Aotearoa's Ever-changing Face

We thought some great New Zealand music was a great way to showcase the (ethnic) diversity of this country. The first song, Melting Pot (When the Cat’s Away’s 1988 cover of Blue Mink’s late 60s classic), has a decidedly naive and optimistic view of diversity. While you watch and listen, take a moment to reflect on its assimilationist undertone and the extent to which it is a product of its time. PNC’s Half Kast — on identity as ‘half-cast’ — is grittier and perhaps a better reflection of contemporary identity politics in New Zealand. The Fat Freddy’s Drop track that we've chosen doesn't address issues around ethnic identity per se but it's here because the video has a wonderful Pasifika texture and it's just a great song! You'll see the final track is Aaradhna's Brown Girl — a gorgeous song with a clear and powerful message. You might also want to take a look at Aaradhna's (non)acceptance speech at the NZ Music Awards for a demonstration of exercising one's voice! (More on voice in the second part of this book).

Not quite as entertaining but for the formal statistical state of the nation, see StatsNZ’s database on migration data — and the Superdiversity website for assessments of population change and its implications for politics, government policy and the law. Auckland Council’s publicly available website Auckland Counts is also excellent. It takes StatsNZ data and turns it into really good interactive maps and other digital resources. Then visit The Wireless and browse their pieces on growing ethnic diversity, the silver tsunami and a tale of two New Zealands for some really good content. Also at The Wireless, a wry commentary — in cartoon form — on the nature of these demographic and other changes, and what these shifts might mean for the way we make sense of ourselves. Still at The Wireless, scan this great series of maps depicting a range of coming demographic changes (which, amongst other things, shows very clearly the issues faced in the far north and in the east). Unsurprisingly, the issues raised by migration have received a lot of press attention: this clip — featuring Massey University’s PVC Paul Spoonley — will give you clear sense of tone and tenor of public debate on the nature and consequences of migration. And to wrap things up, take four minutes to watch this highly satirical sketch on the Te Aotearoa Board of Immigration circa 2030 (spoiler alert: you need the capacity to laugh at yourself, but it does raise some legitimate issues around rural depopulation and ageing).