THE EURONESIAN Another Urgent Plea

For Reform

THERE is no greater anomaly and injustice in the South Pacific Islands than the treatment accorded persons of mixed blood by the Governments of New Zealand and Australia.

There has been close contact between Europeans and Islanders — especially Polynesians—for over 100 years. Countless people of part-

Islands descent are honoured and re spected members of practically every large community in the Islands, Aus tralia and New Zealand. The great majority, quite naturally and properly, and on their own merits, have equal status with full Europeans, In a town like Suva, for example, at any assembly of Europeans, one will note that a large proportion of

the people—often the best-1000

and intelligent—have some degree

mixed blood.

Yet, under the immigration n

lations arranged by the bumble-foo

and unimaginative bureaucrats 8

New Zealand and Australia, U

people are classed as undesirable, ,

are allowed to enter Australia New Zealand only after an j quisition that is humiliating to c

persons concerned, and embarrasi

to their friends. In the case of I

Zealand, a person of partial IsLl

descent may not enter the couj until he or she has filled iii

special questionnaire, giving ceij

references and received a permih enter —which often is so delayed J

the people making the applicatiom

obliged to abandon the visit. H is a statement made in October If

leading European resident of Suv;\

The Department of Labour and Emit ment (Immigration Division) in Wellim is the Department which handles t matters and it requires a formal a£ cation from each part-European see! a permit to enter the country. It i with them in a most leisurely fashion ti it is not uncommon for over a mont) pass before an application is acknowledged.

Applicants who wish to go to Zealand on holiday are invariably as to state not only what relatives have in the Dominion but to names, ages and whereabouts of 1 children or relatives living outside and also to state whether the latter i at any time wish to enter New Zeals This is a particularly absurd question* One would expect that there would, some reciprocal policy between the 1 Governments. The Fiji Government five weeks to inform an inquirer: “ .. about the admission of part-Europtc Chinese and Indians into New Zealan. am directed to inform you that them no reciprocal agreement between the 1 ernment of Fiji and New Zealand reg; ing the immigration of such pern Before entering Fiji, New Zealand citii must comply with the Immigration I of this Colony and the converse apq to visitors to New Zealand from Fiji’i The Director of Employment in Zealand took six weeks and one ev;v interim reply before he finally answw “ . . . that when an application isi ceived it is dealt with strictly om individual merits”. He would not if his Government had otherwise firm policy.

The time taken in disposing of aK cations is inordinate and three mot is common.

Eventually if a permit is granted on conditions such as the following:-: (1) That, on arrival, she is in mental and physical health; (2) That, on arrival, she is in poses, of a valid passport: (3) That, on arrival, she deposits ;

;he Collector of Customs the sum of hirty-fi\e pounds (£35) together with a Deed authorising the Collector to ipply such sum in payment to the Drown of all moneys which she may >e called upon or liable to pay mrsuant to the conditions of her emporary permit. (Such deposit to •e refunded if she complies with the onditions of her temporary permit ,nd departs from New Zealand with n the period prescribed by the jermit); ’hat, on arrival, she makes a declara ion giving the following information: lame, age, nationality, race or people 0 which she belongs, occupation and esidence; also places of birth of her elf, father and mother; ’hat, on arrival, she produces to the Jollector of Customs two unretouched nd unmounted half-length recent (holographs of herself of a size ot exceeding 4Vi inches by 3Vi inches ,nd not less than 3 inches by 2 nches; ’hat, on arrival, she produces to the Jollector of Customs written evidence rom the Company concerned that her eturn passage to Fiji by sea or air, ias been paid and booked for a date fithin 6 (six) months from the date f her intended arrival in New lealand; ’hat she arrives in New Zealand fithin a period of six months from he date of issue of this certificate; ’hat, on arrival, she satisfies the !ollector of Customs that she will e permitted to re-enter Fiji at any [me within a period of twelve months rom the date of her arrival in New iealand. e can understand the need to prevent ns and Chinese from the Islands ming New Zealand’s labour markets, the difficulty of preventing them Ing even when they are allegedly on ay. But surely there is a vast ■ence between them and the European taking a holiday in the .re State.

1 an example of bureaucratic

stupidity, the thing is bad

igh. But the true character of the is seen when it is realised how procedure is poisoning the re nship of Australia and New and with the South Pacific

ids. The Islands people of mixed

d are not negligible—in fact, in

bers and in influence, they are

lly becoming of greater im

ance than the purely European

munities. In every group in

r nesia (including Fiji) the pure

Dpeans are—and have been for

s—decreasing in numbers, and

• places, quite naturally, are being

n by persons of mixed blood

ronesians).

s tradesmen and artisans, as

chants, as teachers, medical

ers, navigators, the Euronesian

are the equals of Europeans, usands of Euronesian women are

wives of Europeans and—except

n they wish to travel—their status

omplete and unquestioned,

low do these people feel when

they are subjected to the stigma im posed by these archaic immigration laws—especially that New Zealand system? They know —because they have proved it in actual living—that, socially, culturally and industrially they are the equals of the Europeans with whom they associate. Yet, when they wish to travel, the freedom and privileges of Europeans are withheld from them, as if they were unclean.

Who can blame them if, in their secret hearts, there grows a great bitterness against Europeans? Yet, if the South Pacific Islands are going to be held, with Australia and New Zealand, as a solid bloc against Asia, we must have the utmost goodwill between those British countries and the Islanders.

THIS issue is not concerned in any way with the maintenance of a “white Australia” (or NZ). If

tropeans are to hold those countries i their future home, they dare not mit the Negroid or Mongoloid jes. But there is no possible danger I the admission of our nearby ands races. Even if there were, it should not affect the position I the large and influential com mity of Euronesians, whom we eady accept in every other way as itled to European status, fhe laws of Australia are a little ire tolerant than those of New iland; but the racial ideas of both mtries belong to the long-dead ly Victorian era, and are not to endured in this rapidly-changing rid. If Western Civilisation is to itinue, the Westerners will need all friends they can get. Our present tern not only rejects Euronesian ;ndship—it is likely to turn any h-spirited person of European lynesian blood into an active and :er enemy. reform will come voluntarily m the brueaucrats. But perhaps in parliaments of the two countries re are enough elected men of the i-professional-politician type to ist that this most discreditable

situation be examined against a background of justice and decency.