New Zealanders show their true neighbourly colours

By THERESA GARNER

New Zealanders will have a yarn over the back fence with anyone.

Or so we have told the pollsters.

A large majority of New Zealanders say they would befriend or at least welcome new next-door neighbours regardless of their race or colour.

Just over 1 per cent admit they would consider moving house rather than live next to someone from a different race.

A Herald-DigiPoll survey holds a mirror to our attitudes towards other races, asking what happens when our multicultural society presents itself across the fence in the shape of new neighbours.

Given a choice of how we would greet newcomers of another race, most of us say we would welcome and try to make friends with them.

Of those surveyed, 87.8 per cent made that claim, while 6.9 per cent of people would tolerate but ignore them, and just 1.2 per cent - an equal number of men and women - owned up that they would be concerned enough to consider moving out.

The question startled many respondents, with 3.7 per cent not knowing how they would react.

The survey showed that compared with the rest of the country, double the number of Aucklanders would be concerned enough to consider moving house.

There was a negligible difference in the reactions of those surveyed from two age groups - 18 to 39 and over 40 - with those in the latter group less sure of how they would react.

No Maori surveyed would be concerned if people of a different race moved in next door, compared with 1.1 per cent of Europeans.

Dr Aditya Prakash, of the Ethnic Minorities Party, which merged into the United Party, said he agreed with the finding of a prejudiced minority. "There are people, and unfortunately they are in positions of influence, with whom you just have to bang your head against a wall."

A 1997 Massey University survey found that 9.5 per cent of New Zealanders did not want Maori for neighbours and 8 per cent did not want any different ethnic group.

North Shore residents were found to be more tolerant of Asians, but less tolerant of Maori than New Zealanders generally.

Within 50 years, Pakeha will make up half the population and Maori will have risen to 20 per cent of the population. Asian and Pacific populations will have more than tripled to 12 per cent each.