Families of Tampa refugees on way to NZ

By EUGENE BINGHAM and CATHERINE MASTERS

Family members of the Tampa boatpeople will be moved to New Zealand from Afghanistan in a humanitarian gesture to reunite some of the refugees with their long-lost relatives.

The influx will more than double the number of people who have settled in the country as a result of the international stand-off that followed Australia's refusal to allow the Tampa to land on its shores in 2001.

Many of them will be the parents of children who have lived in New Zealand on their own, under the guardianship of Child, Youth and Family (CYF).

Details are being kept secret until next week when Immigration Minister Lianne Dalziel is fully briefed.

The taxpayer cost of the operation, on top of the $1.4 million spent on dealing with the initial intake of 131, will include flying the group to New Zealand and resettling them here. One source said the number of family members arriving would be 300, but another source said it would be fewer.

The Weekend Herald has learned that Immigration Service officers will travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan soon to begin interviewing prospective arrivals and making travel arrangements for the group.

It is expected the group will arrive in mid-January.

The 131 Afghan refugees who arrived in New Zealand were among more than 430 people who paid people smugglers to take them in a boat from Indonesia to Australia.

After their boat sank they were rescued by the Norwegian freighter Tampa but Australia refused to accept the refugees, instead hammering out a "Pacific solution" under which they were taken to Nauru and New Zealand.

Most of the refugees who settled in New Zealand arrived with immediate family members but about 40 came on their own, including a large group of boys who have been in CYF's care. Many of the family members coming to New Zealand are parents, brothers and sisters of the boys.

Their CYF guardian, Julie Sutherland, said they had missed their families terribly and were looking forward to being reunited with them.

"They are excited about their families coming back together - it sort of like makes you whole, doesn't it, to have your families here," she said.

"To be halfway across the world and not have your families is distressing but to have them close by where you can now take care of them as well, that's really quite important. It sort of completes them."

The boys, who were aged 14 to 18 when they arrived two years ago, were family- oriented with strong family values.

Ms Sutherland said they had settled well in New Zealand and were fluent in English.

"People are really quite amazed that they have such excellent English-speaking abilities. They're all getting on quite well. Some are working, some are at school. None of them sit at home on the benefit. They have a very strong work ethic, very strong ethic towards getting a quality education."

An Immigration Service spokesman said the operation would be funded through the budget for New Zealand's annual quota of 750 refugees.

Refugee Council convener David Ryken said the council supported the move, even though it meant other refugees could not take advantage of the quota system.

"Once a person gets refugee status that's only the beginning of the story," said Mr Ryken.

"It will take years for these boys to settle down and become productive members of society.

"If they've got their mum and dad or their older brother with them here, or whoever's left - some of them have had half their families murdered by the Taleban - then within two or three years we're going to have the success stories that we need out of them.

"We do not need social welfare dependants. We need family units who are getting on their feet."

The operation to bring the group to New Zealand and resettle them is being planned by several agencies, including the Refugee and Migrant Service, Housing New Zealand and Work and Income.