SUBMISSIONS FROM CONSULTATION ON DRAFT CHRISTCHURCH MULTICULTURAL STRATEGY: OUR FUTURE TOGETHER
CONSULTATION RAN FROM 15 JUNE - 31 JULY 2016.
Name
What do you think of the draft
Multicultural Strategy’s vision
statement? Why?
Are there other Strategy
principles that should be
included?
What do you think of the
Strategy’s proposed
outcomes? Are there
others the Council should
consider?
What do you think of the
Strategy’s proposed goals? Are
there others the Council should
consider?
What other actions
should the Council
take?
1
Quincey
Has a strong Maori bias.
Great Britain heritage and
influences could be included
Sounds like a good idea
but who is paying for all
this - the long suffering
ratepayers?
Sounds like overkill, are all the
proposed goals really
necessary?
2
shailesh
Good. Because - this is simply our
future, and I agree with the vision.
Our community is
comparatively small. Would
be great if you consider
smaller communities as well.
3
Rosalea
Van
Halewyn
I think it is very encouraging to see
acknowledgment of the diversity in
Christchurch, particularly after the
changes post-earthquake, and a
commitment to establishing an
inclusive community. I am also pleased
to see that Tiriti o Waitangi is
acknowledged in the strategy, as it is
important that bicultural relationships
are considered and enhanced as part
of any multicultural strategy - this ties
in with the statement 'all people have
a sense of belonging'; the wellbeing of
tangata whenua should also be at the
core of our considerations. I agree that
every person living in Christchurch
should feel respected and valued. This
will go a long way toward creating a
cohesive and inclusive community at
the heart of ?tautahi.
I feel the principles are
comprehensive.
I think this will provide a
platform where different
communities can come sit
together and discuss
different agenda. It would
be good if other councils
also consider this.
What about:
'All people should have
the opportunity to learn
about local culture and
history, and feel
supported to engage in
local community events'.
How about a strategy
to get immigrants to
assimilate a bit more
and start to live and
dress like NZers and fit
in a bit more with the
country they want to
call home.
Time to time
monitoring and call
meetings
Otherwise, I feel the
proposed outcomes are
very comprehensive.
No further comment as the
actions elaborate sufficiently.
I think these are
fantastic steps
however, my only
concern, is that there
is nothing in here
(that I can see) around
supporting people
from diverse ethnic
backgrounds to
engage in a
meaningful way with
local community,
particularly tangata
whenua. I feel this
would help people to
feel valued and part of
?tautahi as well as
ensuring an on-going
commitment to tiriti o
Waitangi by
strengthening
relationships and
understanding.
Perhaps this could
work in with:
'Fund, organise and
support events and
initiatives for the
maintenance and
exchange of cultures
Is the proposed
monitoring
enough? Are
there other
steps that could
be taken?
Too much hold
handing, could
be seen as
insulting to
some races,
treating them
like children.
Any other comments?
How about the CCC sticking to core CCC business for a
while and keep the cost of rates down, get this city up
and running, repaired with facilities, and leave all this
to the huge number of community groups listed as
migrant focused to help new immigrants fit into the
country they want to live in and become "kiwis"
Let see how it goes. There will always room for
improvements in future.
What about a
public survey on
the internet - it
could have a
catchy name
and essentially
ask people
whether they
feel they belong,
what is helping,
what doesn't
help.... etc?
I feel privileged to live in ?tautahi when I see that such
an important document is being sent out for public
feedback in its draft form - this consultation is what it's
all about. Between us we can come up with the
answers, but in isolation we may miss the most
important things because we just don't know. I
commend you for your consultation.
and languages in
Christchurch,
including language
weeks.'
8
4
gm
Good. The Treaty of Waitangi needs
centrality, and Tangata Whenua need
to be recognised - not just one of the
multi-cultures, but as a Treaty partner.
Yes. Multi-culturalism exists
within a context of biculturalism. That needs to be
named. Both Treaty partners
are multi-cultural. Maori
includes all the cultures of
various Iwi. The Crown
includes all others.
No it is great
Where is the outcome of
Ngai Tahu representation
on the Council?
5
Toch1
I think it is great but flawed with the
Maori wording. It should be english a
universal language and then ethnic
groups are equals
Excellent that
Christchurch is thinking
ahead in our rebuild, and
re unity of people
Excellent that Christchurch is
thinking ahead in our rebuild,
and re unity of people
6
sting160
6
Great because it is a good statment
No
Need to video our
progress so far
No
7
Androma
che
It looks thorough and well considered.
I am happy with it.
No, there is good scope in the
ones already proposed
Also looks good and well
considered yet achievable
Great wording for inclusiveness
lrsandfor
d
"Respect to all" seems a little negative,
and gives fuel to those to love to play
the "offended" victim when somebody
else does something that is different
to what they value.
I would prefer something like
"Strength in diversity" or something
similar.
The first two strategy
principles seem to be leaning
towards "everyone is equal,
but some are more equal than
others". This is divisive, not
inclusive. Surely this is the
opposite of what the
multicultural strategy should
be aiming for.
Let us keep the other four and
ensure that everyone is
equally valued.
Fully agree with these.
The first two principles are
good. The third seems to infer
that diversity is good for its own
sake. Appreciating diversity is
good because everyone has
something to offer and should
feel at home, but this is
different from simply trying to
achieve the greatest possible
level of diversity.
The council should try and
promote things that bring
everyone together and make us
feel a part of something greater
than ourselves, rather than
promoting our differences
except where it helps to
educate.
Reducing the "Balkanisation" of
society should be a goal. Things
like religious schools allow
people to grow up only having
contact with a narrow band of
society go against having a
happy successful multicultural
society.
As an official
language, Te Reo
needs to be used
and/or accessible
within all council
structures
Ngai Tahu need
a definitive role
in monitoring
Take the Maori
references out. New
comers haveto battle
with managing English
yet you gave them
another language
barrier in a Strategy
geared to lessen these
situation!
very good
No just as above
So far so good
Create spaces /
activities that allow
people of different
backgrounds to
peacefully mingle and
get to know each
other. People
generally make
friends based on
things they have in
common first, and
then can learn to
appreciate the
differences.
As above - work on
bringing people of
different backgrounds
together in positive
ways, rather than
separating them.
Everyone should be equalled valued and included base decisions on who lives here today, not who lived
here 150 years ago.
Bring everyone together, don't separate everyone out.
9
Music4m
enz
There is no need for the CCC to be
developing a strategy for
Multiculturalism. It would bebetter to
enco8urage new arrivals to assimilate
into our Kiwi culture.
No, as there is no need to be
wasting ratepayers' money on
this strategy in the first place.
It is a waste of time.The
proposed outcome should
be to hel immigrants
adapt to our Kiwi way of
life.
The sole goal should be to help
newly settled people to adapt
and adopt our Kiwi culure.
None
A waste of time
and money.
10
Ilam Joe
It is going the right direction
This is a work in progress, do
what is included but allow for
amendments
Not sure as it depends on
how much authority the
Strategy managers have
to put proposals in effect.
Not sure what the Council sets
out to achieve.
Enlarge the numbers
who can participate
by giving wider
publicity of what the
Strategy is all about.
Comprehensive
minutes of all
the meetings
should be
circulated and
also made
available to
those who are
interested
through the
Social Media.
11
Una
cunningh
am
Fine. I am happy that it includes the
word multilingual. I find the expression
"Respect to all, the foundation of great
cities" a little ambiguous, and would
prefer "is" to the comma in the English
version for clarity.
Not only communities have a
cultural and linguistic heritage
to celebrate and preserve.
Also individuals. It might read
"Everyone in Christchurch has
a cultural and linguistic
heritage to celebrate and
preserve."
Consider how "Culturally
diverse communities are not
homogeneous." is different
from "A culturally diverse
community is not
homogeneous." I find the
second much more inclusive.
The Community is everyone
and everyone belongs,
without relinquishing the
diversity. Integration not
assimilation, yet allowing for
being part of the larger
Community as well as other
possible ehnic, religious or
linguistic communities. I
would then put the principle
"• Individual identity is made
up of many dimensions,
including culture and
language." before the two it
comes after currently.
The final principle does not
recognise the interests of
individuals who are not part
These are good.
goal 2 should not be restricted
to communities
Supporting English
language learning and
minority language
development and
maintenance in formal
(language lessons),
non-formal (e.g.
language clubs,
language cafes) and
informal ways (e.g.
library story-time or
meetups)
Multicultural
advisory yes.
This is an
important part
of diversity and
inclusion.
Representation
might be an
issue though if
this is taken at
the level of the
community.
People coming to live in Christchurch are choosing to
come to live here and should therefore adapt and
assimiliate into the culture that exists here.
'Mutliculturalism' as a concept is a failure in all
countries where it has been adopted a policy. Please
look at France as a perfect example. Immigrants are
welcome to retain their family customs and traditions
but must understand they have a responsibility to
assimilate into New Zealand culture. That is why they
chose to leave their own country and come to live in
ours. I do not want my rates to be wasted in this way.
1. Set up a Facebook Page
2. Initiate a practical Action Plan and report on the
progress at regular intervals.
3. Delegate dedicated and capable persons to carry out
the Action Plan and be accountable for the Action Plan
4. Sponsor more ethnic performances and have
Councillors attend these performances, be more
generous in assisting these groups financially, assist
them in obtaining venues to put on their
performances, giving wide publicity to their activities,
reward the performers and their organisers with free
passes for their families and friends and certificates of
attendances.
Excellent initiative. It would be really good if we could
have a Christchurch Language strategy like Auckland
has to accompany this.
of communities, and
additionally seems to assume
that those who are part of
such communities are other
than the Council, central
government, the nongovernment sector and the
business sector. I imagine
there is a good deal of
overlap.
12
Hisham
The vision statement stresses the
multicultural soul of the city by
undertaking to ensure that all people
have a sense of belonging. Which is a
great promise if realized. But this
might constitute empty rhetoric if the
expectations of underrepresented
communities were not met. In my
experience working with
underprivileged people they feel
neglected and ignored. I as a
conventional refugee myself do not
feel the strategy is poised to take me
(my dreams and ambitions to make
Christchurch home) into consideration.
The strategy principles
acknowledge the nonhomogeneity of the culturally
diverse communities. This
should be elaborated on a bit
further because in its current
phrasing the
acknowledgement comes
across as an
acknowledgement of the
hurdle rather than of the
need to ease it out. So to
make this hetergenity sound
less of a hurdle on the way
towards implementing the
strategy you might extend on
the wordings of this principle;
I suggest "Culturally diverse
communities are not
homogeneous with distinct
makeups that provide several
avenues to strategy
implementation".
Take for example the refugees
and people with refugee
backgrounds, they are all
homogeneous in their
belonging to the refugee
community, but if you
observe this community with
a higher resolution you would
see that their challenges are
not uniform, some are
convention refugees, others
are quota refugees, some are
first and second generation
Kiwis stretched between two
cultures because there is no
emphasis on the continuity of
Kiwi culture to their
respective one. Another
example, if you inspect the
abuse victims community you
would see a distinction
between the cultural and drug
The strategy outcomes
are clear and certainly
realizing the last outcome
regarding community
participation/engagement
will be an excellent step.
The first goal suffers from a lack
of definitions and contexts. The
word multiculturalism does
describe the visible outcome but
not the traits that lead to it. It
should be defined in a light that
acknowledges the contribution
of even the most
underrepresented groups. The
same lack of definitions exists
for the terms: minority,
inclusiveness and integration.
Neglecting definitions and
contexts at this stage could lead
to problems with implementing
the strategy. As a convention
refugee, I want to know if I have
been considered while drafting
a strategy that will carry an
impact on my life and living in
Christchurch so I want to know
if I fall within the prerequisites
to enjoy inclusiveness and
integration.
Regarding goal 2: How does CCC
plan to reach out to
communities to inform them
about the roles of the council
and its services ?
The last point is particularly
interesting, the options are
limited not because of lack of
existence but because of lack of
marketing. It is very difficult for
a new comer to discern where
to go in case of facing challenges
face while adapting to the city.
As a refugee who speaks
excellent English I did not know
anything about the existence of
agencies that could help me
when I needed advocacy,
assistance, help. My observation
is that the various agencies are
The yearly
reporting is too
sparse and far
between. A
quarterly/biann
ual meeting and
newsletter will
help maintain
engagement
with all parties
involved and
affected by the
multicultural
strategy.
Thank you so much for your efforts and consideration
in taking the initiative to come with this strategy draft.
Looking forward to seeing the full and finalized one
where my ambitions and dreams are reflected.
related drivers of abuse.
Belonging to one community
does not exclude one from
belonging to another
community. So, even within a
community you will not
expect homogeneity and
some communities will and
should overlap with others. It
is pertinent on the council to
appreciate all the underlying
characteristics of each
community/culture and meet
their expectation as a beacon
of multi-culturalism in
Christchurch.
13
Gerard
Direen
Looks fine - honours both bicultural
heritage and the city's multi-cultural
environment.
Include a focus on children see general comment below.
not well connected together in a
productive synergy. Therefore, it
becomes doubly difficult for a
person who speaks little to no
English to be able to know how
to integrate into the city.
As above - link to an
outcome regarding
children
On this point the council needs
to work closely with each
agency to ensure their
expectations are met and that
they deliver on the outcomes
desired from them. This is only
possible through a structured
and methodical approach that
focuses on understanding the
communities need and results in
taking actions to address/realize
these needs.
See comment below
See comment below
Maybe consider
responsiveness as a principle eg being agile enough to
respond to the changing face
of the city in an ongoing way
(not only through 5 yearly
planning and review cycles).
14
Thomas
Lin
It is great, lot of ethnic leaders has
input their lot of time and energy
working on it, council has done a great
job for support them.
communities activity center
and cultural show case place.
15
Denise
Wiggins
It's great and a valuable strategy for
Migrants and Refugees and the wider
community to have established in
Christchurch and potentially for the
wider Canterbury region. I am
impressed at the collaboration that
I would like to see the Greater
Christchurch/Canterbury
region included in it please.
The implementation of it in
each district could be looked
at by the Mayoral Forum and
individual District Councils.
Speak to
children.
Engage with
schools.
Link the
evaluation in to
the city's
aspirations of
being a "child
friendly city."
The strategy has showed
the guide line to
improving the multiple
cultural united, that is a
very important support
for ethnic communities.
Yes
The strategy lacks any specific mention of children.
It is important not to assume that the intentions,
expectations and goals that are in place for other age
groups will address the needs/experiences and
aspirations of children from multi-cultural
backgrounds.
Schools offer a great microcosm of the city's multicultural communities so ensure the action planning
includes planned links with schools.
Over the past 5 years our schools have become
increasingly diverse. Our school is around 70% nonEuropean and this is not unusual in areas such as
Linwood, Aranui, Wainoni and Woolston.
So the multi-cultural strategy may need to be agile
enough to respond to different community
needs/profiles across the city.
Children also have a culture that is distinct from adults
(and from teenagers/youth). It would be worth
considering to what extent this could be recognised
within the strategy.
For all people to achieve the sense of belonging that
we aspire to, the strategy needs children more present
in it.
The Strategy's proposed goal
will bring ethnic together and
build our city.
take a intercultural
meeting include all
communities to study
this Strategy.
Wait for some
time and put
trial, see
feedback and
review.
Nil
Yes
Create a Greater
Christchurch/Canterb
ury wide Multicultural
Strategy in
collaboration with the
Mayoral Forum and
District Councils. The
-
I am concerned that with local elections coming and
with strategic thinking Mayors, incl Dame Margaret
and Councillors stepping down this may have an
impact on developing a Canterbury wide strategy lead
by the Mayoral Forum.
The Selwyn District has developed a good and sound
has taken place and speed in which
you have developed this strategy.
needs of our Migrants
and Refugees are
often the same.
strategy, and yet a number of our regions districts will
be encountering similar challenges, whilst our migrant
workers continue to move from town to town not
knowing how to access the Migrant and Refugee
services that are provided in Christchurch.
This Strategy provides an opportunity for CCC to lead
an integrated Canterbury wide approach due to
established collaboration and connections with
Refugee and Migrant Service providers. I know from
my own experience that meeting with and developing
relationships with each of these providers takes time.
16
Anthony
Rimell
I think it is excellent. I believe we need
to actively promote a multi-cultural
flavour to our city. People need to feel
welcome. This strategy does that.
I'm excited to see that the Tirity is
given prime place. This is Aotearoa,
New Zealand: the first people need to
be honoured appropriately, and this
document does that.
I'm pleased that the uniqueness of
other cultures from each other is
recognised.
I think the strategy principles
need to include the place of
faith-based groups. Many
migrants to Aotearoa bring a
strong faith with them: the
place of their faith and their
faith-groups need to be noted
in the relationships we draw
on.
The proposed outcomes
are excellent.
I would amend the
religious traditions to be
"religious/ spiritual
traditions"
The goals are very good.
Empowerment is central: we
need to ensure the people own
the way they wish to be heard,
rather than being told how they
are to be heard.
Can we ensure
that the public
consultation
processes are
again done in
ways and places
that are owned
by the various
cultures, and
that we are not
looking to
gather
information in a
manner that
reflects monocultural values.
For example,
please ensure
there is space
for people to tell
their stories,
and that the
stories are
valued in their
own right - not
merely shaved
down to find
'core points'.
Many cultures
find such
'streamlining'
confusing and
offensive.
In the meantime our Newcomers, Migrants and
Refugees live and work in isolation in rural districts and
it's this isolation that should concern us most...
Well done. This is a wonderful approach.
Kia Kaha
17
Stella
Cometa
I think it's a good vision statement. I
like the focus on both multicultural
and multilingual. I trust that this will
mean that communication and
information from the Council will be
available in the most common
languages used in Christchurch as a
matter of course.
I particularly appreciate the
inclusion of this principle:
"Culturally diverse
communities are not
homogeneous".
I am very much in favour
of the proposed
outcomes.
I guess this is not
necessarily the Council's
role, as opposed to the
Government's, but I think
it's important that the
Council also take the lead
in improving employment
opportunities for all
migrants and refugees. As
local government, it
should undertake to lobby
central government to
expand its at times
narrow-minded
requirements with
regards to qualifications. I
refer especially to the fact
that qualifications from
other non-British
background countries are
often not recognised here
in NZ. We squander
valuable talent and the
opportunity to learn and
be challenged by other
ways of thinking and
doing.
As the second largest city
in NZ and the largest in
the South Island,
Christchurch should look
beyond the local to the
national and set the
example for the whole
country.
Embrace
multilingualism at all
levels - e.g. Council
websites and social
media should use
multiple languages
and criteria for
selecting products
should include the
ability to use these
multiple languages. So
for example the
library's catalogue
should display titles in
Chinese, Japanese,
Korean, Hindi, Farsi,
etc script - not in
transliteration. CINCH
should be able to do
the same.
Council must also
commit to improving
employment
prospectives for
migrants and refugees
- employment is key
to feeling safe and at
home.
The proposed
monitoring is a
start, but
measuring and
reporting is only
a beginning.
Specific goals
need to be set.
Similarly, with
regards to the
following, the
Council needs
not just to
investigate but
to DO
"Investigate the
establishment of
a multicultural
advisory group
at governance
level (similar to
the Disability
Advisory Group)
to advise
Council on
issues related to
the principles
and goals of this
Strategy". Time
and action are
of the essence let's not get
bogged down in
interminable
meetings and
debates.
I am thrilled that this is happening - it's a long overdue
step. Whatever the results of the Council elections, this
strategy must proceed unhindered.
18
Dianne
Downwa
rd
page 6
• Racism and discrimination should
read- Discrimination because of race,
religion or culture.
Religion needs to be included as for
example the Jewish community has
been targeted for abuse at times
because of their religion not their race.
It is also important to say what
discrimination you don't want as there
are many discriminations or
restrictions on things for safety
reasons (age/height/weight/ect)
Also on page 6
• Promoting the diversity of cultures,
faiths and languages in the city
through its
libraries. Faith has been added
page 7
?tautahi Christchurch: An inclusive
multicultural, multi-faith and
multilingual
city ... multi-faith has been added
• All communities in
Christchurch have a cultural,
religious and linguistic
heritage to
celebrate and preserve. Have
included religious and would
take out preserve because
there are cultural practices
such as female circumcision
that are against NZ law and
therefore shouldn't be
preserved.
• Culturally diverse
communities are not
homogeneous - I'm not sure
what you are trying to say
here as diverse means not
homogeneous...so it is an
unnecessary sentence. It's like
saying rainbows have
different colours.
* Individual identity is made
up of many dimensions,
including culture, religious or
spiritual and language.
religious or spiritual added both aren't needed, I
personally like spiritual.
page 8
People feel they belong in
Christchurch, regardless
of their ethnicity,faith,
culture and English
language skills. -faith has
been added
2 T?rangawaewae — A
place for all to stand
All people feel respected,
safe and able to express
their own cultural
identity, linguistic and
religious traditions that
are within NZ law. - within
NZ law was added as
someone could claim
something to be a
religious tradition and
therefore their right. For
example, when I was
growing up in Canada,
there were those that
claimed it was their
cultural/religious right to
bring ceremonial daggers
to school. There were also
problems/fighting
between this group and
another from the same
country. Historical
resentments/discord
between two different
groups-religious or
cultural - needs to be left
in the home country and
not played out in NZ.
Therefore, I think it is
essential that Kiwi culture
(Maori /European) and
laws are clear and
promoted as a unifying
culture. Kiwi culture is
open,embracing and
tolerant to others and this
needs to be promoted in
all the cultures and
religions within NZ. We
are all Kiwi's and some
have other cultures as
well.
• Continue to deliver
cultural/ religious
awareness training for
Council staff. religious added
• Maintain a
relationship with an
inclusive network of
leaders in the wider
community, from
diverse communities
and different
backgrounds, to
strengthen the
connections between
cultural and religious
diverse communities,
the
Council and the wider
community. - The
term 'culturally
diverse communities'
seems to be used for
'other cultures' as
there is diversity
within the NZ culture.
If this is the case it
should be made clear
at the beginning of
this document. religious ...and the
wider community has
been added.
page 10
...events, services and
processes because of
their identity, cultural,
religious or linguistic
backgrounds religious added
Enable and promote
participation in civic
life and public
decision making by
people from all
communities Something to
recommend to central
government is the
education of the
whole government
parliamentary
system,regional
