Community Engagement Report for developing a National Action Plan Against Racism
were established. Additional restrictions on
Chinese migrants, that further entrenched white
supremacy, were imposed well into the twentieth
century. Other restrictions on migrants included
English language testing.
Increased unemployment in the 1970s and
1980s stoked anti-immigrant feeling and the
Government cracked down on migrants whose
visas had expired. Pacific communities, who had
been encouraged to migrate to New Zealand
in the 1950s to fill labour shortages, were
particularly targeted by police in dawn raids. This
was despite most migrants without current visas
being from the United Kingdom, South Africa and
the United States. This disproportionate targeting
again reflected entrenched racist systems,
ideologies and attitudes.
New Zealand Human Rights Commission
Ethnic communities in Aotearoa experience
social and economic inequities, although
the picture is mixed, reflecting the diverse
backgrounds, histories and cultures of these
communities. A Pacific and ethnic pay gap
persists, as do inequitable health outcomes.
Ethnic communities continue to experience
harassment, discrimination and racism, and the
sense that they do not belong, no matter how
long their families and communities have been
present in the country. They feel marginalised
and oppressed by the dominance of Pākehā
norms and values.
See Appendix Two for a summary of relevant
Commission work on racism experienced by
ethnic Tangata Tiriti.
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