I find the view that it is possible to vet immigrants on the basis of their attitudes to others who are ethnically different from them breathtakingly naïve.
Yet this is the view of Professor Margaret Mutu, and others like her, who have asked for restrictions to be placed on migrants from South Africa and Europe because they bring white supremacist attitudes that are against Māori interests.
Race issues emerge in New Zealand with monotonous regularity.
Usually they are placated by people in influential positions who promote the value of diversity and the vibrancy this adds to New Zealand.
Usually Māori do not get too involved in the public discussion of these issues.
However they have raised two points with some regularity.
Some Māori have expressed the view that immigration reduces their proportion of the population and thus somehow compromises their role as the indigenous people of New Zealand and their Treaty-based rights.
Thus, Māori appear to be anti-immigration implicitly.
The fears expressed by some Māori are based on their assumption that immigrants are a homogenous group that acts in unison.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
This impression is a function of classifying a number of different migrant groups as belonging to one homogenous group.
This is exactly the case when you classify everybody from countries like China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as Asians. This is a non-descript term that only refers to a region of the world and not to the similarities and differences in the cultures and ethnicities that populate that vast geographical area.
The actual number of Chinese in New Zealand is probably about 150,000 and no way does this numerical strength threaten Māori interests.
The Indian population is about 135,000 and the same can be said about this cultural group. Each is significantly smaller than Māori population and they are not connected by any political interests as Māori are.
Another question that has been raised is the need for Māori to “sort out their issues first” before more immigration takes place.
Capitalise on strength
Thus some Māori call for a halt on all immigration.
This is another view that is breathtakingly naïve.
Māori renaissance has been underway for some 50 years now and its development trajectory and time frame is not and will not be compromised by New Zealand’s immigration policies which are essentially driven by its strategic interests and humanitarian programmes.
Rather than dwell on these counterproductive discourse, New Zealand should capitalise on its strengths and focus on how all its peoples, including its indigenous, European and ethnic communities, could contribute to making it a 21st century leader in harmony and diversity.
This will not happen automatically.
New Zealand needs new concepts to design and construct a society in which the interests of its indigenous peoples are not compromised, where the largest cultural group is not maligned, and where its generations of ethnic citizens can feel at home and valued.
We need new 21st century policies based on the understanding that our cultures are important to our identities which in turn give us the psychological tools to make this a great place for all New Zealanders.
The absence of that discourse in New Zealand places risks on national development that are being realised in Germany, France and Britain.
New Zealand will only avoid these risks if it engages its citizens in meaningful dialogue on our collective futures and puts a stop to the very divisive discussion that we have seen in the past few weeks.
As a Member of Parliament I am committed to bringing forward policies and programmes that do just that.
Dr Rajen Prasad is Labour Party’s Spokesman for Ethnic Affairs
