Discriminate Against

Why Do NZ and Australia Discriminate Against Islands Dares?

A FEW weeks ago a well known merchant of Tahiti sought the usual “permit” to enable him to travel to Western Samoa (which is under New Zealand rule). His father was Swedish; his mother was half-American and half- Polynesian. So the appropriate official in Tahiti (representing British interests) made him “go through the hoop” as a person of mixed blood who may not easily enter the sacred precincts of New Zealand. Another Tahiti resident, desiring to travel about the same time, and also possessing a strain of excellent Polynesian blood, was similarly “screened.”

Both gentlemen got their permits —but only after a humiliating ex perience which —quite understand ably—has set them to savagely curs ing the name of New Zealand.

Some little time ago, a well known and highly esteemed resident of Fiji arrived in Auckland, with a relation.

He is part-European, part-Fijian.

The Fijian part comes from a major princely line. The New Zealand snub-nosed clerk in the Customs- Immigration reception office looked at his papers, and at him. “Wot are you doing in this line?” he de manded. “Get over there among the natives. ’ The young gentleman apparently held natives in con tempt.

Linotype operators are highly skilled technicians. Some time ago, a Queensland newspaper engaged an operator who had been trained in Fiji, and was rated first-class.

But he was half-Fijian; and when the discerning gentlemen of Aus tralia’s Immigration Department examined his papers, they refused to allow him to settle in Australia— he was rated “undesirable.”

We could cite countless other ex amples of this kind of race discrim ination-incidents which have en gendered in the hearts of a gener ally good class of citizen a bitter hatred of New Zealand and Aus tralia and their stupid, inelastic laws governing immigration.

THESE examples deal with per sons of mixed blood. In almost every case, the person concerned has raised - trained and educated as a European, and knows oniy Eruopean status and condi tions There are thousands of such people in the Islands; and, in the Islands, they are accepted by Euro fon th^ ir merits as citizens, without question. These people, and them European friends as well, are startled and shocked when it is sug gested by officialdom that their

Islands’ blood may make them un desirable as citizens of Australia or New Zealand.

Full-blooded Islanders, of course, know what to expect. They can enter these countries only under strict surveillance, and they may not remain indefinitely unless they receive a special permit, after careful screening. The average Islander just takes it. But the educated Islander, accustomed to European standards of life, know ing no reason why his race should be considered inferior, does not accept the insulting system kindly.

And who can blame him.

IN Fiji, and in the countries of Polynesia, as a result of our administration systems, deliber ately planned, a large and growing proportion of the indigenous people are literate: a proportion of them are acquiring property; and, natur ally, an increasing number of them desire to travel. Their friendliness to us, the Europeans who have in troduced them to Western ways, is marked.

But how much longer will that happy relationship continue if we leave those absurd immigration laws where they are? There should have been a revision right after World War 11, which had a profoundly disturbing socio-political effect on the Islanders generally. But all the bureaucrats—who, since the decay of the Parliamentary system lowered the standard of politically elected persons, have operated most governmental machinery—have run away from the problem.

AUSTRALIA is the major sinner.

At the first suggestion of a re vision of the immigration laws, there is a wild squawk from the shoddy press: “The White Australia is threatened!”—and politicians and bureaucrats skip for cover.

The “White Australia Policx not colour or racial discriminai in the usual sense—it is simp measure of self-preservation, realist can quarrel with it, Asia is frightfully overcrov with a type of people whose li standards are not comparable ours. If the doors of these en desirable lands in Australia, Zealand and the Pacific IslJ were opened, the communities Europeans (and Islanders) soon would be overwhelmed anc terminated. The “Policy” mus

maintained indefinitely.

But the barrier raided ags Islanders (especially Fijians Polynesians), and persons of rr blood, by Australia and New land is in an entirely diffe category. If every Islander in e group (including the li millior New Guinea, who are most uni; to leave home any time this of 2,000 AD) were allowed to g Australia and New Zealand at neither racial nor economic bal. would be in the least de threatened.

A few years ago, the PIM repc an incident that showed how ab and illogical are these immigrs laws. Having been instructed Samoans, Tongans, Fijians ; similar Islands races were ba: the conscientious officials of . tralia put the same barrier ags the New Zealand Maoris. The Ms (like the Samoans and Tong; are Polynesians; and a large growing proportion of them educated and live as Europeans But (unlike Samoans Tongans) the Maoris have an portant voice in New Zeai politics. When they found th selves held up as “natives” in ± tralia’s ports of entry, they how their howls were treated with g respect by NZ bureaucrats; am no time at all immigration which Australia applies aga Islanders were removed so fa:.

NZ Maoris are concerned.

That happened several years There has been no increase im number of Maoris settled in ±

(Continued on page 149

[I Continued From Page 16 1

■alia. But other Islands races still •e barred.

The administration of New Zea nd s laws against Islands races is larper and harsher than that of ustralia, although the principle ems to be the same. lUT no one does anything about I it. Probably, nothing will be done until someone discovers at agents of the Mongolian Reds e at work among the Islands folk 10, through this racial discrimina m. have learned to hate the guts Australia and New Zealand. It II be too late then.

Why cannot both countries (who Dscribe brains and money for tne uth Pacific Commission, designed lift the standards of life and Itivate the friendship of Islands >ple) put all the Islands people w served by the South Pacific mmission on the same basis, for migration purposes, as Euro ins? No institution in Australia New Zealand would be en igered, and we thus would ensure friendship and goodwill of the inds people. . set of old New Guinea Gazette, ering the historic 1914-18 period, been left at PIM office by Mr.

F. V. Saunders. Any institution jrested ?