A plan to make the places we love more welcoming for everyone
Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has been working with the community to develop a three-year Welcoming Plan for the district to ensure that all newcomers are able to thrive. The wider public are now being invited to share their thoughts on the draft Welcoming Plan 2024-2027, including the key actions proposed for community partners and Council to deliver together.
Recently in Queenstown, QLDC hosted a hui as part of the community engagement for the Welcoming Plan with over 110 persons in attendance representing iwi, local organisations, schools, Pacific and ethnic community representatives, newcomers, business sector, QLDC staff and elected members. This is a reflection that our community is committed to work towards a coordinated approach to settlement services and grow inclusive local communities. Providing equitable access to information to our migrant workforce on health and social services, community clubs and associations, education, law and order, upskilling opportunities and career pathways – to name a few - is key so we can continue to evolve as a place that celebrates diversity, supports wellbeing and fosters economic growth.
Over many decades, migrants from different parts of the world, as well as from all over Aotearoa New Zealand, have made Queenstown Lakes their home whether for a short time or permanently. This is what makes our communities so diverse and vibrant.
The Welcoming Plan is open for feedback and we encourage all different groups of people to share their views. It’s a plan driven and guided by the community for the community.
Tangata whenua, as traditional custodians of the land in which newcomers reside, have a unique and important role to play in welcoming and helping the settlement journey of newcomers.
Schools regularly welcome new students from different cultural backgrounds, as well as their parents. Schools have naturally become multicultural hubs and are often faced with cultural challenges due to language barrier, differences in parenting styles, education systems and food habits.
Tertiary institutions and employers have a role to support newcomers, including international students, to access local employment information, services and networks so they can better settle into their new workplace. The overall business sector is also called upon to promote the contribution that migrant business owners and skilled migrants make to the region’s economy.
The community associations and their respective Community Response Group are encouraged to enhance community resilience and ensure the welfare of newcomers living in the neighbourhoods, so they can be effectively supported during emergency events or periods of prolonged community stress.
While Council has led the development of the Welcoming Plan 2024-2027, it will take a collaborative effort to bring it to life.
To read more about the draft Welcoming Plan 2024-2027 and share feedback go to letstalk.qldc.govt.nz. The next hui is in Wānaka on 14 August at 5.30pm at the Lake Wānaka Centre where the Welcoming Communities team will be sharing the plan’s actions, asking for insights and sharing ways community partners can be involved.
Community feedback to help guide the final Welcoming Plan will close on Thursday, 22 August, 2024.
The final Welcoming Plan 2024-2027 will then be presented to the Community and Services Committee for adoption in late September.
