Red Alert

Archive for the ‘ethnic’ Category

National’s empty rhetoric is good for one thing

Posted by Raymond Huo on August 31st, 2010

On our regular radio show (on Radio Chinese Voice AM936) the Minister for Ethnic Affairs Pansy Wong and I engage in a Q & A session with listeners.

I made the point recently that under her watch the ethnic unemployment rate has grown to 13.5 percent while the Asian unemployment rate has doubled to 10.5 percent.

However, it is not fair for me to make her to face the music on these statistics. After all, she is just following her Party lines. No wonder every time I ask her about topical matters (either through my columns in the Chinese media or Written Questions) such as how to grow economy or create jobs her standard response appears to be organising yet another “ethnic forum”.

The ‘ethnic forum’ she so positively speaks about sounds eerily similar to her Government’s catastrophic Job Summit. It will be just another talk-fest. A token gesture which does nothing to address the unemployment issue.

Media have summarised well that the top three measures implemented by the National-Act Government so far are the national cycle way; the job summit and the 90-day fire-at-will employment law.

The top three measures, despite being futile, have prompted blogs on the Chinese-language social media site istars.me to encourage fellow internet surfers to play a game similar to but different from crosswords.

A loose translation of the blog (copied below) is as follows:

After listening to what Raymond Huo said this morning regarding the National Government’s top three measures in job creation, I had the following words sprung to my mind:

a 2-word phrase: ‘be disgraced’;

a 3-word phrase: ‘can’t help it’;

a 4-word phrase: ‘donkey exhausted its tricks’ [derived from a Chinese idiom];

a 5-word phrase: ‘come off sentry duty now’ [derived from a popular Chinese phrase "xia-gang" which means "if one failed to deliver he or she will be removed from the office.]

Being made redundant is probably its English equivalent. Some further commenting by bloggers said that they would ‘never vote’ for National again for failing to deliver and for breaking promises such as raising GST, among other things.

听了国家党提升就业率的三大举措你能想到什么词汇?

2010-07-22 16:20

早晨的节目中霍议员说到国家党政府提升就业率的三大举措:

1、修一条贯穿全国的自行车道;

2、召开就业高峰会;

3、通过90天内无条件解雇员工的法案;

听完以后我的脑海里闪出了一连串的词汇:

两个字的词汇:丢人

三个字的词汇:没水平

四个字的词汇:黔驴技穷

五个字的词汇:赶快下台吧

The bright side of this is that the National Government’s empty rhetoric is not always useless. It offered, like this blogger has demonstrated, some good initiatives for migrants to hone their linguistic skills.


Ethnic Aucklanders under-represented in council controlled organisations

Posted by Ashraf Choudhary on August 31st, 2010

The list of directors and chairs for Auckland Super City’s council-controlled organisations agreed by Cabinet last week under-represents the Asian and Ethnic voice.

It is a big disappointment the Government has not acknowledged more fully Asian and Ethnic representation in its Super City reform.

There are many successful Asian business people to choose from. This is exactly the kind of initiative the Government should be using to improve representation for ethnic people.

According to the Government every single member and chair is an Aucklander, yet the make-up of CCO boards announced does not acknowledge the over 20 percent of Aucklanders of ethnic descent.

This insensitivity is not acceptable to the wider ethnic community of Auckland, who have contributed hugely to the cities economic development.

These nominations were invited from Mayors of all Auckland territorial authorities, the chair of the Auckland Regional Council, Ministers, as well as the Ministers of Women’s Affairs, Consumer Affairs, and Pacific Island Affairs, Te Puni Kökiri, the Offices of Ethnic Affairs and Disabilities and the Treasury.

I question how robust this nomination process was, because the CCO board certainly does not reflect the diversity of Auckland city.


Silly idea number 10 – what do you think?

Posted by Pete Hodgson on August 26th, 2010

Come up with the idea that lots of rich people would like to retire to Godzone and bring their money with them. Ignore strong official advice to the contrary.

Announce with due fanfare. Wait 3 months. Discover that only 12 have applied (of whom 7 were coming anyway), and that none have yet been granted.

