Extra funding in Budget 2010 will help migrants and refugees settle in when they make New Zealand their home, says Associate Social Development Minister Tariana Turia.

The Government will increase investment in the Settling In initiative by $3 million over the next three years. The increased funding will support extra coordinators in more regions around the country.

"I have seen first hand how the Settling In initiative has made a real and tangible difference to the quality of life for new New Zealanders and I am delighted that the funding increase will help to make their transition even easier," Mrs Turia says.

The Settling In initiative was introduced in 2004 to help make it easier for refugees and migrants to establish themselves in New Zealand.

"It recognised the increasing ethnic diversity in this country and a growing awareness that intervention was required beyond the early settlement period," Mrs Turia says.

Settling In is a community development programme that works directly with newcomer communities.

"It is a collaborative programme where coordinators work with a range of government and community organisations within the refugee and migrant communities."

Evaluation in 2008 found that the Settling In programme was successfully contributing to a wide range of positive outcomes for refugees and migrants and for host communities.

(Source Beehive)