councils and civic
councils to
newcomers and as
well within the
We of the Canterbury Interfaith Society all agree that
no one faith/religion/belief system should dominate
others and that includes atheistic beliefs.
Some atheists argue religion has no place in public
documents because NZ is a secular society, but
ignoring religion goes against the goal "... to support
and embrace the diversity of the people in
?tautahi/Christchurch." and places atheistic belief
system above all others as superior.
China outlawed religions in the past as it went against
their communistic ideology. Now they are actively
promoting religion, spending millions to help build
churches as they see this as the best way to fight the
self centred over consumerism and immoral behaviour
that has come with greater wealth. Communistic
ideology couldn't provide the moral guidelines the
government wanted it's people to have.
Religion and spiritual values has a place in public
documents.
Thank you
Dianne Downward
President of the Canterbury Interfaith Society
education system. My
english speaking kids
who were good
students, don't clearly
understand the
process after 13 years
at school !
page 11
Celebrate and foster
the cultural, religious
and linguistic diversity
of all Christchurch
people - religious
added
• Promote and raise
awareness of the
benefits of
Christchurch’s
multicultural, multifaith community. multi-faith added.
Council meetings
could be opened with
a prayer from a
different faith each
time and a poem or
appropriate saying for
those of no faith. (
only one prayer/quote
per meeting) I believe
Hamilton city council
does this.
19
Kazuhiro
Matsuza
ki
It's good as long as it enhances sense
of fairness.
However CCC should be very careful to
allocate your precious resources
(money, time, human and etc.) to
appropriate purpose only. The
government often tries to provide
what they want to do but that is not
based on what we really want. That is
waste of resources.
For example poor translation into
Japanese is not necessary as 90% of
Japanese residents frailly understand
English according to a research.
http://ir.canterbury.ac.nz/handle/100
92/974
Kazuhiro Matsuzaki (Chairman for the
Japanese Society of Canterbury)
20
Ashleigh
Sandy
Ghozali
In principle, I support the Vision
Statement of the Draft. However, I
would like to add to the following
statements to the original draft:
The draft Multicultural Strategy
proposes a vision for Christchurch:
?tautahi Christchurch: An inclusive
multicultural and multilingual
city that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi
and values our diversity — a
city where all people have a sense of
belonging as proud New Zealanders..
Yes, Aroha ki te tangata, te
tuapapa o te taone
whaimana.
Respect to all and to one self,
the foundation of great cities.
Individual identity is made up
of many dimensions, including
but not limited to sexual
orientation, gender identity,
cultural heritage and
language.
My suggestion on
Strategy outcomes:
The draft Multicultural
Strategy proposes three
outcomes:
1 Whanaungatanga —
Sense of belonging
People feel they belong in
Christchurch, regardless
of their ethnicity, sexual
orientation, gender
identity,
culture and English
language skills.
2 T?rangawaewae — A
place for all to stand
All people feel respected,
safe and able to express
their own cultural
identity, linguistic and
spiritual affiliations.
.
3 Whai wahitanga —
Participation
Everybody is able to
access Council
information and services
and
participate in decision
making.
Question: how does
everyone participate in
council's decision making
? This statement needs
detailed and specific
elaborations.
My suggestion as stated below
Strategy goals
To achieve these outcomes the
draft Multicultural Strategy has
three goals:
1. Christchurch City Council is an
inclusive and diverse local
government organisation.
2. All communities have
equitable access to Christchurch
City Council services and
decision-making processes. Question: how does CCC aim to
achieve this statement and
make it actionable in term of
"decision making process ?
3. Christchurch City Council
promotes diversity and
inclusion. Question: How does
CCC plan to carry this out and
break the glass ceiling ?
First of all, the Council
ought to clearly re
iterate that New
Zealand is a secular,
inclusive and
egalitarian
constitutional
monarchy in which Te
Tiriti o Waitangi is the
Founding Document
and New Zealand
Parliament is the
supreme Law-Making
Body of New Zealand.
Secondly, the Council
ought to clearly state
that the Council does
not tolerate any form
of misogyny,
homophobia,
xenophobia,antisemiti
sm and racism in the
name of diversity and
inclusiveness.
Thirdly, the Council
and the local
authorities must
clearly state that "We,
the Council and the
People of Christchurch
must get away from
what I call the
Rotherham Complex
where the authorities
were so afraid of
offending ethnic
minority communities
or the religious
communities that they
turned a blind eye to
the appalling abuse or
practices of
homophobic,
misogynistic,
antisemitic or
xenophobic acts ." in
the name of diversity
inclusiveness and
religious freedom or
traditions.
The proposed
monitoring is far
from enough.
First step that
needs to be
taken is that the
Council needs to
be fully aware
and understand
how the
Rotterdam
Complex as I
stated above
can be rather
pervasive and
ingrained when
the Council aims
to be the Gooddoer, however
noble or sincere
Christchurch
City Council is is
its aim to
promote
diversity and
inclusiveness, be
very aware of
the Rotterdam
Complex.
Thats all for now, Contact me at
[email protected] should the Council needs
further input from me.
21
Reid
Matthew
Excellent. I appreciate that it
acknowledges Te Tiriti, as this is the
foundation on which multiculturalism
is possible in NZ. It does feel like the
vision (and the strategy) is focused on
the ethnic and linguistic parts of
multiculturalism - but multicultural
must also refer to different cultures on
the basis of interests, gender,
sexuality. Perhaps this can be brought
into the strategy more strongly in
future
22
CRC
While the vision statement
acknowledges the multicultural fabric
of the city it does not present a lucid
picture as to who constitute these
people. As is the statement sounds
vague and needs to be more specific
and needs a little clarity and purpose
otherwise it falls in the danger of
becoming just empty rhetoric.
I appreciate the inclusion of a
strong partnership with mana
whenua.
Principles should include:
The council providing bold
leadership for the city
towards being more diverse
and inclusive.
Council reflecting the diverse
cultures in the city through its
publications, engagement
strategies, consultations,
recruitment and employment,
etc.
The strategy principles
presented are well worded
and the stress on the nonhomologous nature of the
communities which is
welcomed. But by just talking
in terms of "culturally diverse
communities" is not enough
and sounds almost
patronising. The inherent
otherisation in the lexicon
needs to be addressed. There
needs to be an elaborate
discourse on what constitutes
multiculturalism and the
concept of culture identity.
While this strategy is much
needed but unfortunately it is
a few years too late and we
are already multicultural as a
city. Therefore, we suggest
that there needs to be a
discussion on what comes
after multiculturalism and
what happens once we are
termed as a melting pot which
we already are. We don't
want another strategy for that
in the future. This is a great
opportunity to make up for
the tardiness in
acknowledging
multiculturalism of ChCh as a
city.
An outcome should be
increased cultural
diversity in the city. The
people of Christchurch
should feel safe to
express their culture.
A goal should be that the
Council is recognised for
committing to leadership
towards multiculturalism.
Actions that reflect
the Council's bold
leadership towards
multiculturalism with
respect to the
community, providing
an example to other
councils, agencies and
government
departments it works
with.
Racism is
present in
Christchurch, it
should be
monitored, and
an outcome of
the multicultural
strategy should
be reduced
incidence of
instances of
racism.
The present outcomes are
valid and have the
potential to make this city
truly inclusive if realised.
In addition to everyone
being able to access
services and participate in
decision making process it
is also important for
everyone to be
empowered. There should
be a stress on people
becoming self-reliant and
empowered in order to
participate in the civil
society.
The dialogue should move to
post-multiculturalism where
everyone is considered as one
society. Of course the
acknowledgement of one's
cultural/gender/social/psycholo
gical background is important
but it needs to be further
elaborated to include those
suffering from physical
disabilities as well mental
illness, homelessness amongst
other things. All these
backgrounds and more need to
be considered as a part of
multiculturalism. The goals
should stretch beyond race and
culture.
Was this strategy
presented in sign
language? What about
the homeless and
underprivileged. It is
noted that NGOs were
involved but how is is
going to help the
people actually.
Apart from the
meetings etc.
we need
concrete actions
to realise the
draft which
includes
mentoring
programmes;
funding
opportunities as
well as more
platforms for
people to grow
personally as
well as
professionally.
The actions required
should include the
empowerment of the
communities and
NGOs through right
support in terms of
funding but also
involving them in the
boardrooms. There
should be more
interaction between
the counsellors and
the people. Even with
the Council there is a
huge disconnect
between the
staff/counsellors and
the organisations
working at the
grassroots level so
apart from the
"community
meetings" there
needs to be more
interaction.
Events and initiatives
promoting the
inclusivity of the city
should be celebrated.
For example,
summerz end youth
festival which we
promote not for
Thank you for the opportunity. We would love to see
this idea come to fruition.
refugees but for
everyone to come
together and just be a
part of the city.
Submission number
23
Name
Shirley Papanui Community Board
Feedback to the Christchurch City Council Draft Multicultural Strategy from the Shirley/Papanui
Community Board
The Shirley/Papanui Community Board fully supports the Council’s Multicultural Strategy and the
commitment of Council to support the diversity of the Christchurch community through fostering a
sense of belonging and ensuring that its services and decision-making processes are accessible to all.
Mike Davidson
Chair
Shirley/Papanui Community Board
Submission number
24
Name
Wiremu Thomson
Strategy Outcomes
Change the first outcome to remove the English language skills qualifier, as if you are moving to NZ
then you should ultimately be comfortable speaking one of the three national languages, if you can't
then it suggests you haven't made the effort to get to know the natives and culture of the place
you've moved to (and continuing in this way could isolate locals).
1 Whanaungatanga — Sense of belonging
People feel they belong in Christchurch, regardless of their ethnicity or
culture [remove "and English language skills."]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Goal 3: Priority Actions
I don't think it should be council's role to do the following:
Inform the wider community about the value of diversity in Christchurch
• Promote and raise awareness of the benefits of Christchurch’s multicultural
community.
However, I do agree with:
• Promote a positive relationship among all people of Christchurch, including
education about human rights legislation, discrimination and racism.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Monitoring progress
I think the following might be a waste of rate payers money:
Investigate the establishment of a multicultural advisory group at governance
level (similar to the Disability Advisory Group) to advise Council on issues
related to the principles and goals of this Strategy.
Submission number
25
Name
Canterbury Refugee Council
Contact
Ahmed Tani, Chairperson
Canterbury Refugee Council Inc.
To whom it may concern,
Canterbury Refugee Council and community leaders would like to propose 2 concrete actions
towards the Multicultural Strategy, as follows:
1- To support and nurture our pilot programme of improving access to health care services for
refugees in Christchurch. The programme is under preparation now and managed by Canterbury
Refugee Council, which is based on mutual assistance in the community.
2- To listen carefully the refugee issues, which are different from migrants, because of the trauma
that they passed. Therefore it should be a close link between the City Council and the community
where Canterbury refugee Council plays a key role.
3- To promote cultural activities for refugees such as Summerzend Youth Fest, which is a project of
Canterbury Refugee Council. This will integrate the cultures among the you no matter that culture
they come from.
Thank you for your cooperation
Kind Regards
Ahmed Tani
Chairperson
Submission number
26
Name
Immigration New Zealand, MBIE
Contact
Tony McNeill
RELATIONSHIP MANAGER
Settlement Unit, Immigration NZ
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
"We applaud the Christchurch City Council for developing an Outcomes approach to its future. We
like the simplicity of the framework, and yet it captures the essence of what diverse communities
can expect of and from their local government body. We would like to offer our experience and
resources to support the Council in implementing the Strategy. For instance, we have baseline data
that may support your monitoring, particularly as, where possible, we are working to
provide regional data breakdowns. We would also like to discuss a project we are working on that is
aligned to the Strategy - a Welcoming Cities Framework that we are working with Australia to design
and implement from 2017/18 .
Some specific points of feedback are as follows:
Page 7 - a further principal could be that " All communities are provided with the opportunity to
identify and reduce the barriers to their participation. "
Page 8 , point 3 - " Christchurch City Council promotes diversity and inclusion" - I think this
statement needs to be expanded to either a WHY? And/or a HOW? ( preferably both) So the
statement needs a ‘because’ statement such as " because a growing proportion of our citizens are
from other cultures" and/ or " and we will do this by ensuring all our staff are trained to be
culturally competent"
Page 9, second bullet point - really needs to state " recruitment and retention strategies etc." and
this links to the point made above re p8 point 3 - the Council really needs to ensure and
demonstrate that it creates the environment to attract/ recruit and retain staff from underrepresented groups. i.e. it reflects the community it serves.
Page 10 Goal 2 - the first bullet point - Council could also utilise internal staff in these proposed
tests? Second to last bullet point - perhaps the exercise of designing programmes has to start with
identifying the barriers first? NOTE also that there could be a link to the NZ Migrant settlement and
Integration Strategy here re the migrant voting indicator. And the final bullet point requires more
specificity. In saying this, we would note that this is a higher level plan...however more of a two-way
focus is needed - and besides, co-design improves access and participation.
Page 11 - a couple of points. Would the Council be linking in to national activities is the space
of discrimination and racism ( such as Human Rights Commission work)? And how would the
Council's advocacy to Central Government reviews/ inquiries on needs of diverse communities sit
with its own work programme. How does the Council get to know about these central Government
reviews?
It is very important to signal in a Strategy that you will Monitor the impact of programmes , and set
up some clear indicators as to what you'll be looking for when you say you'll create, deliver
or support programmes.
Other actions Council could take? - we think Safety is an important area for Council."
Of course the hard questions can be - how do you measure progress, outcomes and success.
Submission number
27
Name
Te Marino Lenihan
I have reviewed the consultation document that was attached to the Communities, Housing and
Economic Development Committee Agenda from today and note (with no real order of priority other
than as it appears in the document):
1. graphics look good
2. message from the chair makes a clear and strong statment about Te Tiriti. Well put.
3. i think that the document needs to provide an equally clear and strong section that gives
further detail / explains why Te Tiriti is a founding document of NZ and what the relationship
is between CCC and local Ngai Tahu rūnanga (each representing the Treaty partners).
Located best perhaps in Section 1
4. The Vision has not been changed from when we worked on this last year. I continue to like it
because it acknowledges Mana Whenua by referencing the Treaty.
5. re: Startegy Principles - i am not sure i understand what is meant by “Te Tiriti is a foundation
to our understading of ourselves as a nation”. Can you explain?
6. Use of the term Mana Whenua in the document, when it referes to a group of people,
should use capitals (like we do we we refer to the English people of europe, etc…). When
the term is used to describe the ‘authority’ (mana) that local whanau/hapu and iwi have,
then it is just a noun and need not use capitals.
7. is it not axiomatic that anything ‘diverse’ is 'not homogenous’? What is the intent of that
principle ("Culturally diverse communities are not homogenous”)?
8. re: strategy Principle that begins “Individual identity is made up of many …” does this refer
to the identity of individual cultures or individuals? It is not clear and i would have thought
that identity primarily comes from being part of a collective. Suggest a tweak in the drafting
to make this clear.
9. re: strategy Principle that begins “Relationships and cooperation…”, where are Mana
Whenua in this mix? Better to include Mana Whenua (given Treaty partner status) alongside
Local and Central Government agencies as another ’necessary’ relationship for the
successful implementation of this strategy (even if Mana Whenua do not want to be actively
involved in implementing the strategy, MW representatives may simple want to remain
abreast of it?).
10. Spelling mistake “Should” is missing a “d”
11. re: Strategy Outcomes, there is always a real risk when using māori values out of context
that their real meaning is corrupted. Tūrangawaewae, for example, requires whakapapa and
ahi-kā, neither of which any immigrant will have. Recommend removal of Maori terms to
avoid this issue.
12. i like the Strategy Goals, clear and simple .
Submission number
28
Name
Patrick O’Connor
Greetings, the whole thing looks good.
As a member of the strategy working party I naturally am in support of the Strategy. Some changes
have been made since I saw it last, I believe by people within the council, but generally these seem
OK.
A major concern for me is that the focus is firmly on the Strategy being for ALL residents / citizens of
Christchurch - not just newcomers who are often the primary focus for many people. The term CALD
(Culturally And Linguistically Diverse (people) ) is not appropriate in this context. The term has become
synonymous with newcomers who have recently (last 10 years or so) settled in Christchurch (and
indeed New Zealand) and often also applies to a limited number of migrant and refugee people and
excludes those from certain nationalities. The Strategy is for EVERYBODY - all people have ethnicity a term often used wrongly e.g. Ministry / Office of Ethnic Affairs. This office excludes Maori, Pacific
and Pakeha, which for the purposes of this office is understandable, however the use of the term
“ethnic” is inappropriate in this context.
The strategy must rigidly be applied for everybody in the Christchurch City Council and indeed the
whole city. CALD, ethnicity, culture etc. belongs to us all.
Diversity is a multi-dimensional concept where it is incumbent upon every person to grasp and apply
the ideals encapsulated within the strategy.
There is a tendency to refer to “racism”, “discrimination” etc. which implies to the reader that the
document refers to minority, visibly not Pakeha, groups. This is unfortunate - I would have preferred
a more general style of language.
Some specific points:
Strategy Principles
Bullet Three
All “individuals” ………………….”
instead of “communities”.
The Strategy is excellently conceived and much hard work has been invested by all concerned in
working towards consensus and agreement with what is a massive undertaking to achieve a
meaningful applicable, relevant document. I’m positive it will go well. I have circulated it to some 50
groups and individuals in the city.
Submission number
29
Name
Network Waitangi Otautahi (NWO)
Contact
Katherine Peet
NWO Organiser
www.nwo.org.nz
Our Network Waitangi Otautahi (NWO) commitment is to build an ecologically-sound, Treaty-based
multicultural future where the indigenous status of tangata whenua and role of tangata Tiriti are
understood.
The final draft of the Multicultural Strategy that passed through Christchurch City Council on 9 June
this year had the Strategy vision as:
Otautahi Christchurch:
An inclusive multicultural and multilingual city that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and values our
diversity - a city where all peoples have a sense of belonging.
Aroha ki te tangata, te tuapapa o te taone whaimana.
Respect to all, the foundation of great cities.
The inclusion in that vision of the primacy of the te reo text of the Treaty is really pleasing.
We note that the vision statement for the draft Strategy that was released earlier this year to the
Interagency Network for Refugees and Migrants (INFORM) Forum began with
Otautahi Christchurch:
An inclusive multicultural and multilingual city that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and values
our environment - ………
The expression ....values our environment..... is more consistent with a future which honours Te Tiriti
o Waitangi. We were disappointed that this recognition of the relationship between people and
their environment / place, which is integral to the meaning of tangata whenua, was not retained.
Therefore we SUBMIT that environment be returned to the vision statement, substituting diversity.
This would then mean the vision is:
Otautahi Christchurch:
An inclusive multicultural and multilingual city that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi and values our
environment - a city where all peoples have a sense of belonging.
Aroha ki te tangata, te tuapapa o te taone whaimana.
Respect to all, the foundation of great cities.
We look forward to working with any associated strategy and policy work to be followed up with and
by the Christchurch City Council.
Submission number
30
Name
Christchurch Resettlement Services – Governance Board
Contact
Shirley Wright
General Manager
Christchurch Resettlement Services – Governance Board
Submission on Christchurch Multicultural Strategy: Our Future Together
Our staff members have provided a submission separate to this submission; the comments in this
document reflect the ideas of the Governance Board.
We congratulate and thank the Council and the Multicultural Working Party for drafting this
document, which is of such importance to Ōtautahi Christchurch. Congratulations, too, on practicing
the ideals which the document seeks to formalise, including the ideal of sustained and meaningful
community consultation as visible in the many translated versions and the longer-than-average
consultation period.
We would like to see the principles underpinning the following comments incorporated into the
strategy.
1. We would like to see more explicit reference to host communities in the document. This
oversight is unfortunate given that the document professes to be for all people in
Christchurch – in other words, not only for more recent arrivals to the city, but also to
include tangagta whenua and tangata Tiriti. This will ensure that the strategy is for
everyone, and the idea of inclusion should be stated explicitly.
2. While we appreciate that Council has provided explicit acknowledgement of Te Tiriti o
Waitangi in the multicultural strategy, we would like to see the acknowledgement expanded
to make explicit reference throughout the document to tangata whenua as one of the
communities which the strategy aims to embrace and empower.
3. There is almost no reference to Christchurch as the physical location in which the strategy
will be enacted. It would be good to introduce more detail to the strategy about place-based
elements, in order to recognise the unique physical, environmental, ecological and historical
characteristics of the city.
4. We would like to see the principle of community consultation embedded into the life of the
strategy, in order to ensure that the strategy continues to belong to everyone.
5. We support regular reviews of the effectiveness of the strategy, and would welcome the
addition of a list of LPIs against which to analyse reporting and monitoring of outcomes.
6. We would like to see the Council take a leadership role with regard to the following:
- promotion of the strategy
- engagement of communities with the ongoing life of the strategy
- celebration of the diversity of the city
- building the diversity of the Council’s own workforce.
Thank you again for the opportunity to feedback on the Strategy.
Christchurch Resettlement Services Governance Board
Submission number
31
Name
Hagley College Refugee Programmes Coordinator
Contact
Thi Phan
What do you think of the draft Multicultural Strategy’s vision statement? Why?
The vision statement is reflecting the rapid and changing cultural and linguistic diversity in
Christchurch. Christchurch is overdue for a coordinated approach to policy and processes for more
successful outcomes for ethnic communities. In order for communities to participate in a
community, they need to have a sense of belonging, a place to stand and a voice which is heard in
the community. These are reflected in the outcomes of the Multicultural Strategy. We also think
multiculturalism has to be recognised within biculturalism.
Are there any Strategy principles that should be included?
There could be more opportunities for people to learn about other cultures as we continue to
improve our communication. This is about promoting race relations, safety and inter-community
participation.
Social isolation and accessibility of knowledge of available services, facilities and programs needs to
be addressed. Communities would benefit from having more opportunities to participate and
