Opinion: Immigration will hit a cultural tipping-point

I was wandering around central Auckland a couple of weeks ago when I stepped in a pile of spit that had emanated from a young Chinese student squatting beside a lamp-post.

"Yuk," I thought.

Then I remembered visiting a Chinese hospital where liberal use was being made of a spittoon. In their culture, I recalled, it was acceptable to spit both outdoors and in.

The hospital visit occurred during an 11-year Asian OE in which I learned that the Western preference for blowing noses into pieces of paper was considered to be pretty gross in some cultures.

In Auckland, I was struck by how much Queen St had changed demographically during the past decade. For half an hour or so I played "spot the Pakeha", and the results were enlightening.

It reminded me of a comment by one Bay of Plenty real estate agent who told me that many of the people buying Tauranga properties were Aucklanders fleeing a city that was "no longer what they had signed up for".

I thought about these things while enjoying a great afternoon at Tauranga's Multicultural Festival in the weekend. On display were some of the many positive aspects of immigration such as cuisine, music, dance and entrepreneurship. Check out more of the festival here.

Most people would agree that immigration is beneficial until it marginalises their own culture.

The Kiwi way of life is already being submerged in Auckland's CBD and is almost certain to be challenged throughout the rest of the country during the next decade or two.

Tauranga will be one of the first places to see this occur, and now would be a good time to discuss how we should let it affect our daily lives.

It's happened before, of course.

Just ask the nearest Maori, if you're not one already.

Image 1 of 11: Out and About. Tauranga Multicultural Festival. (l-r) Tiri Sosich and 21mth old Isla Proffitt. Photo/Andrew Warner