Maori feelings running high over Asian immigrants
Further proof today from the NZ press of the layers of racism that pervade New Zealand’s society, and that the concept of multi-culturalism is dead in the water in the youngest country on earth.
A new poll shows “Maori dislike Asian immigrants more than any other group of New Zealanders” and they blame them for taking jobs, driving Maori to Australia and not not showing due reverence to the much maligned Treaty of Waitangi.
Massey University’s pro vice-chancellor, Professor Paul Spoonley said:
“The diversity of New Zealand is beginning to undermine the investment we have in biculturalism. [Maori] don’t believe new migrants are sympathetic to biculturalism and the Treaty…surveys show Maori have an increasingly negative perception of Asians. It is caused by “competition in the labour market . . . and competition for cultural resources”
Maybe that’s because in most highly developed first world countries, very few people favour bi-culturalism over multi-culturalism?
“According to an Asia NZ Foundation survey, Maori views on Asian immigration have deteriorated in the past year. While most New Zealanders increasingly saw the benefit of Asian immigrants, 44 per cent of Maori believed New Zealanders were more negative towards people from Asia compared with a year ago.
That is well above the 27 per cent of all New Zealanders who are less positive towards Asians than last year.
A majority of Maori also believed New Zealand was allowing too much investment from Asia.
While having no particular issue with Asians, Mana Party leader Hone Harawira (whose policies include restricting immigrants from buying homes and requiring them to build) said Maori are worried about the effects all immigration has on the place of the Treaty of Waitangi in New Zealand.
“I think Maori are specifically concerned about immigration. They don’t see that the Treaty is being properly protected. If more and more people come here that don’t know about it, then there is the likelihood that less people will want to care about it. But Maori people do,” Harawira said.
Census 2013 figures show 598,605 people of Maori ethnicity living in New Zealand, the second largest ethnic group in the country, after pakeha, with 14.9 per cent of the population.
The Asian population is now New Zealand’s third largest at 471,711, according to the census. It has grown from 6.6 per cent in 2011 to 11.8 per cent in 2013.
Spoonley predicts that within the next two decades the Asian population will be larger than the Maori population…” source Stuff.co.nz
Asians now make up the largest group of new immigrants in New Zealand and have overtaken the traditional haul from Britain.
It has been stated that within a few years Maori will form a smaller cultural group in NZ than people from Asian countries. Maori also fare better in Australia than they do in New Zealand and make up a larger proportion of the Kiwi population there than they do in NZ.
How foolish is it then for NZ to continue its racist bi-cultural policies, why shouldn’t all New Zealanders be treated as equals, why should it matter what their ethnic origin is, or the colour of their skin?
It seems that the problem here is not the number of non-Caucasian migrants coming in to New Zealand but the treaty of Waitangi – a contentious document that has caused nothing but friction between Maori and Paheka ever since it was signed in February 1840. Its signing is solemnly revered on New Zealand’s national day ever since.
‘He iwi tahi tatou’ obviously doesn’t extend to others, especially Asians.
E2NZ.org 
Interesting because most of my mates are Maori and white pakeha. By the way, I am Chinese and came to NZ 7 years ago . I like hanging out with Maori and they are cool.
I think asians are great they’re kind, hardworking and respectful. I’m Maori but let’s be honest here, nobodys stealing our jobs etc… Modern Maori arent doing enough to earn their place in any workforce, living on benefits and smoking drugs then blaming everybody else.
I think Tim hit the nail on the head. we need to look at ourselves before blaming minorities. they only learn from their oppressor and act in their behalf.
Harry Stottle writes very well and I fully agree. As he said we are in 2015 and Maori and Pakeha kiwis need to grow up , accept meritocracy and excellence, respect education and accept new immigrants. For any country to succeed, it must be a meritocracy and not a extremely parochial, racist corrupt ,nepotistic and cronyistic society like NZ. NZ is now behind many Asian nations in technology and mindset and is now the sick man of the Asia Pacific. We are a banana republic in reality. The saddest part is so many talented immigrants are denied their rightful jobs in NZ. NZ is shooting itself in the foot and will soon go the way of the extinct Mao bird if it carries on like this
Immigration is a reality in modern times, albeit an experimental one, but what if fosters is a form of oneness of humanity (not in the hippy sense), but it allows many different cultures to come together and mix their individual cultures together. For example, in Australia there has been a huge Chinese presence since the gold rush, as such Chinese Australians are well and truly part of Australian life and have made great contributions to it. Melbourne had a Chinese-Australian mayer and he was very popular with the citizens of Melbourne, probably the most popular mayer we’ve ever had.