contribute to employment, education, social events, and therefore their own well-being and health.
This needs to be promoted and available for all groups. The idea is about life-long learning for all.
There also needs to be more support and bilingual liaison people to assist with legal and mental
health issues.
What do you think of the Strategy’s proposed outcomes? Are there others the Council should
consider?
Sense of belonging: Diversity benefits from affirming and growing the cultural expression of early
settler communities through to new arrivals, whether they be migrant, refugee background or
international. Fostering a sense of community is for everyone. Increasing peoples’ understanding of
diversity as a strength, and equity towards programmes, will enhance participation and contribution
to necessary council services and facilities.
Safety: The celebration of cultural and humanitarian events establishes opportunities for all. The
development of such forums would build capacity for better understanding, tolerance and
connections towards people from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds.
Profiling sister cities and encouraging cultural enterprises. The multi-cultural strategy development
could also consider providing opportunities for increased employment for ethnic communities by
inviting ambassadors of sister cities to come to Christchurch to speak at forums. In addition, this
development would lead to community groups promoting connections between community groups
in Christchurch and their home countries. This could open up more business and cultural
opportunities for the city.
Documentation/signage: Language accessibility could move beyond libraries into places such as
supermarkets and other workplaces through an updated link to community groups and by
developing a communication plan. Increased signage in open public places such as the Margaret
Mahy playground might include other languages and/or visual signs.
Language accessibility increases opportunities for multi-cultural voices at public meetings, council
services and in decision making processes (multi-cultural staff points of contact). This needs to
address removing barriers such as 0800 numbers and websites for people who are not accessing
online resources.
Strategy goals:
Include:
-
A bi-annual stocktake of the effects of strategies to ensure the voice of all multi-cultural
community groups are heard.
Knowledge of all new and emerging community groups.
A point of contact for different ethnic groups
A place of contact in which community groups can take a leadership role and promote their
community
Capacity building of awareness of understanding and knowledge of language, cultural needs
and empathy needs to be taught in the workplaces. Intercultural (changing self as a result of
education), rather than cross cultural (learning about).
Submission number
32
Name
Irinka Britnell
Christchurch Multicultural Strategy – Our Future Together – Consultation Paper
Thank you for this opportunity to comment on this Consultation Paper. It is heartening to read the
“Christchurch City Council recognizes it has an obligation to ensure there is equity of access and
opportunity for all citizens.”
Strategy Vision
I like and support the vision Statement. A sense of belonging and a sense of equality is very
important for a sense of well being and a healthy society.
The ones who have just arrived here should not feel inferior to those who were here before them
Strategy Principles
All are good but I question this one:
“ A strong partnership between the council and mana whenua is essential to enable a multicultural
strategy”.
Please explain who are the “mana whenua” and how do they represent themselves?
Who has the identity of “mana whenua?”
My parents are immigrants from Macedonia (Former Yugoslavia) and the three children including
myself are born and educated here.
I have concerns about the ‘grading’ of kiwis and New Zealanders into categories or older words
being a ‘class’ or ‘caste’ system. When I grew up we were all New Zealanders.
The main principle we should aim for is equality.
The Treaty is for All in All Aspects.
What the strategy should achieve:
“The working group has identified the key features of a multicultural strategy for consultation with
the community”
The ultimate achievement should be unity, respect and co operation between the communities.
We as a ‘foreigner’ family experienced social isolation and tension from living in two worlds. We also
experienced racism and discrimination. Everyone else in the street and at North New Brighton
School were of Anglo Saxon descent and even though we were European and technically ‘white’ –
and born here, that did not count. People were categorizing us as not being one of them. At that
time in the 50’s and early 60’s there were very few Maori families and none at North New Brighton
School in those days. So they picked on us – my younger sister and I. Regularly we were terrorized on
our way home from school with the worst most painful incident I recall when I was beaten around
the legs with a baseball bat. When my Mother went to complain nothing was done.
So that is why I guess I feel strongly about equality and all of us being treated as one. That is the New
Zealand I was taught to believe in and still do believe in, not to be put in to some modern ‘caste’
system, by a name not chosen by me. I personally think it is wrong to categorise people, which, leads
to division not unification.
We need to have more discussions about our identities.
Strategy Outcomes
I would like to add a fourth one in:
4) Knowing you have been listened to. Getting evaluation and feedback.
Strategy Goals
Are good
Strategy Action
Is good with ability to grow and expand.
Goal 3
Create, deliver or support programs addressing social isolation –
I would like to see greater assistance for reunification of families.
To find out if the proposed monitoring is enough perhaps would be to have evaluations of the
monitoring?
If there is an opportunity for further comment I would like to be involved.
Thank you for this opportunity
Submission number
33
Name
Hagley/Ferrymead Community Board
Contact
Sara Templeton
Chairperson, Hagley/Ferrymead Community Board
SUBMISSION TO:
The Christchurch City Council
ON:
Multicultural Strategy
BY:
Hagley/Ferrymead Community Board
CONTACT
Sara Templeton
Chairperson, Hagley/Ferrymead Community Board
[email protected] or 0210367672
1.
INTRODUCTION
The Hagley/Ferrymead Community Board (the Board) thanks the Council for the opportunity
to submit on the Multicultural Strategy: Our Future Together.
The Board commends contributors and the Council for their extensive work in compiling the
Strategy and generally support the Multicultural Strategy, making the following comments:
2.
THE STRATEGY
Name of Strategy
That the Multicultural Strategy (English version) be renamed. While it describes the strategy,
it is not in itself a very multicultural (or even bi-cultural) name. We acknowledge that there
are translations available, but the English language version is the one that most people will
refer to.
Christchurch’s Cultural Diversity at a Glance
The Board submit that the social benefits of diversity for the city as a whole should be
expanded on as they are for the tourism or economic benefits.
Strategy Principals
The Board supports Te Tiriti o Waitangi as a foundation principal and encourages bicultural
primacy in terms of relationships, however note that there does not appear to be specific
input into the draft strategy from Mana Whenua.
Monitoring Progress
The Board submit that an Advisory Group be formed, not just investigated.
3.
GENERAL COMMENTS
Suggest that a ‘plain english’ summary of decisions from Community Board and Council
meetings be supplied as an addition to the minutes.
The make-up of both Council and Community Boards is currently lacking in diversity and the
next representation review should look at this as a specific issue that needs to be addressed.
Consultation and submission processes need to be reviewed. The Board submit that a
workshop process be incorporated with views recorded as formal submissions in addition to
the current written requirement and that the timeframes for submissions be extended to
allow groups who meet monthly to come to an agreed position.
Sara Templeton
Chairperson, Hagley/Ferrymead Community Board
27 July 2015
Submission number
34
Name
Taalib Jones
A good effort and a welcomed document
Here is some of my personal feedback on subject for what its worth!! This is not withstanding what I
believe CMCT has already submitted.
SECTION 2 - 8 STRÀTEGY PRINCIPLES P7.
Just to point out and clarify. FYI there are many different cultures within Islam but Islam itself is no
particular ethnic culture. Some individuals in Muslim groups around the world practice their
different ethnic cultural traditions (some which are permissible in Islam, some which may not be )
but one should not understand Islam to simply be a religion or a culture of its own. Islam was given
to all mankind of all creeds, colors, cultures (united in humanity) on earth, revealed in Arabic
language (generally translated in english as a religion) but sometimes in Arabic as 'Deen' ('din') which
is a whole comprehensive system of life including beliefs, intellect, moral, justice and in all practical
aspects and behavior. Although commonly done so, it is not literally correct to describe Islam in
english as a 'religion'. Deen (or din) is more appropriate as it is comprised of four parts implying
ownership, obedience, intelligence and reward. This should be clarified in the minds of Muslim
youth (and also others) so that the concept of Islam as a 'Deen' with all other erroneous and
distorting definitions is not confusing. For Muslims their identity and success in this life and the
hereafter depends on understanding the fiqh (full proper meaning) of these three words (Deen,
Islam, Muslim) and applying this fiqh to ones everyday life. (this somewhat sidelines cultural
traditions). In this context 'din' or 'deen' literally means total subjugation to the highest authority
Al'lah (One God) for guidance/rulings, all found in Al'Quran.
The difference between Religion and Deen is not easily recognised by non muslims unless the
meanings are known in Arabic. The use of the word Religion in english translation suffices but the
use of the word Deen is more linguistically comprehensive to the Muslim with knowledge.
"The intelligent person is one with authority over oneself and lives life working for a place in Jannah"
This is the meaning and a goal of Deen.
There are many different ethnic cultures in the Canterbury Muslim population each in smaller
numbers but collectively could be 3000 that consider Islam more important than culture and
traditions but some prefer to celebrate their formative national/ethnic identity as well and can do so
within Islamic tenents. There is far more regarding this topic but it's impractical to write here within
the purpose of a Multicultural Strategy draft (unless you see it as desirable) but what is written here
is worth knowing. ie that Arabic is the common language widely taught and spoken within the
Islamic ummah so I thought it worth adding that to the list of 13 spoken languages on page 15.
STRATEGY OUTCOMES - P8.Suggest adding the word 'Deen' between 'their' and 'ethnicity' in bullet
points 1 and 3.
STRATEGY GOALS - P8-11
Item 2 - p8
Suggest that consideration be given by CCC to establishing a community run shared info kiosk in CBD
to advise local and non local visitors about the whole range of services and activities in
Canterbury.Various communities could provide volunteers to share defined hours to attend the
kiosk 9:30am - 5:30pm every day or some such hours as agreed.
Item 3 p8.
Suggest adding heàlth and peace aspects into this (eg. CCC promotes diversity, inclusion 'and a
healthy, peaceful existence' for all communities) Should such activities occur CCC would then have
an obligatory cause to de-mote unhealthy and/or hostile practices in accordance with the
Multicultural Strategy document.???
Submission number
35
Name
Pegasus Health
Contact
Vince Barry
CEO, Pegasus Health
Christchurch City Council’s Multicultural Strategy
Pegasus Health wishes to commend the Christchurch City Council on developing the Multicultural
Strategy that has as a vision “an inclusive multicultural and multilingual city that honours Te Tiriti o
Waitangi and values our diversity — a city where all people have a sense of belonging.”
We see an inclusive community that celebrates diversity as a determinant of the health of our
communities, families, whanau and individuals. Therefore, we wholeheartedly support this strategy.
In order for this plan to have the best impact, we do urge that this strategy is not viewed as separate
from the rest of CCC’s plans and that it is truly integrated in all plans, activities and actions that the
CCC undertakes.
We wish you all the very best in the Multicultural Strategy’s implementation.
Yours sincerely
Vince Barry
CEO, Pegasus Health
Submission number
36
Name
Sally Carlton
Submission on Draft Multicultural Strategy
I have been involved in a number of organisational submissions to the Draft Multicultural Strategy,
and have attended a number of briefings and meetings about the Strategy.
I do not, therefore, intend to outline all my thoughts on the Strategy as I feel these have probably
been captured and recorded elsewhere, but I just wanted to take this opportunity to highlight
something which I feel is missing from the Strategy and consequently from much of the discussion
surrounding it.
This issue is measurability of the Strategy.
The Strategy as it stands is very aspirational, which is great, but I feel there need to be some very
concrete and direct measures put in place.
The document outlines that the Christchurch City Council should be leading by example when it
comes to modelling best multicultural practice. I would like to suggest that the Council take this ideal
seriously and put in place structures to develop this ability. I strongly urge the Council to:
1. Embed cultural competency criteria into the Key Performance Indicators of all its staff.
These measures will hold all individuals within Council to account, rather than having to rely on
champions within the organisation. Examples of criteria might include: Competency in Te Reo or
another language; Participation in cultural events; Participation in cultural competency workshops
and professional development opportunities; etc.
2. Put staff diversity targets in place.
Targets differ to quotas in that they do not dictate but rather demonstrate aspiration to achieve. If
the Council is going to model best practice, and accurately reflect the communities it serves, these
targets should be absolutely basic best practice.
Submission number
37
Name
Contact
Bonjour
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Christchurch Multicultural Strategy document. It
is great to see this proactivity and drive from the CCC to ensure that Christchurch is a city that
welcomes and celebrates cultural diversity. As
, please
find following comments on the strategy.
Firstly, in terms of
it is a registered charity committed to advancing
cultural and social ties between New Zealand, France and the French-speaking world. It is also
dedicated to teaching French. It has been established in Christchurch since 1959.
Comments on the Christchurch Multicultural Strategy
Vision
The vision could be more aspirational. Respect for all should really be a given, and we should be
able to aspire to more. It would be good to see included opportunities for all, along with active
involvement in decisions that affect the city of Christchurch. It would be great to see Christchurch as
a city of cultural vibrancy.
Strategic Principles
The third principle could include a growth element, for example:
All communities in Christchurch have a cultural and linguistic heritage to celebrate, preserve and
grow
It may be better to replace the fourth principle (Culturally diverse communities are not
homogeneous) with a principle on the integration of different cultures into the Christchurch
community.
Strategy Outcomes
The strategy outcomes make sense. There could be an additional objective around welcoming and
supporting new residents to Christchurch.
Strategy Goals
The goals seem very inwardly focused around CCC.
Is this part on how the culture of CCC needs to change so that it becomes an organisation that
embraces cultural diversity and has this as one of its core values?
If this is the case, then as a result of CCC being an inclusive and culturally diverse organisation what
can it achieve for Christchurch? e.g. leads to effective decision making that is culturally sensitive.
This section may need further clarification.
Strategy Actions
The actions seem fine, however it would be useful to tie it back in and check that these actions will
result in achieving the desired outcomes.
Submission number
38
Name
New Zealand Multicultural Councils Inc
Contact
Tayo Agunlejika
Subject: NZFMC SUBMISSION: Christchurch City Council Multicultural Council
The New Zealand Multicultural Councils Inc would like to acknowledge the Christchurch City
Council's Multicultural Working Party for their commitment to the development of the Multicultural
Strategy. We would also like to congratulate the Working Party Chair, Councillor Jimmy Chen for his
leadership and the community leaders that worked tirelessly to contribute to the development of
the strategy including Surinder Tandon and his team from Christchurch Multicultural Council.
We would like to point out that from our understanding this is the first a City Council will develop a
Multicultural Strategy to support and embrase the diversity, and recognise the council's obligation to
ensure ethnic migrant and refugee communities have equal access, accessibility and opportunities to
services and decision-making processes.
Reading the consultation paper, I feel the strategy is too safe and avoided some core issues or
asipirations of ethnic migrant and refugee communities. However, being the first attempt in New
Zealand, this is a positive, proactive and constructive step to influencing greater participation of
ethnic communities and make Christchurch a city where diversity is welcomed and celebrated - an
inclusive and cohensive society.
For example in goal 1, I was hoping "maintain a relationship with an inclusive network of leaders in
the wider community..." would be one of the priority actions.
In goal 2, one would have thought in this current environment, "fund and support the
empowerment of residents to grow their own skills..." will be a priority action.
However, I think at the upcoming ethnic engagement summit the Council will get wider consultation
and details about priority goals and other actions which will also feed into the action plan.
Having said that, we fully support the vision and intent of the strategy. We eagerly await the action
plan that will set out in details range of actions to be implemented over the next 5 years.
We also eagerly await the final strategy to be adopted by the City Council. NZFMC will surely
welcome and support the final strategy and we will request other City Councils around the country
to learn from Christchurch.
Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this unique and New Zealand leading assest based
community development participatory project. I look forward to the final strategy and the 5 years
action plan. I am sure Christchurch Multicultural Council will support you in achieving the strategic
goals set out in the plan.
Submission number
39
Name
Canterbury Refugee Council
Contact
Sumaiya Nasir
General Manager
Canterbury Refugee Council Inc.
What do you think of the draft Multicultural Strategy’s vision statement? Why?
While the vision statement acknowledges the multicultural fabric of the city it does not present a
lucid picture as to who constitute these people. As is the statement sounds vague and needs to be
more specific and needs a little clarity and purpose otherwise it falls in the danger of becoming just
empty rhetoric.
Are there other Strategy principles that should be included?
The strategy principles presented are well worded and the stress on the non-homologous nature of
the communities which is welcomed. But by just talking in terms of "culturally diverse communities"
is not enough and sounds almost patronising. The inherent otherisation in the lexicon needs to be
addressed. There needs to be an elaborate discourse on what constitutes multiculturalism and the
concept of culture identity. While this strategy is much needed but unfortunately it is a few years
too late and we are already multicultural as a city. Therefore, we suggest that there needs to be a
discussion on what comes after multiculturalism and what happens once we are termed as a melting
pot which we already are. We don't want another strategy for that in the future. This is a great
opportunity to make up for the tardiness in acknowledging multiculturalism of ChCh as a city.
What do you think of the Strategy’s proposed outcomes? Are there others the Council should
consider?
The present outcomes are valid and have the potential to make this city truly inclusive if realised. In
addition to everyone being able to access services and participate in decision making process it is
also important for everyone to be empowered. There should be a stress on people becoming selfreliant and empowered in order to participate in the civil society.
What do you think of the Strategy’s proposed goals? Are there others the Council should consider?
The dialogue should move to post-multiculturalism where everyone is considered as one society. Of
course the acknowledgement of one's cultural/gender/social/psychological background is important
but it needs to be further elaborated to include those suffering from physical disabilities as well
mental illness, homelessness amongst other things. All these backgrounds and more need to be
considered as a part of multiculturalism. The goals should stretch beyond race and culture.
What other actions should the Council take?
Was this strategy presented in sign language? What about the homeless and underprivileged. It is
noted that NGOs were involved but how is is going to help the people actually. The actions required
should include the empowerment of the communities and NGOs through right support in terms of
funding but also involving them in the boardrooms. There should be more interaction between the
counsellors and the people. Even with the Council there is a huge disconnect between the
staff/counsellors and the organisations working at the grassroots level so apart from the
"community meetings" there needs to be more interaction. Events and initiatives promoting the
inclusivity of the city should be celebrated. For example, summerz end youth festival which we
promote not for refugees but for everyone to come together and just be a part of the city.
Is the proposed monitoring enough? Are there other steps that could be taken?
Apart from the meetings etc. we need concrete actions to realise the draft which includes mentoring
programmes; funding opportunities as well as more platforms for people to grow personally as well
as professionally.
Any other comments?
Thank you for the opportunity. We would love to see this idea come to fruition.
Submission number
40
Name
Juliet Fry
Feedback on Christchurch City Council Draft Multicultural Strategy
I am a Ministry of Education contracted Professional Learning and Development Facilitator,
supporting secondary schools in meeting the needs of English Language Learners and Home School
Partnerships. I am employed by UC Education Plus working in the Mau ki te Ako Project under the
umbrella of Te Tapuae o Rehua, a consortium of University of Canterbury, Ngai Tahu and University
of Otago. I am on the committee of the Canterbury branch of the national Teachers of English for
Speakers of other Languages association (TESOLANZ). My opinions reflect my perspectives from both
these roles.
I strongly commend the initiative to create a Christchurch City Council Multicultural Strategy.
I have two main points for your consideration.
1. While languages are specified in places, languages need to be specified throughout in
addition to cultures to ensure that they have adequate emphasis. While languages could be
considered part of cultures, they are often neglected. The development of the Auckland
Languages Strategy which has evolved as a separate strategy should be of interest to CCC. It
would be worthwhile to take more from this model. The Canterbury Branch of TESOLANZ
has been preparing to approach the Christchurch City Council to suggest the creation of a
Languages Strategy. A stronger emphasis on language in this Multicultural Strategy would
preclude the need to explore an additional strategy.
2. There are a few places where the wording of the Draft Strategy sounds a little Euro/Englishcentric. One section, below, shows suggested changes. It may also be useful to consider
making the CCC the active participant in some instances e.g. the Whai wahitanga statement
below. My changes are in red.
1 Whanaungatanga — Sense of belonging
People feel they belong in Christchurch, regardless of because of their ethnicities, cultures and
varying Te Reo, English, NZSL and community language skills.
2 Tūrangawaewae — A place for all to stand
All people feel respected, safe and able to express their own cultural identity and linguistic and
religious traditions and futures.
3 Whai wahitanga — Participation
Everybody is able to access Council makes available information and services and enables
participation in decision making for everyone from diverse regardless of their ethnicities and
cultures and with varying language skills.
Submission number
41
Name
Spreydon/Heathcote Community Board
Contact
Faye Collins
Community Board Adviser
Spreydon/Heathcote Community Board
Beckenham Service Centre PO Box 73021
SUBMISSION TO:
Christchurch City Council
ON:
FROM:
Draft Multicultural Strategy: Our Future Together
Spreydon/Heathcote Community Board
CONTACT:
Faye Collins
Community Board Adviser
Spreydon/Heathcote Community Board
Beckenham Service Centre PO Box 73021
Phone: 941 5108
Email: [email protected]
1. Introduction
The Spreydon/Heathcote Community Board (the Board) is grateful for the opportunity to make a
submission on the Draft Multicultural Strategy.
The Board is fully supportive of the Council’s commitment to support and embrace the diversity of
the Christchurch community that underlies the development of a multicultural strategy.
2. Comments
2.1 Strategy Vision
“Otautahi Christchurch: An inclusive multicultural and multilingual city that honours Te
Tiriti o Waitangi and values our diversity - a city where all people have a sense of
belonging.
Aroha ki te tangata, te tuapapa o te taone whaimana.
Respect to all, the foundation of great cities.”
The Board supports this vision.
2.2
Strategy Principles

