Rajen Prasad: Democracy means equal status for all citizens

Governor-General Anand Satyanand. Photo / Mark Mitchell.

The recent controversy about Paul Henry's comments on the Governor-General's ethnic background points to a much bigger issue - who is a New Zealander?

Some of the comments also show that there is a lot more intensive work to be done before we can be certain that all our citizens are valued and their contributions treated equally.

New Zealand has great potential to demonstrate to the world how to knit the contributions of citizens of all ethnicities into an effective modern inclusive democracy.

But first we must accept diversity. Henry's comments will not help, except to feed the prejudices of some New Zealanders.

A person's nationality can change, unlike one's place of birth. Nationality is gained in two ways: by birth or by applying for it in the country in which you have permanent residence.

I gained my New Zealand nationality when I qualified for it in the early 1970s after being granted permanent residence in 1970.

I am a Fijian Indian and came to New Zealand in 1964.

For me, and others like me, my New Zealand nationality gives me a status that is the same as every other New Zealander. It confers on me the same rights as every other New Zealander and charges me with the same responsibilities.

We are proud of being New Zealanders and take it very seriously. My nationality as a New Zealander, however, does not take away my Indian cultural identity, which also has significant influence on my daily life, my cultural practices and how I make sense of the world around me.

Both my nationality and Indian cultural identity are mediated constantly and shaped further by the New Zealand contexts in which I have participated for 47 years.

New Zealand's ethnic population is now sizable and has contributed to the cultural diversification of New Zealand. Ethnic New Zealanders own and operate some of New Zealand's largest and most successful businesses, occupy many of the professions and are employed at every level of central and local government.

The children of migrants are now second and third-generation New Zealanders and they are as committed to New Zealand as anyone else.

So when Henry asked Prime Minister John Key if he was going to appoint a New Zealander as Governor-General this time, what did he intend to convey? He gave us a clue when he further asked if the next Governor-General would look and sound more like a New Zealander.

It is clear from these questions that Henry has a particular view of who is a New Zealander. The present Governor-General, a first-generation Indian New Zealander, did not fit the bill for Henry. By his standards, I am not a New Zealander either.

Henry was not joking. He was deadly serious. He has a view, it seems, that anyone that does not look and sound like him is not a New Zealander.

He would sooner have jobs such as the Governor-General reserved for European, and probably Maori, New Zealanders.

We as Indian New Zealanders are not good enough for him and it is here that Henry demonstrates his racism. Racism entails the judging of someone of a different colour, race or ethnic background as being inferior, or less qualified, to be treated equally in employment and in the provision of goods and services.

Henry was making a judgment and it was based on a person's race, colour or ethnicity.

It is no wonder there has been such a strong reaction against Henry. He shows no appreciation of the significant contribution that many migrants and their New Zealand-born children have made to New Zealand.

The insult has been felt most strongly by Fiji Indians, for obvious reasons. However, others have also shown their contempt of this type of thinking and the intolerance it reflects.

New Zealand's future is intertwined with many countries with very different cultures and traditions to New Zealand. This applies in particular to our Asian and Pacific trading partners.

New Zealand is better placed to trade having these countries' diasporas who are New Zealanders.

There is no room in 21st century New Zealand for Henry's views on who is a New Zealander. The most effective moment to make a strong statement on what is acceptable in New Zealand is immediately after the event.

That opportunity was missed. What a pity.

The responsibility for building a diverse and successful New Zealand belongs to all of us who call New Zealand home. We appreciate the fact that our world has become a village as our village has become the world.

It takes leadership to promote greater understanding, acceptance and celebration of who we have become as New Zealanders.

The chances our grandchildren will identify as ethnic New Zealanders is now very high.

I am a proud New Zealander but I don't look or sound like Henry. However, I am happy to accept him as a New Zealander.

- Dr Rajen Prasad was Race Relations conciliator 1996-2001 and chief commissioner, Families Commission, 2004-2008. He is now a member of Parliament, 2008 (Labour list).