within their communities,” she said.
Describing the first anniversary as ‘just the beginning,’ Ms Radhakrishnan said that much work needs to be done to create a more cohesive Aotearoa New Zealand where everyone feels safe, valued, heard and can participate fully.
“The work of the Ministry will help take us there,” she said.
Who are ethnic people?
The official definition of ethnicity includes people who identify themselves as African, Asian
Continental European, Latin-American and Middle-Eastern.
Based on the 2018 Census, ethnic communities account for about a fifth of New Zealand’s population, almost a million people. This includes new and temporary migrants, former refugees, asylum-seekers, long-term settlers and those born in New Zealand.
Establishing a Ministry for Ethnic Communities was one of the recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack in Christchurch on March 15, 2019.
“We have created the Ethnic Communities’ Data Dashboard in partnership with Statistics New Zealand. It is an interactive tool that allows you access to information on ethnic communities in Aotearoa New Zealand. You can use it to create comprehensive information on ethnicity, religion, and language – at national and regional levels,” Ms Radhakrishnan said.
Statistics New Zealand 2018 Census data is categorised as European, Maori, Pacific Peoples, Asian, Middle Eastern, Latin American, African (MELAA) and Other.