The Treaty is a foundation to our understanding of ourselves as a nation and provides
the context and foundation for multiculturalism.
The Board would prefer a simple, direct principle stating that the Treaty is New
Zealand’s founding document and provides a context and understanding of bi- and
multi-culturalism.

A strong partnership between the Council and mana whenua is essential to enable a
Multicultural Strategy.
The Board agrees.

All communities in Christchurch, including the host community, have a cultural and
linguistic heritage to celebrate and preserve.
The Board considers that the words “….including the host community….” Should be
deleted.

Culturally diverse communities are not homogeneous.
The Board would prefer a statement that more clearly states that an inclusive society
supports diverse, distinct cultural communities with their own distinct identity.

Individual identity has many dimensions of which culture and language are two
dimensions.
The Board Agrees, but suggests deletion of the second “dimension”.

Relationships and co-operation between the Council and culturally diverse
communities, central government, the non-government sector and the business sector
are necessary for the successful implementation of a Multicultural Strategy.
The Board would prefer a statement along the lines of: “A diverse and successful society
requires strong relationships with the Council, all its communities, and central
government.”
2.3
Strategy Outcomes
1. Whanaungatanga- Sense of belonging
People feel they belong in Christchurch, regardless of their ethnicity, culture and
English language skills.
The Board would prefer the statement to read:
“People feel they belong in Christchurch, regardless of their ethnicity, culture and
language skills, including English”
2. Tūrangawaewae- A place for all to stand
All people feel respected, safe and able to express their own cultural identity and
linguistic and religious traditions.
The Board supports but considers that the statement would read better if there was a
comma after cultural identity, thus: “…cultural identity, and linguistic and religious
traditions…”
3. Whai wahitanga - Participation
Everybody is able to access Council information and services and participate in decision
making regardless of their ethnicity, culture and English language skills.
The Board supports this outcome.
2.4
Strategy Goals
The Board supports the strategy goals but looks forward to identification of some means for
measurement of these goals.
2.5
Strategy Actions
Goal 1:
The Board supports the identified priority actions for goal 1.
Goal 2
The Board supports the identified priority actions for goal 2.
Goal 3:
Christchurch City Council promotes and advocates for diversity, inclusion and connection
Priority Actions
Celebrate and foster cultural and linguistic diversity of all Christchurch peoples

Fund, organise and support events and initiatives for the maintenance and
exchange of cultures and languages in Christchurch, including language weeks.
The Board supports this priority actions for goal 3.
Inform the wider community about the value of diversity in Christchurch
 Promote and raise awareness of the benefits of Christchurch’s multicultural
community.
The Board would like the word “bicultural” to be included with multicultural.

Promote a positive relationship among all people of Christchurch, including
education on Human Rights legislation, discrimination and racism.
Please note the general term “human rights legislation” should be in lower case.
The Board comments that Civic education needs to continue to support and promote wide
attendance at cultural events and expand work to showcase and educate on cultural matters
in places such as libraries. The approach should be to ask the people what works for them.
Strengthen and connect all Christchurch people and communities
 Work with community leaders to identify and respond to emerging community
needs.

