It Happened Here Reports of race and religious hate crime in New Zealand 2004-2012 Human Rights Commission Te Kahui Tika Tangata June 2019 ISSN: 978-0-478-35644-1 (Print) ISSN: 978-0-478-35645-8 (Online) Published June 2019 Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand It Happened Here Reports of race and religious hate crime in New Zealand 2004-2012 Foreword In the present publication, the Commission The Christchurch shootings have re-ignited brings together, for the first time, its annual public debate about hate crime and hate summaries of the media reports on racially speech, but there is little information available and religiously motivated crime between about the extent of racially and religiously 2004 and 2012. We hope this compilation will motivated crime in New Zealand. Police do deepen understanding and inform discussion. not collect this data, despite calls from the Around 100 incidents are included, ranging New Zealand Human Rights Commission from murder and kidnapping to serious since 2004, recommendations from the assault, threatening and disorderly behaviour, United Nations Committee on the Elimination abuse, deliberate damage to property and of Racial Discrimination in 2007 and 2017, desecration of sacred sites. Where the police and from the United Nations Human Rights have taken prosecutions, the courts have Council in 2009. Shortly after the Council treated the cases very seriously. made its recommendation in 2009, the Government of the day agreed with the As it has done for many years, the recommendation but said it was not a priority. Commission continues to argue that the The recommendation has never been authorities should gather this information on actioned. a systematic basis, including the number of complaints, prosecutions and convictions for The absence of systematically collected data race, religious and other forms of hate crime. and information on racially and religiously This will enable Government to monitor the motivated crime in New Zealand makes it extent of the problem and develop effective very difficult to have an informed discussion evidence-based measures to reduce hate about their prevalence and design effective crime in New Zealand. It may also give measures to counter them. people and communities more confidence to speak out. Between 2004-2012, the Human Rights Commission brought together media The summaries below are taken from reports of racially and religiously motivated the annual reports of Race Relations crime as part of its annual Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres (2002-2013). He Reports. Publication of these annual media was succeeded by Dame Susan Devoy (2013- reports ceased in 2013, influenced by the 2018). During her term as Commissioner, Commission’s chronic lack of resources Dame Susan strongly advocated that the caused by the Government’s long-term police should systematically collect data on cap on funding. However, the nine years hate crime. I would like to thank Joris and of information provides a snapshot of the Dame Susan for their contribution to tackling kinds of crimes that have been committed in the issues raised in this publication. recent years. It is reasonable to assume that these reported incidents are just the tip of the Paul Hunt iceberg, particularly in relation to abusive and Chief Commissioner threatening behaviour, since these are an New Zealand Human Rights Commission extremely common complaint of ethnic and Wellington religious minorities. 1 June 2019 Reports of race and religious hate crime in New Zealand 2004-2012 1 Māori youth with trespass notices in a 2004 Hamilton mall. (Waikato Times, 18 May) Desecration of Jewish cemeteries • Attacks on migrants in Palmerston North Following the desecration of two Jewish by suspected National Front members. cemeteries in Wellington in July and August, (Manawatu Standard, 30 June) Parliament took the unprecedented action of • Desecration of Jewish graves in the unanimously passing a resolution deploring Bolton Street and Makara cemeteries these acts. Recalling the terrible history of in Wellington, and Whanganui. (July/ anti-Semitism culminating in the Holocaust, August) Parliament expressed unequivocal • Racist taunts against a Fijian Indian condemnation of anti-Semitism and all forms owner driver by staff at a rail depot in of racial and ethnic hatred, persecution and Hamilton. (Waikato Times, 7 August) discrimination. • Letters, including pieces of pork, A statement signed by Maori, Pākehā, sent to Muslim families in Wellington. Pacific, Asian and other ethnic community (September) leaders, religious leaders, mayors and councillors, business and trade union • An attack on three Asian students in New leaders, and community groups was tabled Plymouth and on the Māori community in the House supporting the resolution. leader who sought to intervene. (Taranaki Daily News, 1 October) The Speaker also invited community • An attack on Asian students at Mission representatives to a forum at Parliament Bay in Auckland. (East Bays Courier, 6 on the way