Tüi Tüi Tuituiä Race Relations in 2010 Contact the Human Rights Commission Human Rights Commission InfoLine If you have a human rights enquiry or discrimination complaint, call: 0800 496 877 (toll free) TXT 0210 236 4253 Fax 09 377 3593 (attn: InfoLine) Email [email protected] Language Line and New Zealand Sign Language interpreter available http://www.hrc.co.nz Tämaki Makaurau – Auckland Level 4 Tower Centre, 45 Queen Street (Cnr Queen and Customs Streets) PO Box 6751, Wellesley Street, Tämaki Makaurau/Auckland 1141 Waea/telephone 09 309 0874 Waea whakähua/fax 09 377 3593 Te Whanganui ä Tara – Wellington Level 1 Vector Building, 44-52 The Terrace PO Box 12411, Thorndon, Te Whanganui ä Tara/Wellington 6144 Waea/telephone 04 473 9981 Waea whakähua/fax 04 471 6759 Ötautahi – Christchurch Level 3 Guardian Assurance Building, 79-83 Hereford Street PO Box 1578, Christchurch/Ötautahi 8140 Waea/telephone 03 379 2015 Waea whakähua/fax 03 353 0959 Office of Human Rights Proceedings Te Tari Whakatau Take Tika Tangata Email [email protected] PO Box 6751, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141 ISSN: 1178-7724 (PDF) ISSN: 1178-7716 (print) Published March 2011 Aotearoa New Zealand Cover art work: Race Relations Day poster 2011, People in harmony by blackrobindesign This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/nz/. This document has been printed on FSC Certified Mixed Source paper stock, manufactured using Elemental Chlorine Free pulp from Well Managed forests. It is produced under the environmental management system ISO 14001, which aims to prevent pollution and achieve continual improvement. Tüi Tüi Tuituiä Race Relations in 2010 The Human Rights Commission and Race Relations The main functions of the Human Rights Commission under the Human Rights Act 1993 are to promote and protect human rights; to encourage the development of harmonious relations; to promote equal employment opportunities; and to provide a dispute resolution service for complaints of discrimination on the grounds (among others) of colour, race, and ethnic or national origins. The Act also provides for the appointment of a Race Relations Commissioner to lead the Commission, in conjunction with the Chief Commissioner, on matters relating to race relations. The Commission encourages the maintenance and development of positive race relations through a variety of programmes, including: • building a better understanding of the human rights • promoting community participation in diversity dimensions of the Treaty of Waitangi events, including Race Relations Day and Mäori • facilitating the New Zealand Diversity Action Language Week Programme, and maintaining programme networks for • publishing an annual review of developments and issues such as interfaith cooperation, media, language issues in race relations policy and refugees • providing a disputes resolution service for complaints • organising the annual New Zealand Diversity Forum about discrimination • acknowledging positive contributions to race relations • providing public comment, advocacy, research, through the award of certificates and the publication information and education on race relations of the awards in a widely distributed monthly • liaising with the United Nations, international e-newsletter organisations and other national human rights institutions on race relations issues. This report is part of the Human Rights Commission’s contribution to the New Zealand Diversity Action Programme for 2011. For more information on the programme, visit www.hrc.co.nz/diversity. Ngä kaupapa Contents 1. Körero whakataki 4 Introduction 2. Whakawhanaungatanga ä iwi me ngä tiriti o te ao 6 New Zealand race relations and international treaties 3. Mahi rerenga këtanga 10 Diversity action 4. Whakahäweatanga me te nonotitanga 16 Discrimination and harassment 5. Te Tiriti o Waitangi 23 Treaty of Waitangi 6. Tauriteritekore 40 Inequalities 7. Te hekenga me te whakatau 53 Migration and settlement 8. Reo 65 Language 9. Päpäho 73 Media 10. Rerekëtanga whakapono 81 Religious diversity 11. Te rangahau whänui o te rerenga këtanga 88 Diversity research 4 TüI TüI TuitUIÄ | Race relations in 2010 1 Körero whakataki Introduction Racial equality, in the However, the Government will also have to acknowledge enjoyment of fundamental that, despite ongoing efforts and programmes, the human rights, encompassing entrenched racial inequalities in health, education, civil, political, economic, employment, justice and housing continue to be a blot on social and cultural rights, is our otherwise positive record. They impact most of all on a prerequisite for good race our children and young people. For example: relations. As this year’s race • Mäori children were the subject of 25,856 investigations