Newcomers criticise suburb's lack of facilities

Despite being a magnet suburb for immigrants, Albany has not lived up to the expectations of many of its new settlers, a Ministry of Social Development report has found.

The social services report Settling In - Albany, to be released at Massey University this evening, says many new Albany residents found it difficult to access services, complained of a lack of facilities and public transport, and said it was short of opportunities for its diverse communities to socialise.

The project involved more than 23 focus groups, with more than 100 participants from 25 ethnic groups, who were asked about what some of their needs were and whether these were being met in Albany.

Korean housewife Cathy Kim, 35, said her family chose to settle in the suburb because they spoke little English and "there are many Korean people" in Albany.

"We have to depend on our Korean friends to help us, but we can still survive by shopping at Korean shops and eating at Korean restaurants," Mrs Kim said.

Malaysian immigrant Dave Lim, who moved to Albany in 2008, said a lack of facilities in the area meant he had to travel to Takapuna or Glenfield for a swim or borrow books from a "decent sized" library.

The report said there was a lack of facilities in Albany and that a wider range of services and resources tailored for immigrants were needed.

"Although many of the new migrants to Albany are clearly well resourced and financially secure, it is also true that large numbers require considerable assistance with their settlement and that many are struggling to adapt to life in New Zealand," it said.

"For some time, local community workers, service providers and others have been concerned that the lack of community facilities and services is at odds with the substantial population growth and demographic change."

It said although Albany had huge retail complexes, it had very few community facilities that could provide connection, socialisation and recreational opportunities, such as a swimming pool or a community centre.

Albany has recorded a marked change to its ethnic mix in the past 15 years, having now smaller proportions of its population identifying as European, Maori or Pacific people.

In contrast, Asian residents have gone up from 3 per cent in 1991 to 9 per cent in 1996 to 24 per cent in 2006, while other ethnic groups have also risen from under 0.5 per cent to 3 per cent over the same period.

Lily Lee, the Settling In relationship manager, said the project also helped empower migrants to do things for themselves.

Among the recommendations of the report were: to develop local resources in Asian languages, establish a "newcomers network" in Albany and to create more opportunities for migrants living in the suburb to connect with Kiwis.

After today's launch a working party will be formed to action these recommendations.

ALBANY'S DIVERSITY

* Nearly half of residents are immigrants, with 61 per cent having been in NZ for less than 10 years.
* Number of Asians up from 3 per cent in 1991 to 24 per cent in 2006. National average is 9 per cent.
* The largest Asian ethnic groups were Chinese and Korean.
* Suburb of choice for many international students and their guardian parents.
* Population expected to double by 2031, migrants expected to be largest increase.
- Source: Settling In - Albany report, March 2010