New Zealand
New Zealand has experienced substantial economic, social and political
change since a reforming Labour government was elected in 1984. There have
been major changes to the welfare state, a deregulated labour market and
economy, and increased costs for services such as health and education.
A conservative government, led by Jim Bolger (National Party, NP), continued
to implement monetarist policies between 1990 and 1996.
In October 1996, a new system of pro-portional representation was introduced
that ended the post-war dominance of the two main parties. The NP won 44
seats (out of 120), the New Zealand Labour Party (NZLP) 37, the centrist
New Zealand First 17, the left-wing Alliance 13, and the conservative Asso-ciation
of Consumers and Taxpayers (ACT) won 8 seats. The Christian Coalition Party
failed to obtain any seats. Fifteen of the 120 members of parliament are
now Maori, with three Pacific Islanders and one Asian.
The New Zealand economy settled somewhat in 1996. Gross domestic product
grew by nearly 2 per cent and inflation fell by more than one per cent to
2.3 per cent. Both trends are expected to continue through 1997.
Unlike similar societies, such as Australia and Canada, there were no
fascist groups in New Zealand during the 1930s. Antisemitism did occur,
however, among some owners of small farms and businesses who looked to Major
C. H. Douglas and Social Credit to provide them with a scapegoat for their
economic difficulties during the 1930s and later. This antisemitism remained
relatively insignificant because Social Credit allied itself with the Labour
Party, which gained power in 1935.
After the Second World War, Social Credit split into two camps. One sought
to retain the antisemitic arguments of Douglas; the other rejected them.
By 1970, the latter had gained control of Social Credit, which by this time
was a political party in its own right. The Douglasites found refuge in
the Australian-based League of Rights, led by Eric Butler. Butler had been
involved in the Australian Social Credit movement in the 1930s and had written
an antisemitic book in the late 1940s.
Approximately 14 per cent of New Zealand's population claim descent from
the country's indigenous Maori population. A further 5 per cent are members
of other Polynesian groups, many of whom migrated to New Zealand after the
Second World War. Despite a legal prohibition on discrimination, significant
sections of the indigenous population remain economic-ally marginalized
and educationally disadvantaged.
During 1995 and 1996, the National government sought to settle claims relating
to the illegal seizure of lands following the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi (signed
by Maori chiefs and the British government). There was substantial Maori
opposition to aspects of the proposed settlements, and some groups conducted
protests and occupied land. However, the land grievances of New Zealand's
largest tribe, Tainui, were settled in 1995, as were those of another tribe,
Ngai Tahu, in 1996. Numerous other claims are still being considered by
the quasi-legal Waitangi Tribunal and the government. As a backlash to these
developments, a "white power" lobby group, the Association for
Cultural Justice, was established early in the year and a second group,
the One New Zealand Foundation, originally active in the 1980s, re-emerged.
New Zealand has encouraged immigration from Hong Kong, Taiwan and South
Korea since 1990. Nonetheless, legislation introduced in 1995, which raised
the required age, professional experience and language requirements to qualify
for application for citizenship, was designed to curb immigration and may
pander to anti-Asian sentiment.
The New Zealand League of Rights provides a link with the antisemitism
of the 1930s, and now, like its Australian parent, acts as a pressure group.
In its heyday, in the late 1970s, its newsletter was distributed to approximately
1,000 people, but it currently has few readers.
Neo-fascist groups, which first appeared in New Zealand in the 1960s and
attracted new supporters in the 1980s, are of two types: the New Zealand
Nazi Party invokes the German Nazism of the 1930s and 1940s, while groups
such as New Force and the Conservative Front identify with the neo-fascism
of the British National Front (see United Kingdom). Both groups retain links
with the UK. The groups have a small membership (probably less than 200
among all the active groups), but they have helped to encourage younger
New Zealanders, notably skinheads, to adopt racist and anti-semitic arguments.
These are expressed through graffiti, desecration of Jewish graves, pamphlets
and occasional threats or attacks on Jews. Attacks are rare but recent incidents
during which skinheads or White Power groups expressed their views publicly
and violently have caused concern.
