New Zealand South Asian Centre

May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language. Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is afternoon [sign].

May I specifically greet you: Professor Ian Town, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Canterbury; Associate Professor Martin Fuchs, Director of the New Zealand South Asian Centre; Professor Sekhar Bandyopadhyay of Victoria University of Wellington and the President of the New Zealand Asian Studies Society; Your Excellency Kadakath Pathrose Ernest, the High Commissioner for India to New Zealand; Your Excellency Irfan Shaukat, the Deputy High Commissioner for Pakistan to New Zealand; Distinguished guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen.
Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and I to the University of Canterbury for the opening of the New Zealand South Asian Centre.

I have been asked to formally open this new centre and will do so in a few moments, but before I do, I would like to speak as to the Centre's significance and of New Zealand's connection to the region, specifically Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

This is, of course, a particular personal pleasure for me. Amajo South Asian Country, India, was the land of my grandparents and so I have a personal connection with Asia.  It was a matter of both coincidence and moment to make the first State Visit by a New Zealand Governor-General to India in September last year.

I was equally pleased to accept the invitation to become the patron of this new research centre. It dovetails well with the patronage of the Asia New Zealand Foundation, of which I was deputy chair before being appointed Governor-General.

There is no doubt of the growing depth of New Zealand's relationship with the South Asian countries.  The number of New Zealanders with family connections to South Asia has grown significantly in recent years.

The 2006 census showed that more than 104,000 people of Indian descent alone are now living in New Zealand, and that is without adding in those from the other countries on the subcontinent. That was a significant increase on the previous census figure.

These new New Zealanders from the subcontinent bring with them their talents and skills, including often an entrepreneurial flair, as well as great cultural richness.

I think it is fair enough to say that many New Zealanders have an empathetic connection with Nepal through the late Sir Edmund Hillary. 

His wonderful achievement in conquering Mt Everest with Tenzing Norgay was followed by a close and enduring relationship with the people of the area, including his time as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Nepal during the 1980s.  His death in January last year was a loss felt not only in New Zealand but also very keenly in both countries, Nepal and India.

As was so obvious to us when we visited India last year, the South Asia region has been growing in prosperity rapidly in the last decade.  There are clear trade opportunities there for New Zealand and indeed formal negotiations have begun for a free trade agreement between New Zealand an India.

In our education sector there is also a growth in what is being learnt about South Asian countries.  I am advised, for example, that this University, the University of Canterbury, has just begun classes this semester in the first South Asia Studies programme at a New Zealand university.

In other New Zealand universities too, more research is now being undertaken on topics connected with South Asian countries.  As well, an increasing number of postgraduate students from South Asian countries are studying in New Zealand.

The New Zealand South Asian Centre will act as a focus for such research. Although it is based here on the campus of the University of Canterbury, I am told that this will be a national centre that will link all those involved in research and teaching on South Asia at New Zealand universities.

In doing so, the centre is a physical representation of the rapidly developing relationship between New Zealanders and the people of the South Asian countries. 

I believe that New Zealanders are very tolerant people. We are used to working together and, to use the colloquial phrase, getting on with the job.

The ‘live and let live' attitude that is notable in the New Zealand character is a strength. But it can also be a weakness when we do not take the time to engage one another in the conversations that are necessary to develop a relationship to a level where we can gain some understanding of other people's cultures and beliefs.

The Asia strategy document of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade - "Our Future with Asia" - has as one of its four main challenges that of "becoming more ‘Asia literate'."

That is what this centre is all about and I believe that the work done through this new organisation will help create a force that will be felt in the wider community.  

Becoming ‘Asia literate' is a challenge for all New Zealanders, not just for academics at centres such as this one.

And it is not an overnight task. It will take awareness and commitment.  A Māori elder once aptly described this kind of effort as ‘e kimi ana i nga ka wai i toro ki tawhiti' - which can be translated as ‘seeking the shoots that reach far'.

I would like to congratulate those who have put in all the hard work to get this centre established. I am sure that the ‘shoots' you send out will reach ground that is fertile in the years to come.

So it gives me great pleasure, as Governor-General of New Zealand to officially declare the New Zealand South Asian Centre open.

And on that note of anticipation, I will close New Zealand's first language, Māori, by offering greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours.

No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.