 

I think this idea is –

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

The privileged few National supporters are frustrated

Posted by Raymond Huo on August 21st, 2010

On our weekly radio show, Minister of Ethnic Affairs and I receive questions and messages from a new form of Chinese social media istars.me. Using cloud computing, it is loosely a combination of a Chinese-language variation of Facebook, Twitter and online broadcasting.

Answering four questions last Wednesday (18 August), the Hon Pansy Wong said that exports had decreased under Labour and have increased since National came into office.

She neglected to mention that it was then Minister of Trade Phil Goff who signed the Free Trade Agreement with China. This opened the trade floodgates with China, making China our second largest trading partner. In the first year of the FTA, trade increased by 62 percent with China – National were in office for less than four months of this period.

On the issue of the spiraling Asian unemployment rate, which has just hit a record high of 10.5 percent, Ms Wong said that “although unemployment is increasing so is the rate of employment, although the speed of job creation is slower than that of the number of people who are losing their jobs.”

I’m not sure whether that statement even makes sense – but it shows you the Minister has no answer to the now more than 23,000 Asian-New Zealanders who are unemployed.

On ACC, Ms Wong stated that ACC deficits had been reversed under National.

Let’s take a look at the figures. In 2009 ACC collected $4.2billion and spent $3.1billion. This equals a $1.1billion surplus, not a deficit. You have to read the Listener article of 24-30 Oct 09 (Vol:220) to appreciate that $4.8B deficit is a farce.

And on minimum wage, she said the country may not be able to afford it should it be increased (the above is not verbatim translation).

Judging by the mood of that social media site, it is becoming increasingly painful for those National supporters that the National government is being exposed on a daily basis.

They try to shut down the quality debate by resorting to abusive comments. For example, here are the comments from the three apparent National supporters:

nzwine , 8964

2010-08-16 14:30

所以鄙视这种拆台的行为

议员是去建设,你可以说你有多少好提案被多数党否决

但别总在墙角里给人家丢石头

CD尔格 2010-08-15 23:17

祸议员!祸议员!!祸议员!!!

****

Receiving criticism and unpleasant comments is part and parcel of being an MP – it’s unavoidable. But watching “the usual business” of those National supporters who can only resort to slanging makes me feel sorry for the National Party.

While Labour supporters have displayed reasoned debate, it is unfortunate that those National supporters choose to shut it down with derogatory and insulting comments which add nothing to the subject at hand.

To translate these comments above softens the meaning. But the way they presented themselves appeared to support the suggestion that they are the same small group of people that have operated consistently and systematically since the 2008 general election.

A reason why I am posting these comments is to also alert the National Party to this. Their reputation and image is being tarnished in the Chinese community by those reckless supporters.


Wednesday poll – do only boorish rednecks think Hone is racist ?

Posted by Trevor Mallard on August 12th, 2010

Harawira is at it again. The Herald reports that he has written a column repeating his view that inter-racial relationships are not desirable.

In his regular column in the Northland Age this week, Mr Harawira says it seems “some boorish redneck wants to shove his boot right down my throat” every time he speaks.

“And so it was again last week when I made a comment about how I wouldn’t feel comfortable if one of my kids came home with a Pakeha for a date. But what was wrong with that?

Hone Harawira thinks Maori girls shouldn't go out with Pakeha boys

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

The countdown is on…

Posted by Raymond Huo on July 2nd, 2010

Phil Goff launches Indianewslink June2010

The General Election maybe over a year away, but last Friday Phil Goff launched Indian Newslink’s official election page.

As pictured above, a number of Labour MPs were on hand for the launch, including Ross Robertson, Su’a William Sio, Carmel Sepuloni, Ashraf Choudhary, Carol Beaumont and Rajen Prasad.

I think this election page will add to Kiwis anticipation for the election.

Kiwi families are struggling under National’s recent policy and budget announcements.

GST increases and ETS mean that Kiwi families are put under further strain at a time when the world is coming out of the recession.

Kiwi families deserve better. Labour will ensure that tax-cuts are spread evenly over all wage earners and don’t just favour the rich.

After Labour worked hard to make student loans less of a burden on students with interest-free student loans, National has added an additional student loan fee of $40 per year.

This doesn’t give me any hope that National will keep the interest free student loan policy which was a legacy of the previous Labour government.

