Ashburton has taken another step forward in embracing its multicultural community.

The Ashburton District Council announced it was one of two councils in the country to achieve Advanced Welcoming Community status last week.

To earn the status, Ashburton had provided the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment with 31 case studies of how newcomers had experienced inclusive leadership, accessibility and development opportunities in the district.

Council democracy and engagement group manager Toni Durham announced the news during a council meeting, saying it was “really pleasing to see.”

“It shows our maturity, and how we’re evolving in this space.

“We’re a very different community to what we were when I moved here in the early 2000s.”

Several councillors congratulated Durnham and welcoming communities advisor Mercedes Walkham on the accreditation, but were concerned about how involved they could be in the process.

“The government has indicated that they don’t want local government involved in wellbeing,” councillor Carolyn Cameron said.

“How is this going to impact our welcoming communities plan?”

Durnham said research by MBIE showed the programme led to positive outcomes for local economies and communities.

Councillor Tony Todd asked how newcomers were returning value to the district.

“What are we doing to encourage the new people coming into our town to integrate more, get involved in sporting groups and join organisations?

“We can do our bit, but they also need to come our way as well, don’t they?”

Walkham said community organised events and groups were creating spaces for fellowship, and Durnham added that new families were already becoming big players in Mid Canterbury.

“We now have new people coming to our district who are JPs, for example, and people who are starting to sit on boards.

She said the goal was to encourage young families to stay in Ashburton beyond five years.

“It’s about helping people settle into jobs, be able to find good housing, be able to then put their kids into school and feel like everyone’s being accepted and welcomed.

“Once you start nailing those things, all of a sudden it starts to become home.”

The two were at the meeting to share insight on the newest phase of the project - the 2024 Welcoming Communities plan which covers what needs to be done over the next three years.

Welcoming Communities is a government-run programme, started in 2017, that aims to incentivise resourcing and accommodating newcomers to New Zealand.

Ashburton has been involved in the programme since then, and is considered a “role model” district.

By Anisha Satya