relations report shows, New of child abuse (47 per cent of the total) and constituted Zealand continues in many 11,003 cases (52 per cent) that were substantiated in respects to make progress 2009–10. in relationships between • Mäori children comprised 57 per cent of those in care its diverse ethnic groups. and protection residences, 61 per cent of those held in However, despite the many efforts of communities and youth justice facilities and 52 per cent of those in out-of- successive governments, social and economic inequalities, home care and protection placements. accentuated by the economic recession, remain • Mäori and Pacific youth unemployment was 27.4 per unacceptably high. An unrelenting focus on the elimination cent and 27.2 per cent respectively at the end of 2010. of racial inequalities is needed, so that future generations of New Zealanders are free from this blight. It is also time • Mäori and Pacific educational achievement continued to to examine whether there are still systemic or institutional lag significantly behind that of others. barriers to racial equality that need to be addressed to • Mäori and Pacific children had poorer health status. make other interventions more effective. This report documents what happened in race relations in This year, the Government will submit its five-yearly report 2010. It records some of the many contributions made by on New Zealand’s compliance with the International community organisations and individuals; the significant Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to progress achieved in treaty settlements; the state of racial the United Nations. There will be positive stories to tell: inequalities and government initiatives to address them; and developments in immigration and settlement, language, • New Zealanders have not succumbed to the xenophobic, religious diversity, media and diversity research. anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim sentiments that have characterised recent political developments in Europe. It also notes two pieces of legislation that were passed that • Instances of racially motivated crime are relatively rare. go against basic human rights principles: the introduction of ‘three strikes’ provisions in sentencing and the removal of • We are in the process of settling historical claims for prisoners’ right to vote. This is of great concern, particularly breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi. since Parliament passed the legislation in both cases • The Mäori economy continues to grow. despite advice to the contrary from the Attorney-General. • New Zealand can boast many community celebrations He told Parliament that the three-strikes legislation was and acknowledgments of our cultural diversity. “inconsistent with the right against disproportionately • The Human Rights Commission has a broad mandate to severe treatment”, it would result in “disparities between address complaints of discrimination, promote respect offenders that are not rationally based”, and it might result for human rights and encourage harmonious race in “gross disproportionality in sentencing”. He described relations. the removal of prisoners’ right to vote as “unjustifiably • Our Parliament reflects the cultural diversity of our inconsistent with the electoral rights affirmed by section community. 12 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990.” Both provisions are likely to have a disproportionate effect on • The Mäori language is increasingly acknowledged and Mäori because of their disproportionate rate of conviction used in the public sphere. and imprisonment. TüI TüI TuitUIÄ | Race relations in 2010 5 This year’s report makes extensive reference to the Human 1. protecting children who are vulnerable to abuse from Rights Commission’s five-yearly review of human rights, harm and ensuring that all New Zealand children Human Rights in New Zealand 2010 – Ngä Tika Tangata o equally enjoy the right to education, good health, Aotearoa, published in December. It includes summaries of housing and freedom from poverty the Commission’s assessment of various human rights of 2. identifying and working to remove any structural or particular relevance to race relations and the priority areas institutional barriers to racial equality in the enjoyment identified for action. Together these set an agenda for race of civil, political, social and economic rights relations. 3. reducing the high rate of unemployment of Mäori and There are a number of significant events in 2011 that will Pacific peoples, and particularly of young people have an impact on race relations. 4. reducing the number of people in our prisons and the disproportionate number of them who are Mäori The five-yearly Census of population and