The Minister for Ethnic Communities is the Government’s lead for supporting Ethnic Communities in New Zealand.
You advocate for and influence change
Many outcomes for Ethnic Communities are shaped through policies and services led by other Ministerial portfolios. You advocate for change across the Government to remove barriers and open up opportunities to enable Ethnic Communities to achieve their potential. You also ensure the needs of Ethnic Communities are considered and addressed. Your leadership and dialogue with your Ministerial colleagues to influence their work is instrumental in achieving this. The significant portfolios include economic growth, health, national security, and social development and employment.
You are also likely to be asked to respond to emerging issues, such as the domestic impact of geopolitical events, crime and other disruptive events.
The Minister for Ethnic Communities has been on the Family Violence and Sexual Violence Ministerial group, led by Minister Chhour. You will also be invited by Minister Simmonds to a meeting in February, along with other Ministers, on developing the New Zealand Carers’ Strategy Action Plan.
The Ministry will support you by providing advice, evidence and insights.
You engage with Ethnic Communities
You have an important role in engaging with Ethnic Communities and hosting Parliamentary events such as Lunar New Year, Eid-al-Fitr and Diwali. You will be regularly invited to a range of events hosted by Ethnic Communities and faith groups.
The Ministry can assist you with prioritising these invitations and support your engagement with community leaders and organisations.
You may wish to make nominations
You may wish to acknowledge ethnic people who have made substantial contributions to their communities by nominating them for New Year or King’s Birthday Royal Honours. The Ministry can assist you in identifying suitable candidates and with the nomination paperwork for candidates you wish to nominate.
Ethnic Communities are proportionally underrepresented on public sector boards. You may wish to nominate candidates for public sector boards and committees in response to requests from other ministers. The Ministry can assist you with identifying suitable candidates from its nominations database.
You are the Settlor of the Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust
The Chinese Poll Tax Heritage Trust (the Trust) is a statutory body. It was established in 2004 as a gesture of goodwill to the descendants of poll taxpayers in recognition of the hardship caused by the New Zealand Parliament’s decisions in the 1800s.
The Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua (DIA) is responsible for administering the Trust. As Minister, and acting on behalf of the Government, you are the Settlor of the Trust and can appoint its eight members. When there are upcoming vacancies on the Trust, the DIA will brief you on the process of appointing new Trust members. No appointments are anticipated in 2025.
You hold the Supporting Ethnic Communities Appropriation
The Ministry is funded through the Supporting Ethnic Communities Appropriation, which sits within Vote Internal Affairs. The funding consists of $17.9 million in departmental expenditure including $4.232 million in non-departmental expenditure. The purpose of the Appropriation is to improve the wellbeing of Ethnic Communities, including through the Ministry providing grants from the annual Ethnic Communities Development Fund (ECDF).
The Minister of Internal Affairs is the Vote Minister, and you are one of the Portfolio Ministers within that Vote. You will represent the Government at select committees as part of the annual scrutiny undertaken by Parliament. You will also present the Ministry’s Annual Report to the House. The Ministry will support you in these procedures.
Move onto Strategic Opportunities to deliver higher impact for New Zealand