Race relations 'not bad'

BY DAVID TAURANGA

Trying to sum up race relations in Auckland is like summing up the weather - some fine days, some rainy.

Or so says the Human Rights Commission on the state of race relations in Tamaki Makaurau - Auckland.

It preferred to keep quiet because the issue was too broad for one article.

Who would blame them?

There are no black and white answers to such a broad issue.

In fact there are around 1.4 million answers, based on the day-to-day experiences of anyone who lives between Pukekohe and Wellsford.

Next year Tamaki Makaurau - Auckland becomes a supercity and its communities are divided over that, especially over Maori representation. But if there is no definitive answer to the race question, does that mean we should stop asking?

Massey University sociology professor Paul Spoonley doesn't think so and says race relations are "not bad actually".

He says compared with Australia we don't have major conflicts or inter-group hostilities like those seen during the Cronulla race riots.

"We don't have extremist and racist political parties like in other countries, which is one reason why I think it's a reasonably positive situation."

Auckland's diversity is rooted in changes to immigration policies over the decades that led to significant waves of migration from the Pacific and Asia.

But surveys of Kiwis and new migrants reveal half of both groups have experienced or witnessed racism ranging from slurs in passing to some migrants being unable to land jobs because of discrimination, Mr Spoonley says.

"Auckland hit a peak during the 1996 election when attitudes were hostile towards Asians in particular - but they've improved since then.

"What is interesting though is that Pacific migrants have been here for some time ... what you're beginning to see is their impact on things like music, film and sport."

One relationship he does believe has improved is that between Pakeha and Maori. But while some fences have been mended, there are still gaping holes.

"Every so often you get something that shows there are limits to tolerance, for example Maori representation on the supercity."

Tamaki Makaurau is vastly different to what it was when Ngati Whatua o Orakei chairman Grant Hawke was growing up.

Back in the day Maori were treated like second-rate citizens and apartheid was present, Mr Hawke says.

"In the 60s if Maori went to the pictures in Pukekohe we weren't allowed on the mezzanine floor - we had to sit down on the ground on boxes."

There's still Maori bashing going on today, he says, but it's subtle and hidden.

The old elephant tends to walk into the room when political issues arise, such as the scrapping of Maori seats on the supercity, he says.

"Or other matters like protecting our wahi tapu sites on maunga throughout the city. Our sacred sites are just mentioned, recorded and that's it.

"People still walk or ride their bikes over wahi tapu and that goes against the belief and the tikanga of what mana whenua feel about these sacred places."

With a quarter of the country's Maori living in Tamaki Makaurau, the region is like a magnet, he says.

But he thinks Maori are probably "third rate" in the region now, given its population growth and other factors such as education and employment. There's still a long way to go.

"Today most of the discrimination is very subtle towards us but Maori can get over that. It is up to us to change it within our own world."

FEW TRYING TO BRIDGE THE GAP, SAYS ACADEMIC

New Zealand-born Samoan and Tokelauan researcher Efeso Collins believes race relations are fine as long as people stick to their own.

His view is different to that of Massey University sociologist Paul Spoonley - and certainly not as upbeat.

Mr Collins believes Auckland's different communities are good at living in their own zones but useless at understanding each other.

No one's learning to live together and very few people, if any, are trying to bridge the cultural gaps, he says.

"We often have the wealthy at one end, predominantly Pakeha and Asian, and then the poor black at the other end. Everyone just goes about their own thing.

"Look at the Pasifika Festival. It's really other people looking at the cosmetic stuff of Pacific culture, not understanding our history, our languages and our contributions."

Mr Collins believes most of Auckland's Pacific community are "living in survival mode" and as a result they're unable to be more than just the region's underclass.

Pacific people are still underachieving at school, have the lowest participation in tertiary education and the highest unemployment rate, he says.

"When your family is utterly committed to making sure there's enough food on the table and a roof overhead then that is your sole focus.

"If we don't raise levels of educational achievement for young Pacific people we're going to be the underclass for a long time."

- © Fairfax NZ News