August 11, 2015
Race relations better this side of the Tasman
Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy says New Zealanders are better at addressing racism than our cousins across the ditch.
Australians are having a major public debate about whether or not they are racist following indigenous AFL football player Adam Goodes decision to opt out from playing an important game because he was tired of racist booing.
This side of the Tasman Dame Susan has entered the debate saying while we are not perfect, and pockets of extremism exist here, overall we're better at looking back at our history with open eyes and with both eyes not just one.
She says human rights abuses committed by our government against Maori New Zealanders took many forms and scarred generations of families with a lot of ground to make up but we have the treaty settlement process which is about truth and reconciliation.
Dame Susan says what sets us apart from Australia is that they are just starting a conversation we've been having for some time with Adam Goodes, whose parents were born as foreigners in their own ancestral lands forcing Australians to speak up stand up and talk about what kind of country they want to live in.
She says right now New Zealand is fast becoming one of the most ethnically diverse nations on earth and also one of the most peaceful.
Whether this is something we pass on to our children is up to us, she says because our human rights don't belong in a document in the United Nations but here at home.
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