We’ll see how voters react next year.

http://www.indiannewslink.co.nz/index.php/electionlink/index.1.html


Tibet, Norman and the freedom of speech

Posted by Raymond Huo on June 30th, 2010

Green Party co-leader Russel Norman should be congratulated on successfully winning the game of name recognition.

When Dr Norman dangled the Tibetan flag in front of the visiting Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping, repeating the words “freedom for Tibet, freedom for the people of Tibet”, wide debate instantly raged within the Chinese community in New Zealand.

Chinese community leaders demanded an apology from the Greens co-leader. Jerry Yang, editor-in-chief of Auckland-based United Chinese Press (published in both Chinese and English) said Dr Norman should apologise for abusing his position as an MP and stretching the boundaries of freedom of expression.

Based on the take of the opinion leaders there are two approaches to help us understand the relevant issues – a selfish approach and conversely, an open approach.

For some, they care more about the living standard and well-being of ordinary New Zealanders than the Dalai Lama, who lives thousands of miles away on the other side of the world. In that regard, how much damage has been done to our relationship with China, our second largest trading partner, due to Dr Norman’s actions remains to be assessed.

For the others, the real essence of human rights and freedom of speech should be argued.

In that vein, when National MP and Minister for Ethnic Affairs Hon Pansy Wong expressed her view in the Chinese media that Dr Norman’s actions were disgraceful, it struck a chord among the Kiwi-Chinese community.

(more…)


This changing (NZ) world

Posted by Darien Fenton on June 14th, 2010

Over the weekend, members of the Manurewa Cosmopolitan Club voted down a proposed amendment to their rules that would allow the wearing of headwear in the bar if it is worn for significant religious beliefs.

The Human Rights Commission had been asked to be involved in mediation after Karnail Singh was barred from entering the club in November for not removing his turban.

Verpal Singh, secretary of the Sikh Council of New Zealand describes the decision as “a wake up call to their community” about the need to educate the wider New Zealand society about the importance of the turban, saying the turban is one of the Sikh religion’s principal parts of its faith and that asking people to remove it “is like asking someone to strip down in public.”

I might be wrong, but I imagine that the original Cossie Club rule was put in place in the days when men wore hats and they were expected to remove them indoors.

One Cossie Club member justified their decision by saying that allowing turbans to be worn would mean they would have to let in people wearing hoodies and balaclavas.  I think that’s stretching it a bit.

The world is changing and I know it’s challenging and difficult. I hope that there can be some more dialogue between the Sikh community and the Club to get a greater understanding each other’s views – and ultimately, an acceptance that we do have differences in religion and culture in New Zealand and that is a strength, not a threat.


Why do Kiwi-Asians like Phil Goff?

Posted by Raymond Huo on May 24th, 2010
More than 100 community leaders braved a chilly Sunday morning to hear Phil Goff's response to the Budget in Pakuranga

More than 100 community leaders braved a chilly Sunday morning to hear Phil Goff's response to the Budget in Pakuranga

You don’t have to be a historian to understand and appreciate history in this country.

That rule certainly applies to those Kiwi-Chinese who are relatively new here. What has been shared by that group of people is that New Zealand’s economy is, as correctly observed by Bruce Jesson, “once dominated by people who made things but it is now dominated by people who finance things.”

Even though they are migrant-turned new-New Zealanders, you feel how painful it is to them when hearing Finance Minister Bill English talk about possibly selling community assets such as Kiwi Bank.

The country has walked away from an economy of real entities to that of speculation. For them the Budget smells like: no substance, no plan to grow economy, no plan to create jobs and even no sign of understanding of inter-generation equity.

They like Phil Goff as a man of substance. As Trade Minister he signed the FTA with China, leading to China becoming our second largest trading partner.

In the year following the signing in 2008 our export to China reached $1billion, meaning more money in the pockets of Kiwis.

In 1989, when Phil Goff was Minister of Education he introduced and passed into law legislation which opened the door to international fee-paying students.

Now an entirely new sector called Export Education worth $2.5billion exists in New Zealand.

