Welcome to the sixth annual New Zealand race relations report. The first report, reviewing 2004, noted the publication of the Commission’s landmark status report on human rights, Human Rights in New Zealand Today – Ngā Tika Tangata o te Motu, and the development of the first New Zealand Action Plan for Human Rights, Mana ki te Tangata. The Commission is updating the status report in 2010 and developing a second five-year action plan for 2011-2015. This is an opportunity for New Zealanders to discuss longer term priorities for race relations and human rights.
There has been good progress since 2004 towards achieving the race relations priorities in the action plan, particularly in relation to language diversity, indigenous rights, migrant settlement and cultural diversity. The race relations report has become an important resource, by recording major events, issues and developments and identifying issues that need to be addressed. It is used locally and internationally as a source of up-to-date information on the state of race relations in New Zealand.
There is never a shortage of things to report on each year. Once again, there have been significant developments in Treaty of Waitangi settlements and other Treaty related matters, and the momentum of settlements continued from 2008. The new Immigration Act came into effect in November 2009 and provides a revised structure for migration and refugee resettlement. There continue to be many government, local government and community initiatives to foster cultural diversity and harmonious relations.
Positive incremental change is taking place in relation to religious diversity, language diversity and media diversity. Major diversity research projects have been completed or are under way. The results of the first general social survey were published, providing new information on the experience of discrimination and other race relations and human rights issues. Participation in diversity events, such as Waitangi Day, Chinese New Year, Pasifika, Race Relations Day, Matariki, World Refugee Day, Māori Language Week, and Diwali, continues to increase.
An international chapter has been included this year because of a series of significant interactions with the United Nations: the Durban Review Conference Against Racism, the Universal Periodic Review of New Zealand by the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the consideration of New Zealand’s report to the Committee Against Torture, focusing on detention issues.
There were fears the economic recession of 2009 would halt or even reverse progress in achieving racial equality. This proved to be the case in relation to employment, with Māori unemployment rising from 8.2 per cent in December 2008 to 15.4 per cent in December 2009, Pacific unemployment from 7.8 per cent to 14 per cent, and MELAA (Middle Eastern, Latin American and African) from 10.6 per cent to 17.1 per cent. This was compared to the overall unemployment rate rising from 4.6 per cent to 7.3 per cent in the same period. The figures for youth unemployment are even more disturbing: Māori youth unemployment rose from 19.5 per cent to 30.4 per cent and Pacific youth unemployment from 18.6 per cent to 29.8 per cent. Nearly one in three Māori and Pacific youth were unemployed at the end of 2009. People on temporary work permits were also affected by the recession, as their permits were not extended. There were instances of migrant workers being accused of taking the jobs of New Zealanders. One area where employment was sustained and increased was the Recognised Seasonal Employer Scheme, for workers from the Pacific, in horticulture and viticulture.
Data on racial discrimination and harassment from 2009 are a cause for concern. There was a significant increase in the number of race-related complaints to the Human Rights Commission. Statistics New Zealand’s first General Social Survey (GSS) indicated 10 per cent of New Zealanders experience some form of discrimination; among these, racial discrimination is the most common. Continued discrimination against Asian New Zealanders was evidenced both in the GSS and in a survey of public perceptions of discrimination.
The annual Mood of the Nation report by UMR Research in December showed public optimism about the future of race relations was high (second highest of all categories, with 37 per cent thinking they would improve, 38 per cent thinking they would remain the same, and 23 per cent thinking they would get worse).
According to the report, no race relations story made it into the top 10 news stories for the year. However, the controversy over MP Hone Harawira’s racially offensive email was the most followed story for the month of November. Other race relations issues that attracted public attention and debate were government recognition of a Māori flag and changing the spelling of the city of Whanganui to reflect current Māori language practice. Many of the major developments covered in this report, including the review of the Foreshore and Seabed Act, Treaty settlements and the new Immigration Act, received less media attention.
One issue that united New Zealanders of different ethnicities more than any other in 2009 was the Pacific tsunami. Its devastating impact was felt by all New Zealanders, particularly those of Pacific descent. There was a more keen sense of common identity between Pacific and other New Zealanders. The New Zealand media were able to draw extensively on their Pacific journalists in radio, television and print to cover the story, and The New Zealand Herald published updates in the Samoan language.