Refugees go to Aust.

Press, 28 September 1988, Page 5

Refugees go to Aust.

PA Wellington Up to 50 per cent of Vietnamese who have come to New Zealand have since emigrated to Australia, a Vietnamese chaplain estimates. Of the 3300 who gained entry to New Zealand since 1975 only about half remained, said Father Jacques Xuan, a Catholic chaplain who visits Vietnamese throughout New Zealand. “In New Zealand they feel very lonely,” ,he said. The Vietnamese community in Australia was huge by comparison — about 30,000 in Sydney alone, Father Jacques said. Vietnamese food, including fresh fruit and vegetables, was more readily available in Australia than in New Zealand. Vietnamese culture was also stronger, along with many other southeast Asian cultures. As immigration rules were stricter in Australia many Vietnamese came to New Zealand with the intention of eventually moving on to Australia, he said. After three years they could attain New Zealand citizenship and could then enter Australia without difficulty.

The director of the Inter-Church Commission on refugee resettlement, Mr Keith Taylor, said it

was a sign of successful settling if people then felt free to move. He cited a warmer climate as a main factor. However, he also believed immigrant services were much better in Australia. The director of the Immigration Service, Mr Don Bond, said he, too, saw no problem in Vietnamese moving on after only three years. “Our aim is to provide an avenue for resettlement,” he said. “Once they’re in New Zealand they have the same rights and privileges as you and I, and if they choose to go somewhere else that’s their business.” About 10 per cent of Kampucheans and Jewish refugees also decide that pastures are greener in Australia, say leaders of those communities. Mr Michael Clements, of the Wellington Hebrew Congregation, said probably the same proportion of the Jewish population as the general population went to Australia to live. He cited the desire to find a marriageable Jewish partner as a main reason, because of the bigger Jewish community there. In the past 10 years the Wellington Jewish population had shrunk from more than 5000 to about 1800, but many had also gone to Auckland or Israel, he said.