(more…)


Wong is wrong on unemployment

Posted by Raymond Huo on May 10th, 2010

Unemployment is down for the time being, the job market is looking up and everyone is starting to feel better about the unemployment rate as we make our way out of the recession, right?

Wrong, very wrong. The Asian unemployment rate has hit a record high of 9.8 percent with 1200 Asians being forced to join the Dole queue since February.

There are currently 22,400 unemployed Asians in New Zealand and Ethnic Affairs Minister Pansy Wong does not seem concerned nor does she have any good ideas to tackle the problem.

I have asked Minister Wong what she is doing to help curb the spiralling unemployment rate amongst Asians and she has offered up the idea of business forums.

Has the government not learned from last year’s dismal Job Summit that talk-fests don’t work?

The business forums will be run by the Office of Ethnic Affairs, yet in a response to a Written Question I recently lodged she said the Office of Ethnic Affairs does not operate to create jobs.

No wonder she is so blasé, or maybe just confused. Business Forums run by an office that doesn’t help to create jobs? This sounds like an empty gesture doesn’t it?

The Asian community needs a strong leader who is going to offer up real solutions to this problem that is affecting thousands of Asian people across New Zealand.

Under her watch as Ethnic Affairs Minister since National came into power, the Asian unemployment rate has grown steadily above the national average.


Bonsai is powerful!

Posted by Raymond Huo on May 9th, 2010

Bonsai 2

The relatively low profile Chinese bonsai exhibition on Saturday attracted successfully larger crowds and bigger names than anticipated.

Held at Blockhouse Bay Community Centre in western Auckland, the exhibition of the 2000-year art of Chinese bonsai captured attention of hundreds of bonsai enthusiasts and mixed community members from both the Chinese and wider communities.

The New Zealand Chinese Bonsai Society is holding its 22nd Exhibition featuring 100 incredibly beautiful bonsai.

In addition to the “usual suspects” such as Auckland Mayor John Banks and I, those who made a firm and imposing appearance included Kiwi Party leader Larry Baldock and surprise, surprise – the Rt Hon Winston Peters of the New Zealand First!

Manukau Mayor Len Brown was understandably with his supporters at another function at the other end of the greater Auckland.

Any National Party MPs? Nope, given the positive polling performance at the moment, one Indian friend said, there is no need for its Chinese Minister to come here to speak glowingly about ethnicity, goodwill and international amity, yet.

In the meantime, Mr Baldock in his speech “hoped” that he and Mr Peters would “return to Parliament.”


The changing face of New Zealand

Posted by Raymond Huo on April 23rd, 2010

Some interesting projections were released by Statistics New Zealand yesterday:

In 2026:

The European or Other population will grow from 3.21 million (2006 estimate) to 3.47 million an increase of 0.4 percent.

The Maori population will grow from 620,000 (2006 estimate) to 810,000 an increase of 1.3 percent a year

The Asian population will grow from 400,000 (2006 estimate) to 790,000 an increase of 3.4 percent a year

The Pacific population will grow from 300,000 (2006 estimate) to 480,000 an increase of 2.4 percent a year

The dramatic rise in these populations is attributed to births (Maori and Pacific) and migration (Asian).

What does this mean for New Zealand? I’m interested to here some feedback on the country’s changing demographic.

Click here to view the report from Statistics New Zealand:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1004/S00239.htm


Asian voters failed by National and ACT on crime

Posted by Raymond Huo on April 15th, 2010

Asian voters are disappointed in the NACT government.

Attending a number of community meetings over the past week I have been told by a number of Asian voters that they voted National in 2008 “unashamedly for its Law and Order stance”.

Eighteen months on and crime rates are spiralling out of control.

Violent offences increased by 11.3 percent in 2009, murders are up by 25 percent and the total number of recorded offences increased by 8.8 percent in Counties-Manakau during National’s first full year in power.

National has failed every voter who was duped in by their strong Law and Order campaign during the 08 Election campaign.

One constituent told me she felt “offended” that the NACT government has not apologised for its failure to live up to its promise of tackling crime.

National and ACT have made a mockery of the Auckland Asian community who were led to believe swift action would be taken on Law and Order.


