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Warm pacific greetings.


It is with great pleasure that I take the opportunity today to address you at the launch of the Pacific Peoples Advisory Council.

It is my view that the launch of the council marks a significant turning point in policing in New Zealand.

As Minister of Police I welcome any move that aims to continue to strengthen ties between members of Pacific Island communities and the police.

It is after all, in everyone’s interests that good lines of communication exist between such communities especially in Auckland.

It’s Auckland after all that the majority of Pacific Island people choose as their place to live.

Anyone who doesn’t believe Pacific Island people love to live in the best part of the country just needs to look at the facts.

One in sixteen people in New Zealand were of Pacific ethnicity at the time of the 2001 Census.

· But of these, 2 in 3 people of Pacific ethnicity lived in the Auckland region.
·
· And taking a closer look:

· Half of those Pacific peoples were Samoan, followed by Cook Island Maori, Tongan, Niuean, Fijian, Tokelauan, and Tuvalu Islander peoples.

Right here in Auckland
· Manukau City had the largest count of people of Pacific ethnicity at1 in 4 people
· Auckland City had 1 in 7 people Pacific ethnicity
· and Waitakere City 1 in 7.

And may I say as someone whose Auckland born and bred, what a very sensible choice that is.

Where better to live than the city with the best weather, that’s the fastest growth, best looking, most exciting, and forward looking?

And to top it all off, the city where the majority of MPs are Labour MPs? What could be better?

There’s even 3 Pacific Island MPs in Parliament, most of them from Auckland.

No wonder everyone’s breaking the door down trying to live here.

Over the next 50 years, the Pacific community in New Zealand will grow by around 3.3 percent a year, or over three times the total population growth rate of under one percent.
The current median age of the Pacific community is just 20 years; that’s well under the 32 years of the rest of the population.
Projections are that by 2050, Pacific peoples will be 13 percent of our population.

That’s how important the role of Pacific Island people is in New Zealand, right now and looking into the future.

In this context, I am proud to say the Police have been very proactive in responding to increased cultural diversity in New Zealand.

There’s a pleasing and steady rise in the numbers of officers within the Police who identify as being of Pacific origin. But we could do with more.

I’m pleased to note the police

· have strong and active recruitment strategies to attract applicants from all ethnic communities, including those from Pacific Island communities.
· That they’ve backed this strategy up with agreements on strategies to enhance equal employment opportunities within the Police.
· That there’s greater inclusion of the views of Pacific Peoples and other ethnic groups in Police human resources planning and processes.
· That there’s improved training for all areas of EEO and diversity, including understanding of Pacific Peoples culture and practices
· That Pacific liaison officers have been established in each Auckland district and in Canterbury.
· That the Police aim that by 2005, 7% of sworn staff and 2.5% of senior managers will identify as being of Pacific origin.


All these moves are in recognition of the ways in which New Zealand is becoming increasingly culturally diverse.

I am pleased Police have taken great pains to walk the walk as well as simply talking the talk to meet the changing face of New Zealand.

I welcome the launch of the Pacific Peoples Advisory Council, commend those whose hard work has been responsible for bringing the idea to this point and sincerely wish you well for the future.

Thank you.

 

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