We feature each fortnight Nicholas Reid's reviews and comments on new and recent books.
“EDGES OF EMPIRE” by Francis L. Collins, Alan Gamlen and Neil Vallelly (Auckland University Press, NZ$49.99); “UNDERWORLD” by Jared Savage (Harper -Collins New Zealand, NZ$39.99)
Edges of Empire deals with the politics of immigration in New Zealand as seen and interpreted by three academics - Collins (professor in sociology), Gamlen (social scientist specialising in migration) and Vallelly (lecturer in sociology). They focus on the years between 1980 and 2020, but naturally that first have to discuss how immigration was dealt with in the 19th and 20th centuries. Much of their focus has to do with how different Ministers for Immigration, in changing political parties, dealt with immigration. They interviewed 15 former Ministers for Immigration – they had attempted to interview 17, but two declined to be interviewed.
In its Preface, it is explained that “Edges of Empire” means New Zealand has largely withdrawn from what was once the British Empire. Yes, officially our head of state is still the English Monarch, but that is a mere formality. Since Britain entered what was first called the Common Market – then the European Economic Community - New Zealand knew it could no longer expect most of its goods to be sold to Britain and hence New Zealand had to find new markets. Up until the 1950s, many British [and Irish] immigrants came to New Zealand, and at that time New Zealanders were regarded as British subjects [our passports said so] And, of course, New Zealand law and much New Zealand culture was built on British models. Our populace was mainly bi-cultural - Maori and Pakeha. But by the 1980s, as New Zealand sought new markets, the country was made more open to Asian immigrants – Chinese, Indian, Filipino and others - and Pasifika people were settled here. Gradually the country became more multi-cultural, though Pakeha has remained the great majority. There was an ongoing problem of the large number of New Zealanders who emigrated and moved to Australia. It was also in the 1980s that the Labour Party unleashed neoliberalism and in their policies regarding immigration, they welcomed not only people with skills, but also those who were entrepreneurs and could build money. The National Party eagerly adopted similar ideas when they came to power again. The authors of this book say in the Preface that “from a primarily bicultural Maori and White settler nation until 1980” New Zealand has dramatically diversified ethnically, demographically and socio-economically. They finish their Preface by telling us that they are writing about migration governance rather than migration itself – that is, how over the years the government dealt with migration.
Having set up the purpose of this book in the Preface, Edges of Empire then moves, in six long chapters, to how different Ministers for Immigration have dealt with their portfolios.
Chapter One “The Imperial Migration Regime, 1840-1980” In the 19th century, the British Empire approved Europeans – but especially British – settling in New Zealand. As the century moved on there was grudging permission for some non-British settlers, Croatians, some Chinese and a few others. By the end of the Second World War, the British Empire was falling apart. New Zealand did show much humanity in taking in some refugees after the war. By the 1960s, a great number of Pasifika people were invited into New Zealand, mainly to fill domestic labour shortages. At about the same time, and since the early 1950s, more Maori had moved away from rural arias and settled in the bigger cities. Nevertheless, more British, Irish, Scottish and [by the late 1950s] Dutch settled in New Zealand. But the great loss for New Zealand came when Britain joined the European Economic Community and New Zealand had to find new markets. More Asians were invited to settle in New Zealand. At about the same time, there was controversy about “over-stayers” – that is, workers who had visas to stay in New Zealand for a limited time, but who decided to stay here permanently. The Labour Kirk-Rowling government inaugurated “dawn-raids”, targeting “overstayers”; but it was the in-coming National Party leader Robert Muldoon who ramped up the “dawn raids”, focusing on Pasifika people. Not only did this raise much controversy, but it alerted more understanding that New Zealand was no longer a “bi-culture” country, but a “multi-culture” country.
Chapter Two “The Neoliberal Revolution and the Rise of Economic Multiculturalism, 1981- 1988” On both of the parliament’s aisles, it was decided that as far as immigrants were concerned they should be the type of people who could contribute to the New Zealand’s economy, therefore the most-wanted were those with skills and those who were entrepreneurs. Labourers were not the priority. Neoliberalism was in its prime.. but there was an on-going problem. Every year between 1976 and 1982 many New Zealanders migrated to Australia – meaning a loss of 100,000 New Zealanders. The Immigration Act of 1987 made it clear than New Zealand was no longer an open door for Britain – up until then, Britons were able to settle in New Zealand without going through any formalities. Now those who wanted to settle in New Zealand had to go through the same processes as any other would-be immigrant.
Chapter Three “Globalisation and the New Migration 1989 – 1989” In these years, migration was officially listed in categories as “General Skills” [people who could deal with technology in its varied forms]; “Business Investor” [bringing in money, setting up businesses etc.] “Family” [those related to people who had already become New Zealanders] and “Humanitarian” [refugees]. For all this, however, with many different ethnicities coming in there was a popular backlash. Penalties for those who could not speak English were requested. At the same time many Maori reacted more strongly at the idea that New Zealand was now “multi-culture” country.
