"There is No Racism in New Zealand"?

 

There is a New Zealand myth that racism against Maori has been overcome to the extent that Maori have more opportunities and rights than non-Maori.  Why, people ask, is there no Pakeha television while Maori Television continues for the sole purpose of furthering Maori culture? Why are there more opportunities for Maori students to access support through scholarships and Tuakana-like programmes? I have even heard others in New Zealand accuse Maori of abusing the Treaty of Waitangi, claiming that their interpretation of the text is distorted to gain more control over New Zealand’s land and resources to the detriment of ‘white’ culture.  Yet to say that Maori are more privileged than Pakeha in New Zealand is to be ignorant of racial power relations in New Zealand and the history in which these power relations have been produced. 

Browne, Governor of New Zealand during the 1850s, suggested that New Zealand was the only colony where the Maori people had “been invited to unite with the Colonists and…become one people”.  This idea continues to be prevalent in New Zealand.  I remember that in the last census there were people who complained that there was no ‘New Zealander’ option in the ethnicity checklist and argued that there should be because differences as a result of racial backgrounds had been overcome.  Yet to say that New Zealanders are all one people refuses to acknowledge that there even is a Maori culture that is different from Pakeha values.  As such, the argument giving more opportunities to Maori to further their culture undermines racial equality is ignorant of the fact that the playing field between Maori and Pakeha was never balanced to begin with.  It is not that Maori ‘need more help’ in achieving but rather that, because of institutionalised racism, Maori are often under-advantaged compared to Pakeha.  For example, the Minister of Maori Development, Te Ururoa Flavell, noted in 2014 that Maori were “four to five times more likely to be apprehended, prosecuted and convicted than non-Maori counterparts”.

The media often reinforce the structural racism that institutionalised racism works within.  For example, Mike Hosking’s argument that Waitangi should no longer be observed as a national holiday due to yearly protests refuses to acknowledge the Tiriti as a legitimate and honourable commitment that should reflect good relations between Maori and non-Maori nor that, in many respects, there is a good reason for the protests given some aspects of the Treaty have not been upheld.