“Being the community representatives, we have to accept and take authorities on their face value, and share the given information with the communities the way it was presented and interpreted in the meetings. It is the responsibility of the concerned authorities to take ownership and clarify the misunderstanding, if any.  

With a proactive approach and continuing engagement, we have been trying to create an enhanced understanding with INZ team over the last 2 years since we started regular meetings with them. We have been advocating to get some of the outstanding immigration matters addressed like the Culturally Arranged Marriages visa issue with Immigration New Zealand. Our objective is to get the policies reviewed those affect the communities and get them set in a direction that values the diversity and help in building strong communities in New Zealand.

In the last meeting with Immigration New Zealand senior team, there were 8 respectable South Asian community leaders present representing the communities from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.   

-On behalf of the South Asian Community Leaders Group NZ, Sunny Kaushal, President.