Multi-culturalism falls down when you have one particular race trying to enforce their culture over others, because it stifles the expansion of the new culture that comes from multi-culturalism. Whilst it’s wonderful that NZ has a treaty with the Maori, perhaps the Maori could be a little more adept at recognising what NZ needs to become a thriving multi-cultural society. There has to be some leeway to allow different cultures to bring their best to NZ society. Maoridom should be one in a melting pot of different cultures. This doesn’t have to compromise the treaty or the fact that the Maori are the original inhabitants of the land, it’s just evolution of the society.
What immigration also does is to foster good international relations with the countries of the immigrants. It opens up trade and education networks. It also fosters harmony between countries (rather than war and competition).
Whilst Chinese investment may be driving up prices now, it is also building a strong relationship with a growing superpower, who are far more likely to be amenable with small countries like NZ and Australia if they are allowed to expand their interests into our countries.
An extract from the Franklin Times in its lead story titled “Our Asiatics” on 18 January 1926.
“The serious danger with which civilisation is threatened does not come from actual savages or even from those of a higher plane, who may be called barbarians. The peril is from those dark-skinned races which have long ago put on a thin veneer of semi-civilisation, but have remained for centuries without rising any higher- are constitutionally incapable of rising any higher. No better example of this class of people can be found than the Hindus. Mentally and morally incapable of real civilisation they many centuries ago, rose as high on the human plane as they had it in them to rise, and have remained stationary ever since.”
The article went on to say that the “invasion of Asiatics” into civilised society could not but prove an unmitigated disaster if allowed to continue unchecked. That it upset all living standards and socially demoralised the existing population. That the worst was yet to come when inter-breeding would happen resulting in “mongrel off-spring, unable to bear the burden of civilisation.” The article ended with the remarks that the ruin of a few hundred industrious farmers was a mere trifle compared to the future degradation of our race if the peaceful penetration of these Asiatics was not stayed.
Instances of bigotry and prejudice persisted during these years all over New Zealand.. The country had a White New Zealand Immigration policy. The residents in Pukekohe were mainly potato farmers, mostly British, who felt threatened by the small number of Indians who began to settle there and start leasing land. This created economic competition for the white farmers. Indians first began to settle there in dribs and drabs from as early as 1911. They were attracted to the area as labourers for white farmers. But following World War 1 along with the Chinese, Indians started to lease small plots of land and grew vegetables for sale. Hostility towards them increased. They were constantly accused of undercutting Europeans because they could work longer hours, accept lower rates for pay, and maintain a far lower standard of living than that of any European.
Faced with this economic competition, the European farmers decided to form the White New Zealand League in 1925. Supported by the shopkeepers, the League drummed up xenophobia about an impending Asian invasion and the dangers of racial breeding. It started advocating that land should not be sold or leased to the Asians. It wanted Asian immigration to be banned and some members even demanded the repatriation of Asians resident in New Zealand.
Considerable publicity was given to the activities of the White New Zealand League. In other issues, the local paper claimed that the Indian migrant was a ‘pariah’ and an ‘outcast’ and a degraded species, compared to the “true” Aryans of India. The morality and behaviour of the small number of Indians in the area also came under focus. The paper also once quoted the local mayor as saying that he did not know how it was that a “darkie” was able to make the land produce more than a white man. Other newspapers at the time which endorsed the League’s aims were the Auckland Star and New Zealand Herald.
The constant barrage of inflammatory articles kept appearing in the Franklin Times against Indians in the 1920s. There were some Indians who wrote letters to newspapers regarding their opposition to the activities of the New Zealand White League. A frequent contributor of letters to the newspapers was Jelal (Mick) Natali. He arrived to Auckland in 1920 from Gujarat and could read and write English fluently, unlike most their fellow countrymen who made their home in New Zealand. He wrote about discrimination against Indians in the country arguing that Indians were British subjects and should be treated as such. In a letter written on 22 July 1922 in the Auckland Star he drew attention to the treatment between the white and dark skinned people at the Hobson Street Tepid Baths. He complained that all except one bath was reserved for white people. His appeal to the City Council for equality of treatment received scant consideration. He also wrote many letters defending Indian’s right for independence.
