Is it safe travelling to New Zealand if you're an Australian-born Asian?

[SpaceHamster]

I just want to emphasise that my interest in taking a holiday in New Zealand does not have anything at all to do with Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings - which seems to be regarded as either a masterpiece or a gigantic merchandising opportunity, depending on who you ask. For the record, I'm an admirer of the films and the books.

I remember stopping over at Auckland Airport, while travelling to the US on a business trip. I only got a chance to peek at the New Zealand landscape out the airport windows, but I was struck by how beautiful and serene it was. In some ways, it reminded me of Tasmania, where I was born.

After I got back, I thought about taking a holiday in New Zealand for a few weeks. I thought it'd be a great idea...until I saw this article in the paper -

http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,1107364,00.html

Nonetheless, even New Zealand's politicians can see the benefit of a spot of populist xenophobia. Just over a fortnight ago a leaflet was sent out by Winston Peters, a leader of the New Zealand First party who has cornered the local market in racist drum-banging.

Their beef is mainly with the immigrants from Korea, China and Japan who make up a slim 13% of the population in Auckland, but the Zaoui case provides an excellent excuse for them to turn up the temperature on race.

Under the headline "Whose country is it anyway?" Peters's leaflet rails against Asian immigrants, falsely claiming that hundreds of thousands are coming to New Zealand and blaming them for, among other things, traffic problems in Auckland. These immigrants are, according to Peters, simultaneously poor enough to be leeches on the welfare system, and rich enough to drive up the cost of housing.

I'm now wondering whether or not taking a holiday in New Zealand is such a great idea. I'm an Australian-born Asian, and I've had few problems with racism here in Australia. I've travelled to Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and Alice Springs, and have faced very few racially charged situations.

So is taking a holiday in New Zealand worth the risk for someone like me? Or should I stay away?

[netchicken]

If you can easily cope with racist taunts and abuse in Australia, then you won't even notice it over here.

Just because one minor desperate politician makes a statement doesn't mean anyone else follows it. Does everyone in Australia act like Pauline Hanson?

No, didn't think so.

[SpaceHamster]

Netchicken,
Thanks for the reassurance. Nevertheless, if I am lucky enough to travel to New Zealand for a holiday, I might stick to Auckland and Wellington...just in case.

Again, thanks.

[netchicken]

Pffff
Suit yourself, your actions will only serve to deprive you of the best places in the country. But thats your loss. I have met and seen many Asian people happily travelling to some of the most out of the way places, not locked in an unsubstantial paranoid fear that people are out to get them.

[HOUDA-K]

I love New Zealand and just came back from Christchurch, Canterbury, Mount Cook and Dunedin.

I personally found the New Zealand society diverse, sophisticated and multi~cultural and the Kiwi's are so open and friendly.

P.s why just stick to Auckland & Wellington ?