December 2017 | Read a plain text version of this newsletter

Over the last year we’ve also looked at ways to be open about citizenship decision making.  We know people are interested in those grants which are considered under exceptional circumstances, so as a result we are now publishing statistics every six months which detail the reason for applications being granted citizenship under the provision.  You can find these statistics on our website: https://www.dia.govt.nz/Citizenship-Grants

 In early November, we briefed our new Minister for Internal Affairs, the Hon. Tracey Martin, on citizenship process and her role in the granting of citizenship, and she has begun to consider citizenship applications.  We are also in the process of updating the Minister’s segment in the Choice Whiriwhiria DVD, and hope to have the new version to you by the beginning of 2018.

I would like to thank you all for your participation in the Ceremonies Survey; we collected some great material to put into the new Guide for Planning Citizenship Ceremonies.  This will be ready to send out to you shortly, in time for your 2018 ceremonies.

Considering the increasing numbers of people applying to become New Zealanders we are expecting 2018 to be just as busy as 2017.  I would like to extend my appreciation for the work you do to make the citizenship journey memorable and fun for all new citizens.  I hope that the work we are doing together makes 2018 as successful as 2017!

Enjoy the holidays and Merry Christmas to all!

What’s in the pipeline? 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 

Thank you to everyone who has returned the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), we really appreciated your involvement in this process. Thank you also for the insights and questions asked during the process.  As a result of your feedback we’ve reviewed and changed two of our processes to make things easier for you to run ceremonies, these are:

• Ensuring that local authorities are fairly compensated for those candidates who are invited but unable to attend the ceremony; and
• Creating an easier way for you to let us know who didn’t attend each ceremony, by no longer requiring unused certificates to be posted back to the Department.

We will be reviewing the MOUs in two years’ time, but if you have any questions or feedback in the interim please feel free to get in touch. 

Survey 

Thank you for completing the survey which was sent out in September. The response rate was excellent and your answers gave us a really good understanding of what you do in your regions, and how you make each ceremony special. Here’s what you said:

To see the results click here:  Citizenship Ceremonies Survey aggregated results

We received really useful comments and feedback which is very helpful when looking at how we can improve our processes in the future.  Your feedback is important to us, thank you for your responses.

Choice Whiriwhiria DVD re-filming

We had a fresh new location for the filming of the Minister of Internal Affairs’ speech in the Choice Whiriwhiria DVD – inside the He Tohu exhibition at the National Library of New Zealand.

The Governor-General and Minister of Internal Affairs cannot usually attend ceremonies, so their presence in the DVD is an ideal way for them to extend a personal welcome to new citizens.

 We would encourage you to play the Choice Whiriwhiria DVD at your ceremony. For those with no access to media players, we will send a link once the DVD has been completed.

Introducing Jason 

Jason works with local authorities to organise citizenship ceremonies in the South Island and Auckland Central, Maungakiekie-Tamaki and Puketapapa in Auckland.

Q: What do you enjoy most about your role in the ceremony planning?

I really like attending the ceremonies when I can, and getting involved there. I had the chance to hand out the native plants at a ceremony in Christchurch. That felt really special. I especially like seeing the families with their kids, who are all excited about going to the ceremony and dressed in traditional outfits from their country. It’s great to see them enjoying themselves.

Sometimes people have had a long journey to get to the point of being invited to a ceremony - it hasn’t been easy for them. There are always a few special cases that need more help than others. I always do my best to make things as easy as possible for them – they really seem to appreciate it.

Q: Would you like to say anything to Local Authorities?

I’ve seen occasions where a couple of Local Authorities have been able to accommodate candidates when they were having trouble getting to a ceremony in their area. There was one case where a couple were still deciding on a place to settle, so didn’t have a fixed address. One of the Local Authorities was able to fit them into their ceremony at quite short notice in an area they could to travel to in time. It’s great to see this kind of flexibility – it makes things easier for everyone.

NZ stats

The last year has been the busiest period recorded for citizenship, with over 37,000 people becoming Kiwis.  Given the size of Auckland it’s no surprise that the majority of applicants reside in that region - it has 33% of the population and provides 56% of new citizens.  

Candidates attending citizenship ceremonies in the past 12 months

A detailed breakdown of new citizens who attended ceremonies in your local authority over the last five years can be found here: Candidates for local authorities for the last 5 years

Your pictures and stories

Cathy Plowright is Executive Assistant for the Waipa Mayor, Jim Mylchreest. After organising many ceremonies for other people she was finally able to attend her own citizenship ceremony with her husband on Friday 17 November 2017:

 I’ve been organising citizenship ceremonies here at Waipa District since I became the Mayor’s EA in October 2007.  In that time I’ve organised 69 ceremonies (including my own which took place in November this year)!  I really enjoy organising the ceremonies – it’s so nice to see the new citizens celebrating with their families at the end of what has been a long journey for some of them.  At times they can be rather emotional, and other times quite funny, but always very satisfying and I’m very happy to have been a part of the process for so many people.

Waipa Mayor Jim Mylchreest with Cathy Plowright and her husband Ian Plowright

The weather in Queenstown was so stunning during August that the Queenstown Lakes District Council was able to hold the citizenship ceremony outside the Queenstown Events Centre. The Council say that everyone loved the outdoor venue and the event was so successful that they are planning to have as many open-air ceremonies as the weather permits.

Queenstown Lakes ceremony August 2017

The Victory School in Nelson performed at the Nelson City Council ceremony held in October. Each month, the Council invites different schools around the area to perform at the citizenship ceremonies.  This is a great way for the children to be involved and the new citizens really love the performances.

Nelson ceremony October 2017

On 18 October, the Whakatane District Council held a ceremony at their council chambers for 12 new citizens. Although a small number of people, they were from far and wide representing many nationalities – Irish, British, Indonesian, Indian and South African. The Mayor’s wife always attends with the Mayor, along with a councilor and a couple of cadets from the Air Training Corps, who help with the ceremony.

Whakatane District Council ceremony October 2017

Hastings is lucky enough to be the hometown of the Kahurangi Māori dance group, who attend many events in the region. The citizenship ceremonies held by the Hastings District Council always begin with a Māori warrior leading the candidates to their seats before the ceremony starts.  The group also perform a Waiata later in the ceremony.

Hastings ceremony November 2017