forward for racial harmony. October) The forum of 250 people heard the ideas that had been put forward by participants The emergence of a small National Front beforehand, raised further suggestions, and group in Christchurch and Wellington led unanimously adopted the outline of the New to pro-harmony demonstrations by ethnic Zealand Diversity Action Programme. groups and other concerned citizens in Christchurch in May and Wellington in Reported incidents September. Police made an arrest in the Anecdotal evidence and newspaper reports case of the hate mail to Muslim families continue to indicate that some ethnic groups and the attack on Somali youth, but many suffer harassment and abuse in the streets other incidents were either not formally and elsewhere, ranging from derogatory reported to the Police or investigations remarks to verbal and physical abuse. have been unsuccessful. The Police do not Among reported incidents in 2004 were: keep separate statistics relating to ethnicity for reported racial offences, treating them • Asian students being attacked in as complaints alongside others relating to Christchurch. (The Press, 3 April) offences under the Summary Offences and • Skinheads taunting and attacking a group Crimes Acts. of Somali youth in Wellington. (Dominion Post,12 May) • Security guards threatening groups of 2 Human Rights Commission Court in Auckland to seven charges of 2005 intentional damage to places of Muslim In the absence of Police recording of worship around Auckland. They were complaints and prosecutions relating sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment to racially motivated crime it is difficult and ordered to pay reparations of $5000 to assess the extent of the problem. each. Newspaper reports seem to indicate that • A 28-year-old Dunedin man was there were significantly more prosecutions convicted in the Dunedin District Court than usual in 2005. in November of abusing a 28-year-old Cases of racial and religious harassment Somali woman (wearing a Muslim head- and abuse successfully prosecuted by the dress) and assaulting a Saudi Arabian Police included the following: Muslim man (after abusing him about his religion). He was sentenced to 15 • A 51-year-old Christchurch man, who months’ imprisonment on the first charge was a member of the National Front, and two months’ imprisonment on the was convicted in the Christchurch District second. Court in April of spitting at a 57-year-old • A 28-year-old New Plymouth man man of Māori and Indian descent, and was charged in the Palmerston North sentenced to 120 hours community work. District Court with verbally abusing • An 18-year-old Nelson woman pleaded and physically assaulting three Asian guilty in the Nelson District Court in students. He was sentenced to two July to charges of repeatedly harassing years’ imprisonment. and assaulting a 17-year-old Asian • A Whanganui man associated with woman, and was sentenced to two years the National Front was charged in the imprisonment. Wellington District Court with assault for • A 53-year-old Hutt Valley man pleaded an attack on a group of Somali youth in guilty in the Wellington District Court Wellington in 2004. The outcome was a in September to sending 30 abusive hung jury and a retrial was scheduled for letters to Muslims in 2004. He was 2006. convicted and sentenced to six months’ • A 25-year-old Wairarapa woman was imprisonment and ordered to pay $500 convicted in the Masterton District Court each to three of the victims. of assaulting a Chinese tourist on a train • A 25-year-old Blenheim man was because she was speaking Chinese convicted in the Blenheim District Court to her travelling companion. She was in October of disorderly behaviour remanded for sentencing in 2006. for yelling abuse at a Muslim woman • There were media reports of racial wearing traditional Muslim headdress, abuse experienced by Pacific players at accusing her of being a terrorist and a national rugby league club match on telling her to go home (she had lived Auckland’s North Shore (Sunday News, in New Zealand for 15 years). He was 8 May 2005) and by New Zealand- sentenced to 120 hours community work. based West Indian and Pakistani players • Two 18-year-old Auckland men involved in Taranaki club cricket. (Herald associated with the National Front on Sunday, 13 November 2005) pleaded guilty in the Otahuhu District Reports of race and religious hate crime in New Zealand 2004-2012 3 Historic Reserve, South Canterbury. 2006 Permanent damage was feared. (The There were a range of media reports of Press, 9 December) racial harassment: • A teen national athletic hope described 2007 frequent racial abuse and how his family home’s windows had been smashed in There were a number of media reports of Hamilton. (Sunday News, 19 March) racially motivated crime, harassment and discrimination, including: • A Korean couple were racially abused and had eggs and stones thrown at them • A Chinese family was subjected to a on a Hamilton street. (Waikato Times, 24 racist graffiti attack in Palmerston North.