By the end of the 1920s there wasn’t much support in terms of subscribing members for the White New Zealand League. Despite this on 29 May 1929 The Franklin Times believed that the League’s influence was greater than that indicated by active membership. In 1937 the Registrar of Incorporated Societies struck it off. But racism continued in Pukekohe and other parts of the country. The New Zealand Truth highlighted some of these incidents in an article on 3 October 1961 called Pukekohe ‘a town with a colour bar’ .It quoted a Maori social worker as saying it was “the most segregated-minded town he has ever been in.” Pukekohe was referred to as the Little Rock, a town in Southern United States where racism was rife against African Americans.
[ad hom attack deleted. Admin]
Maori, Pakeha, Immigrant. The three categories of ”New Zealander” that currently exist in the psyche of this hate-filled little country. The Maori despise the Pakeha as colonists. “They steal our land and food” is the cry. The Pakeha despise the Maori. “They are stupid, lazy and prefer living off Pakeha benefits to working” is the cry. Both Maori and Pakeha despise immigrants, irrespective of ethnic origin.”They take our jobs and houses” is the cry. If they are Asian add “they can’t speak proper English” . What a pathetic, self-destructive country New Zealand is. Wake up! The year is 2014 not 1840. The tribal model of life and work is no longer relevant. It’s a fossil. Nobody is growing subsistence crops or raiding the neighbouring tribe to grab land and slaves. The Pakeha are not going to leave for elsewhere. The Maori are as industrious and intelligent as any other ethnic group given the education and opportunities available to others. That immigrants take Maori and Pakeha jobs is a non-sequitur. The jobs would not exist if the indigenes had the knowledge, skills and experience to fill them. There is a shortage of affordable housing because the building industry is a cartel, its members overpaid and its methods outdated and materials below standard. For New Zealand to become a modern, civilized and developed country three essential bedrock changes need to occur. First bin the categories of “New Zealander”. A New Zealander is a Citizen of New Zealand. Full stop. Skin colour and ethnic origin are irrelevant. Get rid of your racism. It does not sit well with the 21st century. Second recognise the pervasive and insidious nepotism and corruption which operates in public (including the police and judiciary) and private life throughout New Zealand. Stop believing your own propaganda about a clean green country. Form an executive body with the power and authority to stamp corruption out. Third, recognise that progress depends on an educated and skilled workforce whether they be indigenous or imported. Welcome your immigrants with open arms and make them an indispensable part of your lives. Absorb the good parts of their culture. You will be enriched by them. If you don’t do these things New Zealand will fail as a country and a society. Don’t come cap in hand expecting favours from the rest of the world when it does.
Your kinda right in many ways but wrong in others. I am a 6th generation kiwi. ‘Tangata whenua’ by Maori rules of lore which stated that the third generation in occupation of land are ‘tangata whenua’! Maori don’t like hearing that but it’s their lore, not ours! I dislike Maori attitude of ‘you owe us’! And constant bleating about injustices of the past. Otherwise an affable people and my fellow kiwis. Oh, their crime stats are a worry too. Asians are pleasant enough folk. Thing is, their shear weight of numbers will change the fabric of our society. For my kids sake this worries me but they’ll adapt. Maori bleating about past injustice, long since atoned for, holds them back as a people and NZ as a nation. We all need to move forward. To quote the ToW ‘as one people’
Changing the fabric of this society is exactly what’s needed. Don’t worry, with Asians your children’s future will be one of hard work, respect, and no child/elderly abuse or violent crime. I’ve lived with them, both Chinese and Filipino and while those countries have their issues, none feature the disgusting levels of the aforementioned traits of NZ society.
Filipinos are some of the most honorable people that I have come across.
trust me, the Maori have only caught this attitude from the rest. Most of them lack the intelligence to know what immigrant Asian means let alone the ambition to dislike them!