Chapter Four “Managing Migration 1997 – 2004” In 1996, parliament adopted the M.M.P. [Mixed Member Proportional] system of voting. This meant new parties were being courted by the established Labour and National parties. Winston Peters ran with what the authors call “a stridently xenophobic campaign”, but in the outcome the Labour party also suggested that immigration should be tightened; and once he was secure in parliament Peters adopted more moderate ideas about immigration. Bringing in much money now came from international students [mainly Asian]. Between 1999 and 2003, international students in New Zealand who had visas to study at New Zealand universities increased from 30,000 to 120,000, 45% of whom were Chinese. At the same time, Australia had much harsher attitudes to immigrants.
Chapter Five “Security, Integrity and Modernisation, 2005 – 2011” As Prime Minister, John Key was focused on bringing business to New Zealand, and by this stage Australia, China, America, Britain, and Chile – in that order – were our most important trading partners. But there was sometimes a tension between marketing and dealing with authoritarian states, hence more stronger checking of would-be immigrants. It should also be noted that the global financial crisis always had a huge effect on New Zealand.
Chapter Six “A New Migration Boon and the Politics of Immigration Policymaking, 2012 – 2020” Between 2008 – 2012 there was a net emigration loss of – 125,718. But by this stage net immigration was being questioned. With so many coming into New Zealand [and especially as in large cities, the largest being Auckland], infrastructure was becoming inadequate, and there was a growing crisis in housing. It is only at this point that the authors examine in some detail the Maori perspective on immigration and how they relate it to the Treaty of Waitangi. There is a Coda called “The Covid – 19 Interregnum” which reminds us that the prime-minister Jacinda Ardern closed the border for as long as the pandemic lasted. and so to Conclusion, summing up all that has been said so far. It has a passage about “Empire and Colonialism” saying in effect that we are still in some way in the British orbit; and near the end we are told that “by international standards, the politicisation of migration in New Zealand has been mild and has not disturbed a dominant consensus on immigration policy.” This is more-or-less what I had already understood in reading Edges of Empire in that regarding immigration, different political parties tended to agree, in spite of some grand-standing from a few politicians. By the way, in writing this review, I have emphasised the nature of immigration itself… which is rather different from the migration governance that that authors dealt with.
I have one depressing fact. Some months back, I reviewed Erik Olssen’s The Origins of anExperimental Society an excellent account of the making of New Zealand. But I cautioned that is was a hard read, more likely to be read by academics than by the general public. With its precise statistics and data, its detailed accounts of shifts in parliament and its length, Edges of Empire will go down best with the academics. But it is a necessary book, informative and giving a detailed account of how our populace has changed.
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Jared Savage is a journalist working for the New Zealand Herald. He specialises in reporting crime. He wrote two earlier books, Gangland and Gangsters’ Paradise both of which were reviewed on this blog. In his introduction to Underworld, he says that “this is the final book of a trilogy”. For the third time he looks at the most sordid and destructive behaviours of gangs. He does not deal with one-off murders or heists. He deals with peddlers and importers of dangerous drugs, notably methamphetamine (“meth”), and how rivalry between gangs often leads to major violence. He charts the lengths to which the police have had to go to find and destroy “meth” and other Class One drugs like cocaine and heroin. Most of his narratives are based on interviews with both police and some gangsters, notes made in court when a trial is proceeding, as well as looking carefully at files. He notes how crime has changed radically in New Zealand in the last few decades. Where New Zealand had small-time home-grown gangsters, we now have Asian, Mexican and other ethnicities working for syndicates and cartels, finding ways to bring toxic drugs to us. The fact that Australia has deported criminals back to New Zealand has not helped. Then there are the home-grown, patched gangs [Mongrel Mob, Black Power etc.] who do most of the distribution of illegal drugs. Savage notes “impoverished urban areas and provincial townships, with high unemployment rates and social deprivation, were hit hardest by the meth trade, and no more so than Northland”. This is one of the sorrows of this book. It is the impoverished who have been most obviously degraded by the consumption of meth.
Chapter by chapter, Jared Savage presents us with specific cases. An account of how the police, by careful detective work, reined in the boss of the Head Hunters in Auckland who made millions out of meth. The murders in Tauranga as the Mongrel Mob and the Black Power gangs vied for distributing drugs (the Mongrel Mob is the largest gang and was the first to deal in meth). The first attempts by Mexican cartels to bring meth into New Zealand was in Tauranga, with its open harbour. The corruption of baggage-handlers at airports who found ways of avoiding police surveillance when bringing drugs in. The grisly death of a Chinese meth cooker who fell foul of his colleagues, was murdered and his body was buried somewhere near the Desert Road. The connection of local gangs with the Hell’s Angels. The impact of imported Australian gangs. …. and so many other tales.
Obviously it is all very depressing to read, but Jared Savage has the skill to write specifically and in detail. The police are given their due and there are some cases of hope as a few addicts see the light.
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