Confident, equal and proud? A discussion paper on the barriers Asians face to equality in New Zealand The Hon Pansy Wong states that her vision as Minister for Ethnic Affairs “is to ensure that ethnic New Zealanders are confident, equal and proud citizens of our nation.” Yet, strong barriers still remain to the equality of ethnic New Zealanders, and in some instances the inequities between ethnic New Zealanders and European New Zealanders continue to widen. The research indicates that this is especially true for Asian people. A myriad of reports have been released in New Zealand on migrants, refugees, skilled workers and international students, along with New Zealanders attitudes towards them, and in all cases Asians stand out as the group experiencing the most discrimination. These findings lead to three important questions: 1. Why is this (broad) group a particular target for discrimination, and is this over and above that experienced by other minority groups? 2. Do Asians feel confident and proud regardless of this apparent discrimination? 3. What can be done to ensure that Asians are given equal treatment? This report does not aim to answer these questions, but instead seeks to encourage discussion by providing a review of the research showing Asians to be the group facing the most discrimination in NZ. This report is a discussion paper for the 2010 New Zealand Diversity Forum taking place on August 23 at the Christchurch Convention Centre, co-hosted by the Human Rights Commission and Victoria University of Wellington’s Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research. It is our hope that the material provided here will lead the way to an informed and constructive discussion on discrimination towards Asians in NZ and about how to move forward from here. Any and all input into this discussion is welcome and encouraged.