Integration 'crucial' to NZ's survival

The integration of New Zealand's newest immigrants is crucial if the country is to survive, the audience at an Auckland conference on Chinese identity was told.

Speakers at the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Banana conference over the weekend said the country's economic future was tied to Asia, but New Zealand was still a long way from accepting people of Asian descent.

Key speaker Professor Paul Spoonley said the task was especially difficult when politicians such as Winston Peters divided New Zealand into "a we and they".

"The centre of economic power has already shifted considerably to Asia, and if we want to discuss our economic future as New Zealanders, then we might want to look at our neighbourhoods," said Professor Spoonley, the Auckland regional director for Massey University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The conference drew a mixed crowd, mainly long-established Chinese settlers and newer migrants.

Professor Spoonley said immigration was part of the country's future, need to replace an ageing workforce and declining fertility levels.

"The umbilical cord that so firmly attached us to the UK was cut in the early 1970s, and we have begun to adopt a new political and economic direction over the last 30 years," he said.

"For baby-boomers such as myself, Coronation Street was replaced by Shortland Street, and now we have new options such as Bro' Town and, possibly, Chinatown."

Professor Spoonley said the 21st century would be the century of the Chinese - a point noted by the US National Intelligence Council.

For a trading nation such as New Zealand, the relationship with China would be one of great importance.

Another speaker, James Kember, believed acceptance would happen over time.

Dr Kember, the director of information and public affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the Chinese, or "yellow Kiwis", had moved beyond the pioneering phase and from being an isolated minority.

"If New Zealand is to gain from the closer relationship with China, the key will be in making sure that our Chinese will be riding that leaping tiger."

With globalisation and greater mobility, those Chinese need not necessarily live in New Zealand.

"It doesn't matter where you live. What matters is what you can contribute to the country you call home."