Saturday February 16, 2008

New Zealanders' perceived discrimination against Asians has dropped to its lowest level since tracking began seven years ago.

Polls by the Human Rights Commission found that the proportion of New Zealanders who see "some" or "a great deal" of discrimination against Asians has dropped from a peak of almost 80 per cent in 2003-04 to just 68 per cent at the end of last year.

But this was still the highest discrimination rate perceived against any group, followed by the overweight, welfare beneficiaries and recent immigrants (all 62 per cent), refugees (56 per cent) and gays and lesbians (54 per cent).

Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres, who will present details to the Federation of Ethnic Councils in Christchurch today, said the downward trend suggested that Asians were slowly becoming accepted in New Zealand, as Pacific Islanders and other immigrants had been before them.

"Eighteen years of Asian migration in Auckland is starting to become a fact of life," he said.

The polls of 750 people by UMR Research found that 71 per cent of Asians themselves still feel that New Zealanders discriminate against them - 26 per cent "some" and 45 per cent "a great deal".

Pacific Islanders feel more accepted. Only 4 per cent feel they are discriminated against "a great deal" and 58 per cent feel "some" discrimination.

But Maori feel even more heavily discriminated against than Asians - 24 per cent "a great deal" and 49 per cent "some".

Asked if they personally have been discriminated against, 31 per cent of Maori but only 20 per cent of non-Maori said "yes".

The number of complaints to the Human Rights Commission over "racial disharmony" jumped from 27 in 2006 to 66 last year.

More than half (35) related to a comment by Whakatane District councillor Russell Orr that "lazy, greedy, lawless and ungrateful cheats that infest the outer regions of our district [should] be made to comply with the same rules you and I abide by".

Mr de Bres said the commission decided not to prosecute Mr Orr because the comment, though "offensive", did not meet the legal test of "inciting" racial disharmony.

Mr Orr last night stood by his comments. "There are lazy, lawless, ungrateful cheats out there and I'm not going to apologise to them."
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(Source - NZ Herald, Simon Collins)