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The new Race Relations Commissioner says he wants to make harmonious communities.
Meng Foon will take up the job in August when he finishes as Gisborne mayor.
He says his own life and his professional career have been enriched by learning te reo Maori.
The new role is another way to serve his community.
"What I do is encourage our communities to create harmonious communities, to care for each other, to tolerate each other, to love each other, to understand each other and contribute to New Zealand. It's a great paradise. We need to continue to nurture the values that we all have," Mr Foon says.
The job has been vacant since the retirement of Dame Susan Devoy last year but the appointment was delayed by an unsuccessful applicant in an earlier round seeking an injunction to stop the process followed by a judicial review.
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