Create, deliver or support programmes addressing social isolation
The Board supports these priority actions for goal 3.
Advocate about the needs of diverse communities
 Provide submissions to central government reviews and enquiries on the
needs of diverse communities

Advocate through regional and national networks for the needs of diverse
communities
The Board supports these priority actions for goal 3.
Karolin Potter,
Chairperson Spreydon/Heathcote Community Board.
29 July 2016.
Submission number
42
Name
Canterbury Muslim Community Trust (CMCT)
Contact
Rob Dewhirst
Chairman, Canterbury Muslim Community Trust
Canterbury Muslim Community Trust (CMCT) submission on the Christchurch City Council
Multicultural Strategy: Our Future Together
The Canterbury Muslim Community Trust (CMCT) appreciates the commitment by the Christchurch
City Council to support and embrace the diversity of the people in Ōtautahi/Christchurch and we
would like to note our appreciation to engage in the consultative process around the Draft
Multicultural Strategy: Our Future Together.
CMCT is a multicultural charitable organisation focused on building bridges. We work within our
own diverse community and between the Muslim community in the region and other groups,
especially Government agencies and support agencies. Our local Muslim community alone
comprises around 40 cultural groups and comprises around 3000 people.
We have reviewed the strategy and overall think it is very good. Please note the following
comments about specific points in the strategy:
1. Under “Strategy Principles” on page 7: we note the Principles provided are positive. A further
principle outlining what will not be tolerated, e.g. racism, may be of value. We believe there
should be a stronger commitment from Council against racism in this strategy.
2. Under “Strategy Actions” pages 9 to 11: it may be useful to include specific metrics for how
Council will know the suggested priority actions are achieving each goal. We note that for Goal
2 there will be focus groups and other activities that will provide feedback to the Council on
how well the goal is being achieved. However, for Goals 1 and 3 it was not as clear how the
goals achievement, or progress towards them, would be measured.
3. How does the Council see its role in preventing and responding to specific events if things go
wrong despite this Strategy? There are a range of scenarios from potentially isolated or
disaffected immigrants, through to criminality, or targeted attacks that would have flow on
effects to local community segments.
a. How will the Council identify that a multicultural issue is developing?
b. Through this Multicultural strategy the Council should have, or note an intent to develop, a
plan for how the Council might respond to episodes of negative backlash against local
communities. We note that this would need to be done in collaboration with other
partners and that other agencies may hold primary responsibility for direct responses to
specific scenarios. We would like to see a framework that would assist multicultural
communities in maintaining positive engagement through a potential adverse event.
Submission 43
PACIFIC YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND TRANSFORMATION
COUNCIL CHARITABLE TRUST
CHRISTCHURCH MULTICULTURAL STRATEGY SUBMISSION
JULY 2016
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40
CONTENTS
3 – Who is PYLAT.
3 – Background.
4 – Making Christchurch a Place for you to be you.
6 – Draft Vision of the Multicultural Strategy.
7 – Draft Outcomes
8 – Keeping the Community Updated & Involved.
9 – Other Comments from Participants
10 – Final Comments from PYLAT
11 – Data on Participants.
12 – Survey Comments.
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WHO WE ARE
PYLAT’s Purpose
The PYLAT Council is a Charitable Trust based in Christchurch created to assist Pacific young people to
participate in our democracy, and to develop their leadership abilities. Our point of difference is team
is made up of Pacific young people.
BACKGROUND
PYLAT Council organised an online consultation to support young people, and the wider community to
participate in the Christchurch City Council Multicultural Strategy consultation. PYLAT used Survey
monkey links on Facebook and through emails to collect people’s perspectives.
For the week the survey was up, there were 40 people who took part. In this mix there were Pacific
peoples, Palangi/Pakeha, some Māori and other multicultural identities. (Please see the appendices
for more.) 30 of the participants were young people between the ages of 15-23.
This statement reflects the majority views of the participants. It does not reflect the opinions of each
and every individual, however important individual perspectives have been drawn out for
consideration of the Strategy reviewers. For a breakdown of individual comments used to draw the
conclusions, please see the appendices.
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MAKING CHRISTCHURCH A PLACE FOR YOU TO BE YOU
Awareness & Visibility
A significant number of participants felt that there needs to be more awareness of other ethnicities and
cultures across the city. Suggested ways to do this included more leadership from the Christchurch City
Council (Council) in supporting different ethnic groups that live in Christchurch to hold events, and
share stories. One person commented, “more cultural events help make me feel like I can express who
I am”. It is important that this is also reflected in marketing of this city with one young person reflecting
on the recent campaign by Christchurch Airport marketing our city without any of our diverse
community leaders visible. In regards to awareness and visibility of Pacific culture, it came across
strongly that we need to see Pacific people thriving in in Christchurch and be a city that celebrates our
place as a city in the South Pacific. One person felt that this would “allow Pacific youth to feel like they
have options for the future.” Other needs included seeing Pasifika and Māori represented in a positive
light by Council through more Māori and Pasifika festivals, Shopping malls and other public areas
displaying Pasifika imagery, photos, and more Pasifika art around Christchurch. It was also impressed in
a strong sense that Christchurch values should be Pasifika values – and that if Pasifika values of respect
for elders and collective rather than individual values were prioritised it would be a better place.
Acceptance
Submitters reflected that acceptance is a really important for people to feel safe to be who they are in
Christchurch. Furthermore that it involved all people actively choosing to be understanding and
considerate of other people’s background, circumstances, and way of life. Several participants felt that
Christchurch still has significant racism, with one person saying that even though some people respect
and accept them for who they are, they still feel like, “my culture and ethnicity is both frowned upon
and looked down on because of social media and stereotypes.” Another participant said, “I wish I felt
comfortable in all parts of the city. Places like Ballantynes, Merivale, etc. do nothing to be inclusive. The
times I have been there I get treated like I’m not supposed to be there.” Overall, participants want a
city where they feel accepted regardless of their ethnic culture, and also their sexual orientation,
gender, religion, age, or ability.
Decision makers: representation and communication
It was clearly highlighted the need for our elected membership of Council and community boards to be
made up of people that each community can identify with, and who reflects what’s important to them.
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43
There also needs to be more regional dialogue with other decision-makers about “effectively
interact[ing] and attract[ing] others from around the world.” One participant felt that it was those in
leadership who need to take action against racism and discrimination and be outspoken against them.
Education
Another area identified as impacting on people’s ability to feel accepted in the city was our education
system. One consistent perspective was that it was important schools were culturally family friendly
and understand the different relationships Pacific, Māori and multicultural young people have with
their extended family. A seamless transition from early childhood education to school, to tertiary, to
work was important - with all parts of the pathway connecting back to their wider family. Another
participant said, “I would encourage more Māori translation of names next to the English” while
another person said, “You shouldn’t be afraid to feel who you are, or, dress how you want as this
showcases yourself and your identity. You feel comfortable like that, however when people stare at you
they make you feel frightened, and there should be discussions within schools about treating others
with respect.”
Culture Shift
Some people felt that a culture shift to a place where diversity is supported is desperately needed. And
that there needs to be a change in mind-set of people in Christchurch to “be more like Wellington” and
be open to celebrate cultural diversity.
Data break down
Of the nine Pacific young people (12-24) who participated, four answered yes, four answered no and
1 answered partly to the question “Do you feel Christchurch fully accepts you as you are?” For the
other nine Pacific people older than 25, five answered no, and four yes. Although a small sample size
this may be something that the council could establish a research grant to investigate and determine
whether this is a wider trend. If yes, then potentially this kind of research could inform actions Council
could take, or advocate for so that all Pacific peoples in Christchurch are supported to belong.
Although the multicultural Strategy is about ensuring that those in our ethnic communities at the
fringes have the access and support they need, not all Palangi/pakeha are serviced either as
evidenced by three out of 12 people saying they partly felt like they belonged.
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Do you feel Christchurch fully accepts you as you are? (All participants)
Do you feel Christchurch fully accepts you as you are? (Pacific Peoples)
Yes
No
Partly
19
10
10
4
9
5
1
1
Do you feel Christchurch fully accepts you as you are? (Māori)
Do you feel Christchurch fully accepts you as you are? (Multicultural)
Do you feel Christchurch fully accepts you as you are? (Palangi/Pakeha)
2
2
12
3
THE VISION OF THE MULTICULTURAL STRATEGY
Ōtautahi Christchurch: An inclusive multicultural and multilingual city that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi
and values our diversity - a city where all people have a sense of belonging.
Wording
Of the 40 comments on the vision, 27 spoke about the need to simplify it, or that there needed to be
amendments; the main reasons given were that the vision “needs to be memorable to be effective”
and “I’ve got no idea what this means.” The majority of alternative suggestions pushed for “a city
where all people belong” as the full vision. Submitters made a clear distinction between “a sense of
belonging” and belongingness, saying that if this was an aspirational document then “a sense” was
“weak”. A few participants also said that multilingual was inferred from multicultural and so was not
needed. Others wanted to see some way of recognising that all peoples not only belong, but are
valued. One person wanted to see age, and religion reflected in the vision. Another individual wanted
to see gender, disability and sexual diversity included in the strategy as they considered this part of
their culture.
Te Tiriti o Waitangi and Biculturalism
There were 8 participants who wrote comments about tangata whenua, Te Tiriti, or bi-culturalism
with no consensus. One participant wanted to emphasise that honouring Te Tiriti is not enough and
that Māori culture and traditions are important and should be recognised as well. “..It's like showing
one puzzle piece, and saying this represents the whole puzzle.” There was confusion among others
around whether there was any effect of Te Tiriti relationship on the City Council and other cultures,
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and where multiculturalism fit it into this. Fluency in Te Reo, the need for a bi-cultural strategy and
the need for principles use of Te Tiriti and reconciliation with Māori were also sighted as priorities.
Will it work?
One person spoke of the extreme difficulties they have faced and that they do not believe
Christchurch is likely to change to be an inclusive place. “I can't even get served in Ballantynes and in
K Mart Riccarton Mall. I have lived and worked here most of my life and my children have gone to
school here but I am still treated appallingly ... I hate having to accept the racism I regularly
experience as the norm, because I choose to live in Christchurch.”
DRAFT OUTCOMES
The majority of submitters (29) were supportive of the draft outcomes. Some were pleased that religion
was included, that it was inclusive of young people, and that this would make our city “...a place where
everyone would want to live.” A number of participants wanted to emphasise although they supported
this, that the Council is “asking for a major culture shift” and needed to be committed to the plan in the
long term to have any lasting impact.
Barriers
Some people thought that a barrier to achieving these aims would be that not all people have access
to the internet and that there was a need for Council to have a role in supporting them access this.
Alongside that, it was also thought that Council would need to revise the way it uses technology and
come up with a plan developed with the community to make this work to engage those not engaged.
Another barrier that was observed by one young person was that Council feels quite disconnected from
the everyday places young people are like the bus exchanges, and so teens miss out on meeting and
they both miss out on learning from each other. One person thought that a barrier, but also opportunity
was for Council, was that not all of the different diverse communities cooperate yet.
Wording and presentation
Some participants thought that points one and two seemed very similar and could be joined together.
Others would like to see this collated as an infographic and put all throughout the city and get
everyone involved. One comment said that there should not be belongingness “regardless of ethnicity
that it should be because of it,” and that the vision had more room to be aspirational.
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Use of Te Reo
A few people had comments on the use of the Māori concepts. One person wanted decision makers to
consider adding the Māori word for Visibility. Two comments focused on terms used and that they did
not believe these were correctly used. “I'm not sure that turangawaewae is the appropriate term to
use - manaakitanga - might be a more appropriate expression of the welcome that we would want all
to feel in Christchurch. - especially as turangawaewae of Otautahi is for Māori, not all people.” The
second: “...whanaungatanga is about finding ways to acknowledge the layers of relationships between
us all, including the environment around us and the generations before and in front of us. It can lead
to a feeling of belonging, but it should be explained here so that the intent to build a whanaunga
relationship based society that can lead to feelings that we all belong is more explicit. It is about building
familial kinds of relationships in our local neighbourhoods and wider city.”
KEEPING COMMUNITY UPDATED & INVOLVED
All submitters wanted Council to consider the reporting and accountability to be a crucial priority in
making progress, and wanted to have the same opportunity with the draft action plan when released.
In terms of the best ways to engage, it was clear that a multipronged approach would be most effective.
Council need to look to disseminate this information with the widest reach possible from schools,
libraries, churches, malls, twitter, all around the city, but ensure with each group it was framed in a way
that was useful for them. Participants wanted to be able to read about this in their community papers,
and the Migrant Times. Young people in particular wanted council to make sure that where possible
they make short videos, and ensure that the first four seconds there is a hook. “What about a video
series Chch culture 101 about what we wana see and how loving and looking after people, loves our
city.” Where Council did want to reach young people through printed media it needed to use headlines
and stories that were relevant. If council could do this it would “show all citizens of Christchurch that
the Council values [us], not just the nice areas.” Other young people wanted to see Council use the bus
exchanges better and hire other young people to work on behalf of CCC to share these messages with
them. Council should also look at the newest online trends like IMGUR and memes to spread these
messages virally. One person suggested that a web page should be created that had live tracking of
progress, and a hashtag that would send other content to the page. People could comment on this with
there thoughts on Council progress and ask questions.
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OTHER COMMENTS FROM PARTICIPANTS
Some participants had other thoughts they wanted to share with the Council. A few were very hopeful
for the outcome of the strategy and pleased that this conversation was taking place. But some wanted
Council to reassure them this was not the end, and work out ways to get the whole city involved as
“even if it's another culture being picked on, it is all our problem to stand up for them.” A few
participants were anxious after previous experiences of not feeling like Council has not acknowledged
their feelings and perspectives “...we need to see some real outcomes. I feel as though I am being asked
again.” Another submitter wanted to be assured that Council would fund this to happen, and prioritise
the emotional environment as much as the physical.
There were a number of opportunities for Council: One participant wanted Council to consider investing
in a free 24/7 youth park for young people similar to the Margaret Mahy playground; another wanted
Council to share more about what they do in a youth friendly way and why it is important so they could
be involved. Some participants wanted the Council to think innovatively and try and not use surveys
anymore, another way of doing it could be “...holding an event where members of the community
simultaneously participate in a project and then provide feedback on the project itself and the project's
place in the larger scope for the Council's vision may help motivate people to conceptualize and provide
more insightful feedback about their role.”
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FINAL COMMENTS FROM PYLAT
The PYLAT Council want to thank all the participants who shared their perspectives. In particularly we
would like to thank those who courageously opened up about difficult experiences they have faced in
our city. We believe that it is only from courageous honest conversations that we can make this a place
where everyone finally does feel like they belong and are valued.
A special thank you to Tayla Reece from Youth Voice Canterbury for her support with collating and
writing the submission. You are a great friend to PYLAT, and our Canterbury youth sector.
We thank the Council staff, elected members and others who will read this submission and for
considering the points made. I ask that the Mayor and Chair of the Multicultural working party (or
whoever most appropriate) write to the young people who have shared their views in this submission,
and share any comments they may have on what is written. PYLAT will then pass this back to these
young people so that they can see that their feedback has indeed been heard, and is being considered.
If there are any questions or queries please feel free to contact the PYLAT Council.
Fa’afetai tele lava,
Josiah Tualamali’i
PYLAT Council Charitable Trust Chairman
[email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/PYLATCOUNCIL1/
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Data on Participants
The 40 participants were asked some information about who they are. The results were as below. Please note: some
participants chose to provide only partial information.
Ethnicities
Gender
Palangi/Pakeha
12
Samoan
4
Samoan Niuean
3
Samoan Palangi
2
Māori
Female
28
Male
12
Suburb/Region
Ilam
6
2
Christchurch
4
Fijian Indian
1
Shirley
3
Fijian
1
Riccarton
2
South African
1
Bishopdale
2
Samoan Māori
1
Halswell
2
Chinese
1
Bryndwr
2
African American
1
Parklands
2
Tongan
1
15
Somali
1
One person from the
places listed below:
Ages
15
1
16
2
17
1
18
9
19
3
20
4
21
3
22
West Eyreton,
Avonhead, Tai Tapu,
Linwood, Addington,
Northwood,
Ferrymead, New
Brighton, Kaiapoi,
Merivale, Woolston,
Spreydon, Hoon Hay,
Phillipstown,
Redwood,
5
What do they do?
Tertiary students
14
23
2
High school students
9
25 - 40
7
Employed
9
40+
3
Studying and working
3
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Online Survey Comments
The following comments are directly taken from the online survey, not all participants answered every
question. Please note that the comments are in raw form and no attempt has been made to correct any
grammatical errors.
1. If you don't think Christchurch fully accepts you, what would help make this a place where it was safe for you to be
you?
 More dialogue with City councillors and the higher ups about what they can do for us and where our rates are going
and how we can better spend that money to effectively interact and attract others from across the world to both
boost our tourism industry and our economy in order to bring in more jobs and more opportunities for us
Cantabrian’s to earn more to keep up with the housing crisis we have
 Yea
 Yes
 More awareness of other ethnicities and cultures.
 More promotion from city council on the different ethnic groups that live in Chch and events that are happening
 I feel it's getting ever closer to this objective. I think being able to see Pacific people THRIVING in every level of
society whether it's mayor/CEO to office cleaner. That allows Pacific youth to feel they have options for the future.
 Celebrate Pacific Culture
 Change mind-set of established chch community - be more like Wellington - open to celebrate cultural diversity.
Their councils are great advocates for that - ours, not so much.
 N/A
 Yes
 Ensuring that Pacifica and Maori are represented in a positive light and that their culture is advanced as much as
others. Perhaps the council could support a Pacifica Festival with pacific cultural dance and food or a Matariki
Festival with Maori legends, dance and food like the big Asian festivals that are held in Hagley Park.
 Shopping malls that display Pasifika imagery, photos of Pasifika people. More Pasifika art around Christchurch.
More family friendly schools that felt like all members of the family, babies/children/elderly were welcome and part
of the school, seamless transition from ECE to school to tertiary to work - with all parts of the pathway for each
young person connected. A stronger sense that Christchurch values are Pasifika values - that Pasifika values of
respect for elders, collective rather than individual values are prioritised.
 acknowledge differences
 More cultural events to help make me feel like i cam express who i am.
 Yes
 Yes
 By making people aware on what others are dealing with. You shouldn't be afraid to feel how you are, dress how
you want as this showcases yourself and your identity. You feel comfortable like that, however when people stare
at you they make you feel frighten, and there should be discussions within schools and events held about being you
and treating others with respect
 Not fully
 Yeah
 Yes
 Yes
 Yes
 If everyone was more understanding and considerate of other people’s situations
 Yes
 Being represented by people that I can identify with, better integration of communities
 Yes l feel they respect and accept me for who l am but l feel especially in Christchurch that my culture and ethnicity
is both frowned and looked down on because of social media and stereotypes. Less worrying about the fact that we
are all different and more of the fact that we are all the same and nothing can change who we are and what we call
is our home. Also l guess being able to express our heritage more freely
 Yes, many NGO’s and groups to share personal opinion.
 A normality of the culture. We really already starting to do this, but I would encourage more Maori names or the
Maori translate under the English.
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 Yes
 Yes
 Some people I meet are standoff at me when I tell them what my identity. I find it hard to feel like I am accepted by
other cultures.
 There needs to be more leadership taking action against racism and discrimination. I would have loved to see the
CCC put out a statement about the latest rugby racism scandal. Also all the marketing of this city needs to include
our diverse community. I saw a really sad video the airport made and councillors shared on FB, none of our diverse
community leaders were visible. :(
 Yes
 The people I interact with do accept me, not sure about others.
 No reason why, just feel like it is
 I'm also queer and this can be tough sometimes (queer is not always thought of as a cultural thing but there is rich
gay culture in this city and a lot of that is so beautiful) I'd love a queer friendly Christchurch which accepts all
people.
 Christchurch still has lots of racism. I wish I felt comfortable in all parts of city. Places like Ballantynes, Merivale etc.,
do nothing to be inclusive. The times I have been there, I get treated like I’m not supposed to be there.
2. What are your thoughts on the draft vision of the Strategy?
 Wordy I think that honouring the treaty values is rather weak. Especially with the controversy of its interpretation
why not say honour the Maori Culture and traditions. It seems to make more sense otherwise it looks like as if you
are just putting the treaty in just because some Maori words in it. It's like showing one puzzle piece and saying this
represents the whole puzzle.
 What about a "Multicultural and multilingual city that honours a Te Tiriti O Waitangi, where everyone feels like they
belong." So much more memorable. It needs to be memorable to be affective
 Too wordy
 The sentence needs to be more direct, maybe changing around the placement of the key words to create a easy
flow.
 I think it’s good
 It sounds good.
 It's very to the point, and seems very inclusive of all people. Describes chch as a welcoming inclusive place.
 I think it sounds great.
 Too wordy and boring
 Great
 The relationship spoken of in Te Tiriti o Waitangi is one between the Queen and Maori. Although I acknowledge the
special relationship between the Crown and Maori. It is a bi-cultural document and I wonder if it is applicable to
CCC and other cultures that live in Christchurch?
 The vision encompasses most of it. I think adding, sense of belonging as valued local citizens…
 The first part could be made clearer by taking out "inclusive" because the second part is really the best part of the
vision and expounds upon the idea of inclusive. That is, the second part could also be made stronger by saying
something more like "a city where all people belong" rather than just have a sense of belonging.
 A city where all people have a sense of belonging by itself is better as everyone can understand it meaning and isn't
too wordy
 Well it isn't any of that is it? I can't even get served in Ballantynes and in K Mart Riccarton Mall, I have had my bag
searched twice, in consecutive weeks. I am a professional woman with a brown face and tired of pretending that
this city isn't very racist. I have lived and worked here most of my life and my children have gone to school here but
I am still treated appallingly. I know this is not what you want to hear and I am assuming you have even got this far
without pushing the delete button, but Christchurch is a multicultural and multilingual city but it is not inclusive and
I do not see evidence of honouring the Treaty of Waiting. There is no sense of belonging for ethnic minorities and
as a Samoan woman I hate having to accept the racism I regularly experience as being the norm because I choose
to live in Christchurch.
 There is no place for the wide-spread and outdated term multi-culturalism in NZ. The basis of multi-culturalism is
from US race-based politics where separatist polices have now given way to 'melting pot' policies where everyone is
differently the same. However in NZ we need to be clear that bi-cultural fluency is the basis of our national identity,
the official languages of NZ being Te Reo, English, with sign language also included. I believe that the name of this
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strategy is incorrect - it needs to be a bi-cultural strategy first, followed by the development of a Diversity strategy where Te Tiriti is honoured and diverse cultures and multi-lingual communities flourish.
Looks good to me
Yup definitely agree with this! I just hope council can do it
I like it but i also think the Maori words need to have the actual meaning in brackets.
I like.
There is a little bit of repetition in the first sentence in my opinion. I think this can detract from the point a littlesaying "inclusive, multicultural, multilingual, that values our diversity" may repeat too much? Just a personal
opinion. The message is great. Maybe you could be more definite: a city where everyone belongs, rather than has a
sense of belonging as that is more of a true expression if we truly value every individual, then they will have a sense
of belonging, but that comes from the fact they do belong no trust a feeling In and of itself.
Just perfect! It embraces our bicultural heritage with our multicultural future, and is short enough to be understood
It would be awesome to mention the word community in there somewhere, instead of just city. For me the word
community seems more inclusive and that we are working as one. We all belong.
A bit wordy but it does include everything...is there a more succinct/summarised way to put it
I just feel that having the Maori makes it feel bicultural
I don't personally think you need multilingual. It is a bit to wordy and is implied by being multicultural
There is no mention above of age. It only covers multicultural which is great but it also needs to have age and i think
religion should also be in the first point. Maybe instead of religious traditions it should be there religion or religious
believes as there are a few extreme religious traditions that are not ethically right and therefore are not respected
by the Christchurch community and should not be respected.
Yup
"A city where all people belong" is enough
I think this is a great vision and will help. It's going to take a lot of work to fulfil this vision, and I think it should be
clear that this is the aspiration and what we want to work towards, not a statement of how it is now. Also the
Treaty is a super important part of the strategy but I think it could be more directed at the principles of the Treaty
partnership, protection, and participation e.g. "city that honours the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi..."
I think this vision is quite broad and does not specifically tackle areas of interest. Are they trying to honour Te Tiriti
o Waitangi (a bicultural construct), or are they trying to make the city more multicultural which requires integration
of all groups. To be honest, Christchurch has a primarily us versus them mentality, we need to break down this
barrier first.
I honestly couldn't understand this so l feel as if this needs to be less complicated and more of an understanding on
the true message you want to portray
I like that it involves all cultures because NZ is so diverse
It is quite length, doesn't matter about the length though. Unless it is being posted on billboards. Needs to have a
shorter version. There needs to be reconciliation with Maori but I'm not sure how to best do this.
I think I someone who has learning disability will find it hard to this survey for next time talk to people
first Christchurch email [email protected]
It’s good
Sounds very long. Why not just get rid of the Mumbai jumbo and just have a city where all people have a sense of
belonging
I've got no idea what that means and how it applies to me - this really needs to be simplified
Define what you mean by culture. I count being queer as my culture and many of us see our identities in relation to
culture. If you mean culture as purely ethnicity/race you should specify that :)
It has too many words.
3. What are your thoughts on the draft outcomes?
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Yea awesome
Yes, good inclusive messages. Good that it also mentions religion, as this isn't as often spoken about as culture is.
I think they are all very important and valid
They are all things that will cater to my needs as a young person of Christchurch.
Nothing missing.
Yup I agree these area important. A lot of people don't have smart phones and internet. There should be free
computers at Council buildings to make it easier for people.
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 These are great! A point I would bring up with 1) is that i feel strongly that people shouldn’t feel a sense of
belonging regardless of their ethnicity etc. (with the emphasis on regardless), it should be because of! Because we
value their differences and diversity, not regardless of those things. a point for 2) is that instead you could say all
people are respected safe and able to express... rather than all people feel respected safe and able to express... as
that feeling is (or should be) again a product of the actual state of being respected, safe and able to express these
things. I believe we should be aspirational in working towards the actual state of belonging, freedom and
celebration of culture (that PYLAT does) and that this aspirational nature should be reflected in the language used.
 I think this is awesome, although you're asking for a major culture shift. One that has been prevalent for a many
number of years. This however is a great first step that I would happily endorse.
 I think it would make it easier!
 These are all aspects in which l grew up on and as l have become more mature and come to a realisation of our
world, l have realised that we value whanaungatanga so much more now and we look after each other no matter
what
 Probably.
 Council need a new social media and engagement plan, fix this with support of youth and ethnic young leaders and
you'll get it out there.
 Great
 Is there a Maori word for Visibility? Ensuring that Christchurch reflects the true diversity of its community.
 Yes, even though Christchurch already does a fantastic job of all the above items.
 Who wrote this? Of course there is something missing, reality. You can't wheel out some Maori words and pretend
all cultures participate in the decision making of this city. This is white middle class territory and if you really want
to make a difference and believe in what you are trying to achieve then back yourselves and make change
happen. Back a Pacifica & Matariki festival, put Christchurch on the map in the southern hemisphere, let Pacific
and Maori culture shine because you want it to and let the Pacific and Maori community feel like they belong here
and are valued.
 I'm not sure that turangawaewae is the appropriate term to use - manaakitanga - might be a more appropriate
expression of the welcome that we would want all to feel in Christchurch. However, Otautahi is not a place where
we are all tangata whenua, it is not everyone's turangawaewae in that sense. Only those who whakapapa to this
area who are tangata whenua can truly state that this area is their turangawaewae. I also believe the explanation of
the term whanaungatanga here is not quite correct. Whanaungatanga is about finding ways to acknowledge the
layers of relationships between us all, including the environment around us and the generations before and in front
of us. It can lead to a feeling of belonging, but it should be explained here so that the intent to build a whanaunga
relationship based society that can lead to feelings that we all belong is more explicit. It is about building familial
kinds of relationships in our local neighbourhoods and wider city.
 Nothing is missing
 Yes i think covers many good aspects
 Yes especially the thru statement
 This is cool - make it into an infographic and plaster it around the city, we would get to see it everyday
 These are awesome :)
 Yes
 What about a "Multicultural and multilingual city that honours a Te Tiriti O Waitangi, where everyone feels like they
belong." So much more memorable. It needs to be memorable to be affective
 Yes
 They have good key words that if implemented would open opportunities for the public. A community of equality.
 I think that it is good
 I think they would help make it easier as a young person in Christchurch but I'm not sure how you would see if
these are being effected/ implemented or making it easier
 There is no mention above of age. It only covers multicultural which is great but it also needs to have age and i think
religion should also be in the first point. Maybe instead of religious traditions it should be there religion or religious
believes as there are a few extreme religious traditions that are not ethically right and therefore are not respected
by the Christchurch community and should not be respected.
 This sounds like a place where everyone would want to live, I think it sounds great!
 Could Whanaungatanga include something about relationships and connectedness and through shared experiences
there is a sense of belonging. Relationships seems to be a huge part of Whanaungatanga.
 Yup definitely agree with this! I just hope council can do it
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 Three desires is a good number. There could be awesome posters about what these mean and videos of young
people talking about what these outcomes would mean for them.
 There needs to be more council facilities, civic spaces, that communities can easily access e.g. perhaps something
like the White Elephant Trust located near Riccarton Mall so teenagers have a sense of place as opposed to the bus
shelter on Division St.
 It's easy, more community events in the suburbs
Organisation by the people in the suburbs with some help from Council
 Sounds like the primary NZ curriculum
 As a young person why would I need access to council info to feel like I belong? Points 1 & 2 are the same
 Maybe add something about people feeling comfortable working with other cultural groups to make change/ just in
general. We are multicultural so it is important people from different cultures are able to work together and
support each other.
 Yup these are important. Not yet happening though
2. How would you like to be updated on progress?
 By putting more things in the media
 Having a possible live checklist that gets updated every second day to show the daily or even weekly progress. So
that people can see what's actually happening. Social media and community updates to let communities such as
youth groups, schools, boards, churches etc. know how u are helping them.
 We don't know if they are, or not, and if we do know, it's usually just by seeing the final and completed product.
 Please advertise on Facebook - this is the only way you'll get to young people. Most young people don't watch the
news or read papers anymore. You need sponsor ads, and they need to be engaging - first 4secs need to hook you.
Look at IMGUR if you can get something on that, it will get to youth. How about using memes lol. Give updates to
youth councils to share when they travel the city.
 Media stories maybe- this is probably pretty standard but that would be for me, where I'd get my information
 Short videos on social media's, the offering of prizes and even just people talking @ the metro lounge to get info to
etc.
 Council need a new social media and engagement plan, fix this with support of youth and ethnic young leaders and
you'll get it out there.
 Multiple portals of information need to be advised in areas that catch the eye of many different demographics.
 By actually asking us as youth and as cultural communities what we benefit and what we would like to see happen
for our future years
 Online newsletters, updates on Facebook page.
 Updates on social media.
 Via social media
 Please advertise on Facebook - this is the only way you'll get to young people. Most young people don't watch the
news or read papers anymore. You need sponsor ads, and they need to be engaging - first 4secs need to hook you.
Look at IMGUR if you can get something on that, it will get to youth. How about using memes lol. Give updates to
youth councils to share when they travel the city.
 Blog posts/ video updates that are personal and let us know what is going on. It's often helpful to hear about the
challenges too. Something that has involves the voices of those who are making the decisions.
 Maybe run more youth events and actually getting out into the community. Actually hire youth to work at CCC and
come up with the events for youth in the city. I have no idea what the Council does for my community group or for
youth.
 Posting in fb
 Facebooking, tweeting stats/accomplishments
 How is the Council going to make progress? Tell the community what you will do. Social media updates. PYLAT can
update us.
 Updates in the local newspapers, preferably the first page with appropriate headlines to catch the community’s
interest in what the Council has been doing. E-media (but not everyone has access to internet or it's easy to
dismiss).
 I think that surveys often do not get a lot of participation which could limit the Council's ability to see the true
impact of their vision and projects, so a more innovative approach to getting feedback is necessary. Holding an
event where members of the community simultaneously participate in a project and then provide feedback on the
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

