Racism in New Zealand

This annoys me a lot. I was going to write a blog post about it, but it has been done far better by others who share my opinion on the matter.
So instead, I wrote a letter to the Human Rights Commission:

To whom it may concern,

I have recently been distressed to read in the newspaper that the New Zealand Government is actively encouraging firms to select their employees on race-based lines. These sorts of policies are widely (and correctly) derided when racist groups like the National Front promote them, but it seems that in a downturn we are all expected to become honorary racists.

I am particularly upset to see that the Human Rights Commission has not, to my knowledge, made any public statement on this appalling state of affairs. Supporting Human Rights is presumably your raison d'être, yet when the Government promotes their abolition you shy into a corner and keep your mouth shut. It makes me just a little bit ashamed to be a New Zealander.

Tom Mathews

And a letter to the paper:

Dear Sir,

It distresses me to read in your pages (24/03) that Jonathan Coleman, on behalf of the Government, encourages firms to make country of origin an issue when selecting their employees. Society is rightly outraged at xenophobia when racists from the National Front seek to promulgate it, but when our elected officials take over from them our mouths seal shut. For shame.

Tom Mathews

The important point in my mind is not that these sorts of moves are economically misguided (although they are). It's just that it is just plain racist. I have tried to emphasise that in my letters. If you feel the same, I encourage you to do similar. The NZ Human Rights Commission can be reached at infoline@hrc.co.nz, the Dominion Post at news@dompost.co.nz.