Appendix 1: The Consultation Process

On 5 April 2006, the Minister of Immigration, Hon David Cunliffe released a discussion paper on the Immigration Act Review for public consultation. The discussion paper explained the purpose and scope of the review and set out a comprehensive range of options for legislative change. The discussion paper was prepared by the Department of Labour, in consultation with other government departments, and approved for release by the Cabinet.

The discussion paper was made available on the Department of Labour's website and hard copies could be obtained from the Department on request via a dedicated email address, post or a freephone number.

In early April 2006, the Minister of Immigration contacted organisations and individuals known to have an interest in immigration including:

• immigration consultants and lawyers
• Pacific, migrant, refugee and ethnic groups
• community groups working with migrants and refugees
• business and employer groups, and
• education providers.

These organisations and individuals were provided with a copy of the discussion paper, or a shorter overview paper, and were advised how to obtain further copies of the discussion document and the process and timeframe for making a submission. They were also advised of the public meetings being held and asked to distribute public meeting invitations to their networks.

Between late April and mid-June 2006, the Department of the Labour held 19 public meetings with stakeholders in Auckland, Hamilton, Napier, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin. The meetings gave stakeholders an opportunity to hear a presentation by the Department on the options for change, and to ask questions or make comments. In addition, the Department held 13 one-on-one meetings with key stakeholders.

The Department of Labour produced translations of the presentation in the Samoan, Tongan, Tuvalu, and Kiribati languages, and one page translations of the key information on the review and the submission process in the Korean, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Hindi and Arabic languages.

Over 1,500 copies of the discussion paper and 3,000 copies of the overview paper were distributed to organisations and individuals throughout the country (including distribution at the public meetings). More than 650 people attended the public meetings.

Organisations and individuals were invited to make submissions online, through a website tool developed specifically for this purpose, or by sending written submissions to the Department of Labour by post or the dedicated email address. The closing date for submissions was 1 July 2006.

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