ASIAN immigrants in New Zealand are in the eye of a raging storm as the South Pacific nation engages in an intense debate on whether Asian settlers are strengthening the economy of the country with their skills and enterprise or are mere parasites eating off a country not their own, hence choking its space.
The debate, which is taking place on not only in television and radio stations but also in university common rooms and people's living rooms all over New Zealand, is clearly a no-holds-barred contest. Those on the side of the Asian immigrants swear by their competence and impressive work ethic.
Those against them, on the other hand, accuse them of bringing social and cultural instability to the country, some fanatical ones going to the extent of blaming them for the spread of diseases and even rising road accidents.
In a country of largely European settlers, Asian immigration has seen a dramatic rise in the last three years. Of the 42,388 persons approved in 1994 for permanent residency in New Zealand, 22,778 were Asians. In 1995, Asians accounted for as many as 33,113 of the 54,811 new immigrants.
Leading the anti-immigration crusade is a firebrand lawyer and MP, Winston Peters, who heads a small but rapidly growing political party called New Zealand First. Ever since Peters started his campaign against the "flood of immigrants", his popularity ratings as well as that of his party have soared. A recent opinion poll showed that New Zealand First had more than doubled its ratings in just a month to touch 17 per cent, a mark as high as that of the two major opposition parties, Labour and Alliance.
The intensity of the immigration debate has put the ruling National Party on the defensive. While it still leads the way with a popularity rating of 42 per cent, it is worried about the possibility that it may not be able to form the next government on its own as this year's elections are to be contested under a new system of proportional representation.
Political overtones apart, the immigration debate has brought to the fore traces of xenophobia in New Zealand. Although Peters denies that his anti-immigration campaign is directed against Asians, he has already sown the seeds of disharmony with his rhetoric.
At a recent public meeting, Peters said that the current immigration policy "has left the floodgates open for immigrants to steal the jobs of New Zealanders". Riding high on his oratorical skills, he went on to reminisce about the good old days of New Zealand when "it had streams you could drink from without getting giardia".
Taking the cue from Peters, some people's groups have gone a step ahead and suggested that immigrants were responsible for reintroducing tuberculosis to New Zealand. According to Bevin Skelton, a spokesperson for Kiwis Against Further Immigration (KAFI), the government's policies are turning "my city (Auckland) into a polluted zoo".
To be sure, Prime Minister Jim Bolger has been quick to react to the new controversy, providing a rational counterpoint. He has accused Peters of indulging in "grubby and despicable gutter politics". According to him, it is "hypocritical of New Zealanders to attack other immigrants, since New Zealand is a young nation and most of its population, except the Maori, have been here for less than 150 years".
Praising the "positive contribution" made by immigrants to the economic growth of the country, Bolger says that New Zealand "needs to develop economic ties with Asian countries". Links with Asia are important for New Zealand because the Asia-Pacific region is expected to rake in 60 per cent of the world's GDP by early next century and it would not like to lose out on a share of the booming trade.
Immigration Minister Roger Maxwell supports the prime minister's stand and says that, contrary to popular perception, the rise in immigration has led to a fall in unemployment levels from 11 per cent to 6.6 per cent. However, he admits that the number of people granted permanent residency during the last two years has overshot the target fixed by the government. "Tougher approval criteria have brought things under control," he hastens to add.
At present, New Zealand permits residency on a points system based on the applicant's qualifications, work experience, age and English language proficiency, among other things. But this system is not perfectly suitable, since many of those admitted with a high point score often cannot work unless they have a job offer before arrival. There are an estimated 500 doctors who have been approved for residency but have not been able to register for practice in New Zealand.
NEW Zealand immigration policies allow people to come in under a business investor category with points being allotted for specific amounts of money that is brought into the country. While this policy has brought in a lot of foreign exchange into the country, it has prompted many anti-immigration campaigners to describe it as a "prostitution of citizenship".
Immigration has touched a raw nerve in certain quarters because of the spiralling land prices in Auckland, which is a centre immigrants flock to. The skyline of the city is rapidly changing with pretty town houses giving way to high-rise apartment complexes. Pressure on public service institutions, such as schools and hospitals, is building too. Peters, in fact, argues that land should not be sold to foreign investors. This is an argument that is contested by Auckland Mayor Les Mills, who reasons that immigrants are bringing with them skills and capital (NZ $722 million last year) to the country and actually creating more jobs as a result.
It is surprising that immigration has become such a major issue in a country where no human habitation existed until the first wave of Polynesians arrived to settle down here barely 1,000 years ago. After the pioneering expeditions of Dutch explorer Abel van Tasman and British navigator Captain James Cook in the 17th and 18th centuries, respectively, Europeans began settling in New Zealand, turning the country into what is often described as "a verdant slice of England".
According to a 1993 ethnic profile of New Zealand, 74 per cent of the population are of European origin, 13 per cent Maori, five per cent other Polynesian people and 4.6 per cent from varied ethnic strains—including Dutch, American and Asian sub-groups. Recent studies show that while the percentage of those of European origin (locally called Pakeha) is on the decline, those of others, primarily Asians, including Chinese, Koreans and Indians, are on the rise, albeit slowly.
For five years up to 1990, New Zealand had negative immigration with about 11,000 to 24,000 people migrating to other countries. But after the post-1990 economic boom, the net immigration into New Zealand has been rising steadily and Asians have been ahead of others in get ting in, leading to fears among older set tlers of a "cultural invasion". One charge against Asian immigrants is that many of them are not proficient in English, the official language of the country along with Maori. New immigration laws, however, make it mandatory for immigrants to have a good working knowledge of English.
A key reason for the distrust for new immigrants among some of the older set tlers is the high levels of economic and educational achievement among incoming Asians—a people long seen as economically poor and deserving foreign aid. As a minister said recently, "some people worry about being outdone by immigrants. The level of achievement by Asian students in our schools is almost embarrassingly high. We should be learning from that work ethic, not fearing it."
This being an election year, the debate is likely to become more intense in the days to come. And the New Zealand First party of Winston Peters is unlikely to apply the brakes on the anti-immigration campaign, knowing that it is in a position to hold the balance of power if, indeed, a coalition government takes charge.
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