Buzzy--Bee

Interesting observation in the papers today. Jacinda is being held up as an accepting, all embracing, all-race-inclusive, compassionate leader. Conversely, Scott Morrison and his Australian government are being portrayed as white racist fascists.

Yet Australia accepts twice as many refugees as New Zealand per head of population.

Is is just Jacinda has better PR? She certainly comes over very very well.

Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/pol...alities-resume

Charismatic

To be fair to to the Prime Minister she did want to increase that number but I believe her wishes where severely curtailed by the cold, hard truth of a perennial shortage of affordable housing (Yes, I know, welcome back to square one.) Also New Zealander probably do have more progressive views than Australians on this issue.

Amazulu

I guess she's handled Christchurch and the aftermath pretty well (maybe too well and it will probably get her reelected) but basically is a terrible PM who is going to break NZ economically. One bright spot though is that although she is ultra-hard left, she has to temper the inevitable destructiveness that this would bring because she essentially leads a minority government - bringing a reality check.

Amazulu

This doesn't surprise me. In our ultra-sensitive, virtue-signalling, namby pamby modern world, style trumps substance every time. If you do right-on, progressive 'stuff', you're lauded. Try and do real hard-yard reform, and you're panned

You see this in the US. In the MSM, D Trump can do nothing right, every little thing he does is wrong or negative, yet virtue-signalling powder puffs like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can do nothing wrong

We live in strange times

scrubbedexpat099

I just saw this on the main page as not a forum I come to.

If anybody was wondering exactly the same issues are being talked about on the other forums.

Did strike me that NZ has a serious attack of virtue signalling coupled with massive hypocrisy.

I know very little about NZ Immigration, I was told that it is now much harder from someone who was looking to move.

There was a story in the UK media yesterday about a Sri Lankan family who had been refuse a work visa, well technically a daughter had who had Downs.

So much more restrictive than the UK or US.

Justcol

It's now been two weeks since the Chch shootings. Obviously everywhere you go it's been the main topic of conversation since it happened and the one thing that has stood out in that time is that despite all the crying, the vigils, the rallies, the hijab wearing and silly hakas by criminal groups who have used it purely as a PR exercise, absolutely nothing has changed or will change in NZ. The country is inherently racist and this incident has simply compounded that belief. In the past weeks most conversations I've had about it with kiwis end with comments about Muslim extremists, immigration levels and the inevitably of what happened, as if somehow it was the fault of the victims.
Todays Facebook announcement about what actions they will take to prevent further abuse of the live stream feature rapidly became a sounding board for more racist comments and abuse. The level of racism in NZ seems to be matched only by the level of self righteousness and ignorance.

I'm usually a champion for NZ and it's people but this is beginning to piss me off

scrubbedexpat099

Well I have never been down under, I have Kiwi friends and have worked with many and would be surprised if NZ could be described as being racist in any comparative way.

Bo-Jangles

There is a remarkable difference between Kiwis that you will be experiencing who are living and working overseas compared to those that have not. A large contingent of New Zealanders are of the latter ilk and can be very parochial and insular, they often have not left their home town, far less dared crossed the border between the North and South Island. These insular folks view NZ as if it were their own and heaven help anyone who is different, not from around their particular town, or island or are not descendant of those that arrived on the first four ships.

The people you have met overseas will to some degree be made to feel like outsiders for daring to leave and will be treated much like immigrants once they return to NZ; somehow 'different' and no longer a regular Kiwi. As Talki Waititi once famously said; New Zealand is as racist AF.

New Zealand, due mainly to an incredibly caring and compassionate PM, has put its very best foot forward these past two weeks in terms of being unusually inclusive and caring about 'others' and also conscious of what the rest of the world thinks about 'us'. I feel like an observer a very strange paradox whereby actions and words over the past two weeks have not matched the reality of my fourteen years of living in this country. It's been very bizarre and reminiscent of the week when Princess Diana died; seeing for the first time this very unusual and overwhelming outpouring of grief, love and kindness towards refugees and immigrants. Something definitely has changed in people these past two weeks, it's been in an odd way quite refreshing but I keep wondering how long it will last.

I am sure normal service will be resumed within the next week or two and New Zealanders largely will be back to business as usual and being as racist AF.

scrubbedexpat099

Well I am not sure it is not that different where I live now, I have lived in places in the US where people travel more, I think most of the people I know now have not travelled much, a few have, a few have been in the Military but not sure that should count. Colorado tends to have a lot of people who have moved here from other States.

I was thinking for example of the major players in the area, and appreciate it is a very big area, closest I have been is Sri Lanka, but would assume that comparatively for whatever its faults NZ must rank up there. The UK media covered 2 Saudi girls for example who were seeking Asylum in Singapore and it seemed Singapore does not do Asylum, not sure where they ended up. China and Japan do not seem very open.

garethwm

In the spirit of hardhittingness seen in this thread, here's my take.
There's some pretty interesting hypocrisy in calling NZ racist AF on one hand and, allowing for paraphrasing, labelling kiwis who travel the nice ones and those who don't as the ghastly racist ones, on the other. It's not racist, but belongs in the same basket. it's just total nonsense. People living here are just as nice as those overseas, or those who are travelling. Are there racist people in NZ? Yes certainly, quite a few. Is NZ racist AF? No, no it's not. If someone on here says they wouldn't touch Sth Auckland with a barge pole, does that make Brit Expats racist AF? Of course not. some are, some aren't.

For me the response to the terrorist attack was what I expected. My partner is Asian. Speaking on his behalf, he doesn't experience racism in his day to day life here in Auckland and he feels welcome. That's his real experience. I feel proud of that.

So what we have here is a terrorist attack perpetrated by someone from overseas, who chose NZ for whatever reason, and has detrimentally changed this country forever. But even then, the thread degenerates into an anti nz one.

Glad to have got that off my chest. Now retreating back to real life.

Justcol

Wish I'd registered that as a TM its been used that many times