Immigrants Must Speak English To Succeed

new-zealand-first-party

Fri Mar 09 2001 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)

Immigrants Must Speak English To Succeed

Friday, 9 March 2001, 2:13 pm
Press Release: New Zealand First Party

New Zealand Immigrants Must Speak English If They Are To Succeed-Peters

“The recent announcement of the Minister of Immigration, Hon Lianne Dalziel that approval for an additional 10,000 immigrants to New Zealand is to be given, and that the current English language requirements are to be reduced, is a silly move said New Zealand First Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters today.

He was relaying concerns being expressed by those within the immigration placement and education industry, who suggest that the requirement to speak English is elementary to the needs of immigrants if they are to be speedily and successfully integrated into New Zealand industry and our way of life.

“ There is now a growing number of immigrants in New Zealand with degrees and postgraduate diplomas who can’t get a job within their chosen field of expertise because their English is not good enough and are receiving the unemployment benefit, he said. This is a gross waste of education and skill base and does nothing at all to assist New Zealand, or our economy, or the self-esteem and worth of the individuals concerned.

“If anything, Mr Peters suggested, Government should be loosening the requirements for academic qualifications and increasing the English language skills requirements in order to ensure the skill base being imported is able to be put to immediate use, advantageous to the individual concerned, and New
Zealand.

ENDS

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