Welcome to the Spinoff Auckland serial The Bakers’ Tale, Brian Ng’s story of a couple of guys and a pastry-making business. Episode 2: The immigration glitch. The day begins with the three requisite ingredients: flour, butter, sugar. And water. Mix them together and you can make a shortcrust pastry for a tart case, a sponge … Read more
Noelle McCarthy and John Daniell talk about the challenges – eg Winston Peters – they confronted in creating their new series for RNZ, Slice of Heaven. There are few more vexatious issues than immigration. Particularly in the wake of recent political ruptures around the world. Particularly in an election year. In a new podcast for … Read more
In order to constructively address anti-Asian sentiment, development of a proud Pākehā identity seems vital, writes K Emma Ng in this extract from her new BWB Text Old Asian, New Asian. Whiteness was for a long time the informal cornerstone of our nation building in New Zealand. Though the scientific racism of the 19th century has long … Read more
Welcome to the first Spinoff Auckland serial: The Bakers’ Tale, Brian Ng’s story of a couple of guys and a pastry stall at La Cigale market. Episode 1: Starting with a thousand leaves. Ever the Frenchman, Ben Chevre’s first question when talking to a girl was if she had a boyfriend. Of course, if she … Read more
Thirty years ago next month, Armagan Sabetian arrived here as a refugee from war-torn Iran. Today, on World Refugee Day, he writes about his love and gratitude for his adopted home country. Why are secular English-speaking western democracies the destination of choice for so many immigrants from around the globe? Here’s the simple answer: they’re the … Read more
A dark advertisement for a dairy assistant in South Canterbury promised accommodation sharing with rodents, minimum wage, and drug tests. Josh Drummond applied for the role, and investigated what the classified says about the New Zealand dairy industry today. It may not be what you’d think. It started, as so many things do in New Zealand, … Read more
As the immigration debate takes centre-stage in election year, politicians, the media and everyone else need to take serious stock of the language being used, writes Andrew Chen in this edited extract from his book Fair Borders? Migration Policy in the Twenty-First Century. The number of people arriving in New Zealand has become a constant … Read more
The Gone By Lunchtime team returns, with more hot takes than a jalapeno thief. In the latest medium-intensity-hitting Spinoff politics podcast, Toby Manhire is joined by Annabelle Lee of The Hui and Ben Thomas of Exceltium to sigh, pontificate and radio-jingle on a range of subjects including a dramatic UK election and what it means for New Zealand, … Read more
Immigration politics are coming to New Zealand – but are we ready? David Hall introduces some fascinating new survey data. New Zealanders are facing a great flood, a tsunami of immigration politics that will submerge us all in the lead-up to the election. Wellington will turn on the tap of water-based metaphors. Auckland will burst at the seams … Read more
In yesterday’s honours list Professor Hamid Ikram was made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit, for services to cardiology and education. His son, Ali Ikram, cheers on an extraordinary Pakistani Cantabrian. Families are stories. The one my father is most fond of telling concerns a visit to his grandfather’s house when he was a small child … Read more
Israeli-born Yael Shochat is the owner of much-loved Fort St institution Ima Cuisine. She writes about the essential role immigration plays in her restaurant – and why the Labour leader’s vow to slash immigrant numbers by ‘tens of thousands’ has her deeply worried. Two years ago, after 17 years living here, I received my New … Read more
So you’re a one-percenter looking to escape the oncoming global apocalypse by hiding out in a luxury NZ bolthole. Who you gonna call? Peter Newport meets the fixers behind the super-rich influx and looks at how the newcomers are settling in. There’s been a lot of international media attention on the attractions of New Zealand … Read more
It’s a story as old as the New Zealand OE itself. You move to London, you fall in love, you settle down. But what happens when you start feeling homesick and your UK-born partner doesn’t want to leave? James Quentin writes about the double life of an expat Kiwi. In May I will be bringing … Read more
There has been widespread condemnation in NZ over Trump’s visa ban, but we could show our words aren’t empty by undoing some of our own discriminatory immigration laws – and one in particular, writes Graeme Edgeler. US President Donald Trump recently issued an executive order prohibiting the entry into the United States of refugees for … Read more
A dual citizen of Iran and New Zealand argues that the PM’s response to the US visa ban falls far short, and explains why, whether the ban affects her or not, she’s personally boycotting Trump’s America. “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” – Desmond Tutu … Read more
Controversial Trump endorser and Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel is reportedly now a New Zealander. But how did that happen, and who the hell is he? Toby Manhire counts the ways. He’s already got quite the CV: founder of PayPal, early investor in The Facebook, funder and advocate for both Hulk Hogan and Donald Trump. … Read more
The Green Party recently announced a new immigration policy with a net migration target of 1 percent of the population, including returning New Zealanders. In an essay published earlier this week, writer Thomas Coughlan criticised the policy, drawing a line between it and the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric in the USA, UK and Europe. Here, … Read more
During last week’s election madness, many of us comforted ourselves with the belief that it couldn’t happen here. But how true is that? Thomas Coughlan sees ominous signs in the New Zealand left’s embrace of anti-immigrant rhetoric. The youngest voters to participate in last week’s US election would have been only ten years old when … Read more
For this week’s quickfire examination: how much do you know about New Zealand and migration? Immigration and, to a lesser extent, emigration are hot political potatoes. Can New Zealand perform a near miracle and have a grown-up debate about it? You never know. In the meantime, facts are good. Test your own familiarity with the … Read more
Every immigration debate in history* has been riddled with racism. Duncan Greive looked at current coverage of the issue – and its impact on housing – and came away pleasantly surprised. September’s North & South came out a couple of Mondays ago and devoted a large chunk of its feature well to a single issue: immigration. It’s … Read more