Auckland supper city?

HON CHRIS CARTER’S UPDATE 

Modern New Zealand is made up of people who have migrated from every part of the globe.  Auckland is a particularly multi-ethnic city, where people can enjoy the energy and vitality that migrants have bought from the Pacific, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South America and Europe.
This multi-ethnic community has evolved in the past 30 years.  One of the challenges faced by Labour when we came into office in 1999 was that some of the newer migrant communities, particularly from the Middle East and Asia, did not feel valued or accepted in the wider Auckland and New Zealand community. 
Giving people a chance to play an active role in the wider community was a high priority for the Labour Government.  One of the positive developments that we saw at local and whole-of-country level was the development of Ethnic Advisory Boards, the Asia:NZ Foundation, and the appointment of Hon Sir Anand Satyanand as our Governor General.
One of the concerns that I have, as Labour’s senior Ethnic Affairs Spokesperson, is that the establishment of the new Auckland “Super City” will see the disappearance of valuable structures like the Waitakere Ethnic Board and similar organisations operating elsewhere in the Auckland region that give migrant communities a voice.
My colleagues Dr Ashraf Choudhary, Dr Rajen Prasad and Raymond Huo have been asking National’s Ethnic Affairs Minister Pansy Wong what she has been doing to ensure that Auckland’s diverse communities have opportunities to have their say and make their contribution to the Auckland “Super City.”  We are still waiting for the Minister’s reply!
Auckland would be a poorer place if we couldn’t all enjoy the diversity that our city now reflects.  I hope that the new “Super City” continues to provide a voice for all its people.