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As the arrival gates are slammed shut in the United States, a Dunedin city councillor is calling for the city, and the rest of New Zealand, to open its arms to more refugees.
Cr Aaron Hawkins, a Green Party city councillor, yesterday called for a doubling of New Zealand’s present refugee quota, to 1500 per year. Contacted by the Otago Daily Times, he said Dunedin — like other resettlement centres — could accommodate more of those in need.
His comments came amid chaotic scenes in major US airports after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting travel from seven Muslim majority countries to the US.
The order, which temporarily banned approved refugees, also blocked Syrian refugees indefinitely and placed a 90-day freeze on new arrivals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia.
The order was already facing legal challenges, which included a federal judge’s stay on the deportation of new arrivals with valid green cards.
However, Cr Hawkins said Dunedin and New Zealand should do more to help refugees and send a message to the Trump administration.
"The executive order in itself is as terrifying as it is inhumane. The attitude of the United States regime needs to be roundly condemned with words and with action, and this is a way we can do both," he said.
Dunedin last year became New Zealand’s newest centre for refugee resettlement after being selected in 2015 to host up to 150 Syrian refugees a year.
Dunedin’s selection came as the Government approved an emergency intake of 750 Syrian refugees, spread over three years, on top of an annual quota of 750 a year, a figure unchanged since its introduction in 1976.
Last year, the Government announced it would raising the refugee intake to 1000 a year, despite Immigration New Zealand confirming there was capacity for 1500 if funding for community services was increased.
Labour, the Green Party and United Future, backed by a 20,000-signature petition, have all pushed for the higher figure. Cr Hawkins said raising the quota would be an "easy" way for New Zealand to help, and Dunedin had the potential to play its part.
"In the grand scheme of things, what is 750 people a year? Well, it is a drop in the bucket, but it means an awful lot to those 750 people to have somewhere safe to live."
Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull could not be reached for comment yesterday.
A spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse, a Dunedin-based list MP, would only say "a lot has happened" over the weekend, but the Government’s plan to raise the refugee quota to 1000 from next year remained unchanged.