It is a pleasure to join with the other speakers to welcome the NZ Diversity Forum to Christchurch as the city's Mayor. This is made more special by the fact that it is your 10th anniversary.
 
As a former Minister of Immigration I was really proud of what we managed to achieve by establishing strong working relationships with migrant and refugee communities and focussing our attention – not on the numbers of migrants or refugees arriving – but
on the quality of the settlement or resettlement outcomes.

I was born in Christchurch and I've lived here all my life. I have had the privilege of serving the city for over 20 years as a Member of Parliament. Eighteen months ago I had no intention of standing for the Mayoralty. I was ultimately persuaded to do so by people from across the city, from all walks of life and various political persuasions appealing to my sense of duty.