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
project itself and the project's place in the larger scope for the Council's vision may help motivate people to
conceptualize and provide more insightful feedback about their role, the Council's role, and individual projects' role
in the larger Christchurch vision.
Show all citizens of Christchurch the Council values them, not just the "nice" areas.
The council needs to report regularly on progress in regard to the well-being and inclusion of those living in
Christchurch back to communities, via libraries / schools / churches / malls etc.
Newspaper also. along with all accepted mediums
By keeping in contact with all the leaders in each council or each year they can hold a seminar where everyone gets
together and sees whether they have met the goals and if there needs to be any changes to make things better.-Facebook, consultation meetings, events to share our multicultural traditions
Hold events and put public posters up around the city. Having a blog would also be an awesome idea or even
updating the website about what’s been happening is a good way for people to see. Adding more to the Facebook
page.
There needs to be more interactions - communication between Council and the community
Social media is the best way to contact young people
Meetings? Fb? some interactive videos that are fun to watch/exciting but informative
Monthly multi-cultural updates and how they are getting closer to their goal.
Social media presence- but make it sound exciting! I've noticed some things that I follow from the city on social
media always sounds so dull, something that people will just scroll past.
I think young people don’t know and that’s the issue is they assume that since they don’t know what the council is
doing they assume that they’re not doing anything. Young people seem to have a lack of respect for any form of
authority
Facebook and Radio, Facebook is most definitely the best medium to communicate updates in the community.
Let the committee group's help with the updates
also put in local papers as well
FB is best
I'd say social media is a good way to keep young people engaged - do you guys have a twitter? Facebook is great
too.
Also newsletters would be great.
Use the migrant times newspaper for one, have a website with regular updates
3. Other comments
 How can you be assure that this would benefit cultural groups and helping to overcome all these questions and
what would be a realistic goal for our community. Also instead of building flash buildings and all why not make
place less flash and more down to earth that way we as the ones who live here feel welcomed and not
overwhelming
 Could the CCC maybe think about building a 'youth' park or hangout place like the Margaret Mahy Playground for
us! That's for free and accessible 24/7.
 I'm really interested as to how Council will achieve these things. The strategy says it wants people feel like they
belong, respected, safe etc. The Pacific community have fed in information through a heap of Council consultation.
We need to see some real outcomes. I feel as though I am being asked again.
 No.
 We need to have council put up how to vids, practical ways to make people comfortable. What about a video series
Chch culture 101 about what we wana see and how loving and looking after people, loves our city
 In the time that I have been in Christchurch, I have met more helpful, innovative, and inspiring people that I have
met anywhere else in the world. All those wonderful qualities come from the fact that the city has truly embraced
the diversity that has built it back up. I can't wait to keep up with all that the city is doing even after I leave.
 Not sure of the answer you are after here but I am sure you will make it fit with what you are trying to achieve. My
advice, believe in all of us, believe that we are all of value and believe in your influence to make this is a great
strategy! I hope my points have been articulated correctly, I only give that constructive feedback because I do care
about this issue so I hope it doesn't come across harsh! Thank you for your hard work. To make a difference.
 All kiwis need to be more understanding to other cultures, Chch has lots of migrants and there more and more
there are we need to be more respectful of them. Even if it's another culture being picked on, it is all our problem
to stand up for them.
17
56
 My main feedback is that multiculturalism is not the best term to base a strategy for our future on. It is vital to
acknowledge that in NZ, we have an education system where our NZ curriculum acknowledges the principles of the
Treaty of Waitangi, and the bicultural foundations of Aotearoa New Zealand. All students have the opportunity to
acquire knowledge of te reo Māori me ōna tikanga. While it would be great for more languages to be available to
acknowledge the diverse knowledges and multi-lingual strengths each person in NZ brings into their education, Te
Reo Maori, English and sign language are the languages that students have a right to access through the NZ
Curriculum. Key words that would be better to use than multiculturalism are: Biculturalism, Treaty-based
multiculturalism, Diversity, Inclusion.
 All kiwis need to be more understanding to other cultures, Chch has lots of migrants and there more and more
there are we need to be more respectful of them. Even if it's another culture being picked on, it is all our problem
to stand up for them
 I think this is a great ideal to make chch a more multicultural place
 I'm just so unaware of what's happening at council and in the city, council do really need to work hard to increase
knowledge of why their Important for people
 Look at culture seriously, culture can often be tacked on at the end of policies or the government gives a 'token
cultural' plan that isn't actually that helpful and is just a way to try and prove NZ loves diversity.
Finally good luck!!!!!
 Really wana see the action plan. I hope the public get to comment on this as well
18
57
Submission 44
TO:
Christchurch City Council
53 Hereford Street
Christchurch 8013
Email: [email protected]
SUBMISSION ON:
Draft Christchurch Multicultural Strategy
SUBMISSION BY:
Lyttelton/Mt Herbert Community Board
ADDRESS:
Lyttelton Service Centre
PO Box 73027
CHRISTCHURCH 8154
Email: [email protected]
DATE:
29 July 2016
Te Hapori o Ohinehou Raua ko Te ahu Patiki/Lyttelton Mt Herbert Community Board appreciates the opportunity to
make a submission on the Draft Christchurch Multicultural Strategy (the Strategy).
The Board's statutory role is, “to represent, and act as an advocate for, the interests of its community”
(Local Government Act 2002, section 52). The Board provides this submission in its capacity as a representative of
the communities around Lyttelton Harbour and Port Levy.
The Board wishes to be heard in support of its submission.
General Comments
In general the Board supports the direction of the Strategy in as far as it addresses what the Council can do to
welcome and support newcomers to our city.
However the occasional references to Te Tiriti o Waitangi fall far short of addressing the fundamental biculturalism
of the Christchurch community which (the Board would like to remind Strategy writers) includes Banks Peninsula.
In the Board's view a separate strategy which specifically addresses how the Council will give effect to the principles
of the Treaty of Waitangi in all aspects of its operations is long overdue.
Only by creating a culture in which mana whenua are genuine partners will the Council be able to fulfil its obligations
under Section 4 of the Local Government Act 2002.
Specific Comments
1.
The Chair's Message (page 3) states "From the Council's view, a multicultural strategy must challenge the
Council to work in a way that honours the founding document of our nation, the (sic) Te Tiriti o Waitangi,
while also supporting and welcoming newcomers". The Board's view is that while the Strategy, as drafted,
achieves the second purpose, it does not achieve the first part at all.
Lyttelton/Mt Herbert Community Board
Submission on Draft Christchurch Multicultural Strategy
July 2016
Page 1 of 3
58
2.
The Role of Council (page 6)
One important role for the Council is encouraging residents from diverse cultures to participate in Council
decision-making. This is not recorded in this section.
With respect to Māori, particularly mana whenua, the role of the Council is to work in partnership in ways which
give effect to the principles of the Treaty. The Board's view is that this should be addressed in a separate
document. Provisions in the Local Government Act 2002 (Section 4, and others) should form the basis of this
document.
3.
Strategy Vision (page 7)
The name "Ōtautahi Christchurch" specifically excludes Banks Peninsula. Banks Peninsula is part of
Christchurch City and we expect the Strategy provisions to apply across the whole city. A more inclusive name is
required.
The Board supports the vision of a place where all who live here feel they belong, but query whether the vision
should refer to all people, which includes people who are just passing through.
4.
Strategy Principles (page 7)
The second bullet point states: "A strong partnership between the Council and mana whenua is essential to
enable a multicultural strategy". The Board does not agree with this statement. A strong partnership is
essential, but not to enable a multicultural strategy. The partnership between the Council and Māori,
particularly mana whenua, is essential to give effect to the Treaty. Māori are not just one of a number of
ethnicities and cultures which need to be made to feel welcome in our city. There is a specific relationship
between Māori and Government, which includes the Council. One of the things a multicultural strategy needs to
do is to help newcomers and those from other cultures understand the nature and importance of this
fundamental relationship. The first bullet point needs to be modified to make this clearer.
5.
Strategy Outcomes (page 8)
The Board supports the Strategy outcomes in as far as they articulate the Board’s expectations and hopes for
newcomers from diverse cultures. The Board particularly supports “Outcome 1 Whanaungatanga - Sense of
belonging,” but queries whether the italicised text should read "All people who live here feel they belong in
Christchurch, regardless of their ethnicity, culture and English language skills". The Board sees no reason why
people who are just passing through need to feel a sense of belonging.
“Outcome 2 Tūrangawaewae – A place for all to stand” states: “All people feel respected, safe and able to
express their own cultural identity and linguistic and religious traditions,” which includes visitors to the city.
However the Board is not certain that Tūrangawaewae is the best Māori term to express this.
6.
Strategy Goals (page 8)
The Board supports the goals, but the Board’s view is that participation in Council decision-making is the most
important goal. This goal should be separated out from the middle bullet point and put at the top reading
"Residents from all cultures participate in council decision-making." The second goal should be "Equitable access
to Christchurch City Council services," with the other two goals to follow. Consequential amendments to the
pages that follow would be required.
Lyttelton/Mt Herbert Community Board
Submission on Draft Christchurch Visitor Strategy
June 2016
Page 2 of 3
59
7.
Goal 2 – All communities have equitable access to Christchurch City Council’s
services and decision-making processes (page 10)
One of the priority actions is: “Design, with culturally diverse communities, targeted civic engagement
programmes (such as accessible electoral roll enrolment, information about local body elections) to improve
access of culturally diverse communities to civic life and democratic processes.” The Board’s view is that this
action should prioritise access to and participation in civic life and democratic processes.
Yours sincerely
Paula Smith
Chairperson, Te Hapori o Ōhinehou Raua ko Ahu Pātiki/Lyttelton Mt Herbert Community Board
Lyttelton/Mt Herbert Community Board
Submission on Draft Christchurch Visitor Strategy
June 2016
Page 3 of 3
60
Submission 45
Community Language Information Network Group (CLING)
Submission on
Christchurch Multicultural Strategy: Our Future Together
1. Introduction
1. In June 2016 The Christchurch City Council (Council) published its consultation
paper entitled ‘Christchurch Multicultural Strategy: Our Future Together’ (Strategy)
and invited feedback on its contents. In response to this invitation, the members of
the Community Language Information Network Group (CLING) have developed
this submission for the Christchurch City Council’s consideration.
2. About the Community Language Information Network Group
(CLING)
3. Established in March 2011 following the Canterbury earthquake events, CLING is
a multi-agency group that seeks to disseminate advice and resources on best
practice approaches to engagement and communication between government
and community agencies and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)
communities. Since its inception CLING has published a range of best practice
guidelines including:
 Guidelines for Getting Public Information (Earthquake) Messages to Culturally
and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) or Multicultural Communities in Christchurch1
 Best Practice Guidelines for Engaging with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
(CALD) Communities in Times of Disaster (July 2012) 2
 Communicating with Organisations Providing Services in Times of Disaster:
Advice for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities
 Guidelines for Using Language and Sign Interpreters – Useful Tips for
Christchurch Agencies 3
1
Source: http://healthychristchurch.org.nz/media/41715/ccc_clingbrochure.pdf
2 Source:
http://resources.ccc.govt.nz/files/civildefence/bestpracticeguidelinesofdiversecommunitiesdisaster
march2012.pdf
3 Source: http://www.healthychristchurch.org.nz/media/46578/cling_usinginterpretersbrochure.pdf
CLING submission v2 29 July 2016
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61
4. Currently CLING is comprised of members from Interpreting Canterbury;
Christchurch City Council; Human Rights Commission; Community and Public
Health, Canterbury District Health Board; Pegasus Health (Charitable) Ltd;
Christchurch Resettlement Services; Christchurch Migrant Centre; Settlement Unit
Immigration New Zealand MBIE; New Zealand Red Cross; Ministry for Pacific
Peoples; and Plains FM. The content of this submission provides our response to
the consultation paper disseminated as part of the process for developing the
Christchurch City Council’s Multicultural Strategy.
5. The contacts in relation to this submission are:
 Sally Carlton, Human Rights Specialist Human Rights Commission: (phone: 03
9648714; email: [email protected] )
 Lesley Campbell: (mobile: 027 8138062; email: [email protected] ).
3 Submission
6. The Community Language and Information Network Group congratulate the
Christchurch City Council on producing the consultation paper entitled
Christchurch Multicultural Strategy: Our Future Together and putting in place the
associated consultation process. We welcome the Christchurch City Council’s
commitment to contribute to making our city a place where diversity is welcomed
and celebrated; and we are pleased to note that leaders from diverse community
groups have had significant involvement in the development of this Strategy.
7. Key points we wish to make in our submission include:
I.
4
Defining multicultural: More is required to define the concept of multicultural
within the context of this Strategy. For example, in several parts of the
consultation paper reference is made solely to ‘new comers’4 – references
which narrow the readers’ understanding of the concept. We recommend that
the Council define multicultural in its broadest sense so that it covers the
diversity across our community in terms of language, dress, traditions, food,
societal structure, art and religion; and that such diversity is understood as
comprising the indigenous community, immigration and humanitarian entrants
and those with Anglo-Celtic backgrounds.
See an examples of this sole focus on ‘new comers’ on page 3
CLING submission v2 29 July 2016
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62
II.
III.
Principles: CLING recognises the critical importance of the Strategy’s
principles as providing guidance and focus for all decisions and actions. We
recommend the addition of the following principles because they provide
support for goals and activities within the draft Strategy. These additional
principles are:

