Door open or door shut?

Insights Newsletter
5 August, 2016

Forget housing affordability, if you want to quickly divide a room into two antagonistic camps ask whether New Zealand should increase its refugee quota.

Those in favour of opening the doors are likely to say that New Zealand’s new pledge to accept 1,000 refugees a year is not enough. This is a drop in the global ocean given there are more than 60 million displaced people in the world.

New Zealand’s quota is also pitiful compared to countries like Germany. If New Zealand had proportionally accepted as many migrants as Germany did last year, we would have taken in more than 60,000 people.

Those in the other camp would probably point out that Germany’s altruism in the face of the refugee crisis has not worked out well. A spate of refugee-related crime and a spike in lone wolf terrorist attacks are creating animosity between refugees and the Germans.

There are strong arguments on both sides that need to be carefully considered.

New Zealand could certainly accommodate more refugees given our low population and relatively large land mass and help a lot of desperate people in the process. But an influx of people from different parts of the world also present real implications for the country.

Politicians need to think carefully about the integration process. Will the refugees fit in? Are there other options to help? Decisions have both political and moral consequences and present questions worth debating.

The Initiative’s annual Next Generation Debates kicked off this week. But hold on to your seats for the Grand Final. The moot will be: This house believes New Zealand should accommodate 60,000 refugees per year.

Having myself arrived in New Zealand as a refugee makes the case personal. But debates are not won on emotion alone. Arguments for whichever case need to be evidence-based, articulate and convincing.

If we want to be able to get along with people whose views we do not share, we need to walk a mile in their shoes to appreciate where they are coming from. Skilful debate allows that.

Please register for the 24 August event in Wellington. On the panel we have Hon Paul Goldsmith, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and Denise Roche, Green Party spokesperson for Immigration, Pacific Peoples and Ethnic Affairs.

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