There was a noticeable increase in skinhead and gang activity in 1996. In
several towns, there were a number of racist attacks on Asians and Polynesians
and reports of extortion and threats. Police expressed concern that young
members of the Road Knights Gang, known as "Bandenkreig" (Gang-War),
were recruiting school students.
In two South Island towns, Christchurch and Invercargill, gangs (in particular
the skinhead Road Knights, and Black Power and Epitaph Riders) have been
associated with a variety of crimes, including bombings, drive-by shootings
and the intimidation of witnesses. They also participate in inter-gang warfare.
These gangs have now become established and, while most of their violence
is directed towards Asians and Polynesians, they are also antisemitic. The
mayor of Invercargill, who, with the backing of local residents, is hoping
to quell gang activity in his town, made a visit to the Road Knight's headquarters
in March 1996 and was shocked to find them covered with White Power insignia
and swastikas.
In November, local residents and the Christchurch Jewish community objected
to the flying of a swastika flag at a gang headquarters in Christchurch.
The flag had been taken down by the time the local council investigated
the case.
Due to the new system of proportional representation, 1996 was an important
year in political terms. Anti-immigration policies became characteristic
of the election campaigns, particularly of the New Zealand First party,
who hold the balance of power in the new parliament. Most of the hostility
was directed at Asian migrants. New Zealand First was also responsible for
an advertisement attacking the minister of health, Jenny Shipley. The advertisement,
entitled Shipley's List (after Schindler's List ), pictured
a queue of people waiting for treatment, with the slogan: "Queue at
a Theatre Near You, Or Vote New Zealand First". It was attacked by
Jewish community leaders and the minister concerned, who described it as
the "height of bad taste".
During the election campaign, the Christian Coalition (see RELIGION) decreed
that only Christians could be candidates for their parties, thereby ruling
out Jews. The decree was criticized in the media by Labour politicians with
reports in major newspapers such as the New Zealand Herald.
A mainstream Sunday weekly, the Sunday Star Times , carried an
editorial in April entitled "Israel's own Final Solution". It
provoked a number of critical letters, including one from the Council of
Christians and Jews, which argued that self-defence by Israel had been presented
as genocide.
In March, the editors of a Christchurch student magazine, Canta, were sacked
following the publication of a mock advertisement for a film, The Importance
of Being Furnaced . The page featured photographs of corpses from concentration
camps and made offensive comments relating to the Holocaust. One of the
sacked editors of the magazine said he was "mystified" by the
controversy and, while he accepted that the item was "on the borderline
of taste and aesthetics", he argued that it was legitimate satire.
Following complaints, the chair of the local Jewish Council received a formal
apology from the Canterbury Students' Association.
Fundamentalist Christianity grew in New Zealand in the 1980s, and has contributed to the political party the Christian Coalition, who won 4 per cent of the vote in the 1996 election. A small number of activists involved in fundamentalist churches and sects have continued to express antisemitic sentiments through publications and sermons.
In 1996, the League of Rights (see PARTIES, ORGANIZATIONS, MOVEMENTS) sought to promote a debate on whether or not a Holocaust had occurred. Their attempts were largely unsuccessful, and they claimed that public debate was being stifled by "Zionist" groups. They pointed to the controversy in New Zealand over the book Goebbels: Mastermind of the Third Reich, written by Holocaust-denier David Irving (see United Kingdom). Although the book has not yet been released in New Zealand, the media have expressed concern over Irving's agenda and the possibility of his visiting the country.
Antisemitism continues to play a minor role in political and cultural
life in New Zealand. The main audience for such views is likely to be found
among supporters of an outdated Social Credit tradition or those displaying
neo-fascist sympathies, notably skinheads. The violence of the latter is
a cause for concern, especially in South Island cities where they have become
involved in a wide range of criminal activities, although their numbers
remain relatively small. When antisemitism does occur in the public arena,
it tends to receive a robust critical response.
© JPR 1997