# Polynesian immigrants to NZ



## tehori

I was amused to see a suggestion made that Polynesians had not earned the right to immigrate to NZ.

OK, lets compare the Dutch during WW1 and Polynesians, the Dutch were neutral, a lot of Polynesians volunteered for the NZ forces.
So comparing those Polynesians who had served with the NZ forces with Europeans, who had the greater moral right to immigrate to NZ ?

The Chinese in NZ, they have more than paid their dues, look at a book called , Dragons of the long white cloud, in it is photos of NZ Chinese aircrew, aircrew survival rate was not that good.


----------



## topcat83

tehori said:


> I was amused to see a suggestion made that Polynesians had not earned the right to immigrate to NZ.
> 
> OK, lets compare the Dutch during WW1 and Polynesians, the Dutch were neutral, a lot of Polynesians volunteered for the NZ forces.
> So comparing those Polynesians who had served with the NZ forces with Europeans, who had the greater moral right to immigrate to NZ ?
> 
> The Chinese in NZ, they have more than paid their dues, look at a book called , Dragons of the long white cloud, in it is photos of NZ Chinese aircrew, aircrew survival rate was not that good.


Hey - where did you see that suggestion? It seems that you're on offensive and the defensive here, without anyone having made a comment! 

I would say that Polynesians, Dutch, Chinese, Europeans, and any other nationality have as many rights as each other - and are hopefully all treated equally when they apply to immigrate.


----------



## FrancisJames

tehori said:


> I was amused to see a suggestion made that Polynesians had not earned the right to immigrate to NZ.
> 
> OK, lets compare the Dutch during WW1 and Polynesians, the Dutch were neutral, a lot of Polynesians volunteered for the NZ forces.
> So comparing those Polynesians who had served with the NZ forces with Europeans, who had the greater moral right to immigrate to NZ ?
> 
> The Chinese in NZ, they have more than paid their dues, look at a book called , Dragons of the long white cloud, in it is photos of NZ Chinese aircrew, aircrew survival rate was not that good.


Where did you see that Tehori? 

Why are you going on about something that happened almost 100 years ago. What relevance does that have to today anyway?



topcat83 said:


> I would say that Polynesians, Dutch, Chinese, Europeans, and any other nationality have as many rights as each other - and are hopefully all treated equally when they apply to immigrate.


I'm not sure if that's true of not, isn't there something called the Pacific Island quota? I think PIs can migrate to NZ on lower criteria to the rest of us. This gives them money to send home to their families and ensures that there are lots of people around to do the unskilled, low paid work that Kiwis don't want to do.


----------



## FrancisJames

I found something out about PI immigration for you Tehori.



> *Controlling Pacific Island immigration
> *
> 
> Pacific Islanders in New Zealand
> Regulating the flow and determining the status of Pacific Island migrants became complex when larger numbers came after the Second World War to meet New Zealand’s labour needs.
> 
> Some Pacific Islanders are New Zealand citizens and have enjoyed freedom of entry (Cook Islanders and Niueans since 1901; Tokelauans since 1916). Other Pacific Islanders (including Tongans, Fijians and Samoans) have faced barriers. These have changed according to New Zealand’s economic conditions and public opinion. When labour was short, Pacific Islanders had relatively unrestricted access to New Zealand.


Not going to post the whole thing here but this may be of interest



> Pacific Island migration in the 1970s
> The 1974 immigration policy review reaffirmed the free access to New Zealand of those born in the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau. It also stated that Western Samoa, as a territory formerly administered by New Zealand, ‘holds a special place in the policy’.
> 
> By the mid-1970s, demand for Pacific Island labour had diminished. The tolerance towards migrant workers on temporary permits from Western Samoa, Tonga and Fiji came to an end.
> 
> The 1974 review sought to make a clear distinction between migrants with a legal right to remain permanently in New Zealand and those who had overstayed after entering on visitor or temporary permits. Enforcing the distinction led to dawn raids on Pacific Island households in Auckland, and other measures.
> 
> The statistics of prejudice
> A study carried out in 1985–86 was revealing: it showed that whereas Pacific Island people comprised only a third of overstayers, they made up 86% of all prosecutions for overstaying. Citizens from the United States and the United Kingdom who also made up almost a third of those overstaying, represented only 5% of prosecutions.
> 
> Entry under quotas
> People from the Pacific Islands continued to enter and stay in New Zealand during the late 1970s and 1980s, legally if they could, illegally if they could not. From 2002, under the Samoan quota, 1,100 Samoan citizens could be granted residence each year provided they had a job offer and met other conditions.
> 
> A Pacific Access category set quotas for people from Tonga, Fiji, Tuvalu and Kiribati to be granted residence in New Zealand. Pitcairn Islanders were considered for residence provided they had a firm job offer in New Zealand.


----------



## FrancisJames

I would suppose that those with NZ citizenship can also work in Australia if they wanted to.


----------