Recognising that diversity within our community is one of our greatest
strengths

Engage the communities as identifiers of needs and aspirations and
participators in responses

Promote and provide equity and access to all Council activities,
programmes, facilitates and services
Strategy Content: In its current form the Multicultural Strategy includes an
outline of the consultation process; a vision; principles; community profile and
brief environmental scan; outcomes; goals and priority actions; and monitoring
approaches. CLING recommends that more attention is given to the
information provided in the community profile (e.g. could include critical
information from the 2013 Census such as the 12.4% increase in numbers of
people who identify as Māori residing in Christchurch) and the environmental
scan (e.g. could include pertinent information from research,5 policy, national
strategies and the regulatory environment that was considered during the
development of this Strategy); more could be done to link the goals and
priority actions to the outcomes sought (page 8) and the risks and
opportunities identified in the environment scan (page 6) (e.g. What will
Council be doing to address the race-based discrimination identified in the
environmental scan?); more is required to detail an implementation plan,
including the inclusion of measures of success and targets; and more is
5
CLING suggests that Council could benchmark the contents of its Strategy against pertinent
guidelines that outlines good practice in local government (see Myriad consultants, 2014. Role of
Local Government in Settlement and Multiculturalism. Retrieved from:
www.mav.asn.au/.../multicultural/.../The%20role%20of%20local%20government%20... ); and Best
Practice Guidelines for Engaging with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Communities in
Times of Disaster (retrieved from: https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/mediacentre/newsletters/settlement-actionz/actionz6/lessons-christchurch-earthquake) .
CLING submission v2 29 July 2016
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63
required to outline the planned evaluation/monitoring activities, including
dissemination of achievements.
IV.
Future Proofing Thread for Priority Demographic Groups: We have
considered the question of how this Strategy might contribute to enhancing a
sense of belonging, contribution, and commitment to Christchurch for
significant demographic groups now and into the future – demographic groups
such as young people and older people.
We note that Christchurch, like other areas, will have increasing numbers of
older people residing in the community over the next 20 plus years; and we
also note that the 2013 Census findings showed that there are fewer young
people (5-19 years) living here compared to 2006.
We also note the
evidence base that suggests that culture, linguistic and/or cultural differences
can create barriers to having a sense of belonging and community
participation – barriers that can result in social isolation for older people and
disenfranchisement and leaving for our city’s young people.
Our communities’ younger and older people have much to offer Christchurch.
We recommend that the Strategy overtly makes a contribution to addressing
the risks associated older people’s isolation by focusing on initiatives and
opportunities that enable social connection. We further recommend that the
Strategy include initiatives that encourage young people to stay and
contribute socially and economically to our city – initiatives that engage young
people and harness their energy so that they play a significant role in
improving our local milieu for them and others.
V.
A Multicultural Strategy that Reflects a Whole-of-Council Approach:
CLING applauds the Council’s goal of being an inclusive and diverse
organisation and in particular the Council’s inclusion of engagement (e.g.
organising events) and advocacy (e.g. advocacy to address the problems and
issues confronting various Christchurch communities) activities within the
Strategy. However, we believe more strategic initiatives/activities are required
to enable the Council to achieve this goal.
By virtue of its local government role and responsibilities, the Christchurch
City Council reaches a significant number of people within our community with
local government services affecting many aspects of people’s lives.
Moreover, the Christchurch City Council is one of the largest employers within
CLING submission v2 29 July 2016
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64
the region and both councillors and Council employees cross paths with many
people during the course of their work. Both these factors provide enormous
opportunities for the Council to demonstrate leadership and commitment at all
levels for the promotion and celebration of diversity in Christchurch. From
CLING’s perspective these opportunities should include the following priority
strategic actions:

Leaders at all levels and across all business units of the Council should
actively promote and demonstrate cultural competency and engagement
and such leadership activities and performance targets should be a
requirement in each person’s performance plan

Cultural competency should be a required attribute in the role descriptions
of councillors and Christchurch City Council employees and all should be
offered cultural competency professional development opportunities

Consultation/engagement with all of Christchurch’s communities should
be encapsulated in all business procedures, not just during the strategy
development process. For example, business-as-usual consultation
methods could include the involvement of advisory committees, surveys
and regular interaction between council and community groups
(particularly in each community group’s own respective environment and
with the use of professional interpreters as a matter of course where
appropriate).

