Is Aotearoa New Zealand a racist country? In April 2013, TV3’s national debate programme The Vote posed this question to its viewers, inviting them to register their opinion. Of those that voted, 76 per cent said ”Yes”. Racial discrimination and harassment can take many forms. Confronting it requires bravery, resilience and a commitment to equal treatment for all people. Asian peoples and Mäori most likely to experience discrimination Aotearoa New Zealand has comprehensive laws, policies and practices in place to prevent discrimination and promote equality. Nevertheless, discrimination remains a reality for certain groups of people. Almost one out of every ten New Zealanders (9.6 per cent) experienced discrimination in the last 12 months, according to the latest New Zealand General Social Survey.9 The survey, which assesses the wellbeing of New Zealanders aged 15 years and over, asked people if they felt they had been treated unfairly or had something nasty done to them in the last year because of the group they belonged to or seemed to belong to. This included being treated unfairly because of their age, skin colour, family status, sex or because of a disability or health issue. The survey found that the highest rates of discrimination were reported by those in sole parent families (14.3 per cent), recent migrants (15.1 per cent), Mäori (15.7 per cent) and Asian peoples (15.8 per cent). Complaints to the Human Rights Commission Racial discrimination continued to be the most common form of unlawful discrimination reported to the Human Rights Commission, with 496 racial discrimination complaints received in 2013. Those complaints made up almost one third (30.5 per cent) of all unlawful discrimination complaints received by the Commission during the year, a pattern which has changed little over the last decade. Employment settings As in previous years, most race-related complaints (29 per cent) referred to unlawful discrimination in employment settings, either while at work or when seeking employment. Around a third of these were to do with racist bullying or harassment in the workplace. This was closely followed by complaints about pre-employment practices, in particular regarding employers who were perceived to be deliberately excluding job applicants of certain ethnicities. Other complaints included being treated unfairly or having lesser/less advantageous working conditions compared with others, and failure to have cultural needs accommodated in the workplace. Race related unlawful discrimination enquiries and complaints (by area) 30% 25% 20% 15% 29% 10% 21.5% 19% 5% Employment & pre-employment consolidated Government activity Racial disharmony (public places) 16% Provision of goods & services 6.5% Land, house & accommodation 3.5% 4.5% Educational establishments Other 23