Take action to end institutional racism in New Zealand

In New Zealand, we like to believe in the notion of everyone getting a ‘fair go’.

But does everyone, regardless of the colour of their skin, ethnicity or national origin, get a ‘fair go’?

Does everyone in Aotearoa get the same opportunity for good health, a good education, decent work and an adequate standard of living?

The evidence says no.

In fact, if you are Māori or Pasifika, you are:
👉🏾 More likely to be arrested by police
👉🏾 More likely to be sentence to prison by the court
👉🏾 More likely to live in cold, damp home
👉🏾 More likely to have teachers who don’t believe in you
👉🏾 More likely to be underpaid and undervalued
👉🏾 More likely to have their children removed and placed in state care
👉🏾 More likely to suffer preventable, and early deaths
👉🏾 Less likely to have your babies resuscitated in hospital

Put another way, if you are Pākehā then you are:

👉🏻 More likely to be given a warning by police
👉🏻 More likely to be let off by the court
👉🏻 More likely to live in a wam, dry home
👉🏻 More likely to have teachers that believe in you
👉🏻 More likely to have accrued wealth and be well paid
👉🏻 Less likely to have your children removed and placed in state care
👉🏻 More likely to live a long and healthy life
👉🏻 More likely to have your babies resuscitated in hospital

Is this a ‘fair go’? We don’t think so.

We need to understand the role that racism - both conscious and unconscious - plays in the institutions that shape our lives - schools, police, courts, hospitals, community housing providers, Work and Income, Oranga Tamariki and other social service providers.

Only a Royal Commission of Inquiry will enable us to understand the scale and depth of institutional racism in New Zealand. We need an Inquiry followed by an action plan to fix it.

A ‘fair go’ for everyone will mean we all have the same access to quality health care, life expectancy and treatment from the police no matter what our skin colour, ethnicity or national origin.

Sign our petition and share it with friends.

Links:

A fair go for all? Rite tahi tätou katoa? Addressing Structural Discrimination in Public Services, Human Rights Commission, 2012 https://www.hrc.co.nz/files/2914/2409/4608/HRC-Structural-Report_final_webV1.pdf

Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination Shadow Report: Aotearoa New Zealand, 2017 http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CERD/Shared%20Documents/NZL/INT_CERD_NGO_NZL_28208_E.pdf

Māori experiences and responses to racism in Aotearoa New Zealand, Mai Journal, 2013 http://www.journal.mai.ac.nz/sites/default/files/MAI%20Journal%20Vol.2_2%20pages%2063-77%20Moewaka%20Barnes%20et%20al..pdf

Racism and White Defensiveness in Aotearoa: A Pākehā Perspective, Max Harris, June 2018 https://e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-analysis/racism-and-white-defensiveness-in-aotearoa-a-pakeha-perspective/

Our law is not colour-blind, Stuff, Sep 2016 https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/84346494/new-zealands-racist-justice-system--our-law-is-not-colourblind