Multicultural New Zealand (MNZ) welcomes the recommendations from the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the March 15th Christchurch Mosque attacks and urges the government to implement them thoughtfully and promptly.

MNZ was established in 1989 as an incorporated, non-religious, non-government body, acting as an umbrella organization for ethnic communities around the country. As such, it is the “go to” organization for a majority of multicultural groups in New Zealand.

MNZ President, Pancha Narayanan, says the Federation expects the government and its agencies to carry through on all recommendations and to do this with “demonstrable transparency and accountability. MNZ congratulates the Prime Minister on appointing a Minister with responsibilities to see that this is achieved.”.

MNZ welcomes the establishment of a new Ministry of Ethnic Communities “However, we want to see New Zealand as a Treaty-based multicultural society and hope the new Ministry will be built from ground up, with new values and direction strongly founded on Te Tiriti,” he said.

“It is a dubious honour that it’s taken 20 years for the government to heed our calls and recognize that this is necessary. It is incredibly sad that this has arisen after the loss of 51 lives and so many injured. Their sacrifices must never be forgotten” he says.

“The new Ministry should be tasked with creating a future for our children and grandchildren, a place where we are one people while recognizing and celebrating the diversity among us. Tangata whenua should be fully involved in the establishment of the new Ministry,” he says.

Mr. Narayanan believes serious changes also need to be made to the education system at primary and tertiary levels so cultural diversity is encouraged in Aotearoa New Zealand. He hopes people will see that strategic thinking does not always happen in a monolingual context.

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