NZ to increase annual refugee quota to 1,500

Wellington, September 19 

New Zealand plans to increase the number of refugees it takes each year from 1,000 to 1,500. Liberal Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the new quota will take effect from 2020.

The country has previously been criticized for not taking enough refugees after the annual quota remained at 750 for three decades before it was raised to 1,000 this year.

Ardern said moving the number to 1,500 represents a significant increase. “It is the right thing to do,” she said. “It puts New Zealand much more in line with the humanitarian policies of other developed countries.” 

Ardern said she doesn’t anticipate the negative reaction to refugees that some people have had in countries like Germany because New Zealand gives refugees intensive support to ensure they have adequate housing.

The new policy is not likely to help the more than 600 refugees who are stuck on the tiny Pacific island of Nauru after they tried to reach Australia by boat. — AP