Theory and Practice

New Zealand is one of the great immigrant nations. Everyone here has a link to someone from somewhere else. But that doesn't mean everyone can agree on who should get to come here next. Noelle McCarthy investigates immigration in New Zealand and asks; when we build a nation by inviting people in, do we know how it will turn out?

Words by Ali Ikram; audio by Noelle McCarthy and John Daniell.

New Zealand is one of the great immigrant nations. In the third episode of Slice of Heaven, Noelle McCarthy discovers that doesn't mean we all agree on how to do it well. And Ali Ikram - a Cantabrian child of immigrants - delivers a written warning against parts of the debate.

When you are from a migrant family it is often hard to reconcile the warm welcome one receives in person from the community as a whole and the way immigrants are spoken about - at times - in politics.

The tactic is nothing new - in fact it is as old as democracy itself. Xenophobia was being employed when my mother and father arrived from England in 1973. The oil crisis had created uncertainty and Pacific communities who New Zealand had encouraged to settle here to work in manufacturing were targeted by the authorities. Some were asked to produce proof of residency in random street checks.

My father was a cardiologist in Christchurch and in the middle of this climate, one of his colleagues - a Pākehā Englishman - rang the police, informing them that he (the colleague) was also an immigrant and asked whether he too should carry his passport at all times to prove his right of abode. He was informed that this wouldn't be necessary.

What is positioned as a 'debate' or 'discussion' about immigration is often little more than a political set piece and is usually sidetracked by accusations that individuals who are pro-migration are excessively liberal and racism motivates those who are not. The underlying truth of the matter is that New Zealand has always allowed varying levels of new arrivals to satisfy its own ends, complementing the skills and capacities of the existing population. This is underlined by the fact that today a quarter of all New Zealanders were born overseas with migrants making a vital contribution to the workforces of essential services and key industries. Often this background is overlooked and we are depicted as a charitable country admitting immigrants in pursuit of 'a better life' without acknowledging the benefits they bring with them.

However, it is possible to recognize the legitimate concerns people have about the promises of what a New Zealand lifestyle should represent, while also understanding that these concerns are being manipulated to achieve a political outcome. …

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details