Youth MP bound for Gallipoli

Posted by Raymond Huo on April 8th, 2010
Meaghan Li with the Cyril Basset Speech Award and her English Teacher Mr Michael Green on the left and RSA Auckland President Mr Gary Walker on the right

Meaghan Li with the Cyril Basset Speech Award and her English Teacher Mr Michael Green on the left and RSA Auckland President Mr Gary Walker on the right

Congratulations to my Youth MP, Meaghan Li, who won the inaugural Cyril Bassett speech competition over Easter weekend.

Meaghan, from Macleans College, won the Auckland Cyril Bassett speech competition earlier in the year and travelled to Wellington to compete against seven other regional finalists from across the country.

Her speech focussed on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and touched all in the audience with RSA President Robin Klitscher saying he was ‘dumbstruck’ by the speech.

Meaghan will travel to Gallipoli with a New Zealand delegation later this month for the 95th commemoration of the ANZAC landings.

Congratulations Meaghan, you will represent your school, community and New Zealand with distinction in Gallipoli.

Cyril Bassett was the only New Zealander at Gallipoli to be awarded the Victoria Cross.


Go, Whitireia!

Posted by Raymond Huo on March 22nd, 2010

As the keynote speaker at Whitireia Polytechnics Auckland Graduation ceremony on Thursday it was like looking out upon a mini United Nations assembly.

Pacific Island, Indian, Chinese, Korean and European students gathered to celebrate the occasion.

As one of the biggest and popular learning establishments in New Zealand, Whitireia has played an important role in our burgeoning billon dollar export education industry.

Attending functions like this last week and similar meetings during the weekend and again this afternoon has prompted me to think further on this subject. I cannot help but ask what can we as legislators do to help and grow this thriving industry?

What concerns the stakeholders and relevant community members confirmed what I have suspected: what the industry lacks is kind of ‘national standard’ (Hello Ms Tolley!).

To quote from an article I wrote on the subject in the New Zealand Herald on previous occasions:

The Ministry of Education has identified a number of other problems, one of which is the inefficiency of an industry populated by a large number of small providers, with varying levels of experience and expertise.

But the real problem is that New Zealand’s laws and regulations do not safeguard the standard expected by Asian customers in particular. “Ghetto education” is a term frequently used by Chinese parents to refer to ill-equipped schools operating in run-down buildings but boasting a big name.

Unregulated agents, who aggressively recruit students by “selling” those schools in return for a large commission, are another contributing factor.

The 1986 Fair Trading Act does not necessarily stop those schools from passing themselves off as “national” or “international” institutes, or “Auckland” or “New Zealand” academies.

In China, the law reserves such titles for reputable educational providers whose name matches their national or regional status. Big names and their perceived standing are, therefore, attractive to Asian students and their parents.

But upon arrival and discovery of what they really are, their hearts sink, and so does New Zealand’s reputation.

For Chinese students and their parents, this country has a credibility issue.

That is relevant because the reputation of the industry and the associated image of the country determine, to a large degree, what kind of candidates are being targeted.

Unless the Fair Trading Act is improved so that at least the names of those schools are representative.

A licensing system to regulate agents would also provide greater protection to prospective students and prevent them from being exploited by unscrupulous operators.

Some quality schools, who could not afford or are unwilling to pay a hefty commission to such agents, have complained they are less competitive than schools that are willing to do so.

Unsurprisingly, the number of international students has dropped dramatically [ ...] By contrast, international student numbers in Australia have grown, this includes sustained growth from China, India and Korea.

To protect and grow this sector, we need vision and a long-term strategy.

If the Education Minister Anne Tolley is so interested in National Standards for a sector that doesn’t want nor understand them, hopefully Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce can see that here is an industry which is badly in need of some form of national standard.


Key differences – Kiwi-Asians thoughts on the PM

Posted by Raymond Huo on March 8th, 2010

While Prime Minister John Key has maintained his beaming smile since taking office, his standing within the Kiwi-Asian community has changed dramatically.

Below are a couple of cartoons from famous Auckland-based Chinese artist Mu Xun to illustrate the point.

Note: The captions are a direct translation (not verbatim) from the Chinese text.

Cartoon 1:

National: One; Labour: Nil. Published shortly after the 2008 general election, this cartoon shows the approachable, energetic and triumphant John Key becoming New Zealand’s Prime Minister with an array of promises he will fulfil.

