Editorial: Let's celebrate our diversity

OPINION: In 1905 a former goldminer, Joe Kum Yung, was murdered in Wellington's Haining St.

His killer, Lionel Terry, wanted to draw attention to the perils of Chinese immigration. He believed all non-European immigration to New Zealand should be stopped. The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography notes that "while few people had condoned Joe Kum Yung's murder, many shared Terry's dislike of the Chinese. It is said that a petition for his release was circulated".

That was unsurprising in a city that had four anti-Asian and anti-Chinese societies and in a country that had in 1881 imposed a poll tax of 10 later increased to 100, more than $16,500 in today's dollars on Chinese immigrants.

Thankfully, the Wellington of 2009 is not the same as the Wellington of 1905. An Asia New Zealand Foundation study released this week shows a city becoming more ethnically Asian. After Auckland, Wellington with nearly 37,000 Asian people including those of Asian origin born in New Zealand has the second-largest number of Asians in New Zealand.

Many are here because of an immigration policy move in 1987 away from drawing migrants from a list of preferred countries to instead focus on the personal qualities of applicants.

The United Kingdom and Ireland still provide most of the city's immigrants, but the growth in the number of Wellingtonians born in Asia has been more than 300 per cent between 1986 and 2006 from about 7400 to nearly 23,000. Most are from China or India hardly surprising, given the size of those two nations.

The changing ethnic profile of the city reflects the realities of New Zealand in the 21st century. It is a nation perched on the Asia Pacific Rim with growing links to those economies. The just announced decision of India's Bank of Baroda to begin operating here simply underlines that.

However, there are still those who are uncomfortable with recognising that, for New Zealand, Asia is the near north rather than the far east. Last year, then NZ First deputy leader Peter Brown himself an immigrant spoke for many of them when he announced he was worried by population projections suggesting the number of Asian New Zealanders will almost double by 2026 to 790,000, and that "if we flood this country with people of different culture, different attitude, they will go and live in their own little communities and the country will suffer for it".

Earlier this week a Thai girl studying at a Christchurch high school was beaten up by fellow pupils on a bus. Avonside Girls' High School has denied there were racial overtones to the attack, but others say those attacking her told her to go back to her own country. Some Asians in Wellington say they have received similar messages.

Thankfully, it is more common for them to talk of acceptance, and of living in a multi-cultural city. That is how it should be. All New Zealanders are either immigrants, or descended from immigrants, whether they came in one of the first canoes centuries ago, or on an Airbus last week. That Wellington now has 85 ethnic groups within its boundaries, and that Diwali and Chinese New Year are publicly celebrated along with Christmas is something to be celebrated rather than feared.

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Chris B   #2   10:54 am Sep 05 2009

Someone needs to switch on the thinking part of their brain. 'All NZers are immigrants', well, no kidding, same with the vast majority of other countries in the world. All Germans are all immigrants into what is now Germany, Indians to India and so on. It sounds a bit silly to make this a platform for an opinion. Lets get real, there is serious racism here. Writing platitudes with a 'lets all be happy, we're all immigrants tra-la-la' tone seems to me to be a waste of space.

Ian McKinnon   #1   09:13 am Sep 05 2009

Immigrants are okay if they leave their customs and cultures behind and fit into that, of the majority, in their new country. This has not happened. They have been arriving here (many illegally) and expecting us to move and make way for them. No bloody way.

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