Editorial: Racist rantings tedious

We are a multicultural society - and it is about time we got used to the fact. The sooner we accept it, the sooner the anti-immigration ranting of Winston Peters will become tiresome; and the sooner nonsense such as the campaign for English translations of Asian signwriting on Rotorua shops will be of no consequence. That day cannot come soon enough.

Until it dawns Mr Peters will be encouraged to continue his damaging antics. Not only is he the sponsor of internal divisiveness but his vitriol is widely reported overseas, where newspaper readers do not realise that 90 per cent of New Zealanders did not support New Zealand First at the general election.

Noticing the reported attitudes of a party leader, prospective migrants with much to offer New Zealand may be discouraged. And if we continue to be seen as a country that condones racism, trading links may suffer and English language students will think twice about coming here.

Mr Peters' tactics are as transparent as they are tedious and tacky. Having culled an unexpectedly large share of the election vote on the back of an anti-immigration plank, he seems intent on pursuing it well past the election to advance some partisan agenda.

Factual inaccuracies and the intentional confusing of issues are his stock in trade. When muddled thinking is nourished in that way it is little wonder we find the likes of Rotorua tourism lobby groups calling for a bylaw to require all signs written in a foreign language to be written in English as well.

These people are miffed that some Asian-run businesses have signs only in Chinese, Korean or Japanese. They maintain that New Zealanders have a right to understand what services the shops offer. Even more ludicrously, they insist that tourists from North America or Europe could be alienated.

Have these tourism groups never heard of the Chinatowns that are major attractions in many cities throughout the world? And that the people of these cities revel in the colour, diversity and prosperity that Asian businesses bring to their environment? Those shops employing only Asian signwriting have made a commercial decision based on their anticipated customer base. One, for example, operates as a Chinese student information centre. If the owners thought English-speaking customers could be attracted, they would surely have English signs.

Doubtless, Mr Peters is also cheered by the support that Auckland taxi-driver Rex Walker claims to be receiving. Mr Walker has large stickers on his car declaring himself New Zealand-born. He may be doing no more than advertising a characteristic that customers have good grounds to prefer. There has been much complaint of cab operators recently arrived in the country who do not know their way around.

But people like Mr Walker need to be careful. Professionalism has nothing to do with a taxi-driver's race. And if too many drivers get lost, that reflects only on lax Land Transport Safety Authority standards.

Those who recognise, and appreciate, our multiracial society might bypass his taxi and the company that condoned his action. As they should pour scorn on Mr Peter's invective. It must be subjected to the strongest scrutiny, and to have the feebleness of its content and the opportunism at its core exposed.

New Zealand was founded on successive waves of immigration. Yet there have been times when this country found it difficult to attract suitable migrants. If that is not the case now, we should revel in it. In the past few years, we have. No backlash was evident as the welcome mat was put out to a new wave of immigrants. Narrow-mindedness must not take root now. We have a multicultural society and a favourable international reputation. They must not be endangered.

Feature: Immigration