Delivery of Council services should reflect the access and responsiveness
needs of all groups in the Christchurch community. Such accessibility and
responsiveness can be achieved through using professional interpreter
services; employing bilingual staff; employing a workforce that reflects the
ethnic diversity of the population of Christchurch; translating brochures,
website information, information pamphlets and newsletters into a range
of locally significant languages; and making services and infrastructure
(such as those in libraries, parks, and gardens) available in culturally
appropriate ways.
In line with these activities for enhancing the access and responsiveness
of Council services, CLING recommends that the Council support an
initiative that enables the 4 best practice guidelines (last published in 2011
and listed on page 1 of this submission) to be reviewed, updated and
republished.
CLING submission v2 29 July 2016
Page 5
65

Adopt a range of responses and media for including and connecting all
Christchurch people and communities, including the use of access radio
and social media
VI.
Empowerment: CLING agrees with the Council’s notion of empowering
Christchurch residents to enhance their own capabilities, resources and
cohesion within their own communities.
Such empowerment could be
supported by ensuring the Council meets the needs of CALD Communities
whenever it develops an engagement strategy associated with important
decision making processes that impact on those residing in Christchurch; and
by ensuring Council supports programmes that use the skills of CALD
communities to enhance people’s participation in Christchurch’s social and
economic life and their connection with each other. We believe that a role for
Council is to unlock the capacity within communities by facilitating local
solutions to local problems by local communities.
VII.
Monitoring: We agree with the suggested methods for reviewing and
monitoring progress against the outcomes, goals and key performance
measures that will be included in the final version of the Strategy. We
recommend that the Council emphasise their accountability to the public for
delivering on the strategic initiatives within the Strategy by developing a
detailed implementation plan. This implementation plan should include
outcomes, goals, strategic initiatives and the deliverables associated with
each of these strategic initiatives including timeframes for delivery and
achievement status of each initiative. Moreover, actual achievements against
planned initiatives and performance targets should be published and
celebrated in public forums, such as community meetings.
CLING supports the establishment of a Cultural Advisory Group – a Group
that should meet at least quarterly to provide direction and advice to the
Council as well as having a role in monitoring the implementation of the
Strategy.
CLING also recommends that the Council include other review processes to
support learning and continuous quality improvement including undertaking a
whole-of-council cultural competency self assessment; and an annual review
of the Strategy to ensure it continues to meet the needs of local communities
and to ensure it takes account of changes and opportunities that emerge in
the environment.
CLING submission v2 29 July 2016
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66
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment on the Christchurch City Council’s
consultation paper, Christchurch Multicultural Strategy: Our Future Together. CLING
would welcome the opportunity to discuss any matters raised in this submission with
you, and to contribute to developments as the Christchurch City Council progresses
with this work.
Dr Lesley Campbell (on behalf of CLING)
This submission on the Christchurch City Council’s consultation paper, Christchurch
Multicultural Strategy: Our Future Together, is submitted by the following agencies
as part of the Community Language and Information Network Group (CLING):
Interpreting Canterbury
Community and Public Health, CDHB
Pegasus Health (Charitable) Ltd
Christchurch Resettlement Services
Plains FM
CLING submission v2 29 July 2016
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67
Submission 46
Submission on Christchurch
Multicultural Strategy
To:
Christchurch City Council
Submitter:
Pacific Reference Group
Attn: Tanya McCall
Pacific Reference Group
C/- Pegasus Health
PO Box 741
Christchurch 8140
Page 1 of 3
68
SUBMISSION ON CHRISTCHURCH MULTICULTURAL STRATEGY
Details of submitter
The Pacific Reference Group (PRG) is a Canterbury-wide combined group
comprising representation from primary care organisations, clinicians, community
organisations, Pacific health providers, Government and the Canterbury District
Health Board. The PRG is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of Pacific
people in the Canterbury region and acknowledges that identifying and advocating
for the health and wellbeing needs of the Pacific community is integral to achieving
this aim.
General Comments
The PRG congratulates Council’s decision to create a Multi-cultural strategy for
Christchurch. Supporting the diverse communities of Christchurch will foster a sense
of place and social connectedness for all. Linked to this is the ability for all
communities to influence decision-making processes. This requires the sharing of
information in a culturally appropriate way through culturally appropriate channels.
Specific comments
1. The PRG congratulates Council on the inclusion of Josiah Tualamali’i as part of
the Strategy Working Group. Josiah is the youth representative on PRG and
through his many leadership roles, is well placed to provide a Pacific youth
perspective on the draft Strategy.
2. It is pleasing to see Council’s recognition that culturally diverse communities are
not homogenous. This is especially true for our Pacific population which is
diverse and made up of many different ethnic groups. Each ethnic group has its
own unique values cultures, traditions and ways of being. As a result, there is the
potential for the uniqueness of our Pacific community to become lost within a
multicultural strategy.
Page 2 of 3
69
3. Pacific people form a vital part of New Zealand’s identity and have a special
relationship with New Zealand. This relationship is based on New Zealand’s
constitutional obligations with the Cook Islands, Tokelau and Niue and a Treaty of
Friendship with Samoa. It is also seen in the longstanding migration of Pacific
communities to New Zealand for a better life, our ever growing New Zealand born
Pacific population, and most importantly, New Zealand’s place as a Pacific
nation. In recognition of the special relationship that exists between the New
Zealand and the Pacific Islands, the PRG recommends that Council consider
developing a separate Pacific Strategy.
4. The PRG notes Council’s intention to consult with focus groups to test Council
communication with people from culturally diverse backgrounds and other
communities. PRG members have extensive links into Pacific communities in
Christchurch and would therefore welcome being involved in this process.
5. It is noted that Council proposes to develop a detailed Action Plan to capture the
actions and targets falling out of the Strategy. As this is a Council Strategy and in
order to be truly effective, the Action Plan must reflect that meeting the targets is
the collective responsibility of Council at all levels i.e. from governance to
operational.
6. Thank you for the opportunity to submit on the Christchurch Multicultural
Strategy.
Person making the submission
Tanya McCall,
Chair
On behalf of the Pacific Reference Group
Date: 29 July 2016
Page 3 of 3
70
Submission 47
187 Montreal Street, Christchurch Central 8011
P: (03) 366 3900
www.pacifictrust.co.nz
29 July 2016
Draft Multicultural Strategy Submission
℅ Ester Vallero
Christchurch City Council
PO Box 73016
Christchurch 8154
Kia ora Ester
Re: Submission on the Christchurch Multicultural strategy
Healthy Families Spreydon-Heathcote is a large-scale initiative that brings community leadership
together in a united effort for better health. Long-term commitment is required by multiple partners from
different communities to generate a greater collective impact on the health and wellbeing on our
diverse communities.
Led by the Ministry of Health, the submitter aims to make good health easier and more accessible for
people to prevent the rising tide of obesity and chronic diseases that threaten quality of life and causes
disparities amongst the diverse communities that call Otautahi home. Below are our feedback to the
Strategy:
(i)
We note that health is missing from the Strategy and believe it is important to include it. A
healthy population is fundamental for the achievement of goals for organisations and
society. Good health enriches the quality of life, contributes to workforce productivity,
strengthens communities, supports sustainable environments and contributes to social
1
inclusion. The WHO Constitution affirms that the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of health is a fundamental human right. When people are healthy, the vision,
principles, outcomes, goals and actions are meaningful and achievable.
(ii)
The Strategy Outcomes are great and accommodating especially in a multicultural setting
like Otautahi. People can belong to a place but if they do not have the sense of community
ownership, they can continue to depend on others to provide for them. We therefore we
recommend adding the word ‘ownership’ in the first Outcome Strategy to read:
“1 Whanaungatanga - Sense of belonging and ownership’.
(iii)
Healthy Families Spreydon-Heathcote believes that equity is the solution to the attainment
of the highest level of health for all people living in Otautahi. We believe that the CCC is in
a unique leadership position to advocate, enable and mediate this by implementing
specific goals and priority actions in the multicultural strategy to address inequity amongst
Otautahi diverse communities. We recommend including the word ‘equity’ in the third goal
of the Strategy to read:
“3. Christchurch City Council promotes diversity, inclusion and equity.”
1
WHO (2010): Adelaide Statement on Health in All Policies
71
(iv)
In multicultural setting, communities would bring some traditional practices with them,
which have meaning and fulfil a function for those who practice them. Unfortunately, some
of these practices could be harmful to people’s lives. It is important to note that culture is
2
not fixed, but is fluid, adapting and changing. According to WHO (1996), behaviours will
change when they understand the dangers and embarrassment of meaningful aspects of
their culture. This proves the point that health is a fundamental human right to all
cultures. For this reason, the Strategy is a good platform to advocate on this important
human right and addressing good health for all for its diverse communities will align with
the draft multicultural strategy’s three outcomes.
(v)
The Strategy should be aligned with CCC’s Food Resilience Policy especially in areas
where it could support the “physical and economic access, by all people, at all times, to …
3
maintain an active and healthy life.” The Strategy can encourage community gardens
which would empower residents to come together and address problems or challenges
together in creative ways. They will also be able to learn how to grow food, learn
traditional and cultural uses of plants and food. This would in turn sustain local food
economy and also caring for the environment and celebrating the cultural garden city
heritage. It will help to generate and maximise community value in a multicultural setting
and thus become part of Christchurch’s green infrastructure.
(vi)
Because the Council facilities are for public use, the Strategy can also advocate on behalf
of the multicultural community to increase nutritional quality of food in Council facilities,
during events to ensure that healthy food and low sugar options only are provided.
Healthy Families Spreydon-Heathcote aims to create as many health promoting environments here in
Otautahi and believe that the multicultural strategy is the platform for change to happen. Healthy
Families Spreydon-Heathcote aims to make good health easier and more accessible for people, by
creating many health promoting environments, where people live, learn, work and play.
Ngā mihi nui,
Nina Perez
Settings Coordinator
Healthy Families Spreydon-Heathcote
2
3
World Health Organization (1996): Female Genital Cutting: A Joint WHO/UNICEF/UNFPA Statement.
Christchurch City Council (2014): Food Resilience Policy
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Submission 48
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Submission 49
Submission on Christchurch
Multicultural Strategy
To:
Christchurch City Council
Submitter:
Canterbury District Health Board
Attn: Jane Murray
Community and Public Health
C/- Canterbury District Health Board
PO Box 1475
Christchurch 8140
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SUBMISSION ON CHRISTCHURCH MULTICULTURAL STRATEGY
Details of submitter
1. Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB).
2. The submitter is responsible for promoting the reduction of adverse environmental
effects on the health of people and communities and to improve, promote and
protect their health pursuant to the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Act
2000 and the Health Act 1956. These statutory obligations are the responsibility of
the Ministry of Health and, in the Canterbury District, are carried out under contract
by Community and Public Health under Crown funding agreements on behalf of the
Canterbury District Health Board.
3. The Ministry of Health requires the submitter to reduce potential health risks by
such means a s submissions to ensure the public health significance of potential
adverse effects are adequately considered during policy development.
Details of submission
4. We welcome the opportunity to comment on the Christchurch Multicultural Strategy .
The future health of our populations is not just reliant on hospitals, but on a
responsive environment where all sectors work collaboratively.
5. While health care services are an important determinant of health, health is also
influenced by a wide range of factors beyond the health sector. Health care services
manage disease and trauma and are an important determinant of health outcomes.
However health creation and wellbeing (overall quality of life) is influenced by a wide
range of factors beyond the health sector.
6. These influences can be described as the conditions in which people are born,
grow, live, work and age, and are impacted by environmental, social and
behavioural factors. They are often referred to as the ‘social determinants of health1.
The diagram2 below shows how the various influences on health are complex and
interlinked.
1
Public Health Advisory Committee. 2004. The Health of People and Communities. A Way Forward: Public Policy and the Economic Determinants of Health. Public
Health Advisory Committee: Wellington.
2
Barton, H and Grant, M. (2006) A health map for the local human habitat. The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 126 (6), pp 252-253.
http://www.bne.uwe.ac.uk/who/healthmap/default.asp
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7. The most effective way to maximise people’s wellbeing is to take these factors into
account as early as possible during decision making and strategy development.
Initiatives to improve health outcomes and overall quality of life must involve
organisations and groups beyond the health sector, such as local government if
they are to have a reasonable impact3.
3 McGinni s JM, Williams-Russo P, Knickman JR. 2002. The case for more active policy attention to health promotion. Health Affairs, 21(2): 78 - 93.
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General Comments
8. The CDHB congratulates the Council’s decision to create a Multi-cultural strategy
for the City. Supporting the diverse communities of Christchurch will result in people
having a sense of place and equally importantly being able to participate in
democratic processes. This is important for people’s mental wellbeing. The CDHB
hopes that other New Zealand councils consider following the Council’s approach.
9. The breadth of the Strategy is clearly shown through the Council’s commitment to
actions both internally and externally.
Specific comments
10. The CDHB supports the vision for the Strategy but would like to see the Strategy be
more aspirational. The CDHB recommends that an additional clause is added to the
vision: “… a city where all people have a sense of belonging and are able to make a
contribution.
11. The CDHB would like to endorse the comments made by Christchurch Resettlement
Support in regards to the lack of explicit reference to host communities. We agree
that a multicultural strategy needs to be for everyone, and the idea of inclusion
should be stated explicitly. The CDHB recommends that the wording of the
Strategy be revised to incorporate explicit reference to the “host communities”
throughout the document. In addition to this, the CDHB recommends that a clear
definition of what is meant by “host communities” is iterated, which makes reference
to both tangata whenua and tangata tiriti.
12. The CDHB supports the inclusion of a priority action that focuses on recruitment
strategies to encourage participation of under-represented groups. The strategy
outcomes have put a focus on English language skills. Therefore the CDHB
recommends that a priority action is included within the Council policies that gives
Council employees additional support to enhance their English language skills.
13. Thank you for the opportunity to submit on Christchurch Multicultural Strategy
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Person making the submission
Evon Currie
Date: 26/07/2016
General Manager
Community & Public Health
Canterbury District Health Board
Contact details
Jane Murray
For and on behalf of
Community and Public Health
C/- Canterbury District Health Board
PO Box 1475
Christchurch 8140
P +64 3 364 1777
F +64 3 379 6488
[email protected]
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Submission on Christchurch Multicultural Strategy: Our Future Together
Firstly, we would like to extend congratulations and thanks to the Council and the
Multicultural Working Party for drafting this document, which is of such importance to
Ōtautahi Christchurch. It has been many decades in the making, and the result of
hard work over the last eight months to get it to this stage.
Congratulations, too, on practicing the ideals which the document seeks to formalise,
including the ideal of sustained and meaningful community consultation as visible in
the many translated versions and the longer-than-average consultation period.
Overall comments
1. There is very little explicit reference to host communities in the
document.
This oversight is unfortunate given that the document professes to be for all
people in Christchurch – in other words, not only for more recent arrivals to
the city. A multicultural strategy needs to be for everyone, and the idea of
inclusion should be stated explicitly. For example in Jimmy Chen’s “Message
from the Chair,” and in the “Why is the Council developing a multicultural
strategy?” sections, there is reference to wanting to make new arrivals feel
welcome. While this element of the strategy is obviously critical, these
sections should also make it clear that the strategy intends to make everyone
in the city feel comfortable and accepted.
It is also necessary that everyone in Christchurch feels connection to the
strategy, as the cooperation and buy-in of everyone will be needed to
effectively implement it.
Because of this need to ensure everyone feels part of the strategy, we
recommend that:
a. The wording of the Strategy be revised to incorporate explicit reference
to the “host communities” throughout the document.
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b. A clear definition of what is meant by “host communities” is iterated,
which makes reference to both tangata whenua and tangata Tiriti.
2. There is little reference to tangata whenua in the document.
We would like to congratulate the Council on its explicit acknowledgement of
Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the multicultural strategy. It would be good, however, to
develop this acknowledgement further and make explicit reference throughout
the document to tangata whenua as one of the communities which the
strategy aims to embrace and empower.
3. There is almost no reference to Christchurch as the physical location in
which the strategy will be enacted.
It would be good to introduce more detail to the strategy about place-based
elements, in order to recognise the unique physical, environmental, ecological
and historical characteristics of the city. These elements are all important
because the people and communities for whom the strategy is intended exist
within the particular environment of Christchurch city.
Comments to specific parts of the document
p. 3 Error
redundant
“the Te Tiriti of Waitangi” – please remove “the” as it is
p. 3 Addition
Please add in reference to the host communities (as outlined
above) into the paragraph on new arrivals into the city
p. 5 Addition
Please add in reference to the host communities (as outlined
above) into the segment “Why is the Council developing a multicultural strategy?”
p. 7 Addition
Please consider revising the Strategy vision to something like
“Ōtautahi Christchurch: An inclusive Treaty-based multicultural and multilingual city
that values our diversity – a city where all people, newcomers and host communities
alike, have a sense of belonging.”
p. 7 Error (?)
tangata”
Consider replacing “Aroha ki te tangata” with “Aroha ki ngā
p. 7 Replacement Consider replacing “Te Tiriti o Waitangi is a foundation” to “Te
Tiriti o Waitangi is the foundation”
p. 7 Addition
Consider explaining the choice of “tangata whenua” versus
“mana whenua” throughout the document
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p. 7 Re-word
The sentence “Culturally diverse communities are not
homogenous” needs clarification. What exactly is trying to be said? That there is
heterogeneity within communities even if they are labelled by others as “a
community” (in the singular)? This is an important point but gets lost in the confusing
wording of the sentence.
p.8
Re-word
Consider changing strategy outcome 1 to read: “People of all
ethnicities, cultures and English language skills feel they belong in Christchurch.”
(The word ‘regardless’ gives the sentence a negative vibe, when in fact it should be
positive).
p. 8 Re-word
Consider changing strategy outcome 3 to read: “All people are
able to access Council information, services and resources and participate in
decision making.” (The culture, ethnicity etc information is covered by the term “all
people”, which is also more inclusive of host communities).
p. 8 Addition
Consider changing strategy goal 1 to read: “CCC is an inclusive
and diverse organisation and models best bi- and multicultural practices.”
p. 8 Addition
Consider changing strategy goal 2 to read: “All communities
have equitable access to CCC services, resources and decision making processes.”
p. 9 Addition
Consider changing strategy action introduction paragraph to “…
culturally diverse and host communities …”
p. 9 Addition
Consider adding another priority action for “CCC is an inclusive
and diverse organisation”: “Develop and actively work towards fulfilling targets for
ethnic and linguistic diversity of CCC staff.”
p. 9
Re-word x 2 “… connections between culturally diverse all communities …”
p. 11 Addition
Consider adding into priority action: “… events and initiatives,
including through assistance with promotion and marketing of these events and
initiatives, for the maintenance …”
p. 11 Addition
Consider adding another priority action for “CCC promotes and
advocates”: “Initiate a CCC-led ‘Celebration of diversity in our city’ publication (which
could be incorporated into an existing publication) to be circulated through CCC’s
channels and especially through its social media channels.”
p. 11 Addition
Consider adding into priority action: “Promote and raise
awareness of the benefits of Christchurch’s multicultural community e.g. through
publications and through modelling best practice.”
p. 11 Addition
Consider adding another priority action for “CCC promotes and
advocates”: “Work to connect leaders from different communities.”
p. 11 Addition
Consider adding into priority actions x 2: “Provide submissions
… in consultation with Christchurch’s communities.”
p. 12 Addition
Consider adding for monitoring: “If a regular ‘Celebrating our
city’ publication is introduced, track uptake of its stories via social media.”
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p. 12 Addition
Consider adding for monitoring: “Incorporate an analysis of the
Council’s staff diversity statistics (actual versus targets) into the annual diversity and
inclusion report.”
p. 12 Addition
Consider drafting a list of indicators against which reporting and
monitoring can be analysed.
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