OLGA’S MISSION

IMMIGRATION: The best way forward

Migrants do not dilute New Zealand’s cultural identity despite more coming from nontraditional source countries, experts say.

Last year, China was the biggest source country for permanent residents and international students, and India was the largest source for temporary foreign workers.

The New New Zealanders report released this week by the New Zealand Initiative said approval ratings among native-born Kiwis for migrants from India and China, at 6 points, was lower than that of arrivals from Britain and Australia at 7 points out of a possible 10.

“While many of the concerns New Zealanders have about immigration can be assessed empirically, other concerns strike a deeper chord which evidence cannot prove or disprove — the concern that a large inflow of people from abroad could threaten our national identity,” the report authors said.

The Asian population in the most recent Census rose 33 per cent since 2006 and the Middle Eastern, Latin American and African population is up by 35 per cent.

There are also concerns that New Zealand’s “open-door immigration policies” is putting the country at risk of extremism.

“It would be naive to think New Zealand is immune from terror threats,” the report said. Security experts had warned that terror events here were almost “inevitable”.

Among New Zealand’s top three source countries for quota refugees are Syria and Afghanistan, two countries ranked in the top five most active terrorist countries by the Global Terrorism Index.

The report authors, however, said the safety risk was linked to how well or poorly a country integrates its migrant populations.

“New Zealand fares well on these terms,” they said.

“Migrants overall do not tend to live in ethnic clusters. Even where Monday: Yesterday: Today: ethnicity is concentrated, this is correlated with lower levels of employment.”

Migrants were less likely than native-born New Zealanders to claim a benefit, and their children also achieved higher levels of education.

“These factors indicate New Zealand has the soft factors of migration right for now,” they said.

“When foreigners move here, they generally become part of society, as opposed to an ethnic group distinct from it.”

The report concluded that based on these measures, the risk of the immigration system acting as a pathway for extremists was low.

Massey University sociologist Paul Spoonley said the number of New Zealanders who were anxious about immigrants and current levels of immigration was lower than elsewhere, including Australia.

Spoonley added that New Zealand’s immigration and selection system also targeted skilled and educated immigrants, who were more likely to integrate and settle well after arrival.

David Wong, president of the Chinese New Zealand Oral History Foundation, didn’t think migrants diluted New Zealand’s cultural identity.

“On the contrary, I think it is broadening it and I think migrants are enriching it, and I think it’s good for New Zealand’s national identity,” Wong said.

Data from the New Zealand Election Survey suggested that many New Zealanders did not agree that migrants, if integrated well, would not harm the host culture.

In 2011, 44.4 per cent agreed with the statement “Immigration threatens the uniqueness of our culture and society” and in 2005, 38.4 per cent felt “Immigration is a threat to the New Zealand way of life”.

“Of course, some of this fear is rooted in bigotry, but this does not mean such views should be dismissed, especially when the concern is shared by already marginalised groups such as Maori,” the authors said.

Maori were significantly less favourable towards immigration than other Kiwis, and more likely to want reduced immigration numbers.

Statistics New Zealand’s General Social Survey found nearly nine in 10, or 87 per cent, of migrants felt they belonged to New Zealand.

They also exhibited relatively high mental and physical health and life satisfaction.

But the report identified the exploitation of migrant workers as a concern.

Last year an Auckland employer, Faroz Ali, was found guilty of 15 human trafficking-related charges for bringing Fijian workers to New Zealand under false pretences.

He employed them illegally and they were made to work long hours for little or no pay.

But the criminal nature of exploitation meant a lack of official statistics, making it difficult to gather data to ascertain how widespread the problem was.