Radio New Zealand is setting up a team of journalists to cover news for and about the country’s growing Asian populations.

The team will initially focus on the two largest Asian communities, Indian New Zealanders and Chinese New Zealanders.

RNZ’s Head of News, Richard Sutherland, told the Asian Media Centre the initial positions in the new unit were already being advertised.

“The reporting will be mainly for the website, and the first round of jobs includes a camera operator, two journalists to report on the Indian diaspora community and a journalist to report on the Chinese community,” he said.

“And there will be further jobs. The next round will focus on journalist-translators for English and Chinese stories.”

New Zealand is home to a significant Asian population, with people of Indian, Chinese, Korean and other Asian ethnicities making up around 15 percent of the population.