Whanganui, Levin, Masterton, Blenheim and Timaru have been selected as refugee resettlement locations by the cross-government New Zealand Refugee Resettlement Strategy Senior Officials’ Group.
The announcement is part of the Government’s commitment to increase the number and spread of refugee resettlement support services so communities are prepared well before new refugees arrive.
“Government agencies, the local council and community groups will all play an important role in welcoming and settling in refugees,” said NZ’s Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway.
“We’ve been settling refugees in New Zealand for generations. We have the experience, the resources and the expertise to do our bit and provide a small number of people, displaced by war and disaster, a place to call home.”
Refugees will begin to be settled in Whanganui, Timaru and Blenheim from March 2020 while refugees will begin arriving in Masterton and Levin from May 2020. A sixth additional location will be decided shortly. The nationalities of the refugees are yet to be decided.
Article published 7th February 2018