Prime Minister Key laps up the rounds of applause from the majority of Kiwi’s who can’t wait for the new Government to deliver tax cuts, stop the brain-drain, curb the economic crisis and take a hard-line on Law and Order.

K[1]

Cartoon 2:

Step forward (or fast forward?) for the super rich and tiptoe for the middle class.

Published in early 2010.

This cartoon shows the same approachable, energetic and triumphant John Key, however the weight of his promises are becoming unbalanced.

Tax cuts for the top income earners and salary increases for the top CEO’s outweigh the gains made by lower income earners.

The rounds of applause now only echo out from the privileged few – who can afford giant diamond rings.

K#2


Labour ideas spark interest on major Chinese website

Posted by Raymond Huo on March 5th, 2010

An article by Stuart Nash has gained some attention on the popular Chinese-language business website Luuloo.com.

Following my columns on NZ-based Chinese-language websites I have now gained a platform for my articles to be published on Shanghai-based Luuloo.com.

Luuloo.com features major business stories and market developments from around the world (including updates from the NZX) and it seems as though Stuart Nash’s thoughts on National’s tax reforms have caught the eye of many in the Asian business world.

Keep an eye on the site to see more articles from Labour MPs in the future.

Click here to read Stuart Nash’s article.

Tags: ,
Filed under: asian, ethnic

Leaders reply strikes a chord

Posted by Raymond Huo on February 26th, 2010

Phil Goff’s response to Prime Minister John Key’s statement on February 9 has resonated strongly within Chinese and Ethnic communities.

The speech has been “heavily” quoted in the Chinese-language media in NZ and been at the heart of many political debates in the community.

Last Friday Phil Goff gave a comprehensive interview with Auckland-based WTV on various issues including GST, R&D, how to grow economy and “catch up with Australia”.

Common sense would tell that if the Government is serious about catching up with Australia we need to look after the bottom 50 percent of wage earners not the top 5.

In New Zealand, the total income earned by the bottom 50 percent of taxpayers is about 17 percent proportionally, and the total tax they pay is 12 percent. While in Australia the bottom 50 percent of taxpayers pay the same proportion of tax of 12 percent, but the total income they earned is 25 percent.

To put it in lay-terms, Australia’s bottom 50 percent of taxpayers have a bigger share of the total income, which means income is more equally distributed in Australia before tax is taken into account.

If National are really keen on closing the gap with Australia, the focus must be on the bottom 50, not the top 5.

Feel free to use this translated version of Phil Goff’s speech.

And to the National supporters that read this, if you read Phil’s speech with no prejudice, you will see why Phil has been so warmly welcomed by Kiwi-Asians.

During the huge Chinese New Year Celebration on Saturday 13 February attended by over 65,000 people, I was proud to learn that Phil Goff had more photos taken from the crowd than the Prime Minister himself!

(more…)


Whanau Ora another issue

Posted by Trevor Mallard on February 20th, 2010

Most of the focus on Whanau Ora has been on ethnicity of those who will  run and and use Whanau Ora.

Isn’t the bigger issue going to be those who can’t get access to their current provider (eg doctor), or are charged more because a contract has been cut to fund Tariana’s family’s programme.


Wanted: FTA’s with Asia

Posted by Raymond Huo on February 16th, 2010

Some interesting results have come in from the Asia-NZ Foundation’s ‘Perceptions of Asia’ survey.

An overwhelming 78 percent of New Zealanders think Free Trade Agreements with Asia will have a positive impact on New Zealand’s future.

It was under former Trade Minister, and current Leader of the Labour Party, Hon Phil Goff that New Zealand signed an FTA with China. Since the signing in April 2008, exports to China have increased by 62 percent, making China New Zealand’s third largest trading partner.

From these statistics alone, it’s clear how vital FTA’s with other Asian countries will be to New Zealand’s economy.

A successful FTA is good for our exporters and grows our economy with more money being injected into the country which flows onto more jobs being created.

I just hope National can follow the lead set by the previous Labour government and secure New Zealand’s place in the Asian business market.

For a copy of the